Chapter 14: Race Against Time

Chapter Fourteen

The next day... "Are you two ready?" Orion asked. He stood at the center between two figures. They were none other than Racheal and Elias, both of whom wielded wooden swords in their hands.

From the moment one looked at the scene, it was clear what was about to go down. The sun had barely risen, and it was still very early in the morning. Yet practicing and sparring every morning had been engraved into the bodies of this trio.

It was something they had done regularly to keep themselves in shape. Well... that was how things used to be. Now, Orion had surpassed the other two by an enormous margin.

His physical fitness, skills, battle IQ, reflexes, and countless other aspects had all reached a level far beyond theirs. At this point, having Orion spar against either of them normally would be nothing more than cheating.

So, to make the practice somewhat worthy of being called a spar... the duo would face Orion together. Even then, it still wouldn’t be fair if Orion were allowed to wield a wooden sword.

So, he used none. And then, to make things even more "fair," Orion blindfolded himself. He tied the cloth securely around his eyes before beckoning toward the duo.

"Come."

Elias sucked in a small breath of relief when he saw this. With all these restrictions on Orion, at least he should be able to put up a decent fight. The younger kids were watching, after all.

Still... Elias secretly wished Orion would go even further. Perhaps he could handcuff himself too. Of course, Elias was just being shameless at this point.

After all, if Orion handcuffed himself, that would mean he couldn’t fight with his hands. A blindfolded Orion. Two against one. And only his legs available for combat.

That sounded completely fair. At least... that was what someone who didn’t know just how ridiculously skilled Orion was would think.

"So, who do you think will win this one?"

Several of the kids were already awake. Their little hands were pressed against the windowsill, their eyes shining with excitement as they watched the scene outside.

The sparring between their three oldest siblings could practically be called their morning cinema.

"Of course Big Brother Orion will win!" Lily declared, her eyes shining brightly. "He always wins!"

"Hmph!" Dame immediately crossed his arms. "He just always gets lucky. Sister Racheal has trained hard this time. She will win for sure!"

Noah shook his head. "Yes, Big Sister Racheal and Big Brother Elias have trained and improved." He spoke with absolute confidence.

"But compared to Big Brother Orion, they are still lacking. They will surely lose once more."

Jack, as always, had to oppose him. "Keep dreaming. With how many restrictions are on Big Brother Orion, he’ll definitely lose this time."

A taunting smile appeared on Jack’s face.

"Really?" Noah smirked. "Wanna bet?"

Jack’s expression changed slightly.

"With our breakfast. The winner takes the loser’s breakfast."

Jack was about to agree, but the moment he heard what they were betting with... his mouth immediately shut. He looked away.

Gluttonous Noah...

"Guys, the spar has started!"

The moment the words fell... the duo attacked Orion from both sides. Compared to most ordinary Level 0 Awakeners, Racheal and Elias were considerably stronger, faster, and far more precise in their attacks.

Their wooden swords struck from extreme angles, their footwork was seamless, and their movements were seemingly perfect as they coordinated with each other, attacking Orion from completely different directions.

Yet... Orion smiled.

One of his legs moved.

CLACK!

His foot struck Elias’s wooden sword, knocking it to the side. At the same time, Orion pivoted and twisted his body just enough to narrowly evade Racheal’s incoming strike.

The duo’s expressions became serious. They didn’t want to lose once again. They had trained hard. They had improved. They had come prepared.

But as fate would have it... that still wasn’t enough.

Orion was simply too fast. Too skilled. Even while blindfolded and without a weapon, he could predict their movements before they happened and react accordingly.

Every attack they launched was met with a direct counter. Every opening they created was immediately exploited.

Before long... the two finally gave up. They stood there gasping for breath, their bodies drenched in sweat.

"You guys have improved," Orion said. He reached up and removed the blindfold from his eyes.

Elias and Racheal’s faces twitched.

Improved?

He had been blindfolded. He hadn’t even used a weapon, and he had still taken the two of them down with ease.

Yet he was telling them they had improved.

The duo exchanged a look before silently shaking their heads. Both of them were drenched in sweat.

Meanwhile... Orion barely had a drop of sweat on him.

The morning spar had ended, and once again... Orion had won.

"You lose."

