KINETIC

In front of the entire crowd and his opponent, Clay's body grew to a height of 4 meters and his muscles swelled and bulged until he resembled an award winning bodybuilder.

The sword in his hand grew to a size that would accommodate his new body, making the wooden sword as big as Nathan's body.

"Let's see how far your 'power' will take you now you pompous asshole." Clay said as he watched Nathan's face change between several emotions.

When Clay initially began to change, Nathan was too shocked to formulate any thoughts. It was only after Clay had increased the size of his sword that Nathan realized what was happening.

'H-He has an ability!? It makes sense how he was able to match my strength now. Wait... Does this mean he's been holding back this entire time!?' After the initial confusion had passed, Nathan felt nothing but rage and humiliation.

"You said that my power isn't my own because it was given to me rather than earned through my own actions? So what is your power then!? An ability that you received through sheer luck at birth! You're nothing but a hypocrite!" Nathan shouted across the arena in a fit of rage.

"You're mistaken. I never said anything about power being given to you. I said that you had no power at all and that all you were capable of doing was stating how much power your father held."

"This ability might have been given to me by luck but it's still my own power. Don't compare yourself to me when all you do is borrow your father's name to get what you want, when in reality you haven't fought for anything a day in your life!" Clay replied with an anger that matched and possibly even surpassed Nathan's.

Nathan was about to speak again when Clay's large figure crossed the distance between them in an instant and swung his massive sword in a horizontal slash.

The strike was so fast that Nathan didn't have the time to think of what he could do to avoid it and so his body did the only thing it could and tensed up.

He had his sword in front of him already so this would at least allow his sword to have some extra resistance behind it.

When the swords were about to connect, within a fraction of a second the feeling of hope flashed through Nathan's mind.

Nathan's sword was in the perfect position to block the strike and with his inhuman strength he instinctively believed he would block the strike.

Unfortunately for Nathan that hope died instantly when his sword snapped in two and his vision went black.

Clay's sword had broken right through Nathan's and struck him In the stomach, sending his body through the air and across the arena.

The stone cracked as his body landed on the staircase between two of the seating areas, creating a crater with his body at the center.

The audience, as well as the judge, all went silent. None present were able to comprehend what had just happened, from the sudden transformation that Clay had, to the immense power he was able to deliver from his attack.

Many believed it impossible for Nathan to have survived such an attack, making them concerned about the repercussions this match might have.

The medical team that had been assigned to the duel rushed over to Nathan as quickly as possible and began performing the necessary procedures to assess his injuries and potentially save his life.

After several minutes had gone by one of the medical staff walked to the center of the arena, where Clay and the judge were currently standing. The rest of the medical team carried Nathan away on a stretcher.

After performing his attack on Nathan, Clay instantly reverted back to his original form of 2 meters in height with his clothes looking even more baggy than they did before.

After a quick discussion between the judge and the medical staff member, an announcement was made.

"Attention! I've received information that Sir Nathan has sustained immense injury but will be able to make a full recovery."

The crowd of spectators began whispering, with many of them feeling relieved that they hadn't just witnessed the death of a noble.

The judge continued "~Ahem~ Due to Sir Nathan Zemor becoming unable to continue the duel, Clay of Holber Village is declared the winner!"

Many in the crowd were unsure of how to react and so they simply applauded. Many of them wanted to cheer and shout congratulations towards Clay. He had given them an excellent show after all.

The issue was that he had humiliated a noble and even severely injured him in the process. They feared that supporting the man who did this would cause problems for them and their families as well.

After hearing the announcement, Clay turned and walked back towards the room he had been waiting in before the fight. When arriving he noticed that Nila was already waiting for him inside.

"How'd I do?" Clay jokingly asked. He was aware that he had gone overboard but something inside of him had snapped.

"Good. Though you might have some issues in the future with the nobles." Nila replied with a shrug. "Besides, nobody really likes his family so any problems you have will mostly be for show so they don't lose face with the Zemors."

"I see...I'll just have to deal with it if anything happens." Clay moved to the side of the room and sat at a table that was positioned there.

Nila joined him and sat on the opposite side of the table "I've never seen you use your ability in such an extreme way before."

"Yeah and that's for a good reason. When I do that it pushes my body and my ability to their limits. I can only increase my size to that degree for a minute at a time, maximum. I only used it for around 40 seconds this time but it still almost completely drained my Energy."

Nila nodded in understanding "I also have an attack that uses my Energy extremely quickly. I've also noticed that my Energy replenishes slower for a while after using it."

"Yeah it's the same for me. It feels like my core is strained because I forced it to use the Energy too quickly. It's similar to how you can injure your muscles while training." Clay had only used this form once before and that was the day he created it.

" I would only use that form as a last resort or if I know it can end the battle, I would be too tired to fight if I used it recklessly." Clay added.

" I think that's wise. I shall do the same." Nila responded. The attack she was referring to was the same one she used against the shadow creature in the fight against the cultists at Grove Village.

She had gathered all her remaining energy and expelled it all at once, allowing for a powerful attack. The downside is that if the attack misses or fails, then she would be too tired to fight or even to escape.

"It would be best if we get some rest before we leave for the mountain tomorrow." Nila Said as she stood to her feet. Clay stood up as well "Yeah, let's head back to your house."

***

The only way that John was able to tell the passing of a day was due to the water he was given through the metal pipe in the corner of the room. He would only recieved water once a day, so he would know a day had passed when he recieved some.

John was lying on the floor, staring up into the darkness of the room 'There hasn't been any water yet today... But I'm sure it should have come already. I can't tell how long it's been but I can feel that I'm more thirsty than usual.'

As he was having these thoughts, the sound of metal grinding and a clicking sound was heard. It took a moment but John realized it was the sound of the door being unlocked.

' Finally... I can get out of this room. If I was in there any longer I might have started eating my own fingers from the hunger...' John though as a wave of relief washed over him.

The feeling of relief vanished when he remembered what needed to happen next. The door opened and light flooded into the room, casting John's shadow across the wall behind him.

A man entered the room and although he face was shrouded in shadows, John knew that this man was Silas. The shape of his figure, his height, the length of his hair. All these things gave it away, but the most obvious sign was the lust that hid behind his purple eyes.

"The time has come for you to join us, John. Are you ready?" Silas asked through the darkness.

Although John was nervous, the torturous time he had spent in the room helped solidify his resolve, and so he replied.

"I am."