The sun was out and the sky was blue, a cooling wind blew across the long grass that grew wild in the pastures that dotted the path that led back towards the main campus of the academy.
It had been a few minutes since Bryn's last class had ended and he had left as soon as he could.
His mind was...occupied.
Back in the arena he had risked his own life to save someone who was obviously antagonistic to him and what had it gotten him, nothing, Johnny hadn't had a change of opinion about him nor had he even apologised or even thanked him for saving his life.
Bryn had not only not gained anything by risking his life, he had actually taken a massive loss.
Bryn looked down to the charms that hung at his side and he could already feel the added pressure that was now on his back because of the loss of one of his life saving treasures.
Back at the system shop he had bought three charms to use when his life was in danger, two barrier charms and a single detox charm, but now that he was down to one of each, he knew that saving Johnny was a mistake.
He needed every advantage he could get to not only survive his first mission but his new lot in life, and by saving Johnny, he had just wasted one of them for no gain.
He had acted on instinct instead of coming up with a plan or better yet, leaving it to those that were responsible for the students safety whilst they were practising, but no matter what Johnny had said, it seemed that his instinct to help people, to be a Hero, was something that would not be easily overcome when his own personal safety or profit was at risk.
Bryn arrived to his techniques class with professor Kane traditionally sat in the corner and Armarni chatting up his innocent female classmates.
Alas the conversation was not to last as with a single look, He had noticed the missing charm and immediately knew Bryn had somehow gotten himself into trouble again.
“What Happened?” Armarni asked with a frown and so Bryn quickly explained what happened in his previous class before his current one started.
Armarni Frowned and let out a sigh, He could tell Bryn thought he had made a mistake as soon as he spoke about how he was forced to use us the live saving charm but Armarni could only reaffirm he was right in his decision that Bryn was not the monster the media portrayed him to be.
“Bryn, You're right, what you did was dangerous and cost you a valuable piece of gear that could have potentially saved your life in the near future, you acted in a way that anyone in this academy would have known to be stupid, but What you did, no, who you are, is what separates you from ninety percent of the people that attend this academy who only became a Hero as a means to attain power within their own factions, whilst you...you were going to become a Hero before your identity came out, it is who you are at your core so don't worry about whether you were right or wrong to do so in regards to your own safety or personal profit, ignore all that, ask yourself, was what you did right in the eyes of the Hero that you want to be, and once you've done that, get the little girl out so I can finally see her” Armarni advised whilst Bryn relaxed and let Leena out so Armarni could see his partner that he had none stop spoke about for the past several days.
Leena was a little wary at first, she hadn't really had much contact with anyone else but Bryn and the VP, but after a Bit of Coaxing and pre-prepared snacks on Armani's part, and she was only too happy to leap into his arms and lick his face in pleasure.
The three played together for a few more minutes before the last member of the class arrived and professor Kane took his positional at the front of the classroom.
“So, ladies and gentlemen, it is that time of the year and my true time to shine, you have each had your first opportunity to visit the system shop upon the sky flower and obtain the powers that will define you as a Hero, I have no doubt that you have all played and used them to your heart’s desire, but now it is finally time for you to get serious and learn how to use them properly”
“During this class I will inspect and analyse each of the abilities you have gained after you have demonstrated them for me and in return, I will advise you in the different ways you could not only use them, but how to make them stronger going forwards, obviously I cannot have you all waste what little time you have before your first mission so it will be up to you to practice what you have merely touched upon in this class, and for any of you that have doubts about whether you really need to practice what I have taught, I will leave you with this”
“Each and every one of your Aura's are but a wet paper bag before me” He said before his eyes locked onto Bryn.
“There is only a little over a week left until your first mission and within this time I advise you to do one thing beyond practising until your knuckles bleed, Fight!” The professor said and the class looked at him strangely as they did not understand.
“That is right, you should fight to your hearts content, challenge each and every one of your fellow students and take from them that which you desire, Duels were not only permitted at this school because it was a way to settle grievances, but it allows the poor but strong to obtain what they need from the rich and weak, Duels can be the spark of inspiration that allows you to progress in the usage of your powers and it is how you can begin to build a reputation within this vast word where people will judge you before even knowing you” He said before glancing at Bryn.
“If nothing else, each duel will help to prepare you to face the danger that you will encounter in your first mission, you can practice all you want but if you freeze in the face of danger, then you will die”.
“Bryn, Your up first” The professor said as he finished his speech and quickly walked over to Bryn, or more appropriately Leena as he was already in the middle of petting Leena.
Bryn quickly moved to a dummy that was to the side of the room whilst the other students took up positions by themselves to practice on their own.
