The Rise Of A Porter

"So what do you think, Nathan?" Arnold smiled, his face was just an inch away from Nathan's, "Do you accept my proposal? I mean, Allen is only rank A swordsman and you're a rank S brawler, so it shouldn't be difficult for you to win against him right? Just win this duel and you'll become the head of the family once again. If I'm correct, that's what you want, isn't it?"

Nathan smiled back as best as he could. Arnold was right, it should be an easy task for him to dispose of Allen. And once if he successfully defeated Allen, it would also deal a huge blow to Arnold's self-esteem as well his reputation. But for some reason, Arnold's wicked smile was getting on his nerves. The outcome of the duel was pretty much already decided... So why the hell was Arnold so confident for? Even Arnold would know better than to trick him in front of the entire family... Right?

Nathan wasn't the only one contemplating Arnold's words. Nathaniel, Nina, Nicole and Johnny were all equally perplexed, not knowing what Arnold was trying to achieve by putting the two of them against each other. If it had been a duel to settle the small matter, they would've been fine but Arnold had raised the stakes quite high. It was pretty clear that Nathan, who had been giving Johnny a run for his money during their sparring session, would easily win against Allen under normal circumstances...

"Just what is Arnold thinking..." Johnny whispered in Nicole's ears, "Does he wants to give Nathan a second chance at leading the family or something?"

Nicole shook her head. She was equally clueless as everyone else, "I... I don't know why he's doing this, but I know for sure he would rather die than give Nathan what he wants at this point in time."

Nathaniel who was seeing his family being torn apart, couldn't take it anymore. Arnold might have a plan to make everything peaceful, but right now Nathan wasn't in the right place of mind. Nathan had lost too much, due to his own incompetence but still, a man who has very little to lose and everything to gain will inevitably turn hostile. With every passing moment. He had to put a stop to this madness.

"I accept." Before Nathaniel could step up, Nathan agreed to the duel.

"So do I." Allen too accept the proposition and took his blazer off before rolling up his shirt's sleeves. Nathan followed his suit and soon both of the competitors were ready to engage.

Johnny was named the judge of the duel while Nathaniel Nicole became the overseer to ensure The fairness of the competition. The crowd immediately stepped back, because they know Nathan was gonna go all out. Both of the duelists assumed their stance. But right before Johnny gave them the signal to engage, Arnold interrupted them.

"Now that I think about it, this duel doesn't seem fair to me, at all. " Arnold said while scratching his chin.

"It too late to take back your words, Deathless!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

"Oh no, please don't misinterpret my words." Arnold smiled before continuing, "I didn't mean to stop the duel. No, the duel will still take place between the two gentlemen. I'm just saying that Nathan is using a weapon whereas, Allen has no weapon on him."

The Hall was filled with murmuring. Does Nathan have a weapon on him? What a load of bull crap! He wasn't carrying any weapons on him.

Arnold didn't want to admit it, but he was enjoying every moment of the night. He intentionally didn't set any specific rules for the duel before both Allen and Nathan accepted the challenge. He did so, to give Allen a hidden advantage over Nathan. But before the situation got out of hands, Arnold quickly rephrased his opinion.

"Let me ask you one thing, what type of warrior is Nathan?" Arnold randomly asked someone from the crowd.

"A brawler?"

"Right." Arnold nodded before asking another gentleman from the crowd, "And what is a brawler's weapon?"

"Their fists. Or their body to be precise."

"And what type of warrior, is Allen?" Arnold asked once again.

"A swordsman."

"And what weapon do swordsmen use?"

"What is the meaning of this crappy questionnaire?" Nathan barked from the centre of the hall.

"Just answer the question." Arnold completely ignored Nathan's remarks and carried on as if nothing had happened.

"A sword, of course."

"Now, my last question. I can't see Allen carrying his weapon of choice. But Nathan is. Isn't it unfair that only one of them gets to weaponise himself while the other doesn't?"

'Way to go, Arnold.' Nina smiled. She knew Arnold was playing with them from the start but even she hadn't thought that Arnold would pull off something like this.

"Ahem, please correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the basic rules state that the duel can only take place if both the participants are either equally equipped or not equipped at all." Arnold now showed his fangs to everyone. He wasn't someone who was going to push a friend in a dragon's mouth, "So... Either Allen gets a weapon and starts the duel, or Nathan will get disqualified for using a 'weapon' against an unarmed participant."

People who had been murmuring till now went quiet. Then couldn't rebuke common logic. The rule Arnold stated was one of the few rules that can't be changed or messed with under any circumstances.

Nathan's anger was boiling up now. He had fallen into Arnold's trap. Nathan thought it would be an easy task to defeat all and be done with it. Alas, that wasn't the case. Arnold still had a card up his sleeve.

"Don't worry people, I'm going to make sure a fair duel happens here." Arnold calmed everyone down before taking a huge black sword, out from his inventory, "I made this greatsword for Allen, as a gift for his induction as the family head. So if he likes, he can use this sword."

Pin drop silence. No one knew what to say. Arnold had played them all, but he had played them off by playing by the rules... No one could say anything. But soon a voice appeared from with the crowd.

"How is this fair? You're giving a sword that does not belong to him!"

"Doesn't belong to him?" Arnold scoffed at the man who asked him such an illogical question, "This sword belongs to Allen. It is my gift to him for becoming the head of the family. And since it is a gift, Allen's free to use it as he pleases. It's none of your business if he uses the sword to fight or to scratch his balls."