“Hey, let this senior give you a slap for his troubles.”

“Wha-?!”

A dizzying slap across the face sent Sieg flying and unto the ground. Smith closed the distance, got on top of him and began pummeling Sieg with reinforced fists.

For all his talk... Sieg was nothing more than a punching bag before his superior levels. A mere Wrestling level 3 could never match up to his level 9.

“Hey, maybe you should’ve focused on raising your level!” Smith said between punches. Each blow made Sieg look more and more like a bruised apple. With such an appearance, the freak show circus looked like a better place for his talents.

Before he could land the finishing blow, Sieg teleported, and Smith’s fist left a crater where he was.

"A-aren't we friends?" Sieg blubbered, finally unsheathing his sword, a fine blade forged by the best of Blacksmiths. Smith could only imagine how enraged they'd be if they could see who was putting it to use.

"Yeah, you're right." Sieg's face was slowly repairing itself, no doubt thanks to his Wrestling skill. It gave increased regeneration along with grappling skills; how did you expect to pummel your opponent if you were too busy bleeding? "That's why I'll allow you one free strike friend."

"Really?" Sieg's eyes were glistening as if he'd seen the most beautiful thing in the world. His eyes steeled. "T-Thank you senior! I won't let you down!"

We'll see about that.

One moment he was looking at Sieg's stupid grin. The next, Sieg stood in front of him and a shockwave erupted, followed by a loud clank.

It was only a testament to the blacksmith's skill that the sword didn't outright shatter into pieces. The sword was still far from desirable though, now bent sideways at an angle.

Honestly, Smith was wondering why Sieg didn't just teleport into his guard and not give him a chance to use a skill. He was still stuck in lala-land mentally; clearly there was still much to be taught to this fool.

“H-How?! My sword is the Legendar-”

Smith’s backhand interrupted the poor hero, slapping back and forth across his pitiful expression.
“It is because we are friends that I do this, y’know?” Smith said, as he threw a reinforced leg at Sieg’s family jewels. Ignoring the roar of pain, Smith followed up with a slap that sent the poor sap flying through multiple trees. “The best way to improve is through life and death battles... So please do your best to survive.”

Not that it would matter whether he died or not. With world-class healers a mere call away in the palace, even death couldn't keep one incapacitated for very long. Smith didn't want to cause a commotion so he had held back and kept his strength low… even if it hadn’t looked that way; a hero that couldn’t survive a mere slap like that was no hero at all

When he closed the distance, he was met with Sieg slowly getting to his feet.

Which he congratulated with a kick to the right… and then one to the left. Whenever it looked like he would stumble, Smith just kicked the opposing side, keeping Sieg upright like a tittering doll.