Much like in tactics, Bryn demonstrated his two main skills, [Ethereal Chain] and [Reapers Touch].
Bryn waited to the side whilst professor Kane examined the damaged dummy before coming to speak, “Do you have anything else you would like to say in regards to your skills, any problems or do you perhaps have an intended use for the skills you obtain and would like advice on” The professor asked and Bryn almost started talking before he had even finished.
“Actually Sir, I do, I obtained [Ethereal Chain] to use as a binding technique to capture wild beasts for my Taming class but when I used it today, the skill seemed especially...weak, I mean, I was facing off against a Tier three Golden manned fire lizard but still, I expected it to put at least a little resistance before it broke” Bryn complained whilst the professor nodded along as if he understood not only where Bryn was coming from, but as if he had seen the problem many times before.
“Ah, I always get a few first years that have the similar problem with regards to the strength of their skills but do not worry, it is not only completely normal, but also easy to fix” The professor said to alleviate Bryn's worry.
“From what you have shown me and what you intend to use the skill for, I have four suggestions on how to not only solve your current problems, but how to make better use of them as well”
“The first suggestion is quite a simple one and something that I will probably have to explain to multiple people in class today, all the skills and abilities that you students buy from the system will imprint the knowledge of how to use the skill into your very being, how to use the skill will become almost instinct, but this instinct will only allow you to manifest the skill at its most very basic level, Your [Ethereal Chains] were so weak and easily broken because the amount of power used to create them was extremely limited, if you want the skill to be stronger, then use more power to create your chains” The professor said before stopping Bryn from trying there and then because he had another twenty people in the class to advise before the end of class, and if each of them put into practice what advice he gave them, then they would be there all day.
“Secondly, From what I observed from your little demonstration, you use the chains in combination with your arms but by doing so, are limiting the number of chains to the number of your arms, My question is, are two chains your limit?” The professor asked and Bryn questioned whether he had actually tried to create more than two chains before or had it been like the professor said, and he was unconscious limiting himself due to misunderstanding how to use his skill.
“My Third suggestion is to see whether you can separate yourself from your chains and truly bring them into existence, and if by doing so, the number of chains you can create is reset or not?”
“And finally, my fourth and final Idea doesn't have anything to do with how you are currently using your skill, but a technique that you could use alongside it in the future, you mentioned that you chose this skill so you could use it to capture wild beasts, and whilst I would advise you to learn a technique on how to Bind you opponent properly, what I am thinking about is how to improve your ability to bind the most powerful of wild beast, namely those that have access to mana, The technique I am on about is called Mana Diffusion, it is essentially a basic mana manipulation technique to seal your opponent’s mana, through the use of your own mana, you send it into their bodies and in doing so will naturally disrupt their own ability to manipulate mana, it can even be used on [Skills] if you find the right version of the technique in the systems shop, It’s not something you need to pursue right away but think about it, it is a technique that will only grow stronger by channelling it along your chains” Professor Kane said before walking away and past a stumped Armani.
“Erm teacher, what about me?” Armarni called out and professor Kane gave a slight turn, “I've already heard all about your 'abilities' from your tactics teacher, you’re a glass cannon that can only fire off a single barrage of high tier skills before becoming completely defenceless due to draining all of your mana to use them, and whilst this may work on those you come across in the near future, I can guarantee you will eventually meet someone that survives this barrage and when that day comes, you best hope that you've put the effort in to increase your soul realm so you can fire a second barrage or it is on that day that you will die” The professor said in a no nonsense tone of voice much to Bryn's surprise.
Bryn watched the professor walk off and Armarni shrug as if he had expected it and went back to his training, but Bryn wanted to know why the professor had suddenly become so hostile to Armani.
“What the hell was that all about?” Bryn asked and Armarni let the [Mana Bolt] he was creating fade.
“Ah that, I guess you wouldn't know but there are a few people like me that come from rich families and whilst we all have a similar background, our parents still have different viewpoints on the best way to prepare us to be Heroes, Some are of the opinion that their kids living through their first mission is the most important so they buy high Tier Skills for them to use to guarantee their survival, My parents fall into this category” Armarni said and Bryn nodded along, if he had a kid about to go on his first mission then you could bet that he would be ensuring his survival if he could, he would never want for his kid to go through what he was.
“Others however, are of the opinion that if you give your children high tier skills and the best gear possible to ensure their survival, then you are destroying their future prospect as you are taking away their ability to grow as a Hero, and growth only comes through overcoming danger, I'm guessing professor Kane belongs to this category” Armarni said and Bryn could see where these people were coming from.
In the few weeks since he had left home he had definitely gotten stronger, both physically and mentally.
He doubted the previous him could have done what he had to survive If he had not been through the same things that he had and simple gone to an academy without any problems arising.
