*Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!*
Several forceful foot-stomping sounds suddenly echoed in unison—it happened in a split second, or more precisely, 0.1 seconds, after Riezel drew his sword.
In that instant, everyone in Riezel's surroundings reacted as if they had been burned, instinctively stomping the ground and retreating from him without thinking.
Among them were Gazef, Gagaran, Evileye, and surprisingly, Brain, who had been wearing a hopeless expression the entire time.
Yes.
Even Brain moved, moving more violently and quickly than anyone else, springing back as if he had been slashed by an invisible blade.
"Oh?"
Riezel raised his eyebrows, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Looks like, even if you've given up on everything, your instincts for sensing danger are still alive, huh..."
Brain didn't respond and merely assumed a stance to draw his sword, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.
Of course, it wasn't just him since the others around them wore similar expressions.
"M-Ms. Gagaran…"
Climb, the weakest among everyone, looked pale as a sheet, as if he had suffered a major shock.
It couldn't be helped.
At this moment, Climb was being held in Gagaran's hand like a sack.
Just now, at the moment when Gagaran had jumped away, she had unintentionally grabbed Climb and pulled him along, but in reality, she had done it instinctively and hadn't had the energy to specifically look after him.
Proof?
Right now, the muscular female warrior was just as drenched in sweat as Brain, her whole body tense.
"O-Oy, oy, this is fucking insane... For a second there, I thought I was gonna die..."
Gagaran stared at Riezel, her voice trembling with disbelief.
"Evileye, what about you?"
As Gagaran called out to Evileye, who wasn't far from her, her gaze stayed glued to Riezel, not daring to look away for even half a second.
"Not much different from you..."
Responding to Gagaran, Evileye's voice trembled strangely as if it were off-pitch.
Nevertheless, one thing was sure—her voice carried equal parts unease, shock, and disbelief.
"Hell no... Even you feel that way?"
Gagaran spoke in disbelief, forcing a wry smile.
"Damn, this is ridiculous. I was hoping all those rumors about this guy were exaggerated, but now it seems they weren't just true—they might've actually underestimated him."
"But... is that even possible? He looks even younger than our boss... Could a human really reach this level of strength at his age?"
"Or... could he be one of those old monsters who's lived even longer than you, Evileye?"
Unfortunately, Gagaran's question didn't get a response from Evileye.
Evileye kept her gaze locked on Riezel, her expression unreadable beneath her mask, shifting between uncertainty and wariness.
Nonetheless, if even Evileye was in such a state, there was no need to mention Brain, who was directly in front of Riezel—his trembling hand could barely keep his sword steady.
"...Who are you? No, what are you?"
Brain's hoarse voice carried a questioning tone as he glared at Riezel.
"Riezel Brynhart. A human you've looked down on." Riezel replied calmly, ignoring the reactions of the others and fixing his gaze on Brain.
"Don't mess with me!" Brain retorted without a second thought. "Someone like you... there's no way you're a human!"
He truly couldn't believe it.
At the very least, he couldn't imagine a human who could instill such an overwhelming sense of impending death with a mere act of unsheathing a sword.
However, in Riezel's perspective, Brain's statement was nothing more than an expression of arrogance.
"Why not?"
Riezel spoke calmly, his expression laced with indifference.
"Because I'm a human, it's impossible for me to be this strong?"
"Or because I'm this strong, I can't possibly be a human?"
"Tell me, who decided that?"
Riezel's words seemed to give Brain a channel to release his frustration.
"Hahaha, isn't that obvious?"
Brain laughed helplessly, covering his face with his palm.
"Just a quick comparison is enough to see the truth."
"In terms of lifespan, humans are one of the shortest-lived races, typically reaching only a century at most. Compared to immortal beings or even the long-lived races, humans are insignificant."
"In terms of ability, humans are naturally inferior to demi-humans and monsters. No claws, no tough skin, not even dark vision—let alone any race-specific abilities. Humans practically have nothing!"
"Even after honing their bodies, humans can at best compare to something like goblins—weak monsters. If the opponent is an ogre, even a talented human gotta train for a decade or more just to stand a chance."
"From the perspective of any other race, humans are far from exceptional. They're the most mediocre race and are seen as nothing more than walking meat, easy prey for stronger beings."
"How strong can a human possibly get?"
Saying all of this, the self-deprecation on Brain's face was evident, tinged with the pain of realizing that everything he had worked for seemed meaningless.
"Even I, after practicing swordsmanship to the point where I've worn my hands raw countless times, would still likely lose to a newly hatched dragon. I might not even be able to pierce its scales."
"And dragons? They just gotta open their mouths and bite, and my body would be torn apart in an instant, even if it were a newborn."
"Humans are just too weak. Even those hailed as heroes, who dedicate their entire lives to training, might not even come close to the strength of a newborn from truly powerful races."
