Raymond sighed, his patience starting to wear thin. Was this really turning into a spectacle? But then he caught Lorene’s gaze, and saw the expectation in her eyes. He knew she wanted to see this, and perhaps it would be best to settle this once and for all to avoid future trouble.
With a calm expression, Raymond turned to Geus and said simply, "Draw your sword."
Geus, eager to prove himself, immediately unsheathed his sword. "Then here I come!" he declared, ready to show Raymond his speed.
Raymond didn’t flinch, his stance steady.
Geus lunged forward, swinging his sword with everything he had. ’Clang!’ The sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the tavern as Raymond blocked the strike effortlessly.
"Was that an accident?" Geus thought to himself, annoyed. He quickly readied himself again and attacked faster, the blade blurring with speed.
’Clang! Clang! Clang!’
The swordlight flashed as Geus swung his sword wildly, pushing himself harder and harder. He felt like he was moving faster than ever before, but—
’Clang!’ All his strikes were blocked.
Geus’s heart raced with disbelief. ’How is he so fast?’ he thought. ’I’m a swordsman! How could I be this slow?’
Then, before Geus could process what was happening, he froze. There, inches from his throat, was Raymond’s sword, pressing lightly against his skin.
Geus hadn’t even seen Raymond move, he hadn’t felt the sword at his neck until it was already there. His combat instincts hadn’t warned him at all, and that was something he’d never experienced before.
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"Is that enough?" Raymond’s voice was calm, almost casual.
"Enough…" Geus murmured bitterly, the reality of it all sinking in. He knew it now, Raymond’s sword speed was faster than his. So fast, in fact, that he couldn’t even follow the movement with his eyes.
For a swordsman, that was a hard pill to swallow. His pride had taken a blow. He stood there for a moment, stunned, trying to process what had just happened.
Raymond, seeing Geus standing there in a daze, shook his head in silent thought. ’I’m technically a swordsman too... just with a few extra professions that make my speed faster than yours,’ he mused. But of course, he would never tell Geus that.
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Having proven his point, Raymond turned away from Geus, now lost in thought, and faced Sylph and Lorene. "Alright, let’s eat," he said, his tone light.
"Yeah!" Sylph cheered, her mood instantly lifted.
Lorene smiled too, her face full of warmth as they all moved away from the confrontation, the tension melting away.
It was time to enjoy their meal, and the drama was over, at least for now.
-----
"Cheers!"
In the tavern, Raymond and his team were sitting together with Kris’s group, enjoying a hearty drink. The mood was light and carefree, especially after Geus and his team had slunk away in defeat.
Sotoler set his glass down with a satisfied smile. "Raymond, Sylph, Lorene, thank you so much. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, we’d be in real trouble if we had to fight Geus and the others!"
Kris, her excitement bubbling over, added, "I’ve been wanting to knock them down a peg for ages! Especially Geus, he’s got the worst mouth. If they weren’t so much stronger than us, I would’ve punched him myself!"
She shot a playful glance at Raymond. "But you taught him a good lesson today. I’m so happy!"
"Hmph! Geus totally deserved it!" Sylph chimed in, her voice filled with satisfaction. "Don’t you agree, Raymond?"
Raymond just smiled and nodded, choosing not to add anything further.
Lorene, holding her glass delicately, added quietly, "Though, some of the people on their team aren’t that bad..."
Sylph looked at her curiously. "What do you mean, Lorene? Are you talking about the priestess? Do you know her?"
Lorene blushed slightly and looked down at her wine. "Well, we don’t know each other really. But as adventurers, priests like us often visit the temple to pray. I saw her there several times when I was serving the goddess."
She paused for a moment and continued, "It’s not just her. I’ve met a lot of priestesses during my time in the temple. We might not know each other personally, but we always greet each other when we meet outside."
The group nodded in understanding, the conversation flowing naturally.
Lorene smiled a little, holding her glass up. "But that priestess is really admirable. Whenever Geus and his team caused trouble, she stayed out of it, never getting involved."
Kris agreed with a knowing look. "I bet the reason Geus apologized to Raymond was because of her. With his temper, he wouldn’t have done it without some serious pressure from her and the others."
Sotoler and the rest of the group nodded in agreement. They had dealt with Geus long enough to know exactly what kind of person he was.
"Hah, what a shame!" Sylph exclaimed suddenly. "How did someone as good as her end up in a team like Geus’s? She deserves better. Honestly, I think she should join our team instead!"
The others laughed at that suggestion, the mood growing lighter and more relaxed with every passing moment.
Kris, Sotoler, and the rest of the group were clearly tipsy by now, their laughter filling the air. The rum in this tavern was stronger than most they’d had before, and after the satisfaction of seeing Geus humbled, they had all drunk more than they realized.
Raymond, Sylph, and Lorene, on the other hand, were drinking the fruit wine, which had a lower alcohol content than the rum or fire wine. Still, Sylph and Lorene were already flushed, their faces a shade of red.
Raymond, however, remained calm, a small smile on his lips as he watched his friends enjoy themselves. It had been a long day, but tonight, they could all unwind and laugh.
Raymond noticed that many of the adventurers in the tavern were stealing glances at his group, whispering among themselves. After his earlier duel with Geus, they now had a new level of respect for dual-class adventurers.
Though their clash had been a simple sword fight with no life-or-death stakes, it was clear to everyone that Raymond, like Geus, had mastered two skills. That alone suggested his strength was far from average.
But it wasn’t just about now; there was more to come. Dual-class adventurers had the potential to master more skills than those who only followed one path. Even if Raymond wasn’t particularly gifted and only managed to grasp two skills in each class, that still gave him four skills, more than most adventurers could boast.
On top of that, word had spread that Raymond had learned his skills not long after awakening as a warrior, which only fueled the rumors about his exceptional talent.
"By the way, Raymond," Kris asked, pointing at his torn leather armor, "looks like you’ve been through some trouble while gathering the ’blood vine grass.’"
Everyone else had noticed the state of Raymond’s armor too.
"Did you find the ’blood vine’ where I told you?" Sotoler added, leaning in with interest.
Raymond smiled and nodded. "Yes, we found the ’blood vine grass’ there. Thanks for the tip!"
Sotoler laughed, pleased to be of help. "Glad I could point you in the right direction."
"But..." Sotoler’s smile faltered as he eyed Raymond’s armor. "Did the vine demon trees spot you? Looks like you’ve been in a fight with them."
"Yeah," Raymond confirmed with a sigh. "We were just collecting three ’blood vine grass,’ but we stayed too close for too long and got spotted."
Sylph, who had been leaning lazily on the table, suddenly perked up and added, "The vine demon trees are tough! Two of them almost took Raymond down!"
Raymond gave a wry smile. "If Sylph hadn’t used her explosion demon to wipe out three of them and injure two more, we wouldn’t have been able to finish the job."
He expected his friends to comment, but instead, they just stared at him, holding their glasses halfway to their mouths. The room fell silent for a moment, and Raymond looked at them in confusion.
"What’s going on?" he asked, his brow furrowing.
Sylph, a little tipsy, blinked and looked around in confusion. "You... killed all the vine demon trees?" Kris finally asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
Raymond, still puzzled, raised an eyebrow. "What’s the problem?"
Kris and the others exchanged glances, struggling to find the right words.