“So which side do you belong to?” Bryn asked to which Armarni scoffed.
“Hah, are you kidding, I'm on the side that lives and gets all the cool skills and gear, I mean, have you seen these guns?” Armarni asked and pulled out his two slick and beautiful revolvers to which Bryn whistle and tried to touch, but was playfully slapped away by Armani who proceeded to caress them like they were his babies.
The class continued with the professor moving from one student to the next whilst everybody else independently trained, Bryn stayed in his corner and thought about the advice the professor had given him, but he was also thinking about what he had said at the beginning of class.
It wasn't until class had finished that Bryn chose to speak to Armarni about it.
“Yo Armarni, what do you think, Should we challenge a couple of people to a Duel?” Bryn asked to which Armarni shook his head.
“Me, no, You saw what I did in tactics, Ain't nobody going to accept a challenge from me without calling in some backup that could handle it, anyway, what am I wanting for?” Armarni said like a rich man with too much stuff.
“You however should definitely start challenging people to Duels” Armarni said with certainty.
“Me, Why”
Armarni smirked hearing this before looking him up and down, “It's because quite frankly, you're Broke. What you have got to lose is limited and if there is actually anything you want to keep, well, you've got the yakuza on your side now, your protected, so start acting like it and earn some funds as you're going to need everything you can get to survive next week” Armarni said before leaving on his own, His day was done whilst Bryn still had a final class to go to, spell creation with Professor Alyssa Blackwell.
As usual Bryn found Professor Blackwell in her classroom with her nose in some type of book, the room had been fixed since the fight they had gotten into when Bryn had lost control but some marks she felt added character to the room still remained.
Bryn arrived at the front of the class and began performing the mana kata but the only sign of acknowledgement he got from the professor was a slight lift of her head out of her book as she checked who had come in.
Not even Leena playing at her feet could muse her from her book.
A purple spark of pure mana flickered into existence before beginning to follow Bryn's moves as he performed the kata he had learned in training.
The spark was slow and unstable, looking as if it would flicker out of existence at any moment, but it was following his movement, Bryn was showing obvious improvement over the previous week, and why shouldn't he.
He may have only shown up to this class a number of times, but every night he would be stuck in his dorm room with only one of three things to do.
Bryn could either study from his [Grimoires], perform this kata to train his mana manipulation, or he could go online and watch his favourite Heroes channels on his Holowatch, something he was avoiding doing because when he had done it last week, the Hero that he had tuned in to watch had said the world should go medieval on his ass and put his head on a spike when they found out where he was hiding.
Needless to say, it had put him off watching any of his other favourite Heroes as there was a sense of loss when the person you once looked up to had now turned against you.
So, with his options limited, this was what he did every night for hours upon end, he would perform this Kata until he was too tired to move and then read until dreams of a better time took him away.
“You're improving” Professor Blackwell suddenly said from the side, it had been 30 minutes since Bryn had started so he was surprised when she started talking out of the blue.
Professor Blackwell put down her book and walked next to Bryn, She corrected his posture minutely before inspecting his spark.
“Calm down Bryn and do not try to force it, Speed will come with time, what you need to focus on right now is control, remember 'Slow is smooth and smooth is fast” she said before showing herself adjusting her breathing so that Bryn could mimic.
The two stayed like that for a minute and her words helped, the spark had slowed as it moved around his body but at the same time, it seemed more corporeal, more substantial in both its existence and power, but energy drain was just as prominent.
The spark fizzled out and Bryn felt weak in the knees after a few minutes, he retrieve his [Grimoire] to study Runes for the remainder of class but stopped, what Professor Kane had said previously popped into his head.
Bryn gave professor Blackwell the stink eye for a second before deciding to act.
“Professor, can I ask you something?” Bryn asked tentatively as he knew that the professor was already doing him a favour by teaching him runes.
“Does it have anything to do with this class?” She asked and was about to turn away when she saw Bryn shake his head.
“No, But it is to do with mana manipulation” Bryn quickly added on and he knew he had her when she sighed in defeat.
“Fine, what is it you want to know?” she asked in defeat.
“Professor Kane told me that a particular type of mana technique would go well with my skill set, I was just wondering if you knew something about it”
“And....”
“And?” Bryn replied in confusion to which Backwell palmed her face.
“The technique boy, describe the technique to me so I know what you are talking about” she said in frustration to which Bryn's cheeks turned a shade of red in embarrassment.
“Ah, sorry miss, Professor Kane called it 'Mana Diffusion', a type of seal performed through mana Manipulation” Bryn explained and the professor nodded in acknowledgement.