Noah immediately turned toward Jack with a smug grin. "Hand over your breakfast."

Jack’s eyes twitched. He slowly turned his head away.

"Never."

"Early in the morning, and you’re already acting like your name suggests... a jackass."

Jack’s face immediately reddened. "Let’s have our spar immediately!" he demanded.

His temper was always a hot one... much like his red hair.

Noah simply shook his head. "No. I don’t bully kids."

"Kid, you say?" Jack’s face became even redder. "You damn dimwit! We’re the same age! If you’re so sure of your strength, then come and fight me right now!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The rest of the kids immediately began cheering. Not because they cared about the bet or the little grudge between the two.

No. They simply wanted to see another cool morning fight. To them... this was absolute cinema.

"What is it?" Jack taunted, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking smirk. "Are you scared?"

Noah looked at him for a moment. Then he shook his head in pity. He could already imagine the beating Jack was about to receive.

After a moment, Noah nodded.

"Alright."

He stepped forward.

"Come on, then."

Not far away, Orion and the other two were taking a break beneath one of the large trees in the compound, watching the spar between Noah and Jack.

The duo had been trained by their father, Mark Stormblade, just like Orion, Racheal, and Elias. Before his death, Mark had personally trained all of them.

But now that he was gone, the responsibility of training the younger ones had fallen into the hands of Orion and the other two. With Orion being their major trainer, he naturally had the most experience among them.

The battle between Noah and Jack began without any meaningless preamble. The moment they stepped forward... they attacked.

The battle started swiftly, with the two seemingly evenly matched in terms of skill. Their movements were sharp, their attacks were fast, and neither was willing to give the other an easy opening.

For a while, the battle remained at a stalemate.

That was... until Noah opened his mouth.

"Is that all you’ve got, Jack? Weakling."

Jack’s temper immediately flared. He charged forward without thinking.

And just as Noah expected... Jack fell straight into his trap.

Noah shifted his body.

A swift uppercut landed.

BAM!

Before Jack could recover, Noah followed with a powerful swinging kick.

THUD!

The spar was over.

Noah had won.

Orion shook his head watching this the duo can be said to be even but Noah always won by using Jack hot temper against him.

The rest of the morning passed with everyone working around the home and preparing food for the kids. Soon, Orion was ready to begin his daily grind.

Before leaving, however, he went into his mother’s room. Anna was already awake. Her solemn gaze rested on Iris, who was still soundly asleep.

"Good morning, Mom."

Orion sat beside Iris, his gaze resting on her cute and peaceful expression.

Mrs. Anna nodded. "Good morning, son."

She glanced at him. "I see you’re ready to go to work once more."

Orion nodded. "I need to get there early. There’s something I want to try out."

He smiled reassuringly. "I’ll be back soon... and safely, so you don’t have to worry about me."

He paused.

"I’ll take care of myself."

Anna nodded.

Orion turned his gaze back toward Iris.

"I promise I’ll raise enough points to get you cured soon."

His voice was soft.

"Just wait a little while longer."

He gently looked at her sleeping face.

"Big Brother will definitely save you."

Soon after, with Lily clinging to him once more before finally letting go, Orion set out.

The first thing he did was transfer some points to Racheal and Elias to help maintain the household. After that, he took the corpse of the Three-Horned Bull to the Dungeon Market.

There, he sold it to Mia. Alongside the Bull’s corpse, the total amount he received from her was... 500 Points.

After thanking her, Orion left the Dungeon Market and headed straight for the Basic Green Dungeon.

Soon, Orion stood before the dungeon. The old man had yet to arrive. It was understandable, though.

The old man’s residence was quite far away, and who would expect him to come this early in the morning?

Orion shook the thought aside. His gaze gradually turned sharp as he stared at the dungeon entrance.

"I’ll have to try and clear this recurring dungeon as quickly as possible..."

His fists slowly tightened.

"And as many times as possible."

This time around... Orion wouldn’t take things easy on the goblins. He needed to try and raise his level.

At the same time, he needed to get his hands on items worth enough points to help him reach his goal. He couldn’t continue wasting time, not when Iris’s condition was worsening.

"Time to get to work, then."

Orion stepped into the dungeon.

And this time... the green goblins were about to face true trouble.