Descending Into A Novel-Chapter 44:Troublemaker

Calling Arthur Findsor a troublemaker was an inadequate term.

The crazy, unimaginable, brain-shattering, logic-defying, sanity-numbing, borderline war crime levels, utterly deranged stupid things this guy did...

It takes a special kind of stupid, not the ’I lack intelligence’ kind of stupid but the ’I have intelligence and I want to use it for stupid.’ kind of stupid.

Flirting with the prince of the merfolk, creating a fake cult dedicated to worshipping the sun, deciding to collapse one of the largest underground fighting rings and managing to steal an entire castle from a duke ranked demon.

This was a small list of the things he had done.

The worst part wasn’t even the fact that he was stupid enough to do things like this. It was the fact that he was almost always successful.

Having the prince fall in love with a human male, the Solstice Movement, the destruction of the Bloodringer battle grounds, stealing one of the castles of Duke Vazrath. He was successful in each endeavor.

Despite not being in the special class and being much weaker then Zachary and his gang he was always one of the main supporting characters.

Raymond honestly had a tough choice when he had first decided to write his novel. He had used future sight to get a rough idea of their futures and seeing the crazy things Arthur and Zachary had done—he knew immediately one of them would be the main character of his novel.

He then learned that Zachary was a system wielder however, and immediately ditched Arthur. Choosing Zachary as the main character instead.

Zachary also had a much harder life and tragic backstory plus he also was the future strongest so Raymond didn’t feel bad for not choosing Arthur.

That marked Zachary as the fourth system wielder he knew of, the weakest one by far but also the one with arguably the best system out of all of them.

Quests that reward items and stats, a shop, a detailed status screen showcasing each part of the body. It was miles ahead of his own one.

Although the upper ceiling for his strength was also much lower then Raymond, something he figured was just due to the lower ceiling of the entire dimension as a whole.

Raymond mentally wondered whether he could grow to be as strong as the other system wielders if he was born in a different dimension.

Lost in thought however, he didn’t notice when Arthur walked up to him. Waving a hand in his face.

"Hello? You ready to spar?"

"?"

"I’m paired up with Ellen?"

"I asked the teacher if I could swap since I was too weak for Audrina and he put me against you since you’re a mage."

Raymond’s face turned sour, turning to find Ellen. He found her unapologetically looking away at the sky.

’The clouds look so beautiful today...’

Looking back at Arthur, he found him smiling brilliantly. As if amazed by his own genius.

"So uh, you ready to spar Mr. Potential-score-over-100?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"...fine."

Raymond waved his hand, summoning his staff only to be quickly interrupted by Arthur.

"Woah! You were not listening at all were you? Teacher said no mana allowed!"

No wonder he had been so confident in a fight against Raymond. While him ’forming’ a core wasn’t exactly public knowledge yet, Arthur definitely should have seen him fighting during the entrance examination.

But he definitely didn’t know about Raymond’s hand-to-hand skills. Zachary had likely kept it a secret for him.

Raymond was in a foul mood right now. The thought of using hand-to-hand combat again made his own emotions flare up.

Unsummoning his staff, he quickly got into a stance. His legs stable on the ground ,chest sligtly angled with his fists raised to chin level. His leading right hand slightly lower with his elbows flared out slightly.

Raymond scowled, before going back to a normal still position. His own muscle memory instinctually going back to that cursed fighting style.

Looking around, he spotted Audrina and Ellen engaging each other. Fists and kicks flying through the air as they each dodged and weaved between the others attacks.

"Give me a moment will you? I need to analyze something real quick."

He nodded, "Sure." . The more time wasted the happier he was.

He watched Ellen closely as she fought. Her stance, her breathing, the way her limbs moved and more. Soaking up everything she did like a sponge.

Running a few mental simulations in his head, he quickly learned the basics of whatever art she was using. Adjusting a few of the moves and techniques to be applicable for someone of his build.

Seeing Ellen narrowly miss another roundhouse kick, he quickly adjusted a few more of his previous simulations. Absorbing each of her movements and using his already existing fundamentals to improve upon it wherever he could.

