Adopted Soldier

Alex who noticed a close-range gunfight was useless, distanced himself from Lyner and started shooting at a long-range. Lyner who saw Alex changing tactics smiled, shooting at the same time as Alex. It was then that Alex saw something he has never seen before happen, right before his very eyes, the bullet he shot was deflected by another bullet. Alex was bewildered at what he had witnessed, but only for a moment and continued shooting. In a battle, one mustn't lose concentration even for a second. Alex started to analyze how Lyner was able to deflect bullets with bullets. When Alex finally came to a conclusion, he tried shooting and deflecting Lyner's bullets as well.

Lyner seeing Alex copy his technique was getting even more excited, this was truly the fight he hoped for, a fight where the stench of death surrounded them. The fight with guns at hand felt endless, but even though the two's stamina could last longer than most, their bullets couldn't. The two had finally used up all their bullets.

"It seems like our marksmanship is about the same. Truly I'm surprised Alex, you're practically at my level. Most probably the only reason you haven't gotten to SS rank yet is because you're too young and lack the experience..." Lyner started to ponder while facing Alex as if showing he had room to spare. Alex didn't really care for this gesture, this was clearly an act to lure him in.

"I don't really care about that right now. How about you just admit defeat and become our adviser." Alex calmly asked Lyner.

"And miss out on all this fun!?" Lyner attacked Alex while laughing joyfully.

Alex and Lyner started fighting but this time with their fists. The fight between the two made other hand to hand combat specialists look like they were just exercising. A punch, a kick, evading, deflecting, all there movements were precise, and left no room for mistakes.

Alex finally noticed that this old man called Lyner is an equal to him in both speed and technique. If they fought like this it would take hours, and Alex would eventually lose the game of tag by default.

'It doesn't seem like plan B will work either, time to initiate plan C.' When Alex was about to change strategies, something from the distance flashed, it darted pass Lyner.

BANG!

Lyner who was having the time of his life, while fighting Alex, finally noticed that a bullet had grazed his right shoulder. Between a fight of individuals with similar abilities, a moment's distraction was fatal. Alex who saw an opening reacted quickly and was able to hit Lyner at his chin.

Lyner who was too slow to react smiled as his consciousness faded. 'I forgot what it felt like to lose... It really isn't that bad.' After that thought passes his mind Lyner fainted.

Alex looked at the direction where the shot came from, there he saw Oliver leaving the premise. He was at the sniping position Alex was at. 'Oliver must've found my gun and waited for the perfect moment to shoot. As expected of him clean and efficient'

Alex saluted at Oliver.

...

Oliver was shocked that the gun was real. When he first saw it, he simply thought that it might be a replica, but when he pulled the trigger the recoil was too great to be a fake, and an actual bullet came out. He looked at where he fired the rifle at, there he saw Alex and Lyner, it seems like no one got hit. Oliver placed the rifle aside and retreated. As long as no one saw him it was alright he was safe, that's what he thought. Oliver quickly left the rooftop, to escape the scene of the crime, but little did he know Alex already saw him.

...

Alex looked at the fallen Lyner and felt like the ending of this battle was a little bit anticlimactic. It wasn't like Lyner was weak, in fact, he was the strongest opponent he has ever faced, but he felt like an SS rank merc should have more to offer than this. When he was about to approach Lyner to pick him up, the unconscious Lyner stood up.

Lyner stood up as if he didn't receive any damage from Alex's strike, which made Alex's perpetual poker face break a bit, it was seen by the widening of his eyes.

"Well, that was fun... I guess I lost... Hm fine then, your group does interest me a great deal, so I don't really mind being your adviser." Lyner who started yawning told Alex his decision. Alex looked at Lyner a bit dumbfounded at how quickly he recovered.

"Sir. Lyner did you go easy on me?" Alex asked Lyner since this surely wasn't all a Rank SS merc could do.

Lyner hearing Alex's question shrugged his shoulders. "To tell you the truth, I haven't had a real battle in ten years. The moment I became a Rank SS merc, I became something like a national treasure, so I couldn't fight those of the same rank as freely anymore. A merc is supposed to do what he wants when he wants to, but the moment your rank increases you become like those boring soldiers, you gain shackles called your country. I haven't been to the battlefield for a long time. Our fight is the first decent fight I had in years, so maybe I'm a bit rusty."

'I see this was Sir. Lyner at his weakest state... Well, I wasn't really in my best state as well but the difference in experience is clear for anyone to see... So this is a Rank SS merc, I truly became too arrogant... What 100% completion rate? What youngest S class mercenary?... I guess I'll need to retrain my techniques and go back to the basics.' Alex solemnly swore to himself to become stronger. For some reason, the faces of the members of the Mercenary Club, pass through his mind when he thought of becoming stronger.

Alex didn't know why he thought of their faces, but for some reason, Alex felt even more motivated now.