Rudra and Max went out on a walk on the streets of upside after breakfast, to have some quality brother time, as the two caught up after a long time.
" Your strength has improved considerably Max, I've not seen better numbers at level 30. Good job! ". Rudra said after breakfast to Max, as the latter felt embarrassed listening to the praise.
" Thank You brother, but tier one is simply nothing, the road is long ". Max replied
" Indeed, but it's still good to have some pride, a prideful man always has his pride to lose when he faces a stronger opponent, and believe it or not more often than not its pride that drives one to become stronger ". Rudra said as he reminisced of the days where he would not sleep for weeks while training, just because his current strength was not enough at the time and his pride refused him to remain weak.
Max nodded, and after a moment of silence he asked
" How's things on Earth brother? ".
" To be honest Max, It's bad ". Rudra replied in a sad voice as Max raised his eyebrows.
Earth was clearly very prosperous and many factions wanted to ally with earth to obtain a destroyer class battleship and even though it was a newly integrated planet, with Rudra around it enjoyed considerable respect in the universe.
" The economics are good, the stability is good, the policies and taxation systems are working fine, but what worries me is the mentality of people here ". Rudra said with an exhausted tone as if he was already fed up with earthlings.
" The people rely on me too much Max, many trade merchants use my name to bully other merchant groups in the galaxy with lesser backings and I have received countless reports where earthlings create a ruckus under my name on other planets saying stuff like ' Do you know who protects earth? Do you still dare harm me? '.
Our people bow to the strong and bully the weak, not only universally but ever since the first awakening everything has become money and benefits oriented even back home.
It doesn't matter if one is handsome or talented or kind, the women will only choose the strongest one these days and society as we know it is crippling.
The peace of earth is hanging by a narrow thread that's my deterrence to foreign forces and my respect and fear amongst the natives.
If someday I fall Max.... All hell will break loose for Earth." Rudra said as his narration borderline depressed Max.
However, in his heart he knew that it was all true, he had seen society crumble before him in his past life as well.
Wanting to change the topic to something a little more upbeat, Max said
" You know brother, the seven galaxy bank just notified me about a private auction .... ".
" Yes, I know about that auction, I have a better card than you ". Rudra replied with a smile
" Whaa- " Max was a little shocked but Rudra flashed his black card and absolutely shut him up.
His brother's status was indeed not something he could compare with.
" Is there any specific item I should lookout for ? " Rudra asked, his lips curling into a smile as he knew that Max was a reincarnator.
" Yes, there will be a special item in Lot 3, item 35, prepare at least 1.7-2 billion gold for it, it's a blueprint and a money mine in my opinion". Max said
Max did not reveal much details as to how he knew about this item and it's estimated price, but thankfully Rudra did not seem to pry or ask.
" Okay, thanx " being his only reply.
Max was shocked that his brother took such a big suggestion from him without mocking him at all, as the sum of 2 billion gold was definitely not a small amount.
Max knew that the particular item In question ended up making the winning bidders faction very powerful in the universe and if Rudra bought it for earth it would definitely profit the planet.
However, whether or not his brother would end up acting on his recommendation, he was not sure.
The duo continued walking for a while, and in the end as they neared the house, Rudra asked " Are you ready for today's match ? ".
Max nodded his head in confidence as he said " Do you have any pointers ".
Max knew that his brother was called the ' Greatest Mastermind Strategist ' to ever live by his teammates, and he had seen his legendary battles all the time while growing up, so he knew that anything his brother said would be valuable.
" You are comparatively much faster, test the waters a bit, if you are faster than his sword thrust, then tire him down first. Make him pay for his poor Endurance stat and humiliate him afterwards ". Rudra said casually as Max felt goosebumps arise on his skin.
His brother had indeed understood his motives for this fight.
Max did not just want a win, Max was aiming for utter humiliation.
*****************
( In the evening, at the arena )
" Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, EARTHLINGS AND ALIENS, I have one question for you all..... are you ready? ". The announcer spoke as the crowd went wild.
*Screams* * Whistles* *Pandemonium*
" Today's special event is a 1V1 Martial arts fight, scheduled on the special request of the winner of the Earth's strongest warrior tournaments under 19 champion Benedict Divinorum! "
*Claps* *Cheers*
" Introducing first, The champion, weighing in at 195 pounds, standing at a whopping 6 foot 1, Earth's very own Benedict Divinorum! ".
Benedict sprinted onto the martial stage, as fireworks went off alongside his running path, allowing him to make a grand entrance.
The crowd cheered happily for Benedict, there were many people rooting for him, as many cast inspection spells over his body to see that he was at an impressive level 45.
Benedict unsheathed his sword, pointing it towards the sky as he hyped the crowd up on all four sides of the arena.
" Introducing his opponent, He is earth's golden boy, weighing in at 203 pounds and standing at a gigantic 6 feet 3..... MAX RAJPUT! ".
The crowd instantly went ballistic when Max's name was taken. The love and adoration he had for being Rudra's little brother was unreal, with him undoubtedly being the crowd favourite coming into this fight despite Benedict being the champion.
Max walked out casually as he adjusted his shoulders and hopped on his toes to properly ramp up his agility.
He was not wearing his mask, and did not have his usual red eyes and fangs, as after he requested Rudra to keep his real identity hidden, Rudra gave him an image altering pill that helped him take his old form for the next four hours.
Just like Benedict, Max was also bombarded with a series of inspection spells, however, all but a couple managed to break through Drax's defences which had increased after Max tiered up.
The couple spells that did manage to inspect Max belonged to some old monsters in his brother's crew who were earth's peerless experts and Max was not too worried about revealing his strength to them.
Max unsheathed Raveslasher and instantly the shiny blade caught everyone's attention as even a layman could discern that it was a fine treasure.
" So you did have the balls to show up, that's shocking ". Benedict said as he stared into Max's eyes with a smile.
" Why would I be scared to fight a weasel like you? Aren't you overestimating yourself by a lot ? ". Max replied, his scathing comeback making the crowd erupt into laughter and whistles.
" Y-you, your brother won't help you win this fight you know, you will have to rely on your own skills ". Benedict said, reminding Max that unlike the last time at the bank where Rudra gave him pocket money to show off, this time he would need to rely on himself.
Max threw an inspect spell on Benedict himself and studied his stats.
Benedict was at tier 1, level 45, and had 120 points in his best stat which was strength and 67 points into his endurance which was his weakest stat.
Although he was a whole 15 levels above Max, his stats still could not match Max's, and with this stat advantage Max was extremely confident of beating Benedict.
Being confident in his win, Max did not mind engaging in a frugal war of words with Dinivorm as he replied with a smile " Since when have the warrior house of Rajput's been afraid of a merchant family like Dinivorms".
*Oooooooooooo* a big shout was made by the crowd as the drama lovers absolutely lost their minds at the personal insult made by Max.
Looking at the audience's reaction, Benedict was angered even more as he said coldly " You will pay for these words "
" Yap yap yap, I'm busy you know, I only came here to fight because my brother asked me, otherwise a trash like you is nothing in my eyes, so Shut-up and let's get this over with fast ". Max replied
" An ' A ' ranked swordsman class is trash in your eyes? Well you have certainly broadened my horizons, now let me show you the true might of my sabre! " Benedict said as he disregarded the rules of the fight by not allowing the referee to properly initiate it and charged at Max straight away.
Benedict was confident in sending Max flying with his first attack, however, Max confidently stood his ground, meeting his charging strike with a minimum of fuss.
CLANG!
Their swords collided and sparks flew.
The fight was on!