----------------------------------------
“So you’re Silvester,” he said in a booming voice.
His smirk didn’t suit the face. He’d look better frowning.
“I heard you searched for someone to spar against you, youngster. To search for improvement against a better opponent is admirable, but you need to learn how to pick an opponent with a Level closer to yours if you wish to learn from sparring. If you want to learn something from me, I could give you some instruction outside for free,” he continued patronizingly.
Oh! How lovely!
“’Morning, Larin, and nice to meet you,” I said cheerily. “I see that you’re already showing signs of dementia if you’re already forgetting manners at your age. Or are you already an old man? In that case, I compliment you for your youthful face, but maybe you should have found another profession. I mean, just Level 38? Tsk, tsk, no talent at all.”
I shook my head in mock disappointment while feeling happy.
How long has it been since I could exchange such banter before a fight? It had been more than a year, for sure. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until now.
“A cocky brat, that’s what you are,” he said, not losing his grin. “I’ll teach you some manners now, if you’re done with your childish insults.”
He was about to don his helmet when I remembered something.
“Hey, since you’re so confident, how about a bet to make things interesting? You owe me one copper for each time I hit you. Same goes for the contrary. How about it?” I asked.
“Ha, so you can haggle later? Ten silvers on who takes more hits,” he countered.
Too bad... no, wait, ten silvers are 200 coppers. It's not like I could have made much more than that. I was still coming out with a profit from this fight.
“Fine. It’s a deal then,” I said, feeling a bit like a merchant already.
He then proceeded to put on his helmet, and we moved a bit more on the inside while drifting apart from each other.
“Are you ready for a beating, brat?” Shouted Larin when we were in position around twenty meters from each other.
I looked at him for a moment as an idea popped up in my mind.
“You know what, old man? I fear that a sword would be too much for your old bones. I’ll fight barehanded while I warm up,” I shot back while letting my sword fall to the ground.
“Come whenever you’re ready,” I shouted as I opened my arms in a welcoming gesture.
He didn’t bother answering as he dashed towards me.
I observed his movements as he drew closer, noting he didn’t focus too much on Dexterity. The armor covered him completely, making it harder to predict his movements, but it was easy to notice the difference between types at some point, since movements gained a certain fluidity for people who focused on Dexterity that others lacked. Given that, he was probably low on Perception too.
His steps were heavy, but he was fast despite the heavy metal armor, so he must have had a good portion of points in Strength. Endurance and Toughness could be his secondary Stats.
That conclusion after he took his fourth step, and I came up with a daring plan at the same time.
I already did a few tests, so I only had to put it in practice against an opponent, and since he was running at me so straightforwardly now was the best chance.
Will, focus, and sensitivity; depending on how much mana I used, and what I had to do, I needed to use those three in various amounts.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
I concentrated on his movements. Keeping my focus on the mana in my whole head, since it was easier, I made it help me see his movements better; the change was immediate. It wasn’t massive, but my senses and my mind were already much better than what they once were, making even a small improvement have a big difference.
By the time he was in front of me, I was ready.
I could feel his rhythm, I could see his sword moving, I could predict the path it would take, and when it would take it.
I just had to move at the right time.
Widening my stance, I raised my hands as he swung and clamped them shut at the sides of his greatsword stopping it midswing. A perfect hold, since the sword didn’t turn red.
“What the…!?” I heard behind the helmet as I grabbed it with one hand, freeing the other.
He tried to pull, but I already shifted the concentration from my head to my hand, clasping it tightly. I pulled, as my greater strength made him lose balance, then pushed and let go as he tried to hold pull back, making him nearly fall backward.
He was at the perfect distance, so before he regained his wits I stepped forward, moving my mana along with my movement, and punched his chest.
** BANG **
I felt the metal of his breastplate give in slightly as the hit lifted him off his feet, blowing him back where he came from. He hit the ground hard and rolled, but he kept hold of his sword.
Ah, feels so nice to be the stronger one for once, I thought, shaking my hand. It was a bit painful, but I suspected that other than the increased durability of my body, the fact that I used mana could have helped.
I should probably test if I could hold my skin together with mana against a knife.
While I was thinking, Larin got back up. He was certainly a tough guy. I could see a dent in his armor, though I doubted I did much damage to him. I guess his ego was more bruised than anything else.
“Hey there old man,” I shouted, “You fine? Do you need a hand getting up?”
He dashed towards me right away without saying anything, so I concentrated again.
I’d have thought he was just charging madly in anger if I hadn’t noticed a subtle shift in his posture just before the blow and a heavier step as he swung. The speed was nearly the same, but instead of catching it shifted myself out of the way and hit the flat of the blade with a fist, only barely deviating its trajectory.
Moving away as he swung his sword back up, I observed him. It took another few exchanges before I got what the problem was, then proceeded to enter his guard and throw him after I dodged one of his swings.
“You sly old man. Nice trick changing the weight of the sword, but you need to do better if you want to do anything to me,” I said as he rolled.
I got into a stance while he got back up, feeling a little like a monk.
Big bro monk would have been moved.
I then watched as he stabbed his sword on the ground. Then he lifted it as the earth crawled up the blade.
When everything came off, he was holding a massive hammer.
“Bloody hell dude. That’s cool,” I said, as he jumped at me swinging it.
I had a fun time for the next hour.
It was fairly easy to dodge, though couldn’t be too careless until he reached his limit with the Skills, since a hit with that hammer with added weight could easily break my bones. It was especially dangerous since when he swung, he made it light, adding a lot of speed to it.
Even the weight-enhanced sword could hit pretty hard; regardless of blunt edges, if it hit too hard in such a small surface it could still split me open. He’d probably stop before dealing lethal damage, but the danger was there.
He also had a Skill that made the ground wave when he stomped, and another that shot darts from the ground all around him.
The first one was quite tricky the first time, since it disturbed my balance and I almost got hit, but after seeing it once it was easy to dodge by jumping back because of the short range. The other one could have been nasty if I was hit on sensitive parts, but I guessed that it was more for dealing with a lot of weaker enemies like goblins than tougher ones.
I fought barehanded for a while, then switched to the sword. Integrating mana within my fighting style wasn’t easy, and I’d still need a few more spars to feel safe in using it in a deathmatch, but I tried out new moves and had fun, so I was content.
“Time is up!” I heard John shout from the door.
Larin then suddenly sat on the ground while catching his breath. I pushed him a lot in the last few minutes since I knew that time was coming to an end. I was right in thinking he had a lot of points in Endurance, but it was hard to find a match for me in that.
“Good fight. I’ll promote you to not-so-old-man! Now I’ll go to eat something at the bar, so bring the money there. See you later!” I said as I headed for the door.
There were somehow more people than before.
“Hey, Freya, did the guy drop his jaw or not?” I asked when I neared the entrance while pointing at John.
“Yes, he did,” she said seriously. I laughed.
“You owe me two drinks, John,” I told him smugly.
He looked at me like he was looking at a strange animal. An awesomely wonderful one, I suppose.
“That, I do,” he rasped after a few moments. “And I also owe an apology.”
“Oh, no worries there. I’m so awesome, I blind people sometimes. Can’t fault you for not seeing my greatness,” I told him.
He snorted. “I would have liked deafness better.”
“I could sing if you wish.”
“No need.”
I shrugged.
Some people just couldn’t see talent.
----------------------------------------