Welnar ducks back as a left uppercut flies at him, followed by a deadly combination of two hooks, an uppercut and a final downward swing of Derlock's fist! All of this is narrowly avoided by some careful dodges from Welnar, and as he avoids the downward swing, the fist crashes into the dirt, sending cracks all throughout the area of impact in a couple meter radius.

  {“GOOD GODS HE'S STRONG!”} Welnar exclaims mentally, but he steels his resolve. He won't win the fight by just dodging! So, Welnar dashes back in as the cracks form along the ground, throwing a quick jab, followed closely by a straight! He feels the punches connect, and yet… It feels like he hurt himself more than Derlock! Is he made of steel or what?!

  “You hit… Harder than I thought.” Derlock says, suddenly spinning into a heel kick for the head! Welnar doesn't have time to dodge, only raising his arm in defense. And when the foot connects with his arm, it feels as if the force reverberates throughout his body, and in the next moment he's sent skidding along the dirt, almost losing his balance.

  “You know, our magic is actually not that unique. Although rarer than most, I have encountered more like us in my time.”

  Welnar pauses. “Wait, seriously?”

  “Yes. Although not acknowledged by the Archon Collective, I have personally dubbed our type of sorcery… Physical Type sorcery.”

  The Archon Collective… A group of sorcerers said to be at the absolute pinnacle, supposedly most being blessed by gods. Of course, it's all speculation, as nobody truly knows much about them… Only that their influence spans across the world, deciding the very fundamentals of how humanity perceives sorcery. Why wouldn't they recognize a new sorcery type..? No, Welnar has more questions.

  “So if that's the case, then how does it work? What're the similarities?”

  “I'm sure you can recognize the common ability of physical sorcery is enhancing the body.” Derlock says, gesturing vaguely to himself.

  “But it dives deeper than that. Our mana can tap into certain… Concepts. This is the kind of information our innate knowledge does not tell us. We must figure it out ourselves.”

  “Concepts? I… Don't think I understand.” Welnar scratches the back of his head. As he does, he can sense Monarch's immense curiosity.

  “Then allow me to elaborate. Using my own magic as an example, I tap into the concept of Force.” Seeing Welnar still looking confused, Derlock decides to continue.

  “When that kick connected, you could feel the blow reverberate through your body, yes?” Welnar nods. “That was an application of the concept of Force. I extended the force, the energy of my strike throughout your body. The effect results in less potency overall, but it can harm the entirety of your body, regardless if you block it or not.”

  Welnar is starting to understand now. If that's the case, that his magic is based off of a concept, then… What would it be? He can conjure items using pure mana, seemingly enhance his body past its limits temporarily… What kind of concept could that amount to? So many questions, so little answers… Welnar shoves those questions to the back of his mind for the moment, as a new one forms that seems much easier to answer.

  “So uh… When did you awaken to your magic, then?”

  “Hmm, only 20 years ago.” Only… 20… No, that doesn't make sense! People awaken to their magic much sooner, this guy is way too old. And, yet again seeing his confusion plainly written on his face, Derlock elaborates. “It was a forceful awakening, thanks to an artifact.”

  “Oh. Then, where's… The artifact?” In response, Derlock simply points to his left eye, the cyan iris glowing brighter for but a moment. Now it makes sense, with the mana Monarch detected in it before. “So what does it do? If you don't mind me asking.”

  “It allows me to see the flow of mana throughout the world with incredible detail, much more than even strong sorcerers. Quite convenient, for a physical type.”

  “You don't say. That does sound pretty nice…” Welnar thinks about the mana he feels flowing through his body… He can't really see it, only get a rough feel for it and mentally visualize it through said feeling. But if Derlock could truly see the mana everywhere, that kind of sight would certainly make the manipulation of his mana a breeze. Maybe that's what makes him so damn strong. That, combined with his concept of Force…

  “Now, I hate to be a downer Welnar, but may we continue our bout? I'm sure you have many more questions, and I'd be fine with answering them. As long as you can keep up.” Derlock smirks.