“ah yes, I do know a few techniques similar to this” She said as he cast several dozen tiny balls of light into existence above each of her palms, only one set was blue whilst the other red.
“The general principle behind mana manipulation is to gather the mana within yourself together and change it to whatever form you desire” she said and the scattered balls of coloured light gathered atop her palms in to two perform rectangles, then a squared, circles and so on, all the while the colour being perfectly separated.
“The idea behind 'Mana Diffusion' is to send your own mana into your opponents and prevent this from happening” The professor said and demonstrated again, some of the red balls flew from her one palm and inserted themselves into the structure on the other before beginning to bounce around like a hyperactive kid on a sugar high.
“By doing this we can make it so out opponent will find it difficult to perform even the most simple of spells or activate any inherent [Skills], however, the living body has its own natural defence against this, Foreign mana is not easily accepted within the body once it had invaded and sooner or later, if the mana is not as strong as the Host body, it will be expelled” the professor said and demonstrated the blue balls of light gathering together to expel the red mana whilst they tightly group together to form an impenetrable wall to stop it from getting back in again.
“Does that answer all of your questions” She asked hopefully but knew as soon as she saw Bryn's guilty face that it wasn't.
“erm...could you teach me how to do it?”
“Ugh, you do know that you are supposed to be learning about runes in my class, right?” the professor asked to which Bryn nodded.
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Professor Blackwell sighed before reorganising the coloured light ball into two side again, “fine, but if you can't write a control rune by your first mission then if you die it’s your own damn fault” she complained before having the red balls shift in form.
“Okay, so the best low tier skill technique that I can teach you is called the [Mana Root Seal], Mana responds to intention and this Skill requires you to imagine your mana as roots, plant roots are powerful and invasive, they have the power to break rock and carve into even the most solid of structures, and by giving your mana the same properties, you are giving it the same invasive ability” The professor said before having her light balls act out what she had just described.
“Okay, once you have successfully breached your opponent’s defences, the important part now is to create as much chaos as you can within their body, and you do this by screaming” She said and Bryn was lost.
“Screaming? Like out loud” Bryn asked but the professor just shook her head like she was looking at an idiot.
“No, you idiot, you're a tamer right, when you first made a connection to that ball of fluff over there, how did you speak to her, was it out loud or with you mana” She asked and Bryn realised what she was getting at.
“Ah, I did it through my mana, once I was in her soul realm I spoke my intention through my mana and pulses of power seemed to spread from it to her” Bryn happily responded now he understood and even the professor was nodding at he was on the right path.
“Exactly, only this time we do not want to communicate with the foreign mana but to stop it from communicating with itself, and the best way to do it is also the simplest, create a lot of 'noise' so that no communication can get through” The professor finished as the virtual diagram ended with the mana roots vibrating and the blue rectangle disintegrating in response.
“Now whilst this technique does not have a high technical ability threshold like what you would need to cast a spell, it does require you to be able to have very fine control over your mana and physical contract of some kind, I can understand why the professor recommended this technique to use in combo with your chain, but whilst the chain will solve the problem of physical contact, it will also make it innately harder to perform as it is harden to precisely control your mana the further it gets from you, Now, get back to what you are supposed to be learning, I will not be hearing a word out of you if it has nothing to do with runes or spell creation, you already have a lot to learn and only a limited amount of time to learn it, I do not want all the effort I have put in to teaching you to go to waste if you die on your first mission because you were over stretching yourself” Professor Blackwell said before moving back to her desk to read from her book again.
Bryn admitted to himself that she was right, Both he and the rest of the students had been taught a lot of new skills and abilities in the past week and he was doing himself no favours by adding to that list.
[Mana Manipulation], [Reinforcement], [Aura], [Mana Bolt], [Reapers Touch], [Ethereal Chains], The list of skills that he had learnt since attending the academy was growing but he couldn't say that he had truly learnt any of the skills as he had barely touched upon them in their entirety, he could barely use any single one of them, never mind bring out their full potential.
On top of that he had his own internal problems, he still had to train his body to maturity now that he had mana, never mind that in the first place he needed to learn how to control that very mana from turning him homicidal.
All these thoughts were rushing through Bryn's head when he finished class and headed back to his dorm, but he knew that even if he wanted to completely focus on just practising these techniques that reality wouldn't let him, as there would always be distractions to get in his way, And today was no different.
Students past him as he walked back to his dorm but there were very few about, so when he saw the posh boy wearing a tailored clothing waiting outside the entrance to his dorm with a superior look he used to glance at everyone that passed by, he knew that he was waiting for him.
As if to confirm this, the boy got up from where he was leaning against the wall to block Bryn from going any further.
