“Oh no,” Milenna exclaimed, covering her mouth with both hands after Narias was taken down by his opponent.

“Narias, ghm…” Belinda mumbled, squinting her eyes while looking at the field where Narias was.

“Damn it. How could he let his guard down like that? Tch…” Estella pressed her lips together before sinking into her chair her.

“Now, now, settle down, ladies. My grandson is totally fine,” Grandpa Yojee spoke in a calm voice, waving their worries away.

“What are you saying, grandpa? Narias had just received multiple Lacerating Claws slashes on his back. Didn’t you see that?” Estella argued, giving him an angry look.

“Really? Those were Lacerating Claws?” Grandpa Yojee spoke, making it sound like he honestly hadn’t seen it.

“What? Grandpa!” Estella raised her voice, almost losing her temper.

“Calm down, dear. Nothing bad happened,” Grandma Fuuji joined in, wanting to help Estella relax.

“What? Not you too, grandma. Didn’t you see what just happened?” Estella was beside herself.

“I’m so disappointed in you, granddaughter,” Grandpa Yojee scolded Estella, furrowing his eyebrows before crossing his arms in front of him.

“Ah? What? But I…” Estella wanted to say something, but the look on her grandfather’s face showed he was dead serious this time. “W… why? I… I don’t understand.”

“I would want to trust your words myself, Mister Yojee, but I’m afraid all I can see is a person most dear to me lying on the ground injured,” Milenna joined in, her words sounding like a plea begging for an explanation, but Estella’s grandfather stayed silent.

“The belt,” Belinda exclaimed suddenly.

“The belt?” Milenna turned to face her, face full of confusion.

“Very observant, Belinda,” Jean added, showing a pleased smile.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t follow,” Milenna said, her sweet smile showing she wanted an explanation.

“Huh? That’s right. The protective belt that Narias is wearing didn’t activate,” Estella finally caught on.

“Very good, my dear granddaughter,” Grandpa Yojee finally spoke, his whiskers shooting up when a satisfied grin showed up on his face.

“So then, Narias is fine?” Milenna asked, not exactly sure of it.

“He’s… fine…” Estella let out a sigh of relief.

“Of course he is. How could you think that my grandson would be defeated by such a weak attack?” Grandpa Yojee spoke to her in a stern manner.

“I…” Estella became slightly ashamed of herself.

“Mister Yojee, you’re being very harsh on your granddaughter. Estella is simply worried about Narias, just like the rest of us,” Milenna tried to help out.

“I sincerely understand where you’re coming from, Miss Milenna, but that is not an excuse to cloud my granddaughter’s judgment. She should know better than to mistake a poor imitation of an attack that she had mastered herself. Not to mention, Estella had been very intimate with my grandson and should be aware of what his body is capable of.” However, Grandpa Yojee wouldn’t let Estella of the hook, in addition to disclosing information that Estella would’ve wanted to be kept private.

“Grandpa!” Estella exclaimed, covering her face with both hands.

“Oh my, I’d like to know more details about the last part,” Milenna said, adding a chuckle.

“How intimate… is intimate?” Belinda asked, her own cheeks burning red.

“I’m pleased to see you ladies becoming so excited when we speak about my grandson, but I was talking about the Deep-Kneading Paw Massage here. My granddaughter knows fully well that Deep-Kneading Paw Massage cannot be done effectively to just anyone. Or have you forgotten what my grandson had gone through already, Estella?” Grandpa Yojee reminded her, making Estella squirm in her seat.

“WOOAAAAH!” Suddenly, and before Estella could respond to her grandfather’s scolding, the spectators erupted with shouts and cheers all of a sudden.

“Huh?” Those who weren’t looking turned towards the fields to see what was happening.

“Oh, he’s… fine,” Milenna said before touching her right cheek with her right hand, smiling happily.

“I… knew he’ll be fine…” Belinda added, averting her flushed face away from everyone to see.

“Hmph,” Estella felt relieved yet ashamed after all that scolding from her grandfather.

“Hmm… I see things are about to become more interesting,” Grandpa Yojee said, a gleeful grin dressing his face.

“I’m sorry, Mister Yojee, but since I hadn’t undergone any special training, I wouldn’t know what you meant by your words just now. Would you mind enlightening us on what Narias is about to do?” Milenna asked very politely.

“Aah, but I would rather let you watch and see for yourselves, my dearest,” Grandpa Yojee refused, his eyes not leaving the field where Narias was.

{just a moment earlier at the arena}

“Wow, oops,” Narias was picking himself up, almost tripping over when he stepped on a ripped part of his jacket while trying to stand up. “Ah, I guess this would only get in the way now.” Narias spoke out loud, taking off his ripped jacket before throwing it away to the side.

“Wha… How-nya?” Xefys’ jaw dropped when he saw Narias standing up again. “How are you able to stand-nya? My Lacerating Claws should’ve ripped you to shreds!”

