With his body encased by the astral dark ice, Rue sprinted forward, his broadsword up.

  The Knight met his charge and swung his great sword that somehow extended, casting a huge shadow above Rue. The shadow grew. And Rue rolled to his right, quickly bringing his broad sword up as the giant sword’s side slammed against him.

  His feet dug down. The mere force of the sword caused him to drag against the earth below. Rue exerted his strength and stopped the sword's momentum, almost being pancaked into a wall just beside him.

  The sword suddenly turned into a normal size—well, normal, which was still the knight’s whole size. It was so quick that the sun barely beamed on him before the knight swung down again with his enlarged sword.

  Rue charged into the house to his left and shielded himself as the sword seared apart the poor house, straight down its stout cobblestone wall. He watched as the sword tried to turn toward him, but it was stuck deep. The sword disappeared again, causing the house to crumble all around him.

  Rooftop creaked and crashed straight down through the second floor, straight at Rue. He did not stay idle. Rue lifted his hand instead of dodging, building up his Frost Blast. He waited until the building about rained down upon him. Then he unleashed his spell. Frost spread up, and rubble above him froze into a dark ice.

  He let them fall and shielded himself. Ice broke against him like a prattle, and around him, the house collapsed, sending dust up around the area. Rue immediately cast Frost Shrapnel. Dark ice shaped in front of him and spun, whirling the dust in a small pocket area.

  The evening sun was still strong. Strong enough for Rue to see a great shadow of an overgrown sword cascading upon him like a giant’s feet about to stamp on him. He discharged his magic, and the shrapnel burst out through the dust cloud. His spell slammed straight against the still falling sword, knocking it back a bit, and broke apart.

  That bought Rue time.

  He charged ahead before the sword could descend upon him again.

  Rue rushed out of the dust cloud, skidded to a stop with his sword up, and then he threw it at the knight. His sword spun in a whirring death. The Knight hesitated and redeployed his sword to its normal size again.

  But the spinning sword missed completely. Rue did not expect it to hit, but he did expect this to happen. He summoned his obsidian sword and bounded ahead. The knight tried to enlarge his sword again, but Rue had entered its defence, so instead the Knight swung normally, and Rue met it with his own sword.

  The moment their sword met, the Obsidian Sword cracked. Rue could feel the shattering frost prickling just above his hand. The knight pushed forward, resulting in Rue giving up ground as the Knight knocked Rue’s sword up out of his hand.

  “Too inexperienced!” The Knight shouted, swinging his sword down on him.

  Rue raised his arm, but the sword angled to crack his shoulder. Ice burst from his left shoulder up. Cold vapor hissed up, and Rue's body went down.

  The Knight laughed and was about to strike at him again. But, Rue’s feet found balance, and with his right hand, he slammed it into the Knight’s helmet.

  The knight guffawed, knocked back, still holding his sword. He was about to swing again. But, Rue stepped inside his defense and smashed an uppercut into the Knight’s head armor. This almost made the Knight fall, but just like Rue, he found his balance and headbutted Rue.

  His head went spinning for a moment. But then it was gone. The pain was replaced by nothing. Rue built up Frost Blast on his left palm. Dark Frost gathered like a wave on unformed mana. The Knight noticed this and hit him again. But that did nothing to Rue—Rue fired off his spell point-blank straight at the Knight’s head.

  A wave of dark frost rushed forward and blanketed the brothel’s wall behind the knight. The Knight's white armor crept with dark frost. Brilliant dark ice caught the sun's reflection, and Rue slammed his fist straight at the Knight’s chest armor, cracking it.

  The Knight spat out blood as his back head crushed through the brothel’s wall. Rue quickly summoned his sword and was about to pierce into the Knight's fractured armor. But suddenly, the Knight swept Rue’s feet under him and elbowed Rue’s head. This time, Rue’s cheek ice cracked, and cold vapor burst out with dark ice.

  A quick kick he did not see coming sent Rue rolling across the ground.

  He stood again with a new pain on his cheek, and the Knight now got his wish. A gigantic sword blocked the sun again and swung upon Rue. He cursed himself for not being faster and began running to his right. The crowd around them cried out, and some unlucky one got sheared apart as they watched too closely. Rue burst open a door and turned to hope the house’s cobble wall would stop the sword's momentum. And it did. The house shook. Wooden flooring creaked.

  Not wasting any time, Rue quickly ascended the staircase. He doubled over as he noticed the sword now being recalled, and soon that ridiculous spell would be used again. Rue raced through the hallway and went to the balcony, immediately casting Frost Shrapnel and aimed it down at the Knight, just in time to see a new giant sword about to be swung down at him.

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  Perfect.

  Rue let his shrapnel fly and tore the space between them. Before the giant sword gained downward momentum, the Frost Shrapnel ripped apart the Knight's armored hand, causing the sword to disappear and reappear in normal size.

  He missed.

  He meant to aim straight at the knight’s open chest.

  Well, no matter. This works too. Rue cast another Frost Shrapnel and fired it off fast. The Knight’s helmet snapped up, and with his right hand completely gone, he sheared apart Rue’s magic with his left only.

  Clicking his tongue, Rue summoned another Frost Shrapnel and fired it. The Knight this time pointed his sword straight at Rue’s magic, and the sword did not enlarge. It was extended, spearing through Rue’s spells straight into his chest.

  A great force bludgeoned against him. His chest’s obsidian ice cracked.

  Rue let out a gasp. He lost his balance and fell off the balcony as the railing broke apart. The Obsidian armor disappeared into a puff of cold mist around him. And Rue clutched his chest. His breath convulsed. It was still there, he realised.

  Calm down.