“Ah Gideon, I've been waiting for you for quite a long time, I expected you to head straight back to your doom as soon as your classes finished like the rest of your compatriots” The boy spoke in slight annoyed but still obviously superior tone.
Bryn grunted at the use of his true name being used, even back before the academy nobody actually called him Gideon so now that he wasn't even going by his old nick name, it only felt even more out of place.
“It's Bryn, and I has an extra class to go to, now what do you want?” Bryn asked straight forwardly as he was in no mood to beat around the bush with this fellow.
Hearing Bryn's Kurt response the boy was unamused but he did not care enough about Bryn to be offended, “oh very well then, It’s only a simple matter, I have a message to deliver” He said and his word finally peaked Bryn's interest.
“Who is the message from?” Bryn asked.
“Professor John Clementine, Doctor of Necromancy, I'm sure you remember him” The boy said and Bryn immediately had a feeling that this was not going to end well.
“The message from the professor is simple, He is upset that you failed to get back in touch with him after your littler conversation so he sent me to have a new one with you”
“A new conversation?”
“yes, only this time the conversation will be of the physical kind as you don't seem to be smart enough to understand the verbal type” He said and the bomb dropped.
“Gideon Bryn Lockhart, Demon spawn of Hong Kong, I challenge you to a duel”
Bryn was surprised but he had expected things to progress this way, if he was being honest he was expecting the posh boy to either try a surprise attack or for more students to suddenly appear and group up on him.
A one-on-one duel was one of the best outcomes he could hope for.
Bryn activated the new app on his Holowatch and an adjudicator loyal to the yakuza was signalled to make his way over, if the fight was a team fight then he would have asked for help but for the moment he held off on that, he needed their protection and didn't want to abuse the power they had entrusted in him yet.
Whilst the two waited for the adjudicator to show up, Bryn questioned in his head what it was the boy would get out of this but he could only figure it was clementine’s way of getting revenge for now seeking him out in the past week.
Whilst it would have been good to have another teacher on his side, Eduardo's word had gotten to him and he was unsure whether he could trust clementine or not.
“What do you want?” Bryn asked and the boy smiled.
“I want what the professor wants, and the professor wants you” the boy said and Bryn realised what Clementine plan was.
He was trying to strong arm Bryn into joining the Necromancy class.
“So that's what this is, Clementine sent you to challenge me to a duel so with my attendance to his class on the line” Bryn confirmed and the boy gave a slow, sarcastic slap in response.
“Very good, but don't worry, the professor wants you to join his class but he would never want to ruin the relationship the two of you have, so he gave me this as a reward for in case you won” He said and pulled out a small metallic coin.
“If I win then you join the necromancy department, but if you win, then you will receive this, a tier three skill token” He spoke and held the coin aloft so it glinted in the dying sun before putting it away as the adjudicator arrived.
Bryn's eyes lit up at the sight of the coin and his greed shown, if he won and was rewarded with that token, his chances of surviving the next few months would shoot up dramatically.
“Fine, let’s do this” Bryn said and signalled to the adjudicator that he was ready once he moved to the centre of the courtyard they were in.
Four building enclosed them on all sides whilst in the middle of them was a grassy courtyard with a single path going from the entrance through the centre of the courtyard and out the other side via a small tunnel within the building, they are was sparse and open with but a single large tree to offer cover.
Whether this would be to the benefit of Bryn or his opponent had yet to be seen.
“As an Adjudicator for the academy I do formally announce this an official Duel, State your names!”
“Lioness Don Bevvy”
“Bryn Lockhart”
“Begin!”
Bryn drew his knives but waited where he stood for Lioness to make the first move, but it quickly became apparent that this was a mistake.
Bryn had forgotten what speciality his opponent had chosen and this duel was about to get a whole lot more difficult because of it.
“[Summon: Skeletal Warrior]” Lioness called out and a magic array appeared upon the ground in front of him and soon enough, a white and unblemished Skelton materialised before him.
It was all bone but for the old and rusted sword and shield it held within its hands.
Bryn looked at the Skelton and smiled, “Is that it?” He asked in such a way that his utter disappointment and contempt for his opponent was obvious.
Hearing this, Lioness sharpened his eyes, “I hope you don't regret saying that in the near future” he said before raising his hand again.
“[Summon: Skeletal Warrior]”
“[Summon: Skeletal Warrior]”
“[Summon: Skeletal Warrior]”
Bryn watched as one Skeletal warrior after the other appeared on the opposite side of the courtyard and by how confident lioness was, he didn't think that the number was going to stop growing anytime soon.
Bryn broke into a run in an attempt to cross the courtyard before lioness could summon any more but the skeletal warriors blocked his views as they raised their shields and charged forwards themselves.