“Lacerating Claws? Oh, that… I’ll admit that your attack was dangerous, but those were nothing compared to Este-, I mean, Miss Alifur’s Lacerating Claws. Her attacks were so strong and sharp, they were able to damage the Red Crystal Hornhead’s shell,” Narias explained, shifting his body to the sides to stretch as if he was warming up.

“Eh? What’s a red… hornhyad-nya?” Xefys was confused regarding Narias’s explanation.

“Ah, well. It’s a…” Narias stopped to think how best to describe it, scratching his cheek with one finger.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Whatever! I won’t let you escape my next attack-nya!” However, Xefys didn’t have enough patience to listen to him, readying to attack Narias again.

“Huh? Fire Wall!” But Narias wasn’t about to let his guard down this time, stopping Xefys’ advance by raising a tall and wide wall of fire in between them.

“Tch-nya,” Xefys had to jump back, so he wouldn’t get burned.

Ah, man. That was close earlier. I got swept away by his taunts and almost lost the match. I need to stay focused. Narias inhaled and exhaled deeply to help him clear his head of any unnecessary thoughts. Right. Now then, how do I win? Xefys is too fast for my magic to hit him normally, so that leaves me with one other option. I guess I have to use what I’ve learned while training together with Grandpa Yojee.

“Did you think your little fires actually got me? Think again-nhyaaa!” Xefys was on offensive again. He darted to the side and around the flames at incredible speed, jumping up and above with a somersault, landing on his feet on the ground, about to leap at Narias once again.

“Wind…” Narias focused his mana, his Wind Magic starting to swirl all around his left hand. He focused on his right palm next and it became enveloped with Wind Magic as well.

“Lacerating…” Xefys appeared next to Narias from the right, ready to unleash his multi-attack ability.

“Burst!” But Narias ducked down faster than ever by using his Wind Burst spell to help him move his body away. “Burst!” Before chaining another Wind Burst spell to counter-attack Xefys, aiming just below his opponent’s underarm.

“Nhyaa!” Xefys was caught unaware of Narias using double spell, forcing him back off or else he would’ve gotten hit by Narias. “Hah, too slow-“

“Boost!” Narias sped up, forcing Xefys to shut up and defend himself. “Burst!” Before using his Wind Burst spell to increase the speed of his jump. “Burst!” While chaining his punch with one more Wind Burst for extra power.

“Thyaa! Hya!” Xefys just barely escaped Narias punch by stretching outwards before sliding out and away from Narias thanks to using his tail to push himself up from the ground. Fortunately for Xefys, he was nimble and flexible enough to pull it off, but it was a close call. “What’s going on-nya? How are you so fast all of sudden?”

“What’s wrong? I thought you’re gonna finish me off with your next attack?” Narias taunted his opponent in response.

“Why you! I’ll rip you to shreds-nhyaa!” Xefys became ticked off, rushing Narias the next second. “Hya! Hya! Nhyaaa!” Unleashing multitude of attacks on his opponent.

“Burst!” But Narias was ready for it. “Humph, Burst!” With his Wind Magic constantly at the ready, he was accelerating his body’s movements at the right moments to evade or dodge Xefys’ attacks one after another. “Burst!” Using every opportunity to counter-attack too.

“Too… nya! Slow-nya!” However, Xefys was still much faster than Narias, leaping and jumping left and right, escaping Narias’s attacks before getting back into close range to land another hit on Narias.

“Burst! Burst! Burst!” However, not all of Xefys’ attacks were reaching Narias and the ones that did weren’t exactly direct punches or kicks, therefor didn’t make Narias stumble or lose his balance. In fact, Narias was picking up momentum of continuously using his Wind Burst spell, allowing for his body to move freely in response, little by little catching up with Xefys’ movements.

“Nhyaa!” Xefys put extra force and speed into his next low kick swipe in an attempt to swipe Narias off his feet.

“Burst!” But Narias used a double Wind Burst spell with both hands simultaneously to throw his body up and over Xefys, his feet going up in the air, Narias extending his hands down when he was right above Xefys, touching his opponent on the back with his palms. “Burst!”

“Ghaaa!” Xefys was hit by a double Wind Burst spell, the force of the impact smacking him on the ground face down. “Nya-hya!” But Xefys wasn’t knocked out cold with that one attack. He pushed himself up from the ground using his hands the next moment, spinning his feet to try and kick Narias in the face with a roundabout kick.

“Burst!” But since Narias was still in the air from the previous attack he simply followed up with another Wind Burst spell to throw his body out of Xefys’ kick range, landing on his feet about ten feet away. “Phew…” Narias paused, his face showing he looked almost surprised about achieving what he just did.

“WOOOAAAAAH!” The pause in their fighting gave the spectators a chance to catch a breath and let out a roaring cheer.

Ok, that worked. I guess I’m getting the hang of it little by little. Narias was talking to himself in his head.

“Lucky punch. Tch-ya,” Xefys scoffed, wiping the spot on his face that probably hurt the most when Narias smacked him on the ground.

