NOVEL NEXT 67: Beating down in elf style
Dragon's Teeth Mountains
Eliz wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes and sighed in relief. She could see why Shannon had called this elf a pervert. An elf bodybuilder was something truly extraordinary.
"You're Draikini?" Eliz asked, still smiling.
The muscular elf fixed her with a look and held his hand palm up to stop her. "Yes, miss. But whatever reason you're here can wait." Draikini stopped her and looked again at the men present in the group.
"So? Who went first? A one-on-one match, perfectly fair. No use of mana, just manly strength of the body!" Draikini slammed his fists together, visibly looking forward to the fight.
Eliz fell silent as the elf said this and watched with raised eyebrows. "Oh. This could be good," she muttered to herself.
Holm rubbed her head with her hand hesitantly. "Um. You want to fight us? Why? We don't even know each other."
Draikini slammed his fist into his pectoral muscle and smiled. "Wrestling is a good way to get to know each other and make friends! Also, I don't get the chance to meet suitable opponents very often!"
Raiana raised her hand. "Could I fight you?" She asked.
The elf glared at her and immediately shook her head. "Sorry, no. I don't fight with women."
Eliz grinned. "That's a bit insulting, isn't it? Are women weaker in your eyes?"
Draikini looked a little embarrassed and scratched his nose. "That's not what I meant. Women are flowers to be cared for and protected. Besides, when I wrestle I give it my all. With men, I know what I can and can't do to keep from hurting them. But women have a lot of delicate places on and in their bodies." He explained, his cheeks turning a little red.
"Ah. I see." Eliz understood and nodded her head in agreement. She had already managed to get a bit of a grasp on Draikini's nature. Then she waved at the man. "So what are you waiting for? Go fight." She waved them off with her hand.
All three looked at her in amazement. "Wait, Lady Elizabeth. You want us to actually fight him?" Holm wondered.
Eliz smiled at them, her eyes shining. "Of course. It's probably some sort of test. Go ahead, don't disappoint me." Eliz turned and walked away and sat down on the weight bench, swinging her leg over her foot and resting her hands on her toes. "Raiana, Alobela, come here." She called to the rest of the women.
The two women came up behind her, and Alobela spoke. "Is this really a test?"
Eliz rubbed her chin and smiled. "Probably not."
Alobela blinked once and fell silent, as if that meant she understood everything. "I'll go into the house and try to make some tea." She announced and walked around the corner.
Raiana continued to ask questions. "If it's not a test... why do they have to fight?" She didn't understand.
"Hm. How should I put it?" Eliz whispered thoughtfully before motioning for Raiana to lean closer. "Besides, it'll make the muscle man happy. It'll be quite a show, too."
"A show?"
"Hehe. It's not every day you get to see several half-naked men working hard." Eliz gave her a significant wink.
"Oh.... Oh!" Raiana understood and looked at the group of men. She immediately made herself comfortable next to Eliz, who nodded in satisfaction. She knew that Raiana wouldn't betray her feminine side like Alobela.
Fraril slowly approached the group. "Shall I participate too?" He asked slowly as he arched his back a little. The elf looked at the older wolf, and his eyes widened in surprise. "That is not necessary, honored elder! I'm sure you're still full of vitality, but it would be better if you stayed away."
Fraril raised his hand and tugged at his short beard like a wise elder. "Indeed. It would be better if I saved my old bones. Then I'll leave it to you youngsters, hoho."
The elf nodded in agreement while Holm, Alarr, and Grash pierced Fraril with dark looks. They knew full well that this old wolf was much stronger than he was letting on. Grash's lips quivered as he was about to betray the old geezer but decided to hold back his words. He had a hunch Fraril would take revenge on him for this.
Fraril ignored the stares, folded his hands behind his back, and walked slowly towards Lady Elizabeth and Raiana.
Alarr sighed heavily; he didn't want to play these games, and Holm preferred to avoid fighting unless necessary. Grash, on the other hand, was made of different dough.
He had already begun to undress, throwing off all of his upper body clothing and showing off his lithe waist and firm muscles for admiration. "Hahaha! I'm looking forward to it!" He laughed out loud, then turned towards Eliz and Raiana. "Hey, kitty! What do you think of this?" He called out to them and began to show off his muscles, stretching in various ways to show off how fit he was.
