DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
"Wow! That was awesome!" Tiona said while hopping up to her feet after Elicia released her hold. "You didn't hit really hard, but you moved so much that it was hard to hit you. And the way you flipped and rolled, it was crazy!"
Tiona's excited smile was enthusiastic, as Elicia also smiled just as excitedly while the young Amazon gushed over her combat techniques. Unfortunately, the two could not talk for too long, as Tiona's sister, Tione, strode towards the center of the training field, completely ignoring Elicia's and Tiona's conversation, before turning to glare at Tatsuo.
"Come on, it's time you learned your lesson, Kid." Tione said sharply.
"How old are you? Thirteen?" Tatsuo asked while scratching near the base of his right horn. "How are you calling me a kid? I'm already fifteen."
"Hmph! Don't mind the small details." Tione shot back.
"That's not small, though." Momo muttered.
"That's what she said." James and Alfonzo said in unison.
"Hahahahahaha!" Loki immediately burst into laughter at the crude joke. "Yeah, I definitely want those two in my Familia."
Reaching that point, a sharp, calculating glint shined in Loki's eyes. Then, she turned to look at Aislynn.
"Actually, let's change the stakes of our bet, Aislynn." Loki said in the tone of a used car salesman. "Instead of all your riches, how about we make it so that you get Riveria if I lose and I get those two if you lose."
"You think I can't see through your little plot, Loki?" Aislynn asked with an eyebrow raised. "You're thinking that if Alfonzo comes to your Familia, Elicia will automatically want to come along, too, since they're married."
"Huh?" Loki intoned, feigning innocence and confusion. "Actually, I didn't think about that until you mentioned it."
"Mhmm." Aislynn hummed, her expression making it clear she did not believe Loki's act.
"Whatever." Loki said happily while planting her fists on her hips. "Are you accepting or not?"
"Sure, why not?" Aislynn replied nonchalantly. "It's not like I'm afraid of losing, anyway."
Hearing that, the uneasy feeling she had when Aislynn first tricked her into accepting the bet increased in intensity. However, since she had already accepted the bet, the only thing she could do was push that feeling down and believe in the common sense of the Lower World to aid her in victory.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo, while enduring Tione's glare, walked over to a rack filled with wooden weapons off to the side of the training field. Then, after arriving, he started grabbing different kinds of weapons and chucking them towards the sparring ring.
*Thunk!* *Thunk!* *Thunk!* *Thunk!* *Thunk!*
A moment later, the sound of wooden weapons sinking into the ground sounded repeatedly.
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"What is this?" Tione asked in an unimpressed tone.
"Just setting the stage." Tatsuo said with a smile as he walked towards the sparring ring. "I don't know what kind of weapon you use, but I don't wanna hear anything about how you would have won if you had a weapon when you lose. So, there's basically one or two of any weapon you can think of in the ring right now."
The sound of Tione's teeth grinding could be heard from anywhere in the villa's backyard. Clearly, she was doing her best to hold her anger in check after being looked down on so thoroughly. And to be honest, everyone present, even her sister… No, especially her sister, thought she was gonna lose that battle sooner rather than later.
Unbothered by Tione's rising anger, Tatsuo, once he had thrown one or two of all the weapon types on the rack, started walking towards the sparring area. Along the way, he unfastened the front of his tunic before slipping it off his shoulders. Then, as he passed Violet, he handed it to her casually.
By the time Tatsuo stood opposite Tione, he was only clad in his pants with his upper body completely bare.
{Pic}
"Ooh! Those are some nice muscles." Tiona said, her interest drawn away from her conversation with Elicia.
Hearing that, Tatsuo winked at Tiona, causing Tione's anger to grow even fiercer. Though, it was not because she thought Tatsuo was trying to seduce her sister. Rather, it was because Tatsuo did not seem as though he was taking her seriously.
*Swish!*
In the next instant, Tione kicked a dagger embedded in the ground next to her, causing it to fly up. Then, she caught the dagger and threw it at Tatsuo in one swift motion.
Yet, Tatsuo, without even turning away from Tiona, tilted his upper body slightly, causing the wooden dagger to soar just to his left. At the same time, his tail flicked up, its tip wrapping around the hilt of the dagger. Then…
*Swish!*
… he threw it back towards Tiona with his tail.
However, instead of dodging, Tiona reached out and caught the dagger with the same hand she used to throw it. Then, without any hesitation, she lunged forward with the dagger.
Seeing that, Tatsuo's smile widened as he pulled a short sword out of the ground with his right hand.
*Clack!*
Then, Tatsuo used the short sword he picked up to smoothly parry Tione, who stabbed at his sternum, before stepping forward and using his shoulder to ran into her chest.
*Thud!*
Tatsuo's shoulder check forced Tione to take a step back. Then, he swung the short sword in his right hand at Tiona's dagger wielding wrist. However, Tione, using her years of combat experience, was able to react by spinning the dagger in her hand and angling the blade at an unusual angle to block the attack.
