Bam!
The old Commander downed another bottle of enhanced beer as he slammed it against the table with force before laughing loudly.
"Aha…, that touched the brain, these brewers are good!"
He slapped his head. "So, Legolas, what do you say you'd be doing again?"
"Living life independent in the Minerva Star System is not always an endeavor that pays boy. If I'd advise you, join a major power instead of going solo".
"Of course, you can decide not to listen to the ramblings of an old man like me". He slapped his slightly bloating belly as the others laughed.
"But if you changed your mind though, know that I can help you".
"I heard that you have an army, if you like, your army can easily join ours as guardians of the ring belt, it's the best way to enjoy life as a galactic citizen".
Legolas smiled at the Army Commander. "I really appreciate your generous offer but I'm afraid I'll have to reject, I still intend on going independent".
"Fair enough". The old man slapped his shoulders.
"If you need anything, don't forget to meet me, if I can I will not hesitate to help you, I like warriors of your quality, you saved lives there boy, Nak lives".
"By the way, that Captain you saved is the son of one of my rich friends".
"He's very grateful for what you did".
The old man stood up with another bottle of enhanced beer. "One of these days, if you have the chance, go meet him". He smirked. "You won't regret it".
"Wait, old man…" Legolas paused, realizing his mistake. "I'm sorry…"
"It's ok". The old man had an amused look on his face. "It's been long since anyone called me an old man so blatantly to my face, you just made me remember one of my old friends".
"He died during the battle of the Crater Metal Planet". This old man's eyes seemed to glaze over in melancholy.
"It was after that battle that I became the Army Commander here. A lot of people think I did it alone, becoming a war legend, but he did most of the things".
"It's a pity that death is real, death is a b*tch Legolas!"
"I'm sorry for reminding you about sad memories". Legolas apologized.
"No…, no, it's not sad at all, that bastard never let me rest. By now, he would have been dragging me to another battle arena for a spar already".
"Haha, perhaps, the god of fate let him die for a reason". He turned to leave yet he paused again. "But…, now that I remember him, I suddenly want to spar again". He looked at Legolas whose heart skipped a beat.
"Me? You want to spar with me?"
"Yeah, what's the harm in it? Come on boy!"
"But…, no…, wait!"
"Come on!" The old man dragged him away.
A few minutes later, inside a gigantic old battle arena like one of the coliseums of old Rome, an old man with a walking stick and a young Summoner stood side by side as loud cheers reverberated in the spectator stands.
"Old man, let's not do this please". Legolas felt full of regret.
"What? Why? You think I'm old?"
"Not that…" Legolas paused in shock.
Throwing the huge purple robe that he always wore away; this old man exposed a ripped body full of muscles. His chest felt like the rock where a blacksmith used to temper his steel, his arm muscles were like mini boulders.
The only irregularity was his big belly, but this was remedied instantly.
The old man flashed his brown and broken teeth at Legolas, he grinned. "Back in my days, I dominated this coliseum, I was called the Mad Hound!"
Closing his eyes a bit to feel the atmosphere, he threw his walking stick away, then he smashed his right leg against the battle arena as a transformation took place instantly.
Crack! Crack!
After loud cracking sounds, his hunched back straightened, his big belly disappeared like it was hammered in by a Dwarf's hammer.
The old man grinned. "Let the battle begin!"
Legolas' eyes widened. "Sh*t!"
-----
You have activated active ability: Combat Master!
You have activated active ability: Beast Integration!
You have fused with Predator!
[Base Control Level: 90%]
[+10% Base Control Level from hierarchy!]
[Intermediate Summoner Knowledge: Enhanced Leadership Detected!]
[+15% Control Level!]
[Overall Control Level: 115%]
[Congratulations! You have exceeded 100% Overall Control Level when integrated with your beast!]
[You have triggered Special Beast-Summoner Passive Ability: Unity!]
----
The old man's eyes widened. "You already achieved Unity with your beast?"
"Amazing! You're the perfect sparing opponent!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
For the next 15 minutes, Legolas was on the receiving end of some serious beating as his face was left bruised at the end of the fight.
Coughing blood while lying on the floor weak, the old man walked beside him before kicking him on the butt.
"Why the hell did you hold back? I hate it!"
"You also held back!" Legolas shot right back at him.
The old man was silenced for a few seconds. "Hmph!"
He started leaving but Legolas stopped him.
"Wait! Please, I didn't finish my inquiries the other time".
"What?" He continued leaving.
"Can I make my army official here while being independent?"
"You cannot".
"Why?"
The old man finally stopped, he turned to look at him. "Only recognized and reputable groups and leaders are allowed to make their independent army in the Minerva Star System, we only have 7 recognized independent armies".
"If you really want to go independent so bad, I advise start as a mercenary".
"You can finalize everything here in my planet".
"Mercenary groups are differentiated into different levels depending on the power of your group, influence, and a lot of other things".
He finally continued his walk outside. "A lot of people watched this spar, rest assured, you will receive the best treatment and grade possible for the power level of your mercenary group".
Legolas finally wiped his blood off and stood up. "Thank you".
Watching the old man leave, he thought. 'I already knew of this but I thought I could find a loophole, welps, I guess no short cut for me'.
'I have to start from the bottom like usual'.
He sighed in relief. 'Hopefully, I already have favorability with some powerful figures here, my starting point would be higher than normal'.
He wiped sweat off his face before picking up his clothes even as he saw his companions watching him from above, he gestured at them.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go become mercenaries!"
This content is taken from free web nov𝒆l.com