Elizabeth gave him a thumbs up. "Good! You may not have a brain, but at least it's something to look at! Very nice!"
"Hey!" Grash snapped as she pointed out his lack of intelligence again.
Alarr frowned and felt a little uncomfortable seeing Elizabeth approve of Grash's appearance. Finally, he snorted and stepped aside, where he drew his greatsword and stabbed it hard into the ground. He removed his gloves before he began to unfasten the straps on his breastplate.
When Holm saw that Alarr had begun to prepare, he sighed in resignation and began to put away his armor as well. His equipment was easier to remove, so very soon he was only in his pants. Despite the fact that Holm had the build of a barrel, he had no fat on him. His muscles were solid, but there was no escaping the fact that he resembled a bear even in his human form. Most of his body was covered in red hair, even on his arms and back.
Holm looked back at the women, and his small ears drooped a little, and his cheeks flushed. He really didn't like exposing himself like this, but then he saw Raiana waving cheerfully at him, and that gave him a little encouragement.
Alarr was soon done as well and rejoined the group, wearing only tight black pants, showcasing his triangle-shaped torso with its broad back and naturally worked muscles for admiration. His chest was adorned with a few dark hairs that trailed down to his navel and even lower.
Alarr calmly began to stretch, tensing his back muscles so that they became even more defined.
"Whistling~"
When Alarr heard the whistle he shot a frowning look towards Elizabeth, who was looking at him and saying something to Raiana, who blushed a little and giggled.
Alarr got a certain sense of satisfaction from that and shot a haughty look towards Grash, not hiding it in any way. Grash snorted. "She didn't say anything to you."
Alarr lifted the corner of his mouth. "'Perhaps. But for that, she said you had no brain." "What, you!" Grash clenched his fist in annoyance and wanted to scrape the smirk off Alarr's face.
"What are you upset about? I'm just telling the truth," Alarr shrugged. He didn't really like Grash and would have preferred him to disappear from their group. But this wasn't up to him.
"Gentlemen. We're ready to begin. Who will go first?" Draikini clasped his hands and looked from one to the other.
"Hmp! I'll go first!" Grash immediately volunteered and wagged his tail confidently.
The elf nodded. "Great! Please make room." Holm and Alarr stepped aside and watched the match.
"Ready?" Draikini asked.
Grash nodded and straddled with his arms raised. "Roll on me!"
Draikini smiled, and Grash frowned. Was it his imagination, or did he see a bit of mischief in that smile? The elf moved, and Grash's muscles tensed. In that moment, the elf blurred before his eyes; suddenly, strong arms gripped around his waist. Grash was lifted off the ground and slammed violently against the ground until the back of his head hurt.
"Gah!" Grash huffed in surprise. His gaze swam, but he could see the muscular elf above him flexing his arm and preparing to elbow him. Grash recovered quickly and rolled to his side.
Draikini hit the ground, his elbow creating a small crater in the ground. It made Grash's forehead sweat a little. How strong is that bastard!? Even without using mana, the elf's body seemed to be naturally strong, at least at the level of a Rank 2 attacker!
"Hey! That's not fair!" Grash protested.
The elf tossed his bangs out of his eyes and smiled brightly. "'Why isn't it? I'm just using the power of my body. Nothing else." Flying forward, Grash quickly crossed his arms in front of him to protect himself. The strike that followed shattered his bones and threw him backward. Grash nimbly tested his body, landing on all fours and plunging his hands into the ground to stop his movement.
"Hmpf! You asshole!" He barked angrily, his hair and fur bristling in anger.
Alarr, seeing the fight, straightened his spine and began to watch everything closely. This was not something he thought would happen. He had simply expected a short brawl, a pushing and pulling and such. Draikini didn't lie; he went all out in the fight, but even his strength was unexpected.
He leaned towards Holm. "What do you think of this?" He asked for his opinion.
"Hm. I'm not sure. This power seems strange. He doesn't use mana to strengthen himself, but this isn't the level of strength he should have just by weight training and exercise," answered Holm thoughtfully, who began to watch the fight seriously as well.
Draikini was moving confidently and giving Grash a good beating. Grash tried to catch him, but the elf simply swept the grip away with a simple grapple or superior strength, and with it, Grash ended up on the ground, getting all dirty from the grass and dirt.
"Wrestling experience doesn't hurt either, but this..." Holm shook his head.
