"Hey, Guildmaster, I've got a request!" Called out Brid, as he came jogging over.

"Yeah, what's up?" I responded curiously.

"Could I spar against one of the Aces from the Demonsbane Guild?" He replied with a grin.

"I guess that's fine, if they're on-board with it," I remarked, before glancing at them.

"Pass," Spoke up Rex without hesitation.

"I don't mind, but I was hoping to save my energy to spar against you and Ariella," Grinned Ciel sheepishly.

"Alright, in that case, I'll do it," Volunteered Zian, adding as he got onto his feet and stretched his arms up, "Glad I brought my gear, just in case."

Huh, now that I think about it, I've never actually seen him in action before.

"Sure, I appreciate it," I replied with a smile.

"Hey, um, excuse me...I'd like to request sparring against one of the Sinners Guild's Aces too, if that's okay," Requested Rio, as she walked over with a sheepish smile.

"Are you guys alright with that?" Zian asked Aria and I.

"Mhm, I have no reason to refuse," Nodded Aria in response.

"Yeah, I'm fine with it too," I added with a thumbs up.

"There you have it, take your pick of which of us you wanna fight," Smiled Aria, an uncertain look on Rio's face as she glanced between us.

"Uh, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but...which of you is stronger?"

"That'd be her. I'm a bit stronger in our normal states, but when we're both at full power, she's got the edge," I informed her.

"Yeah, but there's no way we're going to use our full power here, it'd be way too dangerous," Pointed out Aria.

Can't argue that. Using even one of our power boosts against someone who's currently around mid K-Rank level would be way overkill.

"In that case, may I spar against you?" Rio asked me.

"Sure. And you don't need to be so formal, I'm only a year older than you," I responded with a wry smile.

With that settled, Zian headed off to get his gear equipped, Brid looking like he could barely contain himself, pacing about with an excited gleam in his eyes.

He perked up as Zian returned a few minutes later, fully decked out in his gear.

It consisted of a black tank top under a dark blue coat that went down past his knees, with the collar turned up.

He had dark brown trousers, and there were a pair of handles poking out from under his coat, on either side of his waist.

I'm guessing he dual wields short-swords or daggers, can't tell for sure since they're mostly hidden under his coat.

"Alright, show me what you've got, kid," He prompted Brid, as they took their places in the training area, the barrier forming around them.

"Heh, you got it. I'm going all out! [Limit Breaker], [Unlimited Regeneration]!"

Zian's eyes widened in surprise as Brid's Aura erupted and intensified, before he shot forward rapidly, thick puffs of dust bursting out across the ground with every step he took, barreling towards Zian and leaping forward as he closed in.

He whipped his hammer across at Zian's head, who swiftly ducked under it, the weapon whizzing past the top of his head.

As Xian evaded the swing, he reached back grabbed the handle over the left side of his waist and lunged forward as he drew it out, striking Brid's side with the bottom of the handle, eliciting a sharp grunt of pain.

Hm? Well, now, that's another unusual weapon.

Brid spun around and drove his hammer down towards Zian's knees, who swiftly leapt up and drove his right foot down, striking the head of the hammer and slamming it against the ground.

He whipped his left arm across, striking Brid's neck with the side of his palm and swinging his left leg forward as Brid let out a choked gasp, his foot colliding against the middle of Brid's torso, before he kicked off him and backflipped.

As Brid stumbled back, Zian drew out his second weapon as he backed away and got some distance, letting out a slow exhale.

Attached to the handles of his weapons were chains, each about a meter long, with curved blades linked to the ends of the chains, about the length of a typical dagger.

He hopped in place a couple of times to loosen up, before he swiftly sprinted towards Brid, who warily took a defensive stance.

Brid's stats are a fair bit higher than Zian's right now, but that brief first exchange was enough to display the gap in their respective skill levels.

Brid's outmatched here, but the good thing is that he seems to have realized as much already. Let's see how he responds...

As Zian closed in on him, Brid began to raise his hammer, before stiffening as Zian suddenly leapt up, jumping right over Brid and swinging his left arm across, striking the handle of the hammer with the chain of his weapon, which wrapped around it.

Zian yanked on the chain as he landed behind Brid, starting to pull him off-balance.

Brid was quick to let go of the hammer, the large weapon hitting the ground with a thud as he spun around and drew his right fist back.

"Now...[Super Accel Water Slash]," Chanted Zian, before whipping his right weapon across with a sharp flick of his wrist.

The chain snapped through the air as slicing streaks of water swirled around the weapon, the blade closing in on the left side of Brid's neck as he began to drive his right fist forward, before he vanished from sight, the barrier teleporting him out.

"Damn, I couldn't even land a single hit," Remarked Brid, letting out a stained sigh as he deactivated his Spells.

"That was quite remarkable, your Aura was on the level of an X-Ace there...however, your movements are too unpolished to make full use of it, you can definitely stand to sharpen and refine them a lot.

Don't be discouraged, having room for improvement is a good thing, it means you have a clear path to getting stronger," Zian advised him with a smile.

"Thank you, sir, I'll keep that in mind," Brid nodded gratefully.

"So, uh...it's my turn now, right?" Spoke up Rio eagerly.

"Yeah, go get yourself warmed up, I'll go equip my gear and be right back," I nodded, as I stood up and stretched my arms out.

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