Parallel Memory

[ "Haha. You said it. We will show you what power really is." ]

Solomon laughed as if he has already won. It might have been true if I was weak as before but now there is no way that they can win.

The celebration banquet has turned into a battle. This was an important match that I can't afford to lose.

This match doesn't only represent my and dad's reputation but our whole guild. If I lose, we will lose most of the guilds that are willing to cooperate with us.

Though it does not matter that much since I had even bigger support than this. But I would like to keep my trump card a secret.

No use of the trump card if you always depend on it. NightShade and my company were there if I desperately need their help.

The match will start in 10 minutes at the arena of our guild. The main arena of our guild was big enough to accommodate all our guests.

My dad looked worried and dragged me to the side before the match.

[ "Son, are you sure you can do this? I believe in you and you have really become strong after going to Ace Academy but Tristan is in higher rank than you. I will let Choi take your place." ]

Choi is the one who is older than Tristan and is in Rank-C. He can definitely win the match if he fights Tristan. But he was older and winning by sending him was not advantageous to our guild.

But If I win, the guild who are hesitant to cooperate with our guild might change their mind. Like how The Authority is investing in Hiro, they might invest in our guild after witnessing my power.

And it was not a difficult match either. Tristan might be in rank-D but he is weaker than a Salamander. Though it is more difficult to fight with humans than monsters but Tristan was not a threat.

We already exchanged a move with each other and he was definitely not much stronger than the Salamander that I encounter in the exam.

[ "Don't worry, dad! I know my abilities. You just watch how much I have improved. And also calm down mom after she comes back." ]

Mother has taken Farhan to rest for the moment and does not know what transpired here but when she learns of this, I don't know how she will react.

The guests were excited to watch this match. The battle is always more exciting than chatting with each other and they also know Tristan who is debuted as the talent of the IvoryBow guild.

They could not be happier to watch the battle between Tristan and the son of Shadow Genesis guild. This might give them an idea of whether to cooperate with Shadow Genesis or IvoryBow guild.

On the other hand, the ones who were allies of our guild showed concerned expressions. As far as they know, Zero has not reached Rank-D and it was likely that he will lose this match.

If our guild goes down, their guilds and business would be the next target of IvoryBow. Our guild was a door blocking IvoryBow from devouring other guilds. As soon as we go down, several others will follow.

[ "Zero, are you sure you can fight Tristan. He is in rank-D, we can let him fight my sister if you want." ]

Misha suggested with a worried expression. She would have helped Zero herself but she was even weaker than Zero, so how could she help? but her sister could.

Eleonore is Rank-C and only one year older than Tristan. Moreover, their guilds were in alliance, and challenging Shadow Genesis was the same as challenging Shiversong.

Even if her sister enters the match it would not create many backlashes.

Zero looked at Eleonore who was behind Misha. Eleonore gave him a glare that would have made babies cry for weeks.

( UGGGHH! She will help me? Rather she might be the happiest person in the world to watch me get beaten up. )

[ "It's okay. I can beat him." ]

[ "..." ]

Misha looked at him. Contemplating whether to believe him or not. But she remembered his performance in the exam where he injured Rank-C Wyvern Leader.

Even Rank-C was injured by Zero. So, she thought Tristan who is just Rank-D will be easier to defeat.

Meanwhile, Eleonore was contemplating whether she should support Tristan or Zero. She will certainly be happy if Zero gets all bruised up and wounded. It can be considered his punishment for sexually harassing her.

On other hand, she didn't like Tristan either. They had encountered him before and he was an unpleasant person. He would look at Misha and her with his perverted eyes and also sexually harass other females.

If Zero was a closet pervert then Tristan was an open pervert. Both were the worst kind of humans.

Eleonore thought of the time she beat up Zero. She knows that Zero is weaker than Tristan. Misha asked her to help him if he ask for help but Zero refused their help.

She thought Zero was sacrificing himself for the guild which she finds admirable. She decided she would forgive him for his earlier remark after the battle.

*****

The battle stadium was smaller than what NightShade had but it was still good enough for Rank-C and below to fight.

Tristan was there showing off his Bow like it was the greatest weapon ever.

Just like their guild name, Tristan carried his Ivory bow which was sparkling like glasses. While I carried a sword as black as a coal.

Our guilds were completely opposite to each other, one was White, and the other had black at its name. One a long-distance attacker and the other a short-range attacker.

[ "I thought you would run away. I commend you for coming here to face me." ]

Tristan said in a condensing manner.