Several steps later and Bryn made contact with the first skeletal warrior and realised how much he had truly underestimated their strength.
The skeletal warrior swung its sword and Bryn moved to go around it but the second skeleton was ready and waiting for him, it charged with its shield raised and slammed directly into his side, Bryn tried to limit the impact by crossing his arms to guard but the wind was knocked out of him as the skeleton effortless sent him flying back across the courtyard.
Bryn rolled with the hit to limit its affect but he was quick to dodge the second slash of the skeleton he had originally dodged before getting back on his feet and putting some distance between him and his opponents.
The skeletons however lined up and steadily marched forwards, their shield interlocked and the swords raised and ready to strike.
It was only now that Bryn realised that he wasn't just facing a bunch of individual mobs, but a squad of monsters.
“Shit” Bryn cursed before moving backwards as the skeletons broke formation to attack.
One by one the skeletons attacked, forcing Bryn to dodge one slash after the other, but with each dodge he would find himself in the cross hairs of one of the other skeletons and he was quick to realised they were not limited to simple slashes, but would stab at him if they found the opportunity arise.
Worst of all, When Bryn tried to counter with his knives, they were to no affect.
An opponent that did not bleed, nor tire, nor succumb to endurance, did not fear the knives edge, only blunt power of strength could be used to end their existences, a power that Bryn would have to seek from within his own four limbs.
Bryn dodged another slash and put away his knives, they were useless in this fight and to keep on trying to use them was insane, if he was going to win, then he could only depend on his magic and his fists.
“[Ethereal Chain]” Bryn called out and two chains manifested about his palm, at first they were weak in colour but they quickly became more apparent and real, their colour grew deep whilst the connection Bryn had to them swelled.
One point to professor Kane.
Bryn swung his chain and swiped at the legs of the Skeletons, They were and powerful, moved and fought as a group and knew how to fight, but they were not perfect and were subject to their weaknesses of the skeletal bodies and limited minds.
They were slow to adapt.
The chains passed and took their legs out from under them, sending each of the now five skeletons falling to the floor but before Bryn could try to bypass them to deal with Lioness, an arrow shot over the top of them and was heading straight for Bryn.
Bryn dived to the side and the arrow narrowly passed and it was only because he had broken into a role after the dive did he avoid the latter arrows shot In his direction.
As Bryn looked over the rising skeletal warriors, he could see that by Lioness's side, was another five skeletons, only this time they were Skeletal Archers.
“Fuck me” Bryn complained whilst putting the now risen skeletal warriors between him and the archers, they hadn't shot before because they would have gotten in the way so not he was planning to use it to his advantage.
Bryn gave a quick look at the courtyard before taking a breath, “Let do this” Bryn spoke before his chains shot towards the lead skeleton and impaled its chest, slipping in between its ribs before purposefully twisting to get caught within.
“Ooah!” Bryn called out as he swung the still connected chain, and with the skeleton still connected, dragging it off its feet so it was flying through the air.
Bryn turned on the ball of his foot as he ‘three-sixtied’ the skeleton before realising it like a cannon ball back into the other skeletons that were lined up like pins.
The skeleton collided with its brethren and limbs and powered bone were sent exploding into across the courtyard, Bryn had no time to dwell in his accomplishment because without the skeletal wall the archers were free to fire without an obstacle to get in their way.
Bryn cowered behind the single tree in the courtyard large enough to protect him from the archers might, the heavy thud could be heard every now and then as the arrows shot pierced deeply into the bark of the tree.
Bryn peeked his eye around the corner of the tree in an attempt to figure out a way for him to cover the distance between the himself and lioness but he did not like what he saw.
The Skeleton he had already taken out were beginning to put themselves back together again.
It wouldn't be long before they were baring down on his position again.
If he was to win this fight, then he needed to take them out of the fight, permanently!
With a moment to catch his breath, Bryn thought about how to make this idea a reality and he came up with two plans.
One would involve seeing whether or not Professor Kane would earn another point whilst the other would depend upon whether the dead possessed any life.
Bryn walked out from behind the tree and no arrow came at him as the warriors were back on their feet.
Closing the distance Bryn summoned his chains again and swung at their legs to knock them to the floor again, but this time they were ready.
The Skeleton to the furthest side the chain was coming from stabbed its sword into the ground and blocked the chain from going through them like before, however this presented an opportunity for Bryn as the chain had still managed to wrap around the skeletons sword thanks to it getting in the way.
Bryn Pulled and the Skeleton refused to let go so it too came with it, separated from its brethren Bryn quickly closed the distance before putting his hand upon his head where it fell.
“[Reapers Touch]” Bryn called out and immediately found out that he had been right as a surge of power flowed into him.