  “Oh. R-right, sure…” Welnar is not nearly as amused. He really isn't sure if he can keep up with this guy, but… He's gonna damn well try. He wants to learn all he can about his magic, and if he's gotta get beaten up for it then so be it! It'll all be worth it if he can claim the Psychotic Heart. And so, Welnar puts up his fists once more, this time pushing forward with a flurry of hooks! But Derlock seems to casually dodge each one with ease, and when Welnar tries to mix up with a roundhouse kick… Derlock meets his shin with a light tap of his palm, Welnar's leg suddenly launching back the way it came and throwing him off balance! An application of force-?!

  Welnar barely has time to process what or how that happened though, as next Derlock's palm flies for his chest, landing cleanly and sending Welnar skidding back for a few moments, before falling to one knee and gasping. That blow knocked the wind out of him… It felt like the impact went straight past his ribs…

  {“Hey, Monarch! You've been awfully silent, any idea on how to beat this guy..?”}

  {“Welnar, there's… There's no chance. You can't win.”}

  {“What do you mean?!”}

  {“His control and perception of mana is on my kind of level from that artifact. And with how your magic works… He practically knows every move you'll make before you even do.”}

  {“That can't be… I mean, I hit him before!”} Welnar doesn't want to believe it. There has to be some way to win.

  {“Sure, you made contact. But you didn't truly hit him. From what we know now, plus what I saw when you hit him… I suspect he used his Force ability to essentially negate your blows somehow.”}

  Outwardly, Welnar scoffs as he slowly picks himself back up, finally getting a chance to breathe… He looks to Derlock, who seems to be simply waiting.

  “Can you continue?”

  “I… Y-yeah. Yeah, I can!”

  “Good. Here is a lesson to learn… Invoke: Haste.” As Derlock says those words, he seems to speed up as he bobs back and forth, his every move leaving an after image of green energy. An Invocation, general form of magic that anybody can learn with time.

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  “Invocations can be more easily used and learned by physical types such as ourselves. This is due to our natural affinity for interior mana control… Invoke: Strength.” Glowing red veins form along Derlock's body.

  “And, due to this affinity, it is possible for us to use numerous invocations at once… Invoke: Strength.” The glowing red veins turn a deeper red, their glow growing stronger as well.

  “And multiply the effects of said invocations.”

  And with that, Derlock suddenly digs his hands into the ground… With unnatural speed, a large chunk of dirt and rock is ripped straight out of the ground, and with a spin it is tossed straight at Welnar!

  “Well who said I needed invocations!?” Welnar yells. He sure as hell isn't getting out of the way in time, so instead, he flows mana into his right arm, blue veins forming along it as he reels back and punches the hurtling chunk of earth! And on instinct, Welnar unleashes the mana within his arm into the world, creating a powerful explosion of blue energy that even sends him back a bit! The chunk of dirt and rock is blown apart, and Derlock is left rather surprised by Welnar's head-on counter. “Well well… How interesting. You unleash raw mana in such a destructive manner, and yet in that same moment can use it to force your body past its limits… I say, with enough training you could become a force to be reckoned with. That boost could easily surpass most enhancement invocations.”

  “You think so?” Welnar says, panting slightly. “Wait… Whaddya mean raw mana?”

  “Well, mana within a being tends to be in a more controlled state, but not yours… You let your mana run wild when you use it, allowing you to do explosions of raw energy like so.” Makes sense to Welnar. Raw, wild energy… What could that mean for his concept? It’s apparently unique, so it’s probably related to it. Welnar shakes his head, focusing back on the fight…

  And he swiftly closes the distance, throwing a jab! But Derlock seems to flicker and disappear just before the jab hits?! “Behind you.”

  Welnar whips around, and just as he does he feels three blows strike him in the stomach, chest, then head one after another! Yet Derlock’s back was turned. How..? “I did the motions of punching after I got behind you, but delayed the actual force of said motions ever so slightly.” Welnar falls to one knee. Each blow hits like a truck, and his head is spinning… But even so… He refuses to back down…

  Derlock calmly steps towards the grounded Welnar. He’s panting, out of breath and injured… Surely this is it. He raises a hand to aim a karate chop for the head to knock him out, until he sees a glint in Welnar’s eyes. A glint that unnerves him. With an instinctive fear, Derlock sways his upper body back just in time as Welnar swings with an uppercut, shockwaves of mana following his fist. Derlock can’t remember the last time he felt fear, but this… This isn’t natural. It feels as if a sort of pressure, both physical and mental, emanates from Welnar.

