29 Head Butler
Frederik unleashed his Soultrait in a fit of rage.
He used his energy to create gusts of wind with a faint azure hue engulfing them. The gusts were compressed into crescent-shaped blades, which were released a moment later.
The wind blades blasted at Michael with a terrific velocity, but he didn’t panic. Tigerfang reappeared in his right hand, and his Eagle Eyes Soultrait was still fully activated, enhancing his sight and reflexes.
‘Is that bastard insane?’ Michael wondered as he slashed at the wind blades that were about to cut into his body. His movements were fluid and nimble as he cut through three wind blades while evading the rest.
A deep frown formed on his face, but he didn’t say anything. It was clear that the Barbaric couple was not to be reasoned with. They fought in the middle of a bustling shop in the Central Trading Hall and had nearly killed a young innocent boy. It was only obvious that Michael wouldn’t lower his guard against such a crazy couple.
He took a few steps back and glanced over to Jacqueline, who was still sitting on the ground. Tears were streaming down her cheeks like a waterfall as she reached out for the remains of her fencing blade and held them close.
‘People say that opposite attracts…but that’s not the case right here. They’re like two mad lads birthed from the same egg…’
“Stop evading my attacks and face them head-on!!” Frederik shouted in anger as he created a new batch of wind blades.
He released them while dashing forward as well.
The attack trajectory of the wind blades was pretty simple thanks to Jacqueline being in the way and the shelves left and right to the aisle. Michael’s enhanced strength and perception also provided him with a drastic advantage. They allowed him to stay focused on Frederik when he leaned forward and kicked off to blast his body ahead.
His sword-arm swung out like a snake lunging at its prey. Tigerfang cut easily through four wind blades before Michael changed the sword’s trajectory in an instant. He twisted Tigerfang and pushed himself to the side while halting his advance at once. The sound his ankles made when he halted his advance suddenly was sickening to hear but Michael ignored it.
He used his superior speed and perception to use Tigerfang like a bat. Its flat side shot past Frederik’s longsword and impacted with tremendous force. The impact surface was Frederik’s stomach, and the result was even better than Michael would have expected.
‘Looks like their families aren’t mindlessly feeding them with resources to grow stronger,’ Michael concluded as Frederik collapsed on the ground.
Frederik clutched his stomach in pain while trying desperately to breathe.
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‘Thanks to my Soultrait I was able to get a glimpse of his movement much earlier than I should. That, combined with my superior strength and agility, gave me the opportunity to strike.’
Michael knew that Frederik didn’t use his entire strength to attack him because he never considered this short encounter a life-and-death battle. However, it was still quite surprising to think that Frederik’s raw strength was lower than his.
This could only mean two things; Michael’s War Rune was refined to a higher degree, or Tigerfang enhanced his strength and agility higher than the Artifacts Frederik bound to his War Rune!
Either way, Michael was at an advantage.
“How about we stop now?” He asked.
His gaze continued to linger on Frederik but there didn’t seem to be any more danger coming from the young man.
Frederik looked up to see Michael towering above him a few meters away. The cold abyss-like eyes of the unknown young man caused shivers to run down his spine and he nodded his head faintly before he even realized.
‘Who is that guy? Why does it feel like I’m being ridiculed by my instructor?’ Frederik thought, having a tough time comprehending why Michael’s fighting style and actions made it feel like he was fighting a veteran just a moment ago.
What Frederik didn’t know was that Michael was also a little surprised by his own actions. His body moved before he realized, and the reason was pretty simple- Fenrir’s memories!
‘I will need more time to digest Fenrir’s memory fragments and sort out the things I do not want to recall,’ He thought in all seriousness, ‘I do not want his memories to affect me negatively, but exploiting his combat experience and knowledge will help me a lot…’
While he was deep in thought, Michael ignored that Frederik had already gotten up from the ground. One of his hands was pressed against his aching stomach while his longsword rested in his other hand.
“I am the third son of the Kolbenheim family, Frederik Kolbenheim. I have a 3-Star Soultrait, and I entered the Origin Expanse a month ago. Introduce yourself please…” He was about to finish the last sentence but stopped midway as he recalled Michael’s fluidic and lethal movements.
“Is he asking me for a date or what?” Michael asked in an incredulous tone before he added quietly, “What an idiot.”
Frederik heard Michael’s last words and scowled. Instinctively, he conjured several wind spears using his Soultrait, but Michael just smiled. He pointed somewhere behind Frederik with a small smile.
“Looks like your babysitter found you.”
Frederik turned his head, and his movements froze upon seeing a gray-haired man standing right behind him. He wore simple, yet striking clothes which most butlers wore on duty, but that didn’t hide the overwhelming power residing inside the old man’s body.
“Head butler La–…”
“We’re leaving. Come with me, or you’ll be carried out like your little fiancé,” The head butler instructed, while his gaze moved to Jacqueline, whom he had already picked up. He threw her on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes and ignored that she was throwing a tantrum, trying to escape the head butler’s clutches.
Michael didn’t expect a butler to be a powerful Awakened, but it made sense. Some families hired retired Awakened as both butlers and bodyguards to make sure that their children would be safe from most dangers. Nonetheless, Michael wondered how strong the old man in front of him was. Thus, he did something he didn’t initially want to do. He decided to rile up Frederik for being a douchebag.
“I have a 2-Star Soultrait and it has been less than two days since my War Rune formed. Looks like you have to train a lot when you’re back home, Frederik Kolbenheim with a 3-Star Soultrait,” Michael muttered in a low mocking voice, but he was loud enough for Frederik to hear.
The young man’s head flicked around at once, just to see the mocking expression on Michael’s face. Frederik grit his teeth and clenched his fists, however, he didn’t say a word.
Instead, it was the head butler who halted in his tracks. He scanned Michael from head to toe before his gaze returned back to the War Rune on the back of Michael’s hand.
His gaze rested on the War Rune for a second or two until the head butler bowed to Michael.
“I apologize for the trouble my master and his fiancé caused,” The head butler apologized, “They have a bad temper, Lord…”
‘You want me to tell you my name? Sorry to disappoint you, but there is not much to find.’ Michael chuckled in his mind.
“I am just an ordinary guy, who got a bit lucky. There is no need to waste your time on me,” Michael replied nonchalantly.
He was still a little bit angry about the Barbaric Couple’s attitude and actions, but it was not like the head butler was at fault for their stupidity.
Michael was way too familiar with spoiled and entitled children of big families, in the first place. Thus, he might have gone a little overboard to teach them a lesson since he was itching to change his life by becoming a strong Lord who could stand up for himself after his War Rune manifested.
“I see.” The head butler looked at Michael for a few more seconds before he nodded his head.
“In that case, I hope you will continue to stay lucky, Sir.”