Draconic King of Shadows-Chapter 34: Metal vs Flesh

On one side of the hall, there was a neat row of stoic humanoid robots, each standing gallantly with their hands by their sides, and their heads held high.

Damion had noticed them when he entered, but they were insignificant objects at that moment, so he had overlooked them. Now that they had been used though, he seemed to fully notice their existence.

What had drawn both of Hakuro’s student’s attention was a certain robot who had been dismembered by his Phantom Slash. The duo were shocked into silence, and they had no words to say even after half a minute had gone by.

Hakuro was the one who then broke the silence with his nonchalant words. "I’ll teach you this technique, but you first need to do something for me."

Hakuro gave them a subtle cunning smile, and Damion felt a tingle in his scalp, the hairs at the back of his neck standing on their ends.

Kenzo also felt the same, but they both showed a strong front to not look weak in front of the other.

"My lucky Number. Number 11," Hakuro said, walking down the platform to stand before one of the robots. "Power on, Level 5," he said, pressing a button by the robot’s neck.

Immediately humming sounds could be heard, and the robot lit up with a soft blue light. Its system whirred to life as its metallic body glowed with a fierce blue light, signalling its readiness for battle. With a burst of electricity, the robot’s mechanical limbs sprang into action, its core igniting, casting a fiery blue glow over its armored plating. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Its optical scanner flared a bright red as the robot’s combat protocols were activated, its demeanor changing, joints flexing and its fists clenching and unclenching.

It acknowledged Hakuro with a curt nod and walked past him to the wall having lots of weapons. It picked up a Miao Dao and got on stage, waiting.

"Defeat Number 11, and I’ll teach you the Phantom Slash," Hakuro’s words drifted into their ears.

Both boys gave each other a cursory glance, before suddenly exploding into action.

Damion pulled out the Tang Dao in his storage, and with Shadow Walk, he appeared behind the robot from its shadow, swinging his sword.

The Shadow Walk skill had its requirements to work, namely the exit point and distance. It didn’t walk unless the shadow he was exiting from was of a nonliving thing, because no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to move from one shadow to a living being’s.

Fortunately, the robot was a nonliving thing, granting Damion the speed needed to deal the first blow. Besides, it was sudden, so he was sure he took the robot off guard. All that was left was to use the sword in his hand to deal damage, after all, it was a middle Rank weapon.

However... "No Ability or Equipment whatsoever would be allowed in this fight," Hakuro’s voice reached their ears. "Both of you, retreat and switch your weapons to wooden ones,"

Damion almost facepalmed in embarrassment, but since he wasn’t the only one to have been called back, he stopped just as he was about to slash the robot, and took a step back.

Kenzo on the other hand was staring at Damion and his shadow, alternating between the two with a sharp gaze. This wasn’t the first time he saw Damion use the Shadow power, but this was the first time Shadow Walk was used up close.

He hadn’t wanted to ask Damion previously if he had truly awakened an Ability, mostly because he thought Damion had pulled the Shadow Pulse trick using an Equipment’s skill, just like everyone else thought.

However, seeing Damion use his Shadow once again made him reconsider, and he was itching for an answer.

Damion unhesitatingly headed over to the wall, picking up an O-Katana and testing its weight, length and whatnot. He put the Tang Dao away under the surprised stares of Kenzo and Hakuro, although they said nothing.

Kenzo did the same but instead chose a Nodachi.

They shot each other a glance, and as if understanding what was going to happen next, moved over to the stage slowly, standing on opposite sides of the robot.

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[Quest Received]

[Quest Description- You have been pitted against an opponent, together with your rival, Kenzo Draeke

Work together to defeat Robot 11.]

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Damion moved his head from side to side, making popping sounds with his neck, he actively toned down the effect of Dragon’s Authority, causing his eyes to look dimmer than usual.

Kenzo took a stance, raising his blade to the side of his head and pointing it at the robot with his legs spread apart.

Damion didn’t take any stance, only holding his O-Katana to the side and waiting.

The robot reacted in kind to the threats around him, raising its sword in a defensive pose.

The robot, Number 11, sprang into action, its mechanical limbs moving swiftly as it dashed towards Damion.

Damion, still holding his O-Katana casually by his side, watched the robot’s approach with a calm demeanor. Kenzo on the other hand tightened his grip on his Nodachi, his eyes fixed intently on the robot’s back.

As Number 11, closed in, Damion swung his sword in a wide arc, aiming for the robot’s chest. However the robot was faster than he was, and it dodged the attack easily.

Kenzo, seeing an opportunity, moved with stunning agility, raised his Nodachi and cleaved down with a swift, precise motion.

Number 11 planted a foot firmly on the ground, turned around and blocked the strike, using the force to jump back and regain its balance.

Number 11 charged forward again and sent out a swift kick to Kenzo’s feet. Kenzo took a step back, and Damion retaliated with a thrust to Number 11’s face.

The attack was parried, but Kenzo was there to follow up with another attack that sent the robot almost sprawling.

The battle raged on, with Damion and Kenzo exchanging blows with the robot. Still, despite their best efforts to put down Number 11, they couldn’t seem to pass through its defenses.

Number 11, set to level 5, was just too formidable. Its knowledge of Martial Arts was rich, unlike Kenzo and Damion who depended on their abilities to make their sword skills look better.

This glaring weakness was revealed to them, and slowly, they tried to correct their flaws.

Hakuro watched the battle with a keen eye, his expression unreadable. He seemed to be watching them, waiting for something.

As the fight reached a crescendo, Damion began to feel sore and strangely loose. He didn’t even know when he completed the third Daily Quest.

His strokes became more precise, and his power output more deadly. Kenzo, a natural Swordsman, also felt the same feeling as he fought. Yet, they still couldn’t beat Number 11.

More than an hour went by, and they were still swinging and sweating. They had gotten better, but were still lacking.

"Enough," Hakuro suddenly hollered, stopping them when they didn’t seem to be making any more progress. "I’ve seen what I wanted, and you still have a long way to go."

"Rest for thirty minutes, reflect on the fight you just had, and we’ll resume our training."