System Change

“What!?” Derek half-yelled. “But I’ve been looking for him for so long! And I found Amelia, but she ran away from me.”

“Amelia… ran?” Jakis looked taken aback for a moment, then shrugged it off. “Doesn’t matter. She’s too cautious.” He then looked between Derek and Edgar. “Whichever of you is going to fight, hurry up.”

“I saw him first,” Edgar said. “And you’ve only been hunting for like… a couple of days.”

“Fine,” Derek huffed. In reality, he was unsure if he wanted to let Edgar duel the man. Edgar was strong, but Jakis seemed very confident. “How is it going to work?” he asked Jakis. “I won’t let you kill him, you know?”

“He’s already said that it’s not a duel to the death,” Edgar said. “Like I said… he seems honorable…”

“Do not hold back,” Jakis said. “And give up quickly when you understand our power difference. I will not try to kill you, but accidents happen in duels.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Edgar said as he waved the short man’s words to the side. The next moment, he pulled out his flashy refurbished sword. As soon as he gripped it tightly, visible lightning began flowing through it.

“So you are the sparky one,” Jakis said as soon as he saw the display. “This may yet be interesting.”

“Take out your weapon,” Edgar said, then turned to Derek. “Get back and watch.”

“I am the weapon,” Jakis said, then held out both arms. Everyone watched as his fingers morphed into long, slender claws.

Metamorphosis? Derek wondered as he jumped back. He was far enough away to not affect the battle, but he should still be able to use Void Shift and intercept any killing blows that might come from Jakis. However, the fact that the man had chosen to speak and duel instead of attack instantly set his mind at ease.

Though seeing the man start a transformation—even if it was only his hands—set him back on edge. He knew just how strong Alanah became when she took her Dawn Siren form. If the man in front of them had close to the same strength, then just how strong would the two above him be?

‘I’m going,’ Silvi suddenly said telepathically. ‘Have fun playing with the short man. Don’t let Big Sparky die. They give good ingredients if you save them.’

‘Okay,’ Derek replied with a chuckle. Finally, Silvi hopped back inside her portal and then closed it. Once it was gone, Jakis’s mood seemed to calm even further. It seemed that Silvi being there, and her portal being open, had set him on edge as well. She had never closed it, after all. Derek snorted and then shouted, “What are you two waiting for? Fight already!”

The next moment, both figures blurred—Edgar became a bright streak of lightning, and Jakis became… a shadow. Shadow? Derek wondered, then shook his head. No… it feels different from Vanessa. Is that… darkness? I don’t think it feels like death, he wondered as the two forms collided.

After the first collision, Edgar came out on the losing end. The streak of lightning was sent flying backward and became human once again. Instantly, lightning wings sprouted from his back, and he righted himself in the air. Edgar turned his head and spat a mouthful of blood toward the ground.

As the former prince stared down, Jakis’s form also materialized. He stood smiling—staring up at Edgar. “Surely, that’s not all you’ve got in you.”

“Of course not!” Edgar yelled, then pointed his sword down. Suddenly, a massive beam of lightning shot from it.

Derek was surprised. The last time he’d seen the man use that skill, it had taken longer to charge up, and it didn’t move nearly as fast. Is that the refurbished sword, or has he gotten stronger? he wondered. However, what he hadn’t expected was what happened once the beam met Jakis.

Instead of dodging, the man reached up, palm out, and blocked—no, reflected—the sword beam. The beam shot down and cut a long, burning line in the ground. As soon as the beam stopped, Edgar vanished. He’d transformed back into a bolt of lightning and was shooting back toward Jakis.

Before the man moved the hand that had reflected the beam from in front of his eyes, Edgar landed. This time, he didn’t collide with the dark-covered claws. Instead, he hit the man’s knee… then disappeared.

“Oh…” Derek muttered, with an idea of what Edgar was about to do. Jakis had promised not to kill Edgar, but he’d also told Edgar not to hold back, so the former prince was not holding back. For the first time, Derek couldn’t help but think that Edgar actually had a shot.

Jakis grunted as the lightning pulsed throughout his body. It was one thing to get hit by a lightning bolt, but when the lightning bolt was a person with control, it was a whole other story. With Edgar supporting it, it wasn’t going to go away.

Stolen novel; please report.

Inside Jakis’s body, Edgar quickly found his heart, then coiled around it like a snake. He sent one pulse, then two, then another. On the outside, Jakis grunted and grasped at his chest. A small drop of blood ran from his mouth down his chin.

Edgar had used this same technique when he was fighting against the dragonkin. Only back then, he wasn’t as strong as he was now. Still, to his surprise, Jakis’s heart was still beating, and the pulse was strong. Edgar restricted around the heart even tighter. He needed to be quick. The skill he was using wasn’t something that he could do for long—especially while being so condensed.

As he tightened his grip, Edgar tried to pierce the heart as well. But, to his shock, he wasn’t able to push the lightning inside.

A roar sounded from Jakis’s mouth, and he took a deep breath in. Before everyone’s eyes, the gear he was wearing exploded, and his chest grew two times in size. It, too, was coated with the shadowy aura. Then, with an eerie chuckle, Jakis took the palm of his clawed hand and pounded it into his own chest.