“Yeah, probably,” Narias smiled at Xefys.

“Don’t you dare mock me! Nhyaa!” Xefys raised his voice before sprinting directly at Narias while running on all fours this time, his speed increasing tremendously as a result too. “Nhyaa!” Xefys leaped to the sides as he ran, trying to fake Narias and most probably to avoid getting hit by Narias spells if he were to cast any. However, Narias hunched down, readying himself to engage into a close combat with Xefys again.

…

“Wow, do you see Narias move? He’s keeping up with his opponent,” Flavia exclaimed, tiptoeing on her toes.

“Yes,” was all Ileena said, her eyes trying to keep up with her boyfriend’s movements.

“So cool. I didn’t know Narias could move so fast. So awesome. Get him, partner!” Flavia was enjoying the fight so much she couldn’t sit or stand still.

…

“Burst. Humph. Burst. Hah,” Narias was doubling and tripling, almost literally as he was gaining momentum, his body movements becoming faster and faster.

“Nya! Haa! Nhyaa!” Xefys was going all out, trying to overpower his opponent with his speed.

“Burst! Burst! Burst!” But it was Narias who was starting to outspeed Xefys this time. “Burst!”

“Ghyaa!?” Eventually making Xefys flinch after completely missing a swipe with his claw, allowing Narias to get behind him.

“Fire…” that’s when Narias decided to cast a different spell altogether.

“Not gonna work-nya!” Xefys used both of his hands and feet to push himself forward and away, being confident he’ll be able to escape the next spell’s range.

“Wall!” But that’s when Narias outsmarted him. A huge wall of fire burst out of the ground right in front of Xefys eyes who probably thought the spell will be coming at him from behind.

“Tchyaaa!” In a desperate attempt to stop, Xefys reached to grip onto the ground with his hands, his sharp nails leaving a trail on the stony surface as he was sliding over it. “Nhyaa!” And just barely stopping in front of the fiery flames before pulling himself back to get away from getting burned.

“Burst!” But Narias wasn’t about to let Xefys get away this time.

“Wha..!” Xefys was beside himself when he realized Narias was right behind him.

The moment Narias cast his Fire Wall spell, he expected for Xefys to get away from him, so he aimed the fires to jump up a distance away right in front of him. It was a gamble, but up to this point, Narias had learned to read Xefys’ movements and he was almost one hundred percent certain that Xefys will simply leap directly forward to make distance between them to avoid getting hit by Narias’s spell. At the same time, Narias also knew Xefys had beastly instincts and reflexes, and there was a chance he’d be able to stop and avoid getting burned by Narias’s Fire Wall. So, Narias rushed after Xefys in order to catch up and give his opponent a little push.

“Ghaaa!” Xefys was blown into the burning flames. “Tha-nhyaaa!” Managing to jump out of the fire after a few short seconds, but was still burned badly all over his body. “Ha-nhya!” Xefys slapped on the spots on his body to extinguish the remaining fire on his fur. “Cough…” Succumbing on all fours to catch a breath right after.

“Whirlwind!” But Narias wasn’t about to let Xefys recover. He cast another of his spells, catching his opponent with it in an attempt to finish him off. “Give up or else I will have to finish you off for real.” Narias warned his opponent.

“Nhyaa! Never! I will…” Xefys refused, struggling to break free out of Narias’s spell.

“Surrender or else!” Narias threatened him, extending his other hand forward as well.

“I… will… not! NHYAAA!” Xefys yelled out, clenching his fists and flexing his muscles. “ANIMA-“

“Suit yourself. Flamethrower!” Narias released his channelling spell, not waiting for Xefys to finish using his Anima-Transformation ability. A stream of flame shot out of Narias’s right palm, engulfing the spinning whirlwind with Xefys inside, the whirlwind becoming a small fiery tornado.

“TRANSFO-GHYAAA!” Xefys was about to transform, but the fires engulfed him fully, burning his body and stopping him from transforming. “NOOO-NHYAAA!” Was the last thing Xefys yelled out before his magic protective belt activated, creating a bubble shell around his body to save his life. The moment Narias saw Xefys belt activate, he stopped channelling his Flamethrower spell, letting go of the Whirlwind spell too. Xefys motionless body fell to the ground, the magic protective bubble staying on him.

“Winner – number nineteen! MEDICS!” The announcement was made, the second part being yelled out much louder than the first one.

“Phew… I’ve won,” Narias let out a deep sigh, dropping his head before looking up again. So, that’s what Grandpa Yojee meant by saying I was just barely using my full potential. I always fret about needing to learn new spells to become stronger and yet… Humph, Wind Burst is such an amazing spell after all.

Narias stayed right where he was a short moment, looking at his palms and thinking about the fight he just had. The medics appeared at the arena, interrupting Narias’s thoughts and reminding him it was time for him to go back to his seat. Narias turned to leave, but not before a satisfied, yet somewhat sly smile entered his mouth.