The skeleton warrior may have been undead, but power still ran though it to give it form, and now that power was his.
The Skeleton began to disintegrate and the power waned, only when it was empty did the Skelton fall to dust.
There was no sign of it putting itself back together in sight.
“One Down, Nine to go” Bryn said as he looked to his opponent, even from how far away from lioness as he was, he could tell that he was now frowning in displeasure.
The skeleton was gone and it did not look like it would ever be coming back.
The skeletons charged forwards whilst the arches in the back finally began to spread out in an attempt to get an angle on him.
Bryn's plan worked and he now had a way to deal with the Skeletons but there was a problem, it took time to drain a skeleton of the power that animated it, there was no way that the other skeletons were going to give him enough time to do it again.
He needed to prevent them from stopping him, and the only way he could think of to achieve this, was Professor Kane's third piece of advice.
With his chains hanging by his side Bryn sent them to attack, he was keeping his distance from the skeletons by constantly falling backwards but the courtyard was only so big and the tactic would only last for so long, he needed to stagger his opponents.
One of his chains were deflected by the Skeletal warriors shield whilst another was able to find purchase by wrapping around another's shield and arm, but this time Bryn had no intent to bring the skeleton to him, he wanted it to stay right where it was.
The chain grew quickly and encompassed the skeleton in moments, before it could react its legs were bound and it fell to the floor mid run.
Bryn Cut the connection to his chain but it still remained bound to the skeleton, He may not have been physically connected to the chain any more, but he could still feel his power from across the courtyard, if only a little.
The second skeleton was down and another point was gained by the professor, but in doing so he was gotten rid of the wall that was protecting him from Archers arrows and now he would have to contend with both.
Hid behind the tree again, Bryn knew he only hand seconds until the skeletal warriors made it to his position, he needed to take them out before they all made it to him.
Two were coming from one side of the tree whilst the other from the opposite, he needed to occupy the larger group whilst he quickly dealt with the straggler.
“come on professor, you're two for two so far” Bryn said as he concentrated on his [Ethereal Chain] Skill.
One chained remained above his left hand whilst another remained attached to the skeleton further into the courtyard, seconds past and Bryn was running out of time.
The Skeletal warriors turned the corner and were immediately struck by Bryn's chains, they knocked the two skeletons back before wrapping around their bodies and piercing themselves into the ground to hold them down.
Meanwhile Bryn deflected the skeletons strike with palm strike before kicking it in the back of the knees and grasping a hold of the back of its skull.
“[Reapers Touch]” Bryn said and drained the power from its very bones.
The courtyard was quiet and lioness was worried, his view was blocked by the tree so he could not have his archers attack, the last he had seen was a warrior disappearing behind it thick trunk but that was the end of it, there was no sound ringing from the exchange of weapons, no scuffle in the mud, nothing.
A chain suddenly shot out from behind the tree and struck one of the bound skeletons before it was dragged beyond lioness view.
The fight that had been In the palm of his hands up until this point had just taken a drastic turn.
The duel entered a lull where the only action that occurred was another chain whipping out from beyond the tree for a second time.
Only a single skeletal warrior now remained on the field and that was only because it was beyond Bryn's reach otherwise none would remain.
“three points to the Professor” Bryn said happily as he finished off the skeletal warrior, at the last moment he had been able to materialise another chain at the last moment with the one he had already conjured it had been enough to deal with charging duo.
Now that he had solved the problem with the warriors, he had to think of a way to deal with the archers, and unfortunately, he had few ideas on how to overcome the distance between him and them without becoming a pincushion full of arrows.
Bryn was finally realising why the professor had advised them to fight as many Duels as they could before their first mission, it was becoming quite apparent what he was lacking.
In regards to his current problem, He had no defence against long range attacks, he was stuck hiding behind a tree because of this and even then it was only a temporary option at best, even now the skeletal archers were flanking him on either side of the tree.
As soon as they got an angle on him the duel would be over, thankfully to do so the distance between him and the closest archer would be dramatically closed so they would be open to a counter attack if it came to it.
Only, if he was forced to fight against Lioness that way, then he would probably loose, even if he took out one of them, he would still have four left.
Even after thinking about, it for a while, he could not see a way in which he was able to deal with all of the archers, no, he was wrong, Bryn realised that he had been focusing on the wrong thing.
He didn't win this duel by beating the archers, he won it by beating lioness.
Best of all, in his scheming on how to deal with the archers he had come up with a plan that would work even better against lioness then it would against the archers.
The archers were growing closer and the time Bryn had left to act was shortening, he looked up towards the canopy and smile, “Well, it worked once before” Bryn muttered before climbing aloft.
Bryn waited until the archer was on the verge of turning the corner before he made his move.
