Eternal Forge: Starting with a SSS Rank talent and a Myth Rank Class

Chapter 32: Chapter 32- Fight at the Banquet.

Leo and Gandalf were enjoying their food. The roasted meat was tender, the bread warm, and the wine sweet. For a moment, Leo forgot about the competition, the judges, and the pressure. He was just a man enjoying the food.

Gandalf tore into a piece of meat—chicken, maybe, or some Asgardian bird—and mumbled through a mouthful, ”Now this is what I call living.”

Leo almost smiled. Then he felt it.

A shift in the air.

He looked up.

A man was approaching their table. Tall and lean, with sharp features and silver hair. His polished obsidian armor was etched with runes that pulsed with faint energy. His aura flared—Level 26.

Leo recognized him. One of the competitors. He had noticed the man earlier because he was only Level 26, lower than most of the others, and carried a different aura. Not quite Asgardian. Not quite human. Something else.

The man stopped before their table, his eyes locked onto Leo.

”You think you’re special, mortal?” His voice cut through the nearby conversations.

Leo slowly set down his fork, meeting the man’s gaze evenly. ”Excuse me?”

”A lowly mortal like you dares to throw dirt in the eyes of us Asgardians?” The man’s lip curled in open disgust.

”You must have cheated in the forging round. There is no other explanation for how someone like you could outperform me—Ulfrick Stormcaller.”

Leo and Gandalf stared at him, dumbfounded.

”I cheated?” Leo asked.

”Of course you did,” the man snapped, his voice rising. ”Not only did you cheat, you even dared to trick the princess.”

Gandalf snorted, nearly choking.

Cough! Cough!!

”Cheated? Lad, the boy’s got skills sharper than that tongue of yours. And have you seen the princess? She doesn’t seem to be the type to get tricked easily.”

”Shut your mouth, filthy dwarf,” the man growled.

The hall went silent.

Gandalf’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

Competitors turned to watch. Nobles paused mid-conversation.

Leo leaned back, studying the man. ”I didn’t cheat. It’s just skills. That’s all.”

”Liar!” The man slammed his fist on the table. Plates jumped and wine spilled. ”You cheated and somehow bewitched the princess with your cheap mortal tricks. Prove me wrong. Fight me. Right here. Right now.”

Freya, standing near the platform, looked over, her eyes narrowing. Odin, seated on his throne, tilted his head slightly, his golden eye gleaming in amusement.

Gandalf let out a low chuckle and replied sarcastically, ”Idiot. How exactly does beating him in a fight prove he didn’t cheat at forging? Use your brain, if you’ve got one.”

Leo chuckled. ”Well, the dwarf does have a point.”

Gandalf leaned back, crossing his arms and looked at Leo. ”Looks like you’ve got a fan, lad.”

Leo ignored him and stood, facing the man.

”You want to fight?” he asked.

”Yes,” the man replied. ”Right here. Right now.” His voice rang out again.

”Fine.” Leo agreed.

Some nobles protested. ”You dare fight in the presence of His Majesty!”

They tried to intervene, but the King raised his hand, giving permission for the duel.

Freya looked at Leo, silently asking if he was sure. He nodded to Freya and walked to the center of the hall.

With a wave of the King’s hand, guards quickly cleared the chairs, making space for battle.

Both Leo and Ulfrick faced each other.

”I shall oversee the match,” Freya announced as she stepped between them. ”This is purely a test of skill, not a fight to the death. I expect both of you to hold back.”

”Start!”

The moment the word left her mouth, they moved.

Ulfrick lunged forward, his war hammer crackling with lightning. The weapon descended like a bolt of lightning toward Leo’s head.

Leo sidestepped cleanly. The hammer struck the floor, but left no cracks.

”Slow,” Leo said.

He unsheathed his sword and slashed with the Eternal flame infused Sword. A blazing trail of fire followed the strike. Ulfrick blocked it with his hammer, sending sparks of fire and thunder flying across the hall.

[-254 Damage dealt]

Ulfrick’s eyes narrowed. He slammed the hammer into the ground, and a column of lightning erupted, racing toward Leo with a deafening crackle.

Leo’s expression grew serious. He knew there was a sixteen-level difference between them.

He couldn’t afford to be careless. So he activated Anvil Drop.

[Anvil Drop]

A blazing anvil manifested in the air. Leo brought his sword down, and the anvil followed, slamming into the lightning column.

[-288 Damage dealt]

The impact pushed Leo back. He barely managed to stop the attack.

”You think your pathetic flames can beat my lightning?” Ulfrick snarled.

”We’ll see,” Leo replied.

Ulfrick smirked. ”Let’s see if you can handle my next move.”

He began channeling his mana. His aura erupted fully. Lightning coursed through his body, his eyes glowing white. He raised his hammer high as the air crackled with sparks.

”Thunder God’s Descent!” he roared.

A bolt of lightning struck down from the ceiling, enveloping him completely. When the light faded, Ulfrick had transformed—his presence now carried the oppressive weight akin to that of a god.

Then he moved.

Boooom.

The air exploded. Leo barely registered the sound before Ulfrick disappeared and reappeared right in front of him, hammer raised and crackling with power.

Leo barely managed to block with Parry, but his sword screamed in protest as he was launched backward, blood spraying from his mouth. A massive chunk of his health vanished in an instant.

