Atlas: Lightning From The Wild West
28: A GIFT

A PRESENT

"This letter looks very old" said Indra.

"I'm sure if you touch it just a little bit, it's gonna break so old" Cheryl replied.

"After you say that, I want to touch it" Indra said.

"Stupid! This thing might be as expensive as the others, broken a little maybe can make you replace it with hundreds of thousands of pieces of gold" Cheryl replied.

Indra laughs.

"Calm down, I'm just kidding" Indra said.

Shortly after Indra saw the old letters and other collections there, the Servant finally returned with an elongated box.

"This is the item that Mr. Avalance wants to give to you" said the Servant while presenting the box to Indra.

"Just a gift? Thank you" Indra replied.

"Thank you to Mr. Avalance, I am only an intermediary. If there's anything else you need, just come to me again" said the Waiter, bowing himself and walking out.

After exiting the room, Indra looked through the box first before opening it, trying to guess its contents.

"Cheryl, what do you think it's got?" Ask Indra.

"Isn't that a sword? It is clearly visible from the shape" Cheryl replied.

Indra opened it and sure enough, the contents were a sword sheathed in its sheath. Indra then pulled the sword out of the scabbard, the sword looked sparkling with its reddish iron making it beautiful to look at.

"Well, your guess is correct. This sword also looks cool with its color" said Indra.

Looking at the color of the sword Cheryl looked out of words as if looking at something even more precious than gold.

"What's Cheryl?" Ask Indra.

"Bloodsteel" Cheryl replied.

"Have you heard of Bloodsteel? The red iron that is said to be formed because of human blood that has seeped into it" Cheryl continued.

"Ughh! That sounds terrible" Indra replied.

"I know about Bloodsteel. However, as I recall Bloodsteel was someone who served the cruelest Tyrannical King in history" Indra continued.

"The title came about after he created Bloodsteel. Whether or not I don't know. However, that's what I've read in history books" Cheryl said.

"Then?" Ask Indra.

"This type of iron cannot be obtained only with money. However, given the status of the King of Avalance then I am not surprised. However, he gave it to you just like that makes me even more convinced that you might indeed be his relative" Cheryl replied.

"Actually, I've only met Avalance once. However, somehow he looks very good with me" said Indra.

"That's impossible. Impossible" Cheryl replied.

"Is this also part of his plan?" Indra Gumam.

"You said something?" Ask Cheryl.

"No, my throat is just a little itchy" Indra replied.

Indra tried to swing the sword several times, until he finally remembered that he had never used any weapon. That's because western culture is still carried away by it, it does not mean that westerners do not use weapons. It's just that someone will really be considered strong if he manages to win the fight without using a weapon, Indra is always so until he slowly regains consciousness after fighting Ken and Monter. He realized that the world was vast, there were still many people or even other beings who were much stronger than him.

"Wait, aren't you a witch?" Ask Cheryl.

"I mostly use magic. However, I also quite often use my fist" replied Indra.

"ah! I forgot. You're actually a Bounty Hunter. The adventurers have several types" Cheryl said.

"I know, Warriors are those who fight more on the front line, right? Then Mages or witches, they are usually less painstaking in close combat. However, it was extremely troublesome when they kept their distance while fighting. Enchanter and Healer are very dependent on their partners" Indra said.

"You know that much. However, why do you explain it like you've been against them…?" Ask Cheryl.

"As long as I'm a Bounty Hunter, I don't hunt monsters. I hunt humans, all kinds of people. No exception for adventurers who become criminals" replied Indra.

"It looks like being a Bounty Hunter is interesting." Cheryl said.

Indra laughed for a moment.

"You reminded me of myself a few days ago" Indra replied.

Indra then thought of a way to immediately utilize the sword, Cheryl is a witch is certainly not suitable for training. Indra then remembered the soldiers of this castle.

He again went back to look for the Avalance Servant and asked about who was the strongest warrior in the Northern Region. The Servant immediately understood Indra's intention, which was to train a match. It is clear why Indra intends to train a match with the strongest warrior there, it is quite clear Indra wants to practice to use the sword awarded by Avalance.

"I understand, soon I will arrange your match practice with him" said the Waiter.

"Thank you, by the way what's your name? You've been helping me a lot since I first set foot here, at least I should know your name, so what's your name?" Ask Indra.

"Tiana" he replied.

At sunset, Tiana again told Indra to train against the strongest warrior in the Southern Region.

At that time, the soldiers and servants at Avalance Castle gathered to watch Indra's match practice. The training room of the soldiers was filled with many curious people.

In the middle of the room was already standing Indra and his enemy who faced each other. That man was big and tall. However, he only wears an ordinary sword like Indra and uses Armor (iron armor) on his body.

"You sure you don't want to wear armor?" Ask the guy.

"I don't need to be, I don't wear it" Indra replied.

"You underestimated me too much, I might just be a soldier. However, I am the strongest" the person replied.

"Interesting... What's your name?" Ask Indra.

"Titaz" answered.

Moments later, the countdown to the match practice began. All the spectators were cheering like impatient, it seemed like the closing entertainment of the day for those who were already tired of working all day.

"3.. 2.. 1.. START!!" Tiana said out loud.

The duel has finally begun. Indra has won in every aspect. However, this is a sword fight. Indra cannot use magic or his fist.

He came forward against Titaz. However, Titaz was able to dodge easily and also provide a counterattack, fortunately Indra was still able to fend it off. It gave an opening for Titaz to attack, he swung his sword continuously without stopping making Indra become very difficult. However, Indra slowly got used to swinging his sword to fend off.

As Titaz grew exhausted and sluggish, Indra immediately took advantage of the opportunity to deliver a single slash using the red sword. That one slash was powerful enough to topple Titaz.

The audience was very excited when Indra managed to subvert Titaz in one attack. It was like proving Indra's worthiness to protect the territory in place of Avalance temporarily.

"Now I understand why Avalance insisted on asking me to guard this Territory" Indra said.