Two flexible swords met one another; the two combatants always countered the tip of the sword, fully aware of the danger of blocking the shaft. Ken tried to twist his wrist, but Shadow Ken still managed to predict the sword's route based on the subtle movement.
Ken fought against his shadow relentlessly, and the clinks of metals could be heard in the room. Ken thrust his sword, imitating the effects of Snake's Thrust without the actual technique. The shadow merely stepped back, avoiding the deadly stab, and lunged forward.
With a quick sidestep, the young boy parried his enemy's flexible sword, sending it harmlessly glancing off his own. He tried to land a hit with his elbow when the two got closer, but his shadow raised its own elbow as if they practiced it before, blocking Ken's strike.
The stalemate was frustrating and thrilling at the same time; Ken never had a chance to practice his swordsmanship this way before, and he loved it. However, his shadow and he always came up with the same plans, forcing them into a stalemate.
With another kick where a foot met another, the two of them stumbled back, opening a distance between them. If there was any onlooker, they'd probably clench their fists in suspense now, and slowly unclench them as they'd wear an expression of confusion; the two fighters only remained standing, looking at each other.
Usually, in a fight, two people used their existing art, and eventually, the better fighter would prevail. However, in this fight, Ken and his opponent kept learning from each other, improving in parallel lines, and remaining unable to defeat one another.
They were both trying to see in their minds how to deal with their opponent, but they both saw the other counter their moves, which led to another twist, which led to another twist and yet again to another.
Normally, one would run out of work memory and be forced to fight, but with their perfect memories, they got stuck in a loop of counterattacks and imaginary fights that happened only in their minds.
'Wait, Shadow Me doesn't have a mind in the literal sense of the word. It means it just acts as if it was me, but it can't think!'
Ken realized this fact. In his mind, they were both seeing 10 moves forward by now, but now he recognized his mistake; Shadow Ken remained behind at 0 or 1 move ahead.
He charged toward his enemy and propelled himself forward with a risky jump. He might get at a disadvantage if his judgment turned out to be wrong, but he'd have a free strike if it was correct.
As he predicted, his clone used a strike that implemented the elasticity of the sword, making it seem like a slap that would bounce back right after, and it aimed it at where Ken's throat was supposed to be.
However, Ken was in the air at stomach height, and with a simple stabbing motion and a spiral of his wrist, he cut his opponent's guts to many pieces and opened a bloody hole in its stomach.
"Congratulations on clearing the Challenge of Might. One must not always rely on brute force; simple thinking can go a long way in a fight."
The voice congratulated Ken for his victory and offered a piece of advice.
"You may now pick your rewards."
Three pedestals emerged off the ground, and Ken approached the closest one on his right. He found there what he was expecting to find, the third volume of Mysteries of Luck, for the same price of 80,000 BP.
He purchased it without hesitation and moved to the pedestal on the left. He assumed the middle one would have the inheritor token, so he kept it for last.
'Maybe it will contain an eighth-grade flexible sword. Although I don't need anything better than the seventh-grade one I have right now, I don't have a reason to refuse.'
Ken thought to himself as he checked out the prize. His expression soon turned ugly as he looked at the ceiling and shouted.
"Reducing the price won't change the fact I'm not taking this damn pill!"
"It's only for 40,000 and you have so many points, why don't you want to improve yourself with it, it's a great choice!"
"Fine, I will buy it. I will take it later; I don't have time now."
Ken got suspicious that they kept pushing the pill on him. Seeing their insistence, he chose to accept the pill and promised to consume it later.
"You can take it even now if you want, there's no reason to delay increasing your strength. It might be the difference between life and death when you meet your enemies in here."
"Don't worry, I have enough tricks up my sleeve, and I'm not afraid of getting into a fight."
Ken dismissed the voice's worries and continued to take the Inheritor Token.
'I first thought there's nothing a bunch of old people from another realm can do to me, so I assumed it'd be safe to take whatever I want and follow the place's rules. But it seems things are sketchier than I thought.'
Ken mused inwardly before he reached for the token with his hand. Last time it didn't require him to pay any BP, so he figured that whichever old man in charge of this place would appear as soon as he imprinted the token with his Qi.
Until now, although Ken was trying to find something wrong with the situation, he couldn't find any and believed the Bloodthirst Sect truly wanted to develop a powerful ally by experimenting with their theories.
He never thought people were good, but he believed that the evilness in their plot was in the fact they caused the deaths of millions, which didn't bother him one bit.
Now that they insisted on forcing him to take the eighth-grade pill, his suspicious nature took charge of the situation and made him cautious toward everything.
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