"Do you think we can beat him?" Alarr frowned, and Holm winked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Maybe. What? Are you afraid you'll lose in front of Lady Elizabeth?"
Alarr began to stare pointedly at his friend. "You're still assuming too much. I don't like losing in any way." He averted his gaze and watched the match again. "Rather, tell me if you're not worried that Raiana will think less of you?" Holm's face became harder. "And since when do you start assuming things?"
Alarr grinned briefly and said nothing more in response.
Thud!
They both turned their heads and looked at Grash, who had landed a short distance away, breathing heavily. Alarr looked at Holm and then at the elf who stood there with his arms resting on his strong chest, grinning happily from ear to ear, even showing his white teeth.
Alarr sent a subtle glance to the women watching the fight. Alobela had already returned, and now all three were sipping tea. Alarr then nodded to Holm and stepped forward.
"My turn," he announced. He didn't know if he could beat Draikini yet, but the more clues he got, the more likely Holm would be to win. After all, when it came to wrestling, Holm had the most experience.
"Swap? I don't mind! Let's do it!" The elf didn't protest and charged forward. Alarr readied himself and tensed every muscle in his body. He and the elf collided with a dull thud and grabbed each other in a tight grip. Alarr felt himself being pushed backward, but he didn't lose his balance and withstood the impact.
As soon as the movement stopped, Alarr quickly swung his leg over and tried to trip the man's legs. Draikini must have expected this because, without letting go of Alarr, he leapt into the air, brought his legs to his body, braced himself against Alarr's shoulders, and then shot both legs forward violently. Alarr took a heavy blow to the chest and was thrown roughly as he did two somersaults on the ground before coming to a stop. His skin was matted in a few places, yet he immediately stood up, his eyes blazing with anger and determination.
Eliz watched and was amazed. Draikini was really good! Like a real wrestler. She never expected to ever see that in this world. And from the elf's expression, it was clear that he was enjoying the fight immensely. Eliz wondered if it was because he had someone to fight or because he was wiping the floor with them?
Grash turned out pretty pale. Sure, he had a body, he had agility, but it was no use against much greater strength. Without mana or dark mana, he was at a big disadvantage, and Draikini seemed to have not only power but considerable speed.
Eliz felt something brush against her leg. She looked down and saw that the strange sausage-like creature had come and was now sitting at her foot, turning its head to one side or the other as it watched the fight. She resisted for a moment, but now that she knew it was a pet, she didn't resist the urge too much and petted the thing. The skin was dry and warm, like a snake. The creature glanced at her with one eye, and its ears moved a little, but it stayed in place and let her pet it.
Eliz looked up again when she heard Alarr go into battle. "Well, let's take a look at our commander," she said and smiled. Despite the fight not going well so far, she was enjoying it. The last time she had seen that much exposed skin was on TV at the Olympics swimming!
Of course, she liked to watch. She had a normal interest in men, but she could also appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the human body. Alarr's naturally chiseled muscles and broad shoulders seemed to say he would protect her. The slender waistline directly invited her to try to hug him, and of course, she couldn't leave out the ass!
But her thoughts that were starting to run in a rather dirty direction were interrupted when the two men launched themselves at each other, and she opened her mouth in amazement when Alarr flew off and still ended up all scraped up. She saw a vein pop up on his neck, which meant one thing: Alarr was angry. Eliz relaxed again. "I can see why Draikini didn't want to fight a woman. He's giving them a good thrashing," she commented.
"I think neither will win," said Alobela, who was already sitting with them and drinking tea just like them.
"Why would you think that?" Eliz asked curiously.
"The elf has a specially grown body. He just messes with them. I don't really like his nature," she replied.
Eliz was surprised because she already had a picture of Draikini, and it didn't match what Alobela had said. She eyed Draikini curiously again, and only now that Alobela pointed it out did she see the corners of the elf's mouth curl mischievously. "Hey! Does this mean that bastard is just bullying our guys on purpose!?" Eliz was angry.
It would be different if it was a fair fight, but if Draikini had purposely set the rules so that the boys had no chance of winning and this was just dirty bullying?
Eliz put down her teacup and stood with a pissed-off huff, rolling up her sleeves. "I'm going to kick his ass!"
Fraril smiled secretly and rubbed his beard as he listened. It seemed they had finally seen through it. Maybe this would teach Eliz to be more careful with what she agreed to.