Level Up Legacy

Yosef should have seen it coming. The young miss was never obedient enough to make their meeting with the king go smoothly. She asked to see the city as soon as she arrived here, and he did not object because he felt grateful.

'This is on the same level of an assassination,' inwardly sighed Yosef as he looked at the Seika in front of him. 'However, this man looks familiar, but somehow, he does not.'

The Seika of Living Beings was known throughout the land for almost killing the duke of fire, killing a noble, destroying a city, and creating Runera. His fame was similar to their emperor in his youth, and Yosef saw the same eyes in this young man.

'I must be imagining things,' Yosef shook his head. 'This man is still young; he can never match the wisdom that my master attained. I am sure that he must be offended and angry,' he looked at the princess.

"Princess of the Yozia Empire..." muttered the Seika, as if trying to remember her identity. "I received news that you are coming to the grand opening happening a week from now. I never guessed you would be this early."

"We apologize for the uninvited intrusion, but we wanted to see the famed city of magic," smiled Yosef as he flattered. Praise always works to defuse any anger.

"Runera is far from being such a city, but it will grow one day," said the man with confidence. "I apologize for attacking your young miss, General Yosef."

"How do you know my name?"

"I lived my childhood reading of your heroic tales, almost treating you as a legend. So for me to see you in the flesh now is nothing less than honorable."

"Haha," laughed Yosef. "I am indeed mentioned in a tale or two, so..." however, he paused. His face froze because the young man was smiling gently at him. Yosef realized that the young man used his tactic against him and succeeded.

"Hey, let me go!" shouted Jasmine as she struggled to stand. Yosef was too distracted to keep her pinned until the Seika forgave her, so she escaped his grasp. "How dare you attack the face of a beautiful woman?" she cleaned her face while standing a distance away.

"I thought it was unfortunate indeed. However, I am happy to see that your body is strong enough to protect that beauty," said the Seika. Jasmine blinked her eyes before she blushed and laughed.

"Hehe, this much is nothing," she scratched her head while laughing. Yosef stared at her speechless because she did not notice the Seika somehow knew what she was proud about and used it.

'No, no,' Yosef was sure that it must be a coincidence. The man in front of him was still young, and he must be pretty angry that Jasmine attacked him.

"I apologize to both of you," the Seika bowed down. "I should have received you myself, but it seems that I was late to be informed of your arrival."

"We should be the one apologizing for attacking you all of a sudden," said Yosef as he rose to his feet and lowered his head toward the Seika. "I did not think that the Seika would be this reasonable."

"The reasonable thing to do is to kill you both for attacking me," laughed the Seika. "However, I can tell that she had no malice against me. Furthermore, somehow, she reminds me of someone dear. I will let this slide."

Yosef finally realized that this man was not a rash youth but a cold man that could guide his anger. His emperor once said that those who control their anger rather than it controlling them were the most fearsome. 

"You think you can kill me?" grinned Jasmine as she cracked her knuckles. "Bring it on, little boy."

"Does that mean you want to fight a little boy?" Seika covered his mouth with a surprised expression. "I guess we all pick opponents that we have a chance of defeating."

"You bastard!" she flared, and Yosef rushed to restrain her from starting another fight. The switch in this man's personality was too terrifying to witness. Yosef could not understand what this man wanted anymore.

"I will treat your attacks earlier as a challenge, and we can continue our duel in the arena. How about it, Princess Jasmine?" he grinned. "Let us get to know each other through our fists."

"It seems you are not a coward," she slapped away Yosef's arm after calming down. Yosef was quiet as he stared at his arm and then at the two youngsters.

'That slap was enough to leave a bruise,' Yosef was in awe. 'I cannot stop her unless I use my art. What did the emperor do to improve her stats this much?'

"The arena is from this way," guided Arthur by walking in front of them. Yosef stared at his back and saw how the princess was happily following him.

'This man is also fearsome,' he sighed. 'It has been a few minutes since we met, but he managed to lead the princess by the nose. Somehow, he knows how to earn her respect. I must protect her from him, even if it means war.'

Yosef thought that serving a childish leader is a hundred times better than serving a puppet controlled by another kingdom. However, this matter has yet to unfold.

***

"Seika," sighed Gruen. "I admire your ability to get yourself into trouble," he said as he looked at the two guests waiting on the opposite side. "Ma will commit suicide if he knew this."

"I gave him a consuming task for this reason," smiled Arthur. "I want to try it today. Is it ready?"

"I still need to make a few adjustments, but you can use it for a bit. This is the best artifact that I created, but I cannot name it with how much effort you had in it."

"We will think of a name together. This opponent of ours is the perfect test subject," smiled Arthur as he stared at the princess.

There was a feeling that Arthur could not understand when he looked at her. For some reason, she reminded him of Oren. Of course, his younger brother was cuter, and he was a lot gentler. However, there was something about her that made him remember his brother.

"I never thought that I would fight her, Gruen," said Arthur to the dwarf. "I knew that she would be coming today, but I did not dare to injure her. However, after a few blows, I realized that she was a monster who would never be injured."

"Then, are you going to lose?" asked Gruen as he carried a giant chest over. It was a golden chest covered in runes, enough to dazzle the two guests.

"I care very little about the outcome. The results should be the same no matter what happens."

"You have grown to be a cold, calculating man, Seika. I thought that you just want to try your new weapon," Gruen squinted his eyes, but Arthur avoided his gaze.

"Well, maybe... that too..."

"What is taking you so long?" shouted the brute princess with impatience. Yosef sighed beside her and started lecturing her, but she did not break eye contact with Arthur.

"I hope you wouldn't mind if I used a weapon," said Arthur as he walked forward. Jasmine smirked and mirrored his actions. "After all, I have but one arm."

"You can use whatever you want, little boy. Your toys do not scare me because I wield true strength."

"That is a relief," laughed Arthur as he gave the signal to Gruen. "I feared that it wouldn't be a fair fight for you, after all," as he said, Arthur threw away his leather jacket.

Jasmine frowned as Gruen opened the chest. A blinding light exploded from within as something flashed across the sky toward Arthur.

Yosef and Jasmine took a step back in confusion as the light blinded their vision. When it finally disappeared, Arthur was standing in front of them in a stance, his arms crossed.

"A mechanical arm?" laughed Yosef with shock. "This exceeds the level of a toy, your highness. You should be careful."

The mechanical arm had gears rotating inside it as steam left various vents. Arthur clenched his hand, and the steam burst through the vents. Runic lines appeared on the arm, giving it a pressuring presence.

"I will win, no matter what tricks you use," she grinned as she hopped in her place. "Let the fight begin," as she announced, Jasmine disappeared.

'Here it comes,' Arthur knew that he could not catch up to his speed with her eyes. However, he could predict from where her attack was coming.

A fist attacked his left side, straight toward the mechanical arm. Even though Jasmine acted carelessly, it was best to disable Arthur before fighting him.

"I have to admit," muttered Arthur as her fist boomed. "This was predictable, too," he raised his mecha arm as he grinned.

Jasmine did not care about his words. Her strength will break through everything. However, a rune glowed on the arm, creating a barrier.

"That cannot stop me," she laughed and broke the barrier, shattering it. "You underestimate me too much!" her fist reached the Seika, and he disappeared.