"It's no use hiding... I can sense your presence," Stan said. "Come on out, or I'll take the fight to you,"

Stan’s threatening tone made the uncertainty slowly build up on Arka, making her brain draw a blank. She cleared her throat. She then stood up behind the boulder she hid, and slowly stepped away from it to reveal herself to Stan and Lily.

She looked at the wide bloodstain on the ground, and then back at Stan. She felt suspicious of the one-sided aftermath.

"That fight— that fight... was too one-sided... What did you do?" She choked mid-sentence as she said this.

Suddenly, Stan made a proposition to her. "You wanna know...?" He smiled. "Then, entertain me a little," He said this with wide-open arms at her.

As Arka saw Stan open his arms, she made a closer inspection of Stan's handwear. I was revealed to have combat-ready short, blades at the knuckles of his leather gloves, donned with metal plates on the backhand and thumb; his steel gauntlet meanwhile, possesses small studs on its knuckles.

Knucklebusters...? No... More accurately, Cestus gloves. He fights with those? Arka recognized the gloves Stan was wearing.

Arka immediately understood Stan's suggestion of 'entertainment'. She doesn't want to get herself tangled in such a fight right now.

"I didn't come here to fight," Arka wanted to diffuse the situation.

"Well, tough luck! I'm bored, get it?" Stan told Arka. "And if you try to run, I guarantee you'll regret it," He said as he cracked his fingers.

She did intend to run... it was the first thought she had. After all, what would be the point in wasting her time on this? Although, she did feel that the person in front of her has already kept her in check. Perhaps it was already too late to back out now... her option of avoiding conflict has been restricted. Fighting was the only choice she had left in facing this situation.

"Stan," Lily suddenly spoke up. "We don't have time for this. Tyr's going to open the portal any moment," As Lily said this, Stan suddenly dropped his arms.

Stan looked at Lily. "Just relax..." He said to her in a low tone of irritation. "It only took us seconds to kill these humans," He said. "One more kill... shouldn't make a difference," Stan gestured with his index finger as he emphasized the word 'kill'.

Lily snapped at him. "Sure, fine. Do what you want,"

As Stan noticed her angry tone, he couldn't help but ask with squinted eyes: "Are you still..."

“Do what you want,” Lily firmly told Stan. Stan instinctively raised his chin.

After that, Lily distanced herself from Stan with a look of displeasure, not wanting to look at him.

Stan's eyebrows furrowed as he cast an annoyed glare at Lily, dumbfounded by her behavior of shunning him. He felt his pride repressed into him, unknowing of what he said, or done.

That's what you get for being stuck up. Arka thought as she understood the situation.

Arka dropped her filled bag, drew her sword from her waist, and held it with two hands in a downward, forty-five-degree angle. She's getting ready to fight. Not knowing how the brawler in front of her will strike, she readied to react to whatever may happen.

Stan looked at Arka, as he saw her fighting stance.

He eyed her weapon. "Nice sword," Stan commented. He began to approach her in slow increments. Arka slid her left foot forward, to keep her guard on her right side.

"Though, pointless if I could just—"

Arka's eyes widened as Stan disappeared suddenly in her field of view.

"—stand toe-to-toe, right?" Stan said to Arka, as he suddenly stood next to her on her right side.

Their toes were indeed next to each other.

Arka immediately did a quick, horizontal cut to the right, grunting due to the sudden appearance of her opponent. As Arka made her cut, she hopped back, almost losing her footing.

Stan ducked in perfect succession just before Arka's sword could make a clean cut on him.

"Nice reflexes," Stan said, while crouched down.

Arka kept hopping back until she covered a two-and-a-half meter distance. As she did so, she returned to her stance with both of her hands on the grip of her sword. "So that's how you beat that guy? A speed hack?" Arka said to him.

Stan raised his chin, and his eyes squinted, as he looked at Arka after hearing an unfamiliar term. "A speed hack? What are you talking about?"

Arka understood Stan's words as feigned ignorance. "Cheater," She rebuked.

Stan chuckled at Arka's remark. "I see, now," Stan said. "Hmm... it's just occurred to me... all the others told me the same thing..." Stan said. "Before I killed them, of course," He smirked as he said this and shrugged—expressing his nonchalant reaction to it.