  Derlock grins. As certain as he is about his superiority here, there’s something about Welnar that he can’t shake… This boy seems like a natural menace. He just hasn’t realized it yet.

  “I won’t lose!” Welnar yells immediately after the uppercut, full of renewed vigor. But he knows it's temporary… Blue veins run all along his back as he lets his mana surge through his entire body. He’ll have to thank Derlock for this idea later, he thinks as a small blue disc of energy forms in his opposite hand, sawblades forming along the disc. Swiftly, the sawblade is thrown at Derlock who steps to the side. But it stops midair as it reaches the maximum distance it can be from Welnar, and begins gravitating back towards him, with Derlock directly in its path. So far so good! Derlock turns around, sensing the incoming sawblade once more he raises his hand to it and, using his Force concept, halts the sawblade in its tracks entirely before flinging it to the ground. But with his back turned, Welnar aims to take full advantage as he rushes in, flowing every inch of mana he can into his right fist!

  A loud BOOM resonates through the field. Amidst a cloud of dust, Welnar’s fist is firmly caught in the hand of Derlock. “A valiant effort, dear boy…”

  And with that, Welnar’s final gamble succeeded. With his free hand, having practically no mana in it alongside Derlock focusing on his other hand, Welnar lands a clean uppercut that causes Derlock to stagger back! {“Look Monarch, I hit him, see?! See-”}

  {“Welnar you buffoon LOOK OUT!”} With a yell, Derlock suddenly steps toward Welnar and with speed much faster than before, a literal blur to him, slams Welnar with a full force gut punch. He’s sent flying back ten meters, hitting the ground and skidding along it for another five, before finally coming to a stop. Welnar coughs and coughs, with each one a concerning amount of blood coming out his mouth. That’s definitely a couple ribs broken. Derlock flickers in the distance, appearing next to Welnar and kneeling next to him. He pulls out a bottle of green liquid, popping off the cork and letting Welnar drink it. He feels his innards fixing themselves up exceptionally quick.

  “Sorry about that Welnar, I suppose I got a bit riled up at the end there!” Derlock chuckles casually, as if he didn’t just almost punch a hole clean through Welnar. “Regardless, I am thoroughly impressed. You managed to land a solid blow on me, which is more than what most could.”

  “Yeah, and I was damn proud of it too… Way to rain on my parade…” Welnar responds.

  “Well, that’s your fault for celebrating much too early and leaving yourself open. Be glad I still held myself back somewhat.” He still held back with that punch?! Welnar sighs, slowly sitting up. Guess he really didn’t stand much of a chance…

  “But like I said, Welnar. I am impressed. So here, a reward for your efforts.” A shiny small object is flicked into Welnar’s lap. He picks it up, and can scarcely believe his eyes… A platinum coin, in the flesh. Or, platinum… Regardless, a platinum coin! The highest value coin there is! “A-are you sure you should just be handing these out like that..?”

  “It’s fine. You’re the first person to receive a platinum coin from me. But that’s not all. I have a question for you, Welnar.” Derlock seems to look more serious now.

  “Well I got a bunch for you, but I’ll hear yours first.”

  “The halo above you is an artifact, yes? What does it do? I can see mana occasionally flowing from you to it, and vice versa…”

  “Well, Monarch kinda… Doesn’t do anything right now.”

  “Right now? And what do you mean Monarch?” Derlock presses for more. He’s curious.

  “Her name is Monarch! She’s a uh… Living artifact. Sentient. Talks to me in my head. But other than that she’s useless.”

  {“Rude!”} Monarch cuts in.

  “B-but eventually she’ll be able to help! Just needs some time!”

  {“That’s more like it.”}

  Derlock slowly nods… He’s never heard of a living artifact before, and it seems a little hard to believe. “So then is the mana flowing between you and… Monarch…”

  “Communication? Uhh. Probably? I don’t know how it works, I just think about what I want to say and it’s said to her. Oh, but she also passively picks up on my surface thoughts which I don’t like…”

  {“I try not to acknowledge it okay! Sheesh, you sure are a harsh critic.”}

  “I see. So what will this Monarch be able to do eventually?”

  {“Don't answer that Welnar.”} Monarch near immediately says. The suddenness causes Welnar to fumble with his words for a moment before getting out…

  “I- uh- N-nothing?”

