Chapter 500 - Brazan's Skills

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"Are you certain you want to end it here?" Eldrian asked just for a final confirmation.

"Yes, with it being impossible to regulate spells similarly to training weapons, I believe it certainly will be for the best." Jaka replied with a little bow as he joined the rest of the crowd. 

Nodding, Eldrian asked again who would be next. Following which Eldrian fought against twelve more people of mixed races, six centaurs, four demi-humans, and two humans.

They were all below Tier 3 and couldn't do much to Eldrian even if he didn't really try. However, that wasn't what made Eldrain feel that they were lacking. That would be how clear it was that they didn't have much or any experience, and their training also seemed to be very restrictive.

Eldrian didn't hide that they didn't satisfy, after each one failed to do anything impressive during the spar he told them that they could go. It wasn't that they needed to actually succeed, but them just defending and not experimenting how they could close the gap told Eldrian a lot about them. 

"Brazan, I've been wondering when you would step forward," Eldrian said with a smile as the lizardkin stepped out from the crowd. 

His arms were covered in dark dirty-brown leathery skin with long claws at the tips of his fingers and his scales growing mismatched up to his elbows. His eyes were a bright orange-red with his pupils a diamond-shaped black slit.

Behind his back, the hint of a thin tail was also clearly visible.  Unlike with his arms, the leather covering his tail seemed far healthier, the scales also fit perfectly into one another.

Outside of these characteristics, his appearance was human. Though it was clear he wasn't able to morph his arm's appearance like most demi-humans could their fur or scales.

"Really?" The lizardkin asked with a hint of astonishment. 

"Yes, your answer to how I control my spells was the closest to the truth. I assume that is the result of your experiments?" Eldrian asked while pointing at Brazan's clearly scared arms. 

"Yes," Brazan nodded, sad that this was what Eldrian focused on. He was ashamed that he was unable to unlock his bloodline, it had made him an outcast amongst his family. He feared Eldrian might think the same as they do.

They didn't care that he could seemingly control fire, if he couldn't unlock his bloodline then his potential would always be low. He would never be able to cross the Tier 5 barrier. 

Having a bloodline was both a curse and a blessing. For many, it was the former. Though, honestly, reaching Tier 5 wasn't something common in the slightest, only around ten percent of the military could manage that. And they trained and were trained nearly daily if no war was ongoing. 

Thus, this limitation shouldn't be a big deal, however, Brazan's family was stuck focusing on possible growth. Ignoring the rarity of reaching that level, they focused on only those who at least had the possibility. They had a type of elitist mentality. 

Due to this, Brazan had consistently experimented with the only bloodline ability he had. Trying to prove that it was of use. And, in part, subconsciously, that he was of use. 

Years of this had led to unrepairable damage as his family shunned him.

"It must be hard... Why did you continue if the damage was this bad?" Eldrian asked, shockingly mana sense showed him that some, a very tiny amount, of Brazan's mana flowed through his body. However, this flow was incapable of reaching past his elbows due to the damage. 

"I-I..." Brazan faltered, Eldrian's honest curiosity of his reason without any judgment was new to him. He didn't quite know how to reply. 

"It's alright, it clearly shows that you worked extremely hard. How are your combat abilities in comparison?" Eldrian asked, though he already knew of course. 

Not only did Brazan have an unknown draconic bloodline, which mana sense just told Eldrian was an unawakened draconic bloodline. He had also managed to reach Tier 4 in both magic and melee. Making him truly well-rounded.

"Shall we fight and see?" Brazan asked, he already knew he wouldn't be able to best Eldrian, but he was curious how he would do. 

"Let's," Eldrian said with a smile, surprised when Brazan was the one who seemed to have chosen a poleaxe as his weapon. 

The fight started off like most of the others, with Eldrian first overwhelming Brazan as he learned Brazan's limits. Then, slowly, Eldrian adjusted his speed and the amount of strength he put into his attacks. 

Shockingly, once Eldrian dropped his speed to about half and just slightly lowered his strength, Brazan did truly well in keeping up with him. 

"Impressive!" Eldrian shouted as he jumped back to dodge Brazan's sweep attack and countered with a thrust. Brazan smiled as he used his tail to balance himself as he ducked down and under the spear. Taking a firm grasp of it, he dropped his poleaxe and aimed for Eldrian's face with his claws. 

The execution of it was so smooth and perfect that Eldrian couldn't react fast enough to stop Brazan from gaining a good grip and striking direction. The only way Eldrian could avoid Brazan's claws was by abandoning his spear. 

Jumping back, Eldrian smiled as he finally decided to start using magic. Which he kind of had to; now that he was disarmed. 

Brazan did not back down, he charged forward with Eldrian's spear. Throwing it as he closed the distance, hoping to cause Eldrian to lose focus and allow him to close the distance.

Eldrian just barely managed to dodge the spear, and indeed it caused a lapse of concentration just long enough for Brazan to weave between the two balls of ice Eldrian had at the ready. 

However, just as Brazan was about to strike, a shield suddenly appeared in Eldrian's hands. Blocking the strike as another ball of ice formed and struck Brazan's side. 

Gritting his teeth, the lizardkin didn't back down. Instead, he ducked down, aiming for Eldrian's legs while sending his tail at Eldrian's head. While it didn't have any spikes, it was still quite a good weapon in close combat. 

Eldrian failed to notice the tail in time, and when he did he wasn't in the position to dodge both attacks. Not wishing to end up in a fistfight against someone with deadly claws, Eldrian took the tail hit while striking down with his shield. 

The blow sent Eldrian reeling as he stumbled back and lost his footing, however, his shield strike did more or less the same to Brazan. Brazan, however, was far quicker to recover. But, he couldn't quite close the gap before Eldrian's spells arrived and blocked his path of attack. 

"Great, absolutely amazing!" Eldrian said, dispelling his spells and clasping the lizardkin's shoulder. "That was amazing, truly amazing."

Everyone was shocked to hear Eldrian actually praise someone. It was certainly the first time where Eldrian openly showed his favoritism.

"Tha-thanks..." Brazan said, not having expected the abrupt end of the match nor Eldrian's praise. 

"Honestly, being able to think and adapt so quickly, it is impressive. I guess you have seen quite a number of battles?"

"Yes," Brazan nodded, "In fact, I was a soldier fighting to maintain the wall in Kynigo Forest."

AN: Chapter 500, yeah! 

A massive thanks to you everyone who has continued to read and enjoy this story of mine.. It is a great pleasure to be able to share my passion with you all. 

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