Thunder sounded from the strike, and the ground shook. The transformed man beat his chest again… then again. The more he beat his chest, the wider his grin grew. Finally, he raised his head up and hit his throat.

Lightning shot out from the back of the man’s neck as Edgar appeared in the air behind him. Edgar looked… bad. The energy flowing through his armor and sword flickered like it was a light about to burn out. Jakis slowly turned to look at the man as Derek watched the singed hair on the back of his neck regrow before his eyes.

Jakis let out another beastly roar that shook the surroundings. Then the man disappeared.

Even Derek nearly lost track of him. Had he not been focusing entirely on the battle, he may not have seen the man make his move.

When he reappeared, he was in the air—right behind the former prince. Before Edgar could even react, the man was swiping down with his clawed hand. Just as he was about to hit Edgar in the back, his swipe missed. At least, that’s what it looked like. Instead, another, nearly transparent claw had formed an overlapping claw of darkness, and it did not miss.

Derek winced as the attack landed. It was almost like when he channeled his void into one of his attacks—except for the fact that it was a dark aura instead of purple, and it definitely didn’t have the same effects as his attack. No, instead of passing through Edgar and dealing internal damage at a delay, as soon as the hand connected, the former prince, who was already in very rough shape, was swatted out of the air like a fly.

Honestly, Derek wasn’t used to seeing someone fighting at a speed that barely let Edgar react—even if he was beat up and tired. Sure, the man was above Edgar on the list, and he’d half-expected the results, but the fight was a bit more one-sided than he’d expected. Derek was quite sure that Edgar could take out Kelvin without much of a problem, after all.

Edgar hit the ground—causing his sword to go flying—and a massive crater formed from the speed and force of the impact. Jakis blurred again, then stood above the lightning user. He reached down, then raised his arm back up.

“You should have gone for the brain before the heart!” Jakis growled at the man.

Grasped in the dark, shadowy overlay of the man’s claws, Edgar struggled to break free. His body lit up multiple times, then he finally looked at the man in shock.

“I can’t…” the man muttered. It seemed that, while within Jakis’s grasp, Edgar wasn’t even able to turn into lightning and move. Whether that was because of his condition or it was something that the man had done, Derek wasn’t sure. But, by the surprise on Edgar’s face, it seemed to be the latter—like the darkness was muffling his abilities. Edgar flashed a few times, but then seemed to give up.

“Surrender!” Jakis growled as he squeezed. Edgar coughed out another mouthful of blood and he groaned.

Still, the man struggled to break free, but Jakis only intensified his grip. A few seconds later, Edgar’s struggle lessened, and he looked to be on the verge of passing out. At that moment, the battlefield became covered in shadow, and everyone looked up.

From above, Blitz was diving with Vanessa standing on his back. A massive ball of lightning formed in the wyvern’s mouth. Jakis only smiled, then reached up with his other hand.

However, before anything else could happen, Edgar shouted, “Stop! Do not interfere!” Instantly, the ball of lightning disappeared from Blitz’s mouth, and he swooped back into the air—much to Vanessa’s dismay. Blitz wasn’t about to disobey Edgar’s orders. The former prince turned his head back down and looked Derek in the eyes. Derek took a step forward, but the man gave him a subtle shake of his head.

“Honorable…” Jakis muttered in a gravelly whisper.

Finally, he took a ragged breath in and shifted his attention back to the beastly man. “That was fun,” he managed to say with a smile. “Next time… it will be a better fight. You can count on it.”

“Doubtful,” Jakis mouthed. “The same trick won’t work twice.”

Edgar snorted, then said, “In any case… you’ll be wherever I’m going soon enough.” Edgar chuckled, then said, “I give up.” That was all it took for his body to disappear from the short man’s clutches. The dark aura shadow disappeared, and then Jakis turned around to face Derek—his hands still transformed. “Are you ready?”

“I am, but you certainly aren’t. Heal up and get any mana you spent back,” Derek said with a snort. “Can’t have you complaining that it was unfair.” Derek clicked his tongue, then sighed. He didn’t like the fact that Edgar had just been defeated and taken off the board, but in such a duel, he knew that the man would have been angry if he’d stepped in. At least, Derek certainly would have.

Jakis, even though he was an invader, was technically being honorable. Actually, if the man had just attacked at full power as soon as he saw Osian and Edgar, Derek wasn’t even sure that the two would have survived long enough for Silvi to get there. He was just so… explosive. So, by dueling, Jakis had actually put himself at a disadvantage. I doubt he expected me or Silvi to show up, though… Derek thought.

For the next five minutes, Derek and Jakis stood staring at one another. It was clear to Derek that the beastly man was meditating, and it was certainly Greater Meditation. “Okay,” the man finally said. “I’m ready. Show me what this system’s number one Guardian has to offer. Let’s see if you were really able to make Amelia run. Somehow, I doubt that.”

“Well… she ran before I got there. But she certainly felt me on my way based on what the guard there said,” Derek said with a shrug, then smiled. “But… if you’re ready… go ahead.”