*Clack!*
Even so, thanks to the force Tatsuo applied to his attack, Tione was knocked off balance, giving Tatsuo the opportunity to continue his attack.
Pivoting slightly, Tatsuo raised his right leg, looking as though he was going to slam a kick into Tione's abdomen. And it was no surprise, Tione saw that, as well. As a result, Tione raised her arms to block the incoming kick.
Yet, Tatsuo never lashed out with his foot. Instead, he slammed his foot down, continued his turn, and whipped his tail towards Tione.
"What?" Tione shouted as she tensed even further.
*Bang!*
A moment later, Tatsuo's tail struck Tione, sending her sliding back across the sparring area, her bare feet carving two shallow trenches into the ground. Even so, she did not seem to have taken much damage. Though, that was not surprising, as her Level 5 Endurance did not disappear just because she was suppressing her output to Level 1.
"Damn you!" Tione bellowed, her rage growing with every second that passed.
*Swish!*
Tione once again threw the dagger in her hand at Tatsuo as she came to a stop. Then, he quickly followed after the thrown weapon, picking up a great sword along the way. Meanwhile, Tatsuo only smiled wider when he saw the anger on Tione's face. Then, like her, he also threw his short sword before picking up a new weapon.
*Clack!*
A moment later, the two thrown weapons collided in the air. And as the two weapons separated, Tione rushed past the collision point with the greatsword raised.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo spun the weapon in his hands, a spear, and stepped forward to meet Tione's charge.
{Pic}
*Clack!* *Clack!* *Clack!* *Clack!* *Clack!*
For the next minute, the two weapons, Tione's greatsword, and Tatsuo's spear, clashed countless times as the two pushed themselves to overpower the other. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, Tione found herself being suppressed.
And the reason for that was simple. Tatsuo had spent time training and sparring with Scáthach. And thanks to [The End] copying the immortal Witch's skill, his skill with the spear had been elevated far higher than anything Tione, or anyone from the Loki Familia had seen from their captain, Finn.
"This is impossible!" Tione shouted with bloodshot eyes. "You! You're even better with a spear than the captain!"
"Hmm… Maybe?" Tatsuo replied casually while continuing to parry, block, and counterattack. "I've never seen him fight. But I'm pretty confident in my skill, you know?"
"No~~~~~!" Tione howled angrily. "There's no one better than the captain! Especially some arrogant upstart like you!"
"If you say so." Tatsuo replied with nonchalance. "Anyway, I'd rather fight than talk."
*Clack!*
A moment later, Tatsuo thrust his spear forward, forcing Tione to block. However, just before the spear tip struck, Tatsuo slapped the butt of the spear with his tail, adding even more force to his strike, causing Tione to stumble backwards while pushing against the spear with all the power she could muster from the peak of Level 1.
And because of that, when Tatsuo simply dropped the spear, Tione was caught off guard, stumbling forward now that the counterforce was gone. At the same time, Tatsuo stepped to the side, picked up another wooden weapon, and dashed back into the fight.
Like that, time passed with Tatsuo occasionally dropping the current weapon, only to pick up another one. And to Loki's, Ais', Tiona', and especially Tione's surprise, Tatsuo was highly skilled with every weapon he picked up whether they be longswords, flails, daggers, halberds, axes, tonfas, scythes, or maces. Though, he clearly was not quite as skilled with any of those weapons as he was with a spear, evidenced by the fact that Tiona drew even while he used any other weapon.
Even so, with every second that passed where Tione was not able to defeat Tatsuo, her anger grew higher. And that meant Tione would be more prone to making mistakes. And Tatsuo took advantage of that to create the perfect opportunity to end the match.
While keeping his distance due to the greatsword Tione was still wielding and the pair of daggers in his hands, Tatsuo did something that Tione was not expecting. He threw his daggers into the air, causing Tione's eyes to track them for a moment. Unfortunately, because of that, Tione missed when Tatsuo pulled a wooden katana out of the ground with his tail, using it to wrap the blade like a sheath as he brought it to his left hip.
Then, just as Tione's eyes started to shift back down, Tatsuo stepped forward forcefully while drawing the wooden katana from his improvised tail sheath.
"Oh, that looks like one of my moves." James said while leaning forward to get a better look.
"He's sparred with you before." Zelretch said while stroking his beard. "So, it really shouldn't be a surprise."
"I bet you've never drawn a katana like that, though." Alfonzo said while gesturing towards Tatsuo's tail with his chin.
*Swish!*
By the time Tione's focus was back on Tatsuo, she was forced to a stop with the wooden blade resting againt her throat and her eyes wide open in disbelief.
"So, we're done, right?" Tatsuo asked with a faint smile.
"Hmph!" If I was allowed to use my full power, you wouldn't have even lasted a second." Tione hissed indignantly.
"No shit." Tatsuo replied with a deadpan. "You're a Level 5 and I just got my Falna, like, ten days ago. Does saying something like that actually make you feel good about yourself?"
