System's POV

Chapter 442: You Still Have A Long Way To Go

Remi carefully helped her brother bandage his knuckles for his sparring match with Rianna.

The teenage boy decided to wear boxing gloves in his fight against her as a way to protect his hands from their duel.

Rianna had recently stepped into the Master Rank and was considered a very talented individual, having broken through in ranks faster than most Wanderers.

She and Thirteen's brother, Mikhail, had the same rank, and if their next mission in Solterra ended successfully, they would be a step away from becoming Grandmasters.

The Hero of the Hero Party, Roland, was also an Initiate despite being only seventeen.

It was due to him being a step above the rest that he was considered one of the top prodigies of the current generation.

Seeing that her sparring partner was planning to use a glove, Rianna also decided to wear one.

After parting ways with Thirteen in Solterra, Rianna had focused her effort on learning how to become a good archer.

However, she also learned how to fight in close combat using short swords. She was now more like a Ranger, who could fight using both ranged and melee weapons.

Since she was also part of the Army, she learned basic hand-to-hand combat from her parents.

Even Shana was taught a bit about this. As a Healer, she also needed some ways to protect herself if her opponent managed to get close to her.

"You can use wooden daggers over there, Rianna," Thirteen said. "Don't worry. It will be fine."

"Maybe next time," Rianna replied. "My hand-to-hand combat is getting rusty, so this is fine too."

The one who was helping Rianna apply the bandage on her hands was none other than Shana.

After Thirteen and Rianna were done wearing their gloves, they headed to the center of the training room, leaving the rest to watch from the sides.

"It's a shame, but I also want to spar with him," Roland commented. "Unfortunately, it will be too unfair since I am stronger."

"Same," Derek smiled faintly. "Still, who do you think will win?"

"Isn't it obvious? Rianna will naturally win," Roland answered.

"I feel the same way," Derek replied. "But I'm a sucker for underdogs, so I'm rooting for Zion to win. How about you, Shana? Who do you want to win?"

"I don't care who wins," Shana replied. "I just don't want to see any of them get hurt in this sparring match."

"Oh? Does that mean you don't want to see Zion get hurt?" Erica hugged Shana from behind. "Admit it. You like him, don't you?"

"Cut it out, Erica," Joshua, who didn't like where the topic was going, stated. "You know Shana is still innocent when it comes to these things."

"Well, she might be," Erica said in a mischievous tone. "But some of them are not, right?"

The girls in the Hero Party, with the exception of Shana, knew that Roland and Joshua had a crush on their Saintess.

Derek knew this as well. But for him, Shana was only a close friend, so he didn't feel any jealousy when other guys were being linked to the Saintess.

"Just watch the spar," Roland stated in order to shift the attention back to the two combatants. "They are about to start."

Thirteen and Rianna both took a fighting stance and stared at each other for a few seconds.

Contrary to what everyone was expecting, it was Thirteen who took the initiative to close the distance, making Rianna smirk.

Without much effort, the young lady also closed the distance and was the first one to strike.

The resounding sound of a glove hitting something echoed inside the training room.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock when Thirteen easily dodged Rianna's blow and gave her a punch on the side of her ribcage, targeting her liver.

Thirteen didn't use his full strength when he dealt the blow, but it was enough to make Rianna feel a slight pain at the side of her body.

"That's the only warning shot you will get, Rianna," Thirteen said as he started to move around the training room, using his Steadfast Brawler movement technique. "Next time, I will hit you for real. I know that you plan to hold back, but I assure you, there's no need for it."

"Fine," Rianna stopped smiling as her expression became serious. "I'll fight you for real. Don't worry. Shana is here to heal you if I accidentally break your bones. But you might not be able to do anything physically exhausting for a week."

Thirteen didn't reply and only made the gesture of "come to daddy" with his gloves. ????????.???

This time, it was Rianna who took the initiative to charge at Thirteen, wanting to wipe the smirk off his face.

She unleashed a combination of punches and kicks. But every time, Thirteen was able to dodge them with ease, making the members of the Hero Party watch the spar more seriously.

"How can he dodge her attacks when she's stronger than him?" Joshua asked as he fixed the glasses on his face. "That shouldn't be possible, right? He's only a Rookie."

"He's predicting her moves," Derek replied solemnly. "I don't remember him having that kind of ability in his status page."

"He doesn't have any abilities like that," Erica commented. "The only ability he has is Universal Language Proficiency, and he also has that Domini Mortis as a Beast Companion."

Currently, Tiona had taken the form of a snake armlet on her Master's right arm, acting as a defensive accessory if need be.

Since she was as hard and tough as adamantine in this form, she served as a shield to protect her Master from serious injuries.

Seeing that Rianna was getting frustrated because her blows weren't landing on him, Thirteen saw an opening and didn't hesitate to do a combination attack, unleashing a quick jab and a strong hook that targeted the side of Rianna's body.

This time, he didn't hold back and punched as strongly as he could, breaking his opponent's momentum and making her stagger.

In order to prevent herself from getting pushed back, Rianna firmly planted her feet on the ground in preparation for a counterattack. But, that was a mistake.

Thirteen's combination attack wasn't over.

He had expected that Rianna would try to regain her balance right away, so he crouched down and did a leg sweep, knocking her off of her feet and making her fall on her back.

Everything happened so fast that by the time Rianna understood what had happened, she was already lying on her back and staring at the smug smile on Thirteen's face.

"You still have a long way to go, Rianna," Thirteen said. "You won't be beating me anytime soon. Of course, if you used short swords or daggers, things might have ended differently.

"It's your fault because you underestimated your opponent too much. Make sure not to make the same mistake in Solterra, okay?"

Rianna blinked once then twice before a sigh escaped her lips.

"Knowing you, it wasn't a fluke," Rianna replied. "Very well. I will train more so that I can beat you."

"Good." Thirteen nodded before doing a fist bump with his opponent.

Seeing that gesture, everyone in the training room clapped their hands, recognizing his good show of sportsmanship.

"If it's fine with you, can I ask you to spar with me too?"

The sudden question made Thirteen glance at Roland, who was looking at him with a determined expression on his face.

"Why not?" Thirteen replied. "You can pick any weapon on that rack over there."

Roland nodded and didn't hesitate to pick up a wooden sword, giving it a few practice swings.

Rianna frowned, wanting to tell Zion that sparring with Roland wasn't a good idea.

She knew that the Hero had a crush on her sister. Normally, she didn't mind that one bit.

However, she could tell that the main reason why Roland wished to spar against Zion was because her sister and the teenage boy had become closer as of late.

Jealousy could drive people crazy at times, and although it didn't look like Roland had gone crazy from it, his gaze was enough to tell Rianna that he wanted to beat Zion in front of Shana.

"I think…"

"It's fine, Rianna. I'd also like to spar with the Hero."

Since Shana was Rianna's sister, the teenage boy knew that the Hero and the Saintess usually had a high chance of ending up together because that was what Fate had written.

But Thirteen also understood that not all Heroes were the same.

Taiga was a Hero, and for the most part, he was a decent one.

But there were also Heroes who acted more like villains instead of heroes.

He wanted to make sure that Shana wouldn't end up with a villain, so he planned to test the waters and see if the Hero in front of him was the real deal or not.