Arka knew Stan was trying to intimidate her. She kept her nervous feelings in check at the sudden thought.

Suddenly, Stan dashed forward.

Within the spacing that Arka covered between them, Stan closed their distance in a half-second.

Within those moments, Arka saw Stan intending to throw a fist at her during the distance she has covered. She didn't have time to think as she instinctively raised her sword—hoping that she held it in the correct position.

A successful block.

As Arka felt the force of impact on her blade, she quickly stepped back maintaining a low body posture for balance. At the same time, Stan threw another quick fist only to be closely evaded by Arka.

After Stan threw this second fist, Arka swung her sword in a vertical swing, leaning closer this time. But once again, Stan also evaded this, hopping back as the blade neared his face. Stan looked at the moving blade directly without a change of his complacent expression.

Lily blinked an instant widened-eye reaction at Arka as she spectated the two fighters outside their dueling field.

Arka quickly brought her sword back and once again, made an appropriate stance ready for the next move. After Stan hopped back— "Impressive," He complimented her. "And you almost overextended," He said, with a fist at the ready on his waist.

Arka loosened her shoulders this time; beginning to ease into the movements of her opponent.

"Are you finding this fun...? Cheating?" Arka berated. "You'll ruin everyone's fun if you keep that up..." Arka told Stan.

Stan made an open grin with his mouth. "What?" He asked. "You still think I'm cheating...?" Stan laughed as it went on for a few seconds. Afterward, he sucked some air and exhaled with a 'Hoh' trailing off from his voice. "That was laughable," He exclaimed. "And believe me, what I'm doing isn't ruining anyone's fun,"

Arka held one hand near the end of her blade, with the other, still holding on the grip.

Stan didn't mind Arka's unusual way of holding her sword, as he once again, attempts to close his distance toward her. This time, he pivoted his body towards the right and raised his left leg.

Stan did a roundhouse kick at Arka only to be successfully blocked once more. His leg landed on the blade near the guard of Arka's sword, as his armored greaves prevented it from getting cut.

Suddenly, Arka rapidly leaned forward and elevated the sword's blade she held in her hand; circumventing his leg, and aiming for Stan's neck.

As Stan saw this, he finally changed his expression with a look of surprise. He quickly dropped his leg and leaned back to avoid the unexpected move Arka did. A close shave it was, as he rolled backward and landed on a crouching position.

After that, he put on the same, smug expression. "Amazing, that was..." he complimented her once again as Stan placed a hand on his neck instinctively.

Arka quickly returned to her usual stance.

So he claims this is his natural movement...? That can't be true. Arka thought.

"I'm not only talking about the players... you'll also ruin this server— this game for everyone..." She said.

For some reason, she recalled Banelfsing and Mikrim in the back of her mind as she said her words.

Stan looked at Arka with his eyebrows furrowed with his dead-fish-shaped eyes. "Trust me, you don't know shit about this world," Stan said as he stood up.

"Then... tell me about it," Arka retorts.

Stan broke his lips into a smile, amused at Arka's demand. He almost chuckled at her pointless request. Stan thought about whether he should tell her... Then again, he didn't start a fight with her to share pleasantries... so why was he even entertaining her in the first place?

That's when he deduced—the first few moves on their dance of death... he felt amusement. A thrill during their fight... something he hasn't felt in a long time. He became curious about her, but also perhaps, pitiful as he understood the thoughts behind her demand.

Arka recalled the incident a while ago, in hopes of getting Stan to talk some more.

"Before you killed that player a while ago, it sounded like you were looking for something," Arka said. "What's your aim?" She asked, hoping that the person in front of her might spill the beans.

Stan stopped smiling. "So, you did eavesdrop on us after all?" Stan affirmed his suspicions, as he began cracking his fingers. "Has what you've heard been over the top...?" He said this, as he slowly made each of his digits sound the release of pressure for each press with his thumbs.

It didn't take long until he stopped this midway. "I suppose... I can let you have a slice of the cake," He said.

Lily darted a look at Stan, giving him a look of disbelief. This worried expression can be seen in her eyes due to Stan who was about to let the confidentiality of their mission be compromised.

"But first, some action," He said.