Dante steps into the Arena after having watched Nadia take on Melinda. Although Nadia still got annihilated, he was really impressed by how much she’s improved. Simply seeing combat for a few minutes has given her so much more confidence- In a similar vein, Dante feels it too.
His approach to the fight has a new lens. He now knows the limits of his shield. If he had to use all of his mana on it, he would surely be able to keep Melinda at bay for a few minutes. But, that isn’t what he wants to do this time. He wants to push his limits again, and put the majority of his mana into his hoop blade. Eighty percent should suffice.
Dante glances at the surrounding spectators and recruits, noticing Cassie in the crowd of viewers- She taught us more in three minutes than what the Academy could teach us in three years. It just goes to show the impact of real combat experience. Dante remembers how nervous he used to feel about putting even thirty percent of his mana into an ability. But, he got dragged across that bridge.
_ARENA: SIMULATION ENABLED
“You ready?” Melinda asks with a grin on her face.
“Yeah,” Dante nods without wavering to Melinda’s glare.
_START
_LIFELINE: ENABLED
Dante instantly summons his energy into the blade hula hoop that gyrates around his body as he rhythmically dances to maintain momentum.
_HP: 100
_MANA: 15% REMAINING
_DETAILS: 12/80
Melinda raises an eyebrow, and her nonchalant expression drops as she notices what Dante has done. Her change of expression briefly sends an air of discomfort over him- She looks like she’s about to take this very seriously.
Instead of dwelling, Dante decides to attack. Running forward with an occasional shift in his foot placement to shift the positioning of the blade and mask his attack angle. He has the range advantage, and as he reaches the optimal distance he spins and leaps into the air. The blade rotates to his right hand and he strikes down towards Melinda’s shoulder- She parries and dodges the attack. But, Dante bounces the blade off the ground and catches it in rotation on his other hand. He continues his momentum to strike Melinda’s body. This catches her off guard and she evades the attack with enough delay for Dante to slice a shallow wound across her abdomen.
His eyes immediately glance to his HUD to check her lifeline-
_ID: MELINDA KAWASAKI
_HP: 87 (-13)
Dammit! His mind snaps as he looks back at Melinda. How did she dodge that?
Melinda steps forward and throws a punch at Dante’s chest, and he raises the flat face of his looping blade to block the attack. Dante flinches at the expectation of his blade shattering but the loud surge of energy proves his defense works. And his blade is reinforced enough to withstand even one of her punches!
Nice! Dante can't help but celebrate.
Dante slides away from Melinda, keeping up his momentum and maintaining his range advantage. I can't let her keep hitting it though. He checks himself, It’s not a shield.
Dante decides to strike first again, and runs at Melinda at maximum speed- rotating the blade around his body before extending and arm back and allowing the blade to gyrate around it. Feigning another attack, but this time he slips closer than he did the first time and faints the blade forward before vaulting with a flying kick at Melinda’s chest.
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This catches her off guard again but she manages to cross her arms and block the strike. Dante's foot touches the ground and he brings the blade from its waiting position, slashing at Melinda’s chest.
But she steps forward and gets right up into Dante’s face before grabbing his arm and locking it in place.
Completely halting the attack.
She just stands there, holding his arm in place for a moment whilst Dante panics and tries to get out of her grip. It’s too strong.
Shit. He looks up to see her shadowed eyes staring down at him.
A sudden pain erupts in his chest as he feels his body getting hurtled into the air. The first thing that surprises him is landing on his feet, he glances behind him to see he’s only been thrown to the centre of the arena.
_HP: 82 (-18)
_MANA: 15% REMAINING
_DETAILS: 12/80
What? He looks at Melinda with confusion.
“You’re ready for tier four training,” Melinda says with her arms crossed at the far side of the stage. “The problem is, if I beat you now you wouldn't learn anything from it and start over correcting,”
“Wait, really?” Dante stammers as a grin peels across his face.
“You’ve improved a lot, kid. You're confident, and you have a good view of the fight. The problem is, you don't even know what you're doing right. So if I kick your ass, you’ll start changing the good habits you don't know you have,”
“Good habits…” Dante mumbles.
“Your fighting style is quite unpredictable,” She says as she steps towards him, “But it isn't meant to be unpredictable to you too,”
“Oh,”
“These fights aren't going to help right now. You need to refine what you're working with so that you don't make stupid mistakes, like getting two steps too close to my range,”
“I see,” Dante sighs, scratching the back of his head. “So we aren’t going to finish the fight?”
“We did,” Melinda laughs, “I had you pinned. I just didn't break your neck this time,”
“Thanks,” Dante takes a large gulp, appreciating that he doesn’t have to experience a severed spine again. “So, what’s the process?”
“You take the test,” Melinda says as she turns to wave Taydo into the arena.
“I just start doing it?” Dante whinces.
“Yep,” Melinda says as she waves Dante away. “Go spend those stat points you've been saving up,”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Dante salutes before marching out of the arena.
Holy shit, Dante’s mind flips as a large smile peels across his face.
As he looks up to the other recruits, his face is washed with the blue strands of Julz’s hair as she leaps into a hug.
“Congratulations, D!” She smiles and squeezes Dante with a loving and surprisingly strong grip.
“Thanks, Julz,” He says as Taydo makes his way into the arena, giving Dante a pat on the back as he passes.
“You aren't fourth tier yet,” Nadia rolls her eyes.
“Way to be a downer,” Julz snarls.
“It’s okay, she’s just jealous. Not used to coming in second,” Dange chuckles.
“Jealous? I'm going to get fourth tier before you,” She grins.
“Someone's confident,” Dante huffs.
“Wanna bet on it?” Nadia’s grin grows devious. “The loser has to do the winner's laundry until we get third tier,”
“Pfft,” Dante Chuckles, briefly thinking this must be a joke before remembering that Nadia is fucking relentless. You don't get the highest grade without working your ass off. Not to mention the fact that she's right- he’s only qualified to take the test. “Uhh,” Dante stammers.
“Scared?” Nadia raises an eyebrow.
“He isn't scared!” Julz bites in Dante’s defence.
“Uhh, Jule-”
“He’ll accept your stupid little bet,” She frowns.
Nadia tilts her head and chuckles, “You two are cute,” She says before walking off.
“Ugh, I couldn't imagine being Kassian. What a brat,” Jules groans
“She’s just competitive,” Dante says, scratching the back of his head.