Tione's face reddened after hearing that. However, it was not all anger this time. Instead, it was mixed with a healthy dose of embarrassment. Because, just like Tatsuo said earlier, she sounded a lot like Bete when she made a statement like that.
*Thud!*
"Hmph! Whatever." Tione said as she dropped her weapon on the ground. "This is pointless. I quit."
Then, without another word or a look back, Tione walked off the training ground before stopping behind Loki while gritting her teeth in both shame and anger over losing to a new Level 1 adventurer.
Meanwhile, Loki, like Tione, had also noticed that Tatsuo's skill with the spear was even better than her Familia Captain's and she could not help glancing at Aislynn with envy.
"He said he's only fifteen." Loki muttered. "How in the hell is he so damn good with so many weapons?"
"Talent." Aislynn replied with a shrug. Then, she turned her attention back to Tatsuo, who was about to turn around and leave the sparring area. "And just where do you think you're going, Tatsuo?"
Hearin that, Tatsuo stopped and turned to look at Aislynn with a confused look on his face. However, when he saw the smile on Aislynn's face, he could not help but feel he was not going to like what she had to say next.
"Clean up this mess before you leave." Aislynn said, her smile widening as Tatsuo's eyes shot wide open. "Otherwise, how are James and the Sword Princess supposed to have their match?"
In response, Tatsuo turned to look around the training field. And when he saw all the wooden weapons scattered around the ground, his shoulders dropped and the satisfaction from defeating Tione was blown away. Yet, without a word of complaint, he started picking up the scattered weapons and returning them to the weapon rack off to the side.
Meanwhile, Tione, after seeing Tatsuo's dejection, felt a lot better, her anger diminishing by a large amount. And with her rationality coming back, she also realized something very important.
"He said all that to make me angry, didn't he?" Tione muttered. "That way, he would be able to exploit my anger and make the fight easier for himself."
"Not only that." Loki replied. "He also did it so that you would be focused on beating him with only Level 1 strength. Because we all know, if you weren't so focused, when you got angry during the fight, there was a good chance that you would completely forget the restriction and go all out."
As much as she wanted to deny it, Tione knew Loki was right. So, she only crossed her arms, pouted, and looked away. Though, she did steal the occasional glance at Tatsuo, who was casually chatting with Tiona, who bombarded him with questions, while he cleaned up the training field.
"Next time, I'll definitely beat that bastard." Tione spat through gritted teeth.
And just like that, Tione decided she would put more effort into training her skills, rather than just her Attributes. And that decision would lead to Tiona doing the same, so she did not get left behind by her sister, making both Hiryute sisters stronger in the long run.
About ten minutes later, the training field was cleaned up, and James stood across from Ais at the center of the sparring area while waiting for the signal to begin the last sparring match.
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Then, as soon as the signal to begin was given…
*Clack!* *Clack!* *Clack!* *Clack!* *Clack!*
… James burst forward with a [Flash Step], causing Ais' eyes to widen. Even so, she reacted quickly, raising her rapier in time to block James' strike. Even so, she found that James was much more skilled than she expected, his skill with a sword possibly even surpassing her own.
As a result, Ais was forced to move much more than she expected. And eventually, the two engaged in a high intense exchange of sword strike that lasted for about half as long as Tatsuo's fight with Tione. But in the end, James' katana rested on Ais' shoulder, it's blade edge pressed against the side of her neck while Ais' rapier had been thrust forward, its blade passing between James' torso and his left arm, completely missing its target.
"And that's a sweep for us." James said before pulling his sword back.
Although she was unwilling to admit it, Ais nodded her head in agreement. Then, she looked at James with flames burning in her eyes.
"Teach me how to get stronger." Ais requested in her usual emotionless tone.
"Why do you want to get stronger?" James asked calmly.
Unfortunately, Ais was not articulate enough to explain. On top of that, if she started to say too much, Loki would jump in to stop her. Actually, that was not necessary at all.
"No!" Loki shrieked. "Ais-Tan, you're mine! I won't give you to any of these stinky men!"
As she shouted, Loki ran towards Ais with her arms spread wide, clearly intending to give the girl a hug. However, as Loki jumped to tackle Ais into a hug, Ais sidestepped, letting Loki soar past her towards James.
James, on the other hand, spun out of the way, letting Loki soar past him, as well, before slamming face first into the training field, before he returned to facing Ais.
"Well, if you can't explain it, then I can't help you." James said with a shrug. "Because if you're just training to kill monsters, I definitely am much worse than you are. My style is more specialized in fighting other people. Though, it works just fine on monsters, too. But that's not its real purpose."
"Exactly!" Loki said, popping up as if nothing happened. "You don't need him! I'm the only one you need, Ais-Tan!"
"Yes, yes, you're all she needs." Aislynn said dispassionately. "Anyway, you've freeloaded a meal and had your spars. Now, you all can leave. My children have things to do."
With that, Aislynn cut off all further conversations. Then, she quickly put the members of the Loki Familia out so that Tatsuo and the others could start on what they intended to do on their day off.