Bryn pumped his mana into his legs until they swell with power, with a first step that carved back, Bryn took off at a run and jumped as high and far as he could before he reached the end of the branch and shot out of the tree's green plumage much to the surprise of his opponent.
Lioness shouted for his archers to turn and fire but Bryn had caught them all off guard, but the skeletal archers were not alive, they did not fear nor panic, they carrier out their orders like robots.
The closest they ever came to truly being alive, as when they released their arrows at Bryn, their desire to kill the living was the closest they would ever come to being able to feel.
Bryn noticed the first wave of arrows was already coming, just as he expected them to.
“[Reinforcement]” Bryn shouted and his skin almost seemed to thicken and turn to stone as mana reinforced its properties.
The struck Bryn as he fell, but they were barely able to pierce his mana enriched skin and before the second wave could be shot, he had landed.
“[Aura]” Bryn's body pulsed as purple mana radiated from him and he knew the true timer had until the end of this fight had begun.
Even with all of his training over the past week, he was still barely able to keep his aura activated thanks to his mana seal.
Five Seconds was his limit.
Bryn broke into a run at a speed far beyond his normal, his aura boosting his strength and agility, the second wave of arrows struck nothing b ut air as Bryn only had Lioness in his eyes and he had already begun his run.
Lioness watched as Bryn ignored his archers attacks as if they did not matter, that so long as he reached where he stood that the fight was as good as over, and this annoyed him.
“Do you think I am without defenceless without my minions, you fool!” Lioness called out as a black ball of power manifest above his palm.
“[Death Bolt]” Lioness called out and fired it directly at the charging Bryn.
Caught off guard Bryn could do nothing but strike it down with the back of his hand, luckily the hand he used was the one that he wore the Reapers Gauntlet and the spell had splattered with no effect.
Lioness's eyes widened with shock and for the first time, panic, Lioness begun to spam the spell with no limit, taxing his already waning mana supply beyond It means but he knew that it was do or die in this moment and if he stopped, then it was the end, he would lose.
“Argh!” Bryn roared as he pushed himself further than he had before, [Death Bolts] struck upon him arm and threatened to make him fall but he refused, he could not fall here, he would not.
His will was iron and his body steel, for every [Death bolt] Lioness fired was another that Bryn struck down, the archers were too slow and the arrows too weak they could not stop him.
No, they could not stop what would happen next.
With a final dash Bryn leapt forward as Lioness prepared to fire his [Death Bolt] but Bryn dodged once, then twice before leaping into a roll before forcing Lioness's hand up into the air where his [Death Bolt] went off like a signal flare to declare the end of the Duel.
With one of Bryn's long knives resting against the skin of his neck, there was nothing that Lioness, nor his remaining archers could do.
“Winner, BRYN LOCKHART!” The adjudicator called out and Bryn felt an immediate sense of relief before letting his knife wielding hand drop.
Bryn bent forward with his hands on his knees, he was panting hard, he was truly exhausted.
“Hahaha, When I received this assignment from the teacher I never actually expected to lose” Lioness called out joyfully, ignorant to the fact that he just lost and had a knife pointed at his throat.
Bryn looked at him as if he was the weirdest person he had ever met, “Do you not care that you just lost?” Bryn asked as because in his situation, losing meant death so for a person to not care about it was now an oddity to him.
Lioness looked at him and smiled, “Why should I, this was but a duel and whilst I lost a few capable minions, they were but expendable, more can be bought, I may not have true power yet but like many in this academy, I lack not for funds” Lioness said before holding out the token for Bryn to take, but as Bryn went to take it, Lioness refused to let go.
“Let me tell you a secret, Like you I am a first-year student, only I was never lucky enough to be a 'legacy', I was only able to wield mana once I had taken the pledge, everything that I have now, the power I wield, I gained from the time I spent under professor Clementine” Lioness said before drawing himself closer.
“I couldn't help notice how you fought by yourself, Are you not supposed to be 'Tamer'? To have a partner equal in power to yourself?”
“My advice, if you want true power, then come to the necromancy department, you will not be disappointed, True power is something the professor freely gives to those who seek it” Lioness finished and let go of the token before walking away.
The adjudicator left and now only Bryn remained.
He held the token within his hand and stared at it, before looking across his battlefield.
The skeleton were gone but the scars of the fight still remained.
Bryn had learnt many things during this fight.
That professor Kane was right, about a lot of things.
That he was weak to long range attacks.
That the time he had for Leena to grow before he needed her was quickly expiring.
...But most importantly, he realised that a lot of students at the academy had too much money for their own damn good.
Bryn got out his Holowatch and called up Armarni and Alexa.
“Hey, you guys up for some late-night duelling?”