  Light flickered. Mist parted. And Rue rolled to his right, dodging a quick extension of a sword that crushed through a poor woman’s head who happened to be inside her house.

  He stood, then knelt instantly, letting the fading mist to cover him. He lost his armor. What to do now? Retreat? No, the other was fighting…

  “You have nothing left! Give it up!” The Knight screamed.

  Another extension of the sword crashed against the house behind him, piercing through the cobblestone wall like a piston.

  Rue cast his Frost Shrapnel and quickly released it out of the mist, blowing his cover in the process. He needed to close the distance. Fast.

  Rue summoned his Frost Sword, and the blue sword’s cold settled around his palms. He launched forward, eyes intent on the Knight.

  The Knight hesitated on whether to pierce Rue or the Shrapnel. Then he chose the Shrapnel, destroying it in a quick second.

  Rue had already built up another Frost Shrapnel. This one was much weaker since he was casting it while running. Still, Rue released it, and the Knight did something he didn't expect. He stepped forward and cut the Shrapnel, saving himself from using his Spell—a Spell that was now freed and aimed at Rue.

  Instead of running further, Rue stopped. He angled his sword up and watched intently as the Knight aimed with his left arm.

  There it was. The knight's hand shook. He was too used to holding a sword in both hands. So, Rue kept watching for a telltale sign of magic.

  He took a small step forward, inching toward the knight.

  The knight hesitated yet again.

  Then Rue stomped his right foot down. The Knight released his spell, and Rue ducked it. The sword rushed through just above his hair, piercing nothing but air.

  Rue smiled, letting out a chuckle, and he bolted forward.

  The knight quickly recalled his sword, about to extend it again, but Rue was already there. He slinked into close range—the knight screamed, slashing wildly at Rue. He caught the strike, and his frost sword cracked in complaint. That might be a problem.

  Rue pivoted, bringing his body behind the Knight, and he elbowed the knight’s helmet, sending him staggering backward. With the newly created space, Rue jabbed forward into the knight's chest—the knight twisted, and Rue’s sword instead hacked the knight's armored left shoulder. Rue’s sword cracked apart. And the knight this time brought his pommel up and slammed it into Rue’s cheek.

  A pain blasted from half of his face. But it was not enough to bring Rue down. That strike was only done with one hand despite how painful it was. Rue reached up, his left hand slung across the knight’s neck, and with his right hand, he built up Frost Blast and slammed the magic straight into the knight’s opened stump.

  Frost rushed in, the bottom of the Knight’s neck frozen with blue frost. He tried to breathe, but a chortle came instead. The strength of his hand gone, the knight dropped his weapon.

  “A—Ar, S-sru…” He mumbled.

  Rue kicked the Knight down, his head still spinning from the bloody pommel slam.

  “Great, you make things complicated,” Rue said, standing over the fallen knight. “Now I lost my armor, and cannot take the time to recover it.”

  He summoned a Frost Sword, deciding the knight’s sword was too heavy for him. Rue angled his sword and impaled the Knight’s chest. Sword dug in, and the Knight gasped. The light in his eyes started to fade. Rue twisted. And the Knight breathed his last.

  [You have Slain Human Knight—Level 27]

  [Level up]

  [Level up]

  Name: Rue Hazard.

  Level: 20 → 26.

  Class: ArchMage-Knight.

  Creation Point: 0.

  Authority: Authority of Frost.

  Core: Arch—Core.

  Mana: 102/430 → 102/525

  Strength: 32 → 37

  Dexterity: 25 → 30

  Constitution: 28 → 35

  Mind: 39 → 45

  Sense: 30 → 39

  Arcanery: 50 → 62

  [Knight Spell (3/3)]

  - Frost Sword [101→125] [Lesser-Piece] [Common]

  - Stasis of Obsidian Ice [51,112→51,155] [Archon-Piece] [Mystic]

  - Heart of Frost Knight [72→82] [Fragile-Piece] [Uncommon]

  [Mage Spell(2/3)]

  - Frost Blast [35→42] [Fragile-Piece] [Common]

  - Frost Shrapnel [62→82] [Fragile-Piece] [Common]

  - [Ice Embrace] [12→35] [Fragile Pieces] [Rare]

  Looking at his stat again, he just noticed something. Why did his Creation point still zero? Maybe it was impending like his Spell options sometimes? He could ask the Watcher, but it was not the time.

  Rue looked down, and he grasped the Knight’s helmet.

  [Knight Helmet][Uncommon][Well-Piece]—Crafted to protect the head. Grant extra compatibility to the [Knight] class.

  “Oh?” Rue put on the feathered plum head armor, and it was a bit too big for him. But then, it hugged his head and even granted him more vision than should have been possible. Rue looked around, touching the helmet like it were his face.

  So, a Knight Class could resize armor? He needed to keep that in mind. What about the rest of them? And maybe the sword too?

  [Greatsword][Uncommon][Lesser-Piece]—Crafted for the strongest. The Greatsword cares not for one’s comfort; it cares only for absolute strength.

  It did not sound like it would fit him.

  Rue had ruined most of the armor, with only the legs and one arm still intact.

  A crash boomed inside the brothel.

  He bit his cheek, looking at the armor. Deciding it would be worth it, Rue picked the last gauntlet and wore it over his right hand. He quickly equipped both legs with armor. But the leg armor was heavy and did not fit him. So, he left it.

  Opening the Brothel door, he spotted an open space where the ceiling reached up through every floor. He saw an old man lying bleeding with a girl’s body behind him. Paxwell shielded the figure of Ilyrin as he stood facing another girl who swayed in the air. Her eight legs were crushing deep into various parts of the floor’s gallery. She whirled around and spotted Rue.