Extra's Rise: I Stole All The Women In The Hero's Party-Chapter 115: Testing The Party (I)

Zayn cracked his neck, then his knuckles, and then every other joint that would make a sound.

His back gave a satisfying pop that made him sigh like a man three decades older.

"Remind me again," he muttered, "how the hell did I agree to this?"

The answer stood ten paces away, rolling his shoulders and adjusting his glasses like a martial arts instructor at a dojo he didn’t want to be at.

Tobias. Calm, calculating, and unfortunately — dead serious.

They were in the inn’s backyard.

Morning mist still clung to the grass, and birds chirped happily overhead, utterly ignorant of the testosterone brewing below.

Tobias adjusted his glasses, his expression unreadable. His plain shirt and pants gave off no combat-ready aura, but Zayn knew better.

Underneath that nerdy composure was a fighter who didn’t blink while dodging swings or casting spells in the middle of enemy barrages.

"I said I’d spar with everyone of you here," Tobias repeated like a lecture slide. "Before we accept another raid, we need to know where each of us stands. The mistakes we make, so we can work on them."

Zayn rolled his eyes. "Sounds fair until I lose a tooth."

"We’ll try not to aim for the face."

"’Try’ being the key word."

"No soul energy, no weapons, no reinforcements, just raw brawling."

With that, they stepped into the imaginary circle marked by boot prints and flattened grass. The sparring match was on.

Tobias moved first, not with a punch or a flashy kick — but with silence.

His feet glided over the grass like he weighed nothing, and his hands stayed up in a tight guard.

Zayn barely had time to process before a jab came whistling toward his cheek.

He dodged to the side, just in time, but Tobias used the momentum to step forward and twist his hip into a brutal gut punch.

"Ghk — !" Zayn coughed, staggering back, pain blooming in his stomach like he’d swallowed a stone.

"Don’t leave your core open," Tobias said, backing off like a coach, but with no less fire in his eyes.

"Oh, I hate you," Zayn wheezed.

His counter came in the form of a low sweeping kick.

Tobias jumped, but Zayn anticipated that — twisting mid-sweep to push himself up, using his other leg to spring forward with a right hook aimed at Tobias’ ribs.

It connected with a satisfying thump, causing Tobias to grunt and stumble back.

"That’s for my gut," Zayn smirked.

Tobias coughed once, straightened up, and smiled like he’d just figured out a puzzle. "You’re faster than before."

Zayn didn’t answer. They lunged again.

What followed was a blur of movement — grapples, knees, and close-quarters scrambles.

Neither was a professional brawler, but both had enough real-world combat to know how to adapt.

Zayn’s punches came hard and fast meanwhile Tobias was surgical — every blow efficient, every block meant to redirect force.

Zayn ducked under a hook and managed to land a clean uppercut to Tobias’ jaw, only to eat a brutal knee to his side a second later.

He grunted and stumbled but grabbed Tobias’ leg mid-retract, pulling hard and sweeping his other foot.

Tobias crashed onto the grass with a thud, but rolled away just as Zayn leapt toward him, aiming for a ground pin.

Both men got to their feet again, breathing heavier now.

Sweat was starting to dot Zayn’s brow.

His arms ached, his ribs throbbed, and his lungs were burning — but he wasn’t done yet.

Tobias lunged. Zayn sidestepped. A flurry of blows exchanged between them — each dodged, blocked, or absorbed.

Zayn caught a blow to the shoulder that nearly knocked him off-balance, but he used the motion to spin and elbow Tobias across the jaw.

Tobias reeled — but retaliated with a swift low kick that caught Zayn’s shin and nearly toppled him.

Grass and dirt kicked up with each move, both fighters grunting and panting as their spar grew more and more heated.

The rest of the party stared at them... the battle was amazing and even Bran was nodding in consideration.

Zayn ducked another jab and slammed his shoulder into Tobias, both of them stumbling together until Zayn used his weight to push him into the wall of the inn. It rattled loudly.

"You done?" Zayn panted.

"No," Tobias said — and headbutted him.

"WHAT THE HELL—!?"

Zayn staggered back, seeing stars. "Did you just — bro, that’s cheating!"

Tobias held his forehead, wincing too. "You pushed me into a wall. No rules means no rules."

Zayn blinked hard, shaking the cobwebs out. "Okay. You wanna go crazy mode? Fine."

He rushed Tobias again — this time, faking a right, then slamming a left into his gut.

Tobias doubled over, but before Zayn could celebrate, Tobias spun and tackled him to the ground.

"Ow, ow, ow — !"

Both of them rolled across the grass in a tangle of limbs, punching, blocking, shouting obscenities neither of them meant.

By the time they separated, they were both flat on their backs, chests heaving, clothes covered in dirt and sweat.

There was a long pause.

"...I can’t feel my face," Zayn groaned.

"My ribs hurt," Tobias replied, glasses crooked on his nose.

"You broke your rule about the face."

"You broke my dignity."

They both burst into laughter.

Loud, exhausted, sore laughter. Somewhere behind them, the window creaked open and Kara’s voice floated out.

"Are you both alive or just flopping around like dying fish?"

"We’re alive," Tobias called.

"Barely," Zayn muttered.

Kara added, "Well, don’t bleed all over the backyard. Neither I or Elisse want to clean up blood."

Zayn gave a thumbs up to the air. "Noted."

After a long pause, Tobias finally sat up, brushing off grass. "You’ve gotten stronger. A lot stronger."

"You too," Zayn said, groaning as he sat up as well. "You fight like a freaking librarian with rage issues."

"That’s... shockingly accurate."

They both chuckled again, standing slowly, shoulder to shoulder.

Their bruises would last a while.

"I still need to test your sword skills, you know?" Tobias asked.

Zayn blinked. "Gods, Pop up some potions from your inventory, let’s get it over and done with, you have others to test after all."

"On it."