After a few minutes, he turned back to Arthur. Still grinning with joy at his obvious success.

He got into a stance, his left leg raised with both of his arms raised to his chin. Elbows tucked inwards.

"I’m ready."

Arthur grinned. Getting into a stance as well, the two of them stood there facing each other for a while before he finally made his move.

Rushing towards Raymond, he made a quick swing at him. Obviously expecting Raymond to go down quick.

Raymond chose not to back away. Arthur was already too close, too confident in his victory. He had to make use of this opportunity while he could.

Shifting his weight, he slid inside of his attack. Driving his knee straight into his chest.

Arthur let out a slight groan as the air in him left his body, before he could react in time. Another knee came up, landing in his chest as he folded over—causing him to groan again even louder.

Raymond quickly dashed backwards, just in time to dodge another one of his punches. At their level, even without using mana they were still strong. With Arthur having a natural advantage as a warrior.

Arthur rushed at him again, this time more guarded. His other arm protecting his body as he swung at him again.

Unfortunately for him, he just walked into another one of Raymond’s kicks.

He spun on his leg, lifting his other knee into the air as he jumped slightly. Using the momentum of his spin to execute a roundhouse kick squarely at Arthur.

A move he copied from Ellen, a flawless tornado kick.

Dust rose in a mini swirl around him as he executed the kick.

Arthur aised up his hands to block it. His forearm locked and tight at a slight angle as he deflected Raymond’s shin. A sound like a gunshot rang as his kick collided with his arm.

Arthur grimaced, even with blocking it. His arms still stung from the sheer force of Raymond’s kick.

While Raymond was still recovering from his kick, he swerved towards him. Launching a right hook at his open chest.

Raymond quickly used his hands to catch his punch, before abruptly rotating it nearly a full 360 degrees. Causing Arthur’s body to twist, his face grimaced as the pain from Raymond’s wristlock hit him.

The pain abruptly stopped however as Raymond quickly let go of his wrist. Backing away, he stared at his own hands.

’muscle memory...again.’

It was a struggle to not fall back onto the Von Mez fighting style. Each movement felt forced and stiff. Like a rigid machine, even when he had numerous chances to kick him. Raymond’s instinct made him execute several knee strikes instead.

He clenched his teeth, even after hundreds of years. The effort he had put in so long ago still haunted him to this day.

Seeing Arthur still recovering slightly, Raymond ran towards him. Pivoting on his heels, he twisted his waist. Sending another kick right at him.

Arthur ducked under it, despite his earlier behaviour. He wasn’t exactly a weakling when it came to fighting.

Grabbing Raymond’s leg, he gripped it tightly and yanked Raymond towards him in an attempt to destabilize him.

Widening his own stance, Raymond used his momentum against Arthur. Crashing into him with a loud thud, his arms released their hold on his leg.

Stepping back, the two of them slightly lowered their guards. With Raymond still not yet suffering a single hit the entire time.

"Aren’t you a mage? Why the hell are you so good at this?", he asked.

"Well, it’s not that hard honestly. It’s a bit like magic. I see your move and I just have to use the correct spell against it."

"...what?"

He sounded genuinely baffled. Something like that was easier said then done. If everyone could think so calmly during a fight, then everyone would be a master at fighting.

Having several centuries of fighting experience also helped. But he wasn’t about to reveal that.

"Is this what a 180 potential score is like...?", he muttered under his breath.

"Well, I just copied what Ellen was doing so it really wasn’t that hard."

"Why the hell are you a mage and not a warrior?!"

"Warriors are dumb brutes who use their muscles to think. Compared to a mage, we are elegant and more sophisticated. We are more versatile and useful in every situation. We ar-

"Are you discriminating against warriors right now? Isn’t your master a warrior?"

He made a good point. But arguing in an attempt to try and change an individuals view was an impossible endeavor in the first place. Logic and facts be damned!

"That’s different."

"How the hell is it different?!"