Kyle lifted his hammer and looked at the man leaning against the wall.
He thought about how to attack.
Several seconds passed.
Kyle's stance faltered.
"What's the problem?" the man asked with a chuckle.
Kyle's face scrunched up with discomfort.
"You're scary," he said.
"Scary?" the man repeated before bursting out into laughter. "Well, yes. I believe for a guppy like you, I am quite scary."
"You're an honest one, aren't you?" the man asked.
Kyle just looked at the man.
As he looked at the man, he just lost all confidence.
It was like, no matter what he did, he felt like he was going to fail.
The man was definitely strong, but Kyle didn't feel any danger coming from him.
In a way, the guy felt like a big and friendly dog.
He wasn't dangerous, but you also wouldn't want to punch that big dog.
Kyle didn't feel like he was going to die if he attacked.
He just felt like it was pointless to even try.
'This is so weird,' Kyle thought. 'I've never had issues like this. Even in front of a bunch of these powerful beasts, I didn't feel like this. Sure, a Monster is super scary, but I still felt like I could escape.'
'What the fuck is up with that?'
'Something strange is going on here.'
Kyle furrowed his brows.
Then, he got an idea.
"You just want me to move you from that wall, right?" Kyle asked.
"You can try," the man answered with a smirk.
"You're not going to kill me, right?" Kyle asked.
"You're a scared one," the man commented. "If I killed someone like you, I would be in huge trouble."
"That is not a no," Kyle said.
"No," the man said with a snort. "I'm not going to kill you."
The next moment, Kyle had to hold back a smile.
Then, Kyle walked over to the fountain.
"I'm over here," the man commented.
"Not for much longer," Kyle said with a smirk.
As Kyle reached the fountain, he pulled his hammer up.
"You said you would be paying for whatever I destroyed, right?" Kyle asked, looking back with a shit-eating grin.
For the first time, the man looked shocked.
Fuck!
Yes, he had promised that!
But that was because the walls of the building were incredibly hard, and replacing some tiles on the floor barely cost a couple of silver.
The fountain, on the other hand?!
That thing was expensive!
If that fountain got destroyed, he would receive all of the blame!
"That's fighting dirty!" the man shouted with annoyance.
"Yeah, well," Kyle answered. "You're too strong and scary. I have to fight dirty."
Kyle lifted his hammer higher, and green Ether gathered around it.
At that moment, the man narrowed his eyes.
Kyle stopped moving.
His heart rate shot through the roof, and sweat was coming out from all over his body.
At this moment, he felt like a powerful beast was about to attack him.
Kyle's instincts screamed at him that he was about to die.
That big dog no longer felt friendly.
Kyle took a couple of deep breaths.
"Is our bet still on?" he asked.
The man wordlessly glared at Kyle.
"I guess that's a yes," Kyle said with a forced smile as sweat ran down his face.
The people on the plaza were watching with interest.
Was this guy really going to destroy the fountain?
Kyle lifted his hammer again.
The man clenched his fists.
His frustrations increased more and more.
That was when the man realized something, and almost all of his frustrations vanished.
"Wait!" the man shouted.
"Yes?" Kyle asked, looking over.
His instincts were no longer screaming at him.
Then…
The man left the wall and took a step away from it.
"You win," the man said with a chuckle.
Kyle smiled and put his hammer away before approaching the man.
"You caused me quite a bit of annoyance, boy," the man said. "It's been a while since I felt this powerless, and that's all because of the rules I agreed on."
"You got me. Good job," the man said.
"Thanks, and sorry," Kyle answered. "I just really need to join the Fighter Guild. So, can I join?"
"I don't know," the man answered. "I'm not the one who decides that."
Kyle furrowed his brows. "But you said-"
"Nothing," the man answered with a smirk. "I said, why don't you try to move me from the wall? I never told you that I would accept you into the Fighter Guild. I'm not the Chief. I can't decide who gets to join."
Kyle realized that the man was right.
He had never claimed something like that.
"For fuck's sake," Kyle said with a groan. "Fine. So, how can I join?"
The man felt a bit better when he saw Kyle's frustration.
Then, he pulled out his halberd and pointed at a hangout hanging from the Fighter Guild's walls.
Kyle looked over and read it.
'Tryouts are tomorrow morning,' Kyle read.
The next moment, Kyle put his head in his right hand.
'I'm fucking dumb. Why didn't I see the hangout? I could've just read!'
"Okay, thanks," Kyle said with exasperation. "I'll be back tomorrow."
"A Fighter needs to take note of their environment," the man said with a chuckle. "Our strong mind is the only reason why we can even fight Knights. Try to look around more before charging straight in."
"Yes, yes," Kyle said with a sigh. "I fucked up. I know."
The man just chuckled.
"Thanks," Kyle said absentmindedly before walking away.
'This guy just fucked with me for no reason. I should've known.'
Kyle searched for an inn and rented a room for a day.
Naturally, he would study with Theodor for the remainder of the day.
"Hey, Boss," Kyle said. "When I thought about attacking that man in front of the Fighter Guild, I felt helpless. It's like I had no confidence."
"But I've never felt that with any beasts. For some reason, attacking him felt even harder than attacking the actual Colossus, which makes no sense."
"Is this some kind of fancy technique or something?"
"No," Theodor answered. "That is something only humans can do."
"And what is that?" Kyle asked.
"I'm not telling you."
"Why?" Kyle asked with annoyance.
"You will know eventually, but the later you learn about it, the better."
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