[- 1143 Damage received]

[Iron forged Body negated 30% of the attack received.]

He crashed into a table, splintering it, and rolled to his feet, wiping blood from his lips.

Pain flared through his ribs, but he forced it down.

He’s too fast in that state, Leo thought. Too strong.

Leo activated Hyperfocus.

[Hyperfocus]

Everything slowed down. His brain processed information ten times faster.

Ulfrick charged again. This time, Leo saw the trajectory perfectly. He stepped aside and countered with a clean Slash. The blade whistled through the air. Ulfrick twisted away at the last moment, but the exchange turned them both into blurs. Steel rang against steel repeatedly as they clashed across the cleared space. The crowd’s cheers and gasps became a distant roar.

Both of them turned into blurs, exchanging blows multiple times in mere seconds. Leo dodged and weaved with surgical precision, landing clean counters that chipped away at Ulfrick’s defenses.

[-20]

[-240]

Both fighters knew their boosted states couldn’t last forever. After a powerful clash, they were both forced backward.

They prepared their strongest attacks.

Ulfrick grinned savagely. ”This ends now!”

Leo didn’t have a special ultimate skill, so he went with a regular swordsman Slash. He closed his eyes, focusing deeply. But as he focused, something deeper stirred.

A memory surfaced, the mysterious vision he’d had weeks ago of a lone swordsman cutting through space itself with nothing but pure intent. The image burned behind his eyes. Leo closed his eyes again, breathing deeply.

When he opened them, his aura had undergone changes. It was sharper, colder, filled with dense killing intent that made several nearby spectators instinctively step back.

Ulfrick charged with his lightning hammer.

Leo exhaled, and slashed forward. It was a simple strike, yet the space itself seemed to tremble as if it were about to be cut open. The hammer and sword met.

Instead of a loud collision, the slash silenced the atmosphere.

Shingggggg--

A heartbeat later, Ulfrick’s hammer—Cracklefang—split cleanly in two from hilt to head. The lightning aura around it fizzled out pathetically.

Before Ulfrick could even register the horror on his face, Leo’s blade was already resting gently against his neck.

”You have lost,” Leo said calmly.

Ulfrick’s jaw tightened. ”I... I lost,” he whispered.

Leo lowered his sword and stepped back. The hall erupted in murmurs.

Ulfrick collapsed to his knees.

As Leo turned to return to his table, a sharp killing intent surged toward him. A massive lightning-covered hammer came flying at his back.

BOOM!

Leo instinctively used Parry, but the power behind the hammer was overwhelming. His sword was deflected, and the hammer slammed into his side with devastating force, launching him across the hall like a ragdoll. He crashed into the far stone wall with bone-crushing impact. The wall cratered inward.

[-1824 Damage received]

[Iron forged Body negated 30% of the attack received.]

Pain consumed him. His vision blurred.

”You wretched mortal! You dare lay a hand on my brother? You’re seeking death!” A voice tore through the hall.

It was Ulfrick’s brother, Uldrick—a palace knight whose level far exceeded what Leo could handle.

The attack was so sudden that almost no one could react in time.

Freya’s aura erupted in fury. ”You dare attack a participant in a match that I, Freya, oversaw?”

The hall filled with killing intent. All the Valkyries entered combat stance, hands on their weapons.

Freya was about to strike Uldrick when Gandalf’s voice rang out, ”Princess! Leo is still alive... though if you don’t do something soon, he won’t be.”

Everyone was stunned—especially Uldrick, who was certain his attack should have killed a Level 50 fighter. But the most shocked were Freya, Gandalf, and the King. They knew Leo was only Level 10.

Freya rushed to Leo’s side. He was unconscious, his health dropping rapidly: 9 HP... 8 HP... 3 HP...

She quickly uncorked a healing potion and poured it into his mouth, then splashed another over his body. His wounds healed at a visible rate, and his health stabilized at 50%.

Only then did she sigh in relief.

She looked at Gandalf. ”Take care of him.”

The dwarf nodded.

Freya summoned her divine spear. The weapon hummed with terrifying power. ”Knight Uldrick. You have challenged my authority and the King’s authority. For that, you shall face my wrath. If you survive this strike, I shall forgive you.”

Uldrick’s face filled with horror. ”Princess, I was only seeking revenge for my brother! He is just a lowly mortal—”

”You are nothing but trash compared to him,” Freya replied coldly. ”A Level 150 knight attacked a mortal... yet that mortal survived. So I don’t think he is so lowly after all.”

She thrust her spear in a simple, almost casual motion. The weapon moved slowly, yet it arrived instantly.

Before Uldrick could even raise his defenses, the spear pierced straight through his heart.

His eyes widened in pure terror. Freya leaned in close and whispered so only he could hear:

”Oh, and for your knowledge... he is a fucking Level 10.”

Uldrick died with an expression of utter, unwilling shock frozen on his face. His body crumpled to the floor as Freya withdrew her spear, blood hissing into steam against the divine weapon.

The hall was silent except for the crackling of residual lightning and the soft breathing of the unconscious Leo.

Freya turned toward the throne. Odin simply nodded once, his golden eye approving.

The princess looked down at Leo, something complicated flickering across her usually stoic features.

.....

While Ulfrick had an expression of despair, his brother had died in front of him.

”Noooooo.....”