[ "So much pride for someone who got beaten down by me." ]

[ "Y-You! Humph! I will show you my true strength. A Rank-E can never defeat a Rank-D." ]

Tristan was confident that he can defeat Zero. He knows that Zero was admitted to Ace Academy with Rank-F+ and estimated him to be around Rank-E - at least and Rank-E if he was more talented.

In any case, he thought Zero didn't stand a chance against him because he was Rank-D. To him, this match will be his redemption for his earlier humiliation.

He is an expert in using the bow and thought he might have lost to Zero earlier due to him being better at bow than hand-to-hand combat.

The audience was making more noise than they did at the party. Some people were in Rank-F and to them watching a fight that had a Rank-D is a rare occurrence.

[ "Who do you think will win?" ]

[ "Though I want to support Shadow Genesis, however, I don't think Zero can win against Tristan." ]

[ "I will bet on Tristan that Tristan will beat Zero in 5 moves. How can Rank-E challenge Rank-D?" ]

[ "True but you never know. Some geniuses can battle with people who rank higher than them." ] ...

Some people even started betting though most bet on Tristan winning. In terms of popularity, Tristan was indeed more popular than Zero.

I entered the battle ring and took out my sword. Looking at the sword in my hand, I was a little disappointed.

The sword is just a Rank-E artifact. I wanted to buy a good sword but I could not find the sword that I wanted.

I will need to look for auction houses that are selling good swords or I might need to have a craftsman create one for me.

The second option was better since I could have a sword that will fit my style perfectly. However, powerful artifacts are rather found in dungeons.

Only some craftsmen have the skill to make a good artifact. The majority can only make weapons that have a rarity rare.

[ "You will not get out of this ring unscathed. I hope you said your final goodbye to your worthless dad." ]

[ "Are you worthy? I will personally make sure to beat you down slowly." ]

[ "Hmph! Power shot!" ]

Tristan made the move first. Since the distance between us is wide, he as a bow user needs to capitalize on that.

The arrow came at high speed and power but I quickly dodged it. As I said, straight punches are nothing difficult to dodge. Straight punch and straight-arrow are nothing different. As long as you know where they will hit you, you can dodge them.

I continued to move closer to Tristan. He quickly shot another arrow. I dodged the arrow and moved closer.

-SWOSH! -SWISH! -SWISH!

After a few minutes, I realized that the distance between me and Tristan is not closing. The moment I dodge the arrow, Tristan changes his direction and moves towards another place.

This way he tries to keep me in the center and keep the distance between us. It was a good tactic. Even if you don't one-shot your opponent, you can take your time to wear out your opponent slowly.

-CLANK! -CLANK! CLANK!

But this tactic had a serious flaw and that was that as long as you block it and do not give your opponent the time to relocate.

This time instead of dodging his arrow and giving him time to move around, I blocked the arrow with my sword.

[ "How?" ]

Tristan panicked seeing Zero moves closer to him. At first, he was surprised that Zero had easily dodged his attack but he knew how to deal with such opponents.

Up until minutes ago, he thought he had Zero in his trap. He just needed to slowly exhaust and kill Zero.

But now Zero was blocking his attack and moving closer to him. He was astonished by this because even Rank-D would have a harder time blocking his attack, and here is someone in Rank-E who is nonchalantly canceling all his attacks.

Zero was just a few meters away from Tristan. Zero decided to attack him using Shadow Slash.

[ "Shadow Style: Shadow Slash" ]

Tristan was surprised by the sudden attack of Zero. Tristan immediately used a mana barrier to block the incoming attack.

-CLASH! -CRACK!

But the protective barrier that could withstand Rank-D attack was easily broken. He quickly moved to the side but he couldn't completely dodge the attack and ended up getting a cut on his shoulder.

This time Tristan was really scared. He thought it would be an easy battle but unexpectedly Zero turned out to be so strong.

The next moment when he thought of moving away was when Zero had reached his position. Zero refrained from using his sword and punched Tristan.

Tristan fell down but Zero didn't give Tristan a chance to run away. He picked him up and started punching in his face.

-BAM! -BAM! -BAM!

It was a one-sided beating. Zero didn't end the battle easily. He needed to teach him a lesson for insulting his dad.

[ "St-Stop it!" ]

Tristan begged with faces all bruised up. Seeing Tristan's face reminded Zero of the time he was beaten up by Eleonore. He had the same face as him at that time.

But Zero did not give mercy to Tristan. Beating him continuously without giving Tristan a chance to rest.

[ "I said stop it!" ]

Tristan furiously shouted and released a large amount of mana. Zero was pushed back several meters away.

[ "YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!" ]

Tristan shouted with an eerie voice. Zero stood up and looked at Tristan in shock.

It was not because of Tristan's sudden outburst of mana nor his increased power but because Tristan was a devil contractor.