"Heh, the bodies humans gotta work so hard to build are something other races are born with. If that's not weakness, then what is?"
No one could argue against Brain's words.
Humans, unlike other powerful races, didn't possess naturally strong bodies or innate strength. Even after rigorous effort and training, there were still countless non-human entities they could never surpass in physical abilities.
To some extent, Brain's words were a harsh truth—a weakness humans had to face.
However—
"So, because humans aren't born strong, because we're inherently inferior to other races, we should just accept our fate just like that?" Riezel asked coldly, his eyes fixed on Brain. "It seems you're more pussy than I imagined, Brain Unglaus."
"What did you say?" Brain's eyes widened slightly.
Riezel didn't bother repeating himself.
"I don't know what you've seen, but I'm a human—that's a fact. If you wanna ignore it, that's on you. I'm not interested in debating what humans are capable of with a pussy like you."
Riezel slowly sheathed his sword, allowing the suffocating sense of impending death that gripped everyone to gradually dissipate.
In the next second, however, Riezel said something unexpected.
"Say, why don't you see for yourself just how strong humans can become?"
Riezel stretched out his hand toward Brain, curling a finger to beckon him.
"C'mon, let me see your blade."
Even though Riezel's words weren't laced with any obvious insult, they still left Brain feeling humiliated.
Riezel, however, didn't give Brain a chance to lash out.
"Standing before you right now isn't some otherworldly race inherently stronger than humans, but a fellow human, just like you."
"If you don't have the guts to swing your sword at a monster, then surely you can manage to do it against another human, right?"
"Or are you saying you don't even dare to raise your sword against someone of the same race?"
"If so, I'd have to wonder if your weakness isn't because you're a human, but because you're just useless."
Riezel's sharp words lit a fire in Brain's lifeless, unfocused eyes, like still water disturbed by sudden flames.
"Draw your sword."
Riezel's voice rang out clearly in Brain's ears.
"Let me judge if you're qualified to speak for all of the human race."
Hearing this, Brain's grip on his sword tightened, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Gazef, standing silently nearby.
Gazef didn't say a word—he just stood there, staring at him with an expression Brain couldn't quite read.
Was it disdain?
Or was it contempt?
Even though he didn't know what Gazef was thinking, it was certain that it wasn't anything good.
Such a realization stirred something within Brain, forcing him to recall all the effort he had poured into surpassing Gazef over the years.
In truth, he had not originally been a swordsman but had been just a humble farmer who, by chance, discovered he had an extraordinary talent for swordsmanship.
With that talent, not only had he never lost every time he picked up a sword, but on top of that, he had also never suffered an injury worse than a scratch.
By all accounts, he was a natural-born genius.
Having never tasted defeat in swordsmanship, he came to believe his path to victory would stretch endlessly before him.
Sadly, everything changed during the kingdom's tournament—the turning point of his life.
For the first time since he was born, he experienced defeat, and it was during that fateful tournament that it struck him down.
Yes, the one who had defeated him was Gazef Stronoff, the current Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom and widely recognized as the strongest warrior among the neighboring countries.
In Gazef's hands, he came to understand that eternal victory was nothing more than a naive delusion. He realized he was just a frog at the bottom of a well, blind to the vastness of the world.
Because of this, he rejected numerous invitations from nobles and, for the first time, decided to push himself harder than ever.
He trained tirelessly in swordsmanship, building up his physical strength.
He studied magic relentlessly, expanding his knowledge.
Although he was a genius swordsman, he worked as diligently as a scholar, constantly striving forward.
Needless to say, his defeat to Gazef had driven him down this path.
In order to surpass Gazef, he went so far as to become a mercenary and eventually joined a bandit group, becoming a bandit.
For him, as long as it meant he could wash away his humiliation and gain greater strength, he was willing to abandon everything, including his honor.
Such was his mindset.
Unfortunately, such lofty ambitions eventually became a joke due to an unexpected and unforeseen turn of events.
During that 'incident,' he had been so insignificant that he fled in disgrace, sinking into despair on his own.
Even now, that despair clung tightly to his heart, suffocating him.
Now, however, with his opponent being a fellow human and his rival present watching him, could he really claim he didn't even dare to draw his sword?
When such thoughts surfaced in his mind, Brain had already adopted a stance to attack before reaching any conclusion.
"...You'd better not regret this."
Vicious words spilled from Brain's mouth, loud and clear.
Upon hearing this, Gazef's eyes lit up, and even Gagaran and the others couldn't help but fix their gaze on Brain.
At this moment, Brain's once lifeless eyes burned faintly with fighting intent.
For just this moment, he was Brain Unglaus, the undisputed genius swordsman capable of standing toe-to-toe with Gazef Stronoff.
"Bring it on."
Riezel's lips curled into a slight smile as he spoke simply and directly.
Soon, the air grew heavy, signifying that a battle was about to begin.