  Derlock raises an eyebrow in suspicion. “Fine then. Keep your secrets.” Then he stands, dusting his legs off. “I must get going now, though.”

  “O-oh wait! One question for you! That weird flickering… Teleport… Thing. What is that?”

  “That? Oh, that's just me moving very fast. You could do that too, as long as you keep training your magic.” And with that, Derlock begins walking back to town… Before suddenly flickering, and disappearing. Leaving Welnar alone in the field, with a bundle of new information. Physical type sorcery… A type of magic focused entirely on one's self, harnessing a concept and turning it into reality. What kind of concept could Welnar embody…

  {“It seems like invocations are something that may be worth learning too, since physical types have an affinity for those.”} Monarch says.

  {“True. But right now I don't think we'll have time for that… Those take like, months. The bounty on that psycho will be coming pretty soon.”}

  {“I know, but for the future! It's something to keep in mind.”}

  {“Yeah, I will definitely do that.”}

  There's a few moments of mental silence as Welnar sits amidst the grass, staring aimlessly.

  {“Magic has seriously evolved from my time… Or at least, humanities understanding of it.”} Monarch says, breaking the silence.

  {“Is that so?”}

  {“Well things like runic magic or sorcerer classifications never really existed… And invocations were pretty rudimentary.”}

  {“Fair. But, then again… You came out of the 21st Age. Actually, speaking of, how did you come to be? Artifacts can form naturally, but living artifacts…”} Monarch goes silent for a few seconds after his question.

  {“I'm not really sure. I don't remember.”}

  Welnar shrugs, standing up and stretching. {“Oh. Well that sucks. Anyway, I guess we should get going now too.”}

  {“That's right! We got a bounty, and a heart to get ready for.”} Monarch says as Welnar begins walking back to Ekstrall, clenching a fist.

  He won't let that monster win again. Sick bastards roaming the streets, killing as they please… He won't stand for it. Welnar promises himself that he won't let another soul die by that psycho's hand.

  …

  A pillar of light emerges from a large, intricate circle of runes on the ground, and out of it steps an old man, with white slicked back hair… He walks through the large dark room, the only form of light being the lights from an aquarium that is built into a ridiculously long table. Along its sides are eight cushioned chairs with another one at each end. Nine of the ten chairs are occupied.

  Derlock sits at the final chair on one of the sides, the chair creaking slightly as he gets settled in. He's sat near one of the ends, with three chairs to his left. Directly to his right is the lone end chair, and at the furthest end from him sits the other lone chair. Reserved for only the pinnacle above pinnacles.

  “The Archon Collective meeting is now in session. Archon Ten, please explain why we are here.” A voice emanates from the left end chair. Despite it being the furthest from Derlock, he can hear the First Archon clear as day. Everyone can. And yet, not a single identifying feature can be made out from the voice. Not even a gender.

  Derlock stands. “I called you all here to bring attention to the new S-Grade bounty hunter that recently emerged in Ekstrall, Welnar Bismorg.”

  “The one who had a run in with that serial killer over there? What about him?” The Fourth Archon says.

  “While playing my usual games with the bounty hunters, I ended up encountering him. He wields magic like mine, and although I still won our bout, he managed a decent blow on me.” Derlock rubs his chin, where Welnar had struck him.

  “The man capable of bringing down cities with his fist, struck by one? Amusing.” The Eighth Archon chuckles.

  “Silence. Continue, Ten.” The First Archon swiftly responds, the Eighth shrinking back in his seat slightly.

  “There is more than that though. He has an artifact with him. A living one, according to his own accounts. It's a metal halo that floats above his head, with mana flowing to and from it occasionally which I assume to be communication. When I asked what it did, he chose to hide its purpose, which makes me rather glad that I lied about when I awakened to my magic.”

  A small moment of hushed whispers flow through the Archons for a moment, before the First merely raises his hand to silence them. “Is it the soul artifact?”

  “I am not certain, but I believe so.”

  “Two. That was your jurisdiction. What are your thoughts?”

  “Right now, there is no need to act with haste… Keep watch of Welnar, Ten. If he dies at any point, take the halo and bring it directly to me.”

  Derlock nods. “Understood. I'll keep an eye on him.”