"I'm just an ordinary hunter, nothing more— at least, nothing compared to your being one of the three wastrels of England!"

"Hoh? Well, it's no issue—I'll break your undefeated streak today, right here, right now!"

He immediately circulated his genetic energy as thunder crackled all around him. With a flick of his wrist, a rapier appeared in his hand, and his burgeoning aura swelled once more. As he activated a few more soulshards, moth wings sprouted from his back. A layer of black and white crystalline armor covered his body, studded with sharp spikes.

The crackling thunder felt more like something a second-realm hunter would possess; Fred had broken past the constraints of the first real...