"I, king Gallok the conqueror, challenge you to a battle to the death" The ogre king said with a smile. "What do you say, human?"

"I accept" Bell replied with the same cold voice he had used at the other ogres. "I’ll send you to your children"

The air went dead silent after Bell’s reply.

Gallock smiled. His teeth, too long for his mouth, clicked together like knives. He bent down, slow, and pulled both kukris from the earth. The blades were wider than Bell’s torso. No blood on them, at least not yet.

The ogre burst into speed as he dashed towards Bell, Bell still feeling a little bit too confident tried to block it but as their weapons came in contact, he was blown away by the force. Before he could even crash into the wall, Gallock was already in front of him and grabbed Bell’s neck then slammed him into the wall.

Bell spat out blood as he tried to gasp for air, without letting him regain his consciousness, Gallok pushed him deeper into the wall before dragging his back against it and throwing him at the other end of the battleground.

Bell twisted his body midair and landed safely on the wall then jumped back at Gallock, his dagger held toward him. The ogre king blocked the attack with the first kukri and attacked with the second one, forcing Bell to duck and slide under Gallok.

Bell rushed the ogre king from behind but with his boots covering the back of his kneecaps and the chest plate protecting his back for any surprise attacks. Bell aimed at Gallock’s lap and swung his sword but one of Gallok’s kukris fell right in front of him and his dagger bounced back as he hit the weapon against the blade of the ogre king’s weapon.

Gallock actually looked impressed. He yanked the blade from the ground and backhanded Bell across the battleground. Bell flew and hit his back in the wall, Gallock had already appeared in front of him and tried to stomp him into the wall.

Bell rolled. An iron boot slammed down where his head was a second ago. The earth split as dust blinded him then a kukri came down sideways, aiming to bisect but he slowed it with his dagger and was about to jump out of range.

"For a human, you are really strong" The ogre said with a smile. "And smart" and in the blink of an eye, Gallock turned around with his kukri swinging at an unstoppable motion.

Bell jumped backward but it was still not enough distance because the moment he landed, Gallock attacked with a downward swing and luckily Bell blocked the attack, creating a wide crater underneath him. The force cracked his dagger as it pushed his legs deeper into the crater, Bell immediately activated his [rage] skill.

His strength increased and he was able to be on par With the ogre king, both of them struggled to see who was stronger until Gallock raised the second kukri and crashed it against Bell’s dagger and the crack grew bigger.

Gallock raised the first kukri again, it was obvious that his plan was to scatter Bell’s dagger so he wouldn’t have anything to fight with him.

But Bell read it and immediately dodged during the last hit and the weapon hit the ground instead, creating another crater and raising dust to cover the whole area. Bell decided to use the opportunity and activated but his [dash] and [stealth] skills at once and walked into the dust for cover.

As long as he stays hidden, Gallock won’t be able to trace him. Bell dashed at Gallock from behind and slashed the back of his lap, and with another dash he slashed his arm, and the stabbed his finger. The ogre king reacted immediately and swung his weapon at the direction of the attack but the kukris never touched anything

Even though Bell was landing hits, it was clear the plan wasn’t working as he had expected, no matter how hard he swung his dagger, it couldn’t make it through the ogre king’s skin and if he used too much force, his dagger will definitely break. Bell smiled, his teeth covered with blood.

Since Gallock couldn’t see him, he jumped into the ogre and grabbed his ears. Thankfully, the ogre didn’t think about wearing a helmet and with his [rage] skill still active, he drove his forehead into Gallock’s face. Once. Twice. Again and again, till he felt dizzy.

The ogre king grunted, surprised. For the first time, he took a step back.

"Interesting" Gallock said, blood dripped from his nose now. "Very interesting"

He raised both kukris high for a downward swing but Bell had already disappeared into the dust, Gallock looked around the battleground and with all his strength, he spun his weapon around, creating a powerful wind that blew away the dust. But still, Bell wasn’t even there.

His eyes wandered the battleground, Bell’s sister was still sitting helplessly on the ground. There was no way he’ll run and leave her behind, right?

A shock went through his body as he looked up only for Bell to land directly on his head and raised his dagger up, but before he could thrust, Gallock held his arm but instead of letting himself being thrown off like the first time. Bell forced his fist into Gallock left eye instead, but before he could pull it out, he was thrown away.

Bell spun around and landed on his feet. The ogre king covered his left eye with his arm, blood slowly dripping down his cheek, a wide smile brimming from his face.

"It been a long time since I’ve seen my own blood" he removed his hand from his face, his eyeball falling into his hand and he crushed it. "But it seems like my time is up"

With that he took a few steps backwards, his body began to glow. Bell senses were immediately triggered, he stood ready for anything. Maybe Gallock was about to use some kind of attack he’s been saving till now but instead, Gallock’s body began to fade away.

"Our battle isn’t over yet, come back when you’ve gotten stronger. Then, I’ll kill you"

With that, his body faded away and the translucent screen flickered in front of Bell.

[CONGRATULATIONS]

[Punishment completed]

The battleground started to fade away, and just as he had seen himself in there, he was suddenly back in the forest.