Flashy Adventurer System : Show Off to Get Stronger! - Chapter 627

Chapter 627: Sparring With Reginald
“This area should be fine…” Shye said as he turned around to face Reginald, who was stretching, appearing eager to test himself against the most talented individual he had ever seen.

A year ago, when they first met, Regi was confident that he was stronger than Shye. He thought it would be dull to challenge Shye too soon, as it wouldn’t prove anything.

Now, however, seemed like the perfect time to properly introduce themselves, even though they had known each other for quite a while.

It was time to find out exactly how strong the other was and to dispel the lingering mysteries surrounding their identities.

“Give me a few minutes to stretch properly,” Reginald said, prompting a nod from Shye, who glanced around at the empty area they had chosen for their sparring match.

Shye, from the perspective of a division leader, initially wanted to make their spar an event and collect entrance fees from those who wanted to watch from other divisions.

He then planned to use the funds to buy more training tonics and skill books, reducing their contribution point costs by marketing them as a limited-time point exchange sale.

This would encourage his underlings to prioritize developing personal skills and attributes over acquiring equipment.

After all, he needed a large number of capable individuals to recruit to Hadean Varsa, and as a division leader, he had to pull a few strings.

Unfortunately, he had to put the plan on hold for now.

Revealing his and Reginald’s true strength would be harmful to their real mission since Dweezel’s mole was still at large.

He could always fund the training materials with his abundant coin reserves if needed or request more from the old man, there was no need to expose themselves for mere additional pennies.

It was simply not worth it.

Thus, they opted for the only intermediate adventurer zone near Valenzia City, which, incidentally, had very few visitors because almost no low-ranked adventurers were based in the city.

Those who did venture into this zone, located about three hours from Valenzia City, were the true elites—children of the city’s adventurers who chose not to attend academies, believing their parents’ guidance to be superior.

No one would bear witness to their true strength here.

The wind howled as Reginald drew his dagger, summoning four tornadoes that gradually shrank until they converged at the edge of the blade, giving it a powerful gleam.

Naturally, Shye also drew his weapons, his eyes narrowed and his fighting spirit ablaze as he stared at Reginald.

“Hohoh, what an honor! Imagine, Shye Crowley of the Black Dawn, taking someone unknown like me so seriously! I shall not disappoint!” Reginald said playfully, seemingly not taking the spar seriously.

However, his eyes betrayed him as there was a hint of fiery passion in them that suggested he had been waiting for this moment for quite some time.

Shye, of course, attempted to use appraisal on Reginald again, but it was futile.

It seemed that the necklace was shielding him from prying eyes.

Realizing that probing his former deputy division leader was pointless, he decided to start the spar instead.

“Let’s begin,” Shye said, counting down the next moment. “Three, two, one, begin!”

Immediately after hearing the spar’s starting signal, Reginald seemingly vanished, prompting Shye to immediately activate his mana pulse in an attempt to locate the sneaky scout.

However, his trusty skill surprisingly failed. Shye had no idea where his opponent was.

Still, he would never panic in a mere sparring match.

‘In the end, you will have to strike…’ Shye thought inwardly, his eyes darting about in hopes of reacting by even a millisecond faster.

However, contrary to his expectations, one second turned into two, then into three. Yet, Reginald still hasn’t attacked.

‘Hmm? What the hell is this guy doing?’ Shye mused.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, the guy in question sat with a playful smile.

‘Unease should be creeping into his little heart right now…’ Reginald inwardly thought as he stared at Shye, protected by his [Unique]-tier skill, [Superior Cloaking].

Reginald was a smart man. He was patient, calm, and collected.

He believed that a scout shouldn’t always rely on rushing, flashy maneuvers, or chasing the pinnacle of speed in every battle.

Instead, they should blend elements of surprise and unease with a few swift, flashy moves to become as unpredictable as the shadows.

With this approach alone, Reginald was already ahead of ninety-five percent of all scouts worldwide.

Only the top five percent had learned that patience and the occasional slow-paced but unexpected attack were far more effective than constantly rushing in an attempt to confuse the opponent with sheer speed.

Such a combat style was simply too one-dimensional.

Shye noticed this, of course, and was impressed.

However, if Regi believed such tactics would work on him—someone with an exceptionally high wisdom attribute for his age and the [Unfazed Heart] trait—he was in for a rude awakening.

Despite his youth, Shye Crowley of the Black Dawn had more depth than even the most skilled and seasoned adventurers.

Simple parlor tricks that might work on others would not work on him.

A few more seconds later, there was finally some action as Reginald suddenly emerged from the shadows behind Shye—silent as a ghost yet swift as roaring thunder, brandishing his windy dagger towards Shye’s neck.

“There you are,” Shye said smirkingly as he slashed Adamance to deflect his opponent’s strike while brandishing Mithra to counterattack.

To his surprise, Reginald couldn’t even react, causing Shye to hesitate as he didn’t want to kill Regi.

However, he didn’t expect that everything was according to the psychologically talented scout’s plan.

Just as Shye halted his attack, thinking he had already won and wanting to avoid hurting his sparring partner, “Reginald” struck again—an “underhanded” move that caught Shye off guard.

Of course, Shye was annoyed, deciding to continue his attack using the blunt part of his greatsword to slap the sh*t out of Reginald, who he just lost respect for.

However, Shye hadn’t expected that his attack would merely pass through “Reginald”.

‘A phantom!’ He inwardly exclaimed in realization.

In this case, Reginald’s move couldn’t be considered underhanded, as the one who “lost” to Shye was merely a phantom.

Clones were different—they could take hits and disintegrate into mana particles after receiving a lethal blow. Phantoms, on the other hand, were ethereal and couldn’t be killed with melee attacks but required mage spells to defeat.

‘Tch, he got me…Stoic!’