The moment the match began, Joel insta-cast one of the strongest spells he could cast – [Thunderstorm Descent].
It was a powerful spell of the sixth rank that summoned bolt after bolt of lightning down within the user’s target range.
Joel knew full well that, similar to Alissa, Amira’s most impressive attribute was her speed. And even though he was no slouch himself and was in the rank above, he wasn’t arrogant enough to try and compete with her in a match of speed.
Instead, he thought it was best to take the initiative and limit her movement from the jump.
A tactic that proved worthwhile. Though Amira was fast enough to dodge each of the descending lightning bolts without too much trouble, there didn’t seem to be a path forward – at least not for her.
As the spell’s caster, Joel created a path to his opponent that coincidentally hid his figure. Unfortunately, though not as freakish as Ace’s, the strength of Amira’s soul had always been monstrous.
The moment he entered her range, Amira’s swords sprang to life. Wielding one as though it were as light as a feather, appearing in front of Joel as though space was no hindrance to it and wielding the other as though it were heavy, it swinging down with near-unstoppable momentum as if to cleave her opponent in two.
Though he was able to skilfully deal with both attacks, Joel still ended up being steadily suppressed by Amira’s onslaught.
To most of the other students, it looked as though Amira was genuinely trying to win with her overwhelmingly superior ability, but Ace’s eyes were able to see a lot more than theirs.
“Big softie,” Ace muttered so softly that no one else heard him.
“Soft?” Alissa asked, looking back at Ace as though he was an alien. “What about the beating Mira’s giving to Joel’s ‘soft’?”
“Look closer,” Ace replied casually as he continued to watch the fight. “Each of Mira’s strikes are perfectly aimed at Joel’s weak spots.”
“Exactly!” Alissa exclaimed, clearly having noticed that point already. “How does that make her soft?!”
“Because she’s using the perfect amount of speed and power to force Joel into a corner without defeating him,” Ace explained as a soft smile appeared on his face.
As he said that, the eyes of Alissa, Killian, and Osiris lit up with understanding as they seemed to understand what Ace was saying.
“I get that you have a point, but why don’t I understand what it is?” Faye asked as she tilted her head slightly in confusion.
“Because you’re an idiot,” Yulana snorted disdainfully.
“Who are you calling an idiot number 10?” Faye snapped back. “I may not understand, but we both know you don’t either.
“Shut it, you wench! Don’t you dare lump me in with you, you barbarian!”
Just as the two girls were about to restart their rematch, Kannal slid between them to de-escalate the situation.
“No need to fight,” Kannal sighed helplessly at just another episode of the two girl’s bickering. “I think what Ace is trying to say is that big sis Mira is pointing out Joel’s weak points to force Joel to correct them, right?”
“Right,” Ace nodded with an appreciative smile. “You have to remember that without fail, every single one of us is the cream of the crop in terms of talent. It’s what allows us to improve far faster than our peers.”
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Now that you mention it, it does appear that Joel is improving at a speed visible to the naked eye!” Yulana exclaimed, extremely happy for her young master.
“Wait, if she’s able to point out Joel’s weaknesses, despite one sub-rank lower, just what level has Amira’s battle sense and comprehension reached in the last year?” Faye asked in disbelief.
It had to be understood that to accomplish what Amira was doing, the difference in ability between both fighters would have to be significant, to say the least.
It wasn’t just Faye; both Killian and Alissa looked at Amira solemnly. They knew that if either of them wanted to take third place, they’d have to face her, but they also knew that despite much they had improved, neither of them was capable of doing such a feat, especially to Joel.
“How do you expect me to know?” Ace asked back. “I’ve been here with you guys the last couple of months. The last time I saw Mira was a little over eight months ago, and back then, she hadn’t reached this level.”
Even though he said that he couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the instructors. Specifically, his master, who, in turn, glanced at him before refocusing on his alcohol, was clearly more interested in his attempts at getting drunk than Ace’s curiosity.
Though he wasn’t sure how far Amira had come, he had his guesses, and the only person capable of helping Amira come so far in such little time was precisely that man. He was a big part of the reason Ace’s battle sense was so incredible.
“Joel…
Did he just…?”
Hearing Faye’s shock, Ace turned his attention back to the fight just in time to witness their oldest classmate successfully fuse both states of wielding for a shockingly fast and incredibly powerful slash of his lightning-coated sabre.
The blow was genuinely terrifying, so much so that even Alissa – the happy-go-lucky Tigerstriped warrior – looked at Joel solemnly, knowing she would be hard-pressed to deal with that strike. But Alissa wasn’t Amira.
A satisfied smile appeared on Mira’s face as she too fused both states of wielding into both of her swords as they arced through the air with renewed vigour.
The first katana tapped on the blade of Joel’s sabre, calmly changing its trajectory so it whirred just over her head, the other whistling through the air, appearing by her opponent’s neck.
For the third time, Joel Dawson had been defeated, and for the third time, it was by someone younger than him, but unlike the last two times, this time, Joel wasn’t unwilling.
“Thank you!” Joel voiced sincerely, his eyes blazing with excitement as he looked at Amira in gratitude. “Because of you, I’ve finally fused both states of wielding.”
As he said that, a hint of bitterness couldn’t help but flicker through his otherwise jubilant eyes as he looked back, his eyes falling on the silver-haired assassin. “Unfortunately, this breakthrough happened a little too late.”
Hearing his words, Alissa simply poked her tongue out, understanding his meaning.
Even with his most recent breakthrough, he still wasn’t confident in defeating Killian as he was now. The ease with which he was defeated hinted that his former opponent was holding back much more than he let on. Still, he was confident he could, at the very least, have defeated Alissa.
Unfortunately, as he said, he was too late. He used his one and only challenge on Amira. And seeing as he lost, he wouldn’t get another chance today. But it was worth it in the long run.
“I didn’t do much,” Amira smiled. “You did all the hard work yourself; I just gave you a little nudge.”
With that, the bottom five were officially locked in place:
In tenth place was Yulana, ninth was Kannal, Faye was eighth, whilst Osiris was now seventh, making Joel sixth.
Although it had been quite the reshuffle, other than Joel dropping two places, there weren’t too many other surprises.
The only thing left to do was determine the order of the top five.
“Next up, in fifth place – Killian,” Mathias announced.
But before Killian could even think about replying, Alissa abruptly cut him off.
“You better not even think about jumping over my head without defeating me first, you big oaf,” Alissa said, glaring threateningly at Killian, causing him to blush. “You can’t hide from me anymore!”
Ever since they had returned after rescuing Alissa from her prison, Killian seemed to have spent the last two months avoiding her – though not even he himself completely understood why.
Killian was at a loss for words as he struggled to think of a way out of his current predicament, but before he could, Ace decided to speak on his behalf.
“Kil challenges Alissa,” Ace shouted, patting his little giant of a younger brother on the back.
Killian’s head snapped back towards Ace with a look of betrayal.
“Don’t worry so much,” Ace grinned before whispering. “Trust me, all you need to do is not hold back, ooh, and remember to be honest.”
Killian looked suspiciously at Ace, who seemed to be sincere in his attempt to help him, but ultimately, he couldn’t follow Ace’s meaning at all.
“Just go!” Ace said, shooing Killian away towards the ring.
Upon reaching his corner of the ring, he was greeted by Alissa’s unfriendly glare.
“Now that I have your attention, are you gonna tell me why you’ve been avoiding me?” Alissa asked as her black-striped, white fur grew out of her skin. “Or am I going to have to beat it out of you?”