'I wonder what she'll come up with,' Zed thought as he maintained his attack. He could see her eyes tracking his movements, not just his spear but also his hands, feet, and general position.

'She definitely has potential. If she had grown up playing games she would probably be as good as Loran, or maybe even Alexx.'

The two returned to a stalemate, attacking and defending. Cutting Yin's bowstring had been a one-time thing, there wasn't any way for Zed to tip the battle in his favor again.

'Honestly, I was talking big after the fight earlier, but this debuff is too much.'

Not being able to use Active Skills greatly reduced his ability to take advantage of an opening. Even now, against Yin where he wouldn't use any damage boosting Skills, he still had to give up on many opportunities that [SPRINT] would've given him. Being limited to just his physical abilities meant he could only fight using martial arts and battle tactics, but the debuff was even more restrictive there.

The 50% stat reduction was a big hit, he knew that from the start, but now that he was fighting he realized that it was just plain awful. His body felt like he was moving through mud, his spear was heavier and more difficult to control, and he had to think more about every step he took since his reflexes were still used to his full capabilities.

Additionally, as the name [HEAVY EXHAUSTION] implied, Zed's entire body felt drained. It didn't just lower his stats, it did so by making him feel like he just ran three marathons. He could try fighting against it, and at times it seemed like he could overcome the debuff through seer willpower, only for his body to nearly give out on him for pushing it too hard.

As weakened as he was, the only way for him to win against Yin was to either wear her down with minor cuts or hope she leaves another opening for a big hit.

'I've landed two direct hits already, I guess I'll stop after the third,' he decided. 'Still, I hope she manages to figure something out. I wouldn't want to throw this to get her to spar with me more.'

Due to his reputation, only Alexx and Loran were willing to spar with him, and while they certainly weren't pushovers, it was starting to get repetitive.

Yin offered to spar with him on her own, if he could convince her that more sparring matches were useful there was an opportunity for Zed to get a new source of entertainment.

'Going by that look on her face, she's probably pissed off from how rough I'm being, but holding back wouldn't be any fun.'

Zed was hopeful that if she won their match she would be willing to spar again, but that depended on if she could actually win against him.

'If she can't land a hit on me even when I'm weakened, then there wouldn't be a point to convincing her anyway.'

"Tch!"

Zed, having become lost in thought, stumbled slightly as his trained reflexes overexerted his exhausted body. He recovered quickly, but it was easily the biggest opening he had given Yin thus far, and she wasn't going to miss it.

Using her bow to knock his spear away again, Yin moved to close the distance between them. But Zed knew that she would try to close in on him, she didn't have a choice without her bow. He let go of the spear with his left hand, planning to punch her at the last second, when suddenly the end of Yin's broken bow stabbed forward towards his face.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He tried to dodge, but because the attack was so sudden he responded by reflex, overexerting himself again and causing his legs to nearly give out. The attack missed as Zed fell backward, scrambling to get his feet back under him. Zed tried to buy himself some time by swinging his spear in a wide arc, more as a distraction than an attack, but it was useless as Yin pressed closer, ducking under the spear as she moved to stab Zed with an arrow.

Unfortunately, Zed was in no position to dodge the attack and could only brace himself for the pain. As the arrow dug into his flesh, a burning sensation began to spread.

'It's really not that much damage,' he estimated, feeling that the arrow was only digging in a few inches, 'she is still new at melee combat though. Maybe I should call it here- OH FUCK!'

Zed would normally have been able to power through the pain of being stabbed, but just as he was about to regain his balance Yin began to twist the arrow while it was embedded in him. The sudden feeling of having his insides being shredded made him lose his concentration and he dropped to the ground.

Even though he was used to ignoring his injuries during a fight, that usually only worked because he expected it. Yin going as far as twisting her arrow into him was just too unexpected.

Before Zed could even think about getting back to his feet, he wheezed as Yin planted her knee right in his stomach and pinned him to the ground. He then felt pressure against his neck and realized that she had discarded her bow and grabbed a second arrow.

"We're done," Yin said, her tone enough for Zed to know that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Yeah...you win," he forced out.

Now that he had conceded, Yin climbed off of him, throwing aside the second arrow and examining the place where she stabbed him. "I didn't cause too much damage here did I?"

"Give me a second," he said as he caught his breath.

He turned to look at her, smirking. "I know I said to get mean, but where did all of this come from."

"I'm not particularly fond of those who enjoy bringing harm to others," she said flatly. "If you didn't want me to be unreasonable, perhaps you should do the same."

"Haha, but that's no fun," he grinned unapologetically. Now he turned to check his menu. "Well, I'm not going to die, but I am bleeding and I've got the Shredded Flesh debuff."

"Oh dear, let me help you to the Workshop."

"I can still walk," he said, climbing to his feet, stumbling slightly as his exhausted and now injured body tried to support his own weight.

"Perhaps, but you need to keep your weight off of that injury, and besides," a small smile formed on her face, even as her eyes were staring daggers at Zed, "I've also received some rather painful injuries so we'll be going in the same direction anyway."

'Heh, she's still pissed.'

Without waiting for permission, she pulled his arm over her shoulder and supported his weight as they headed back into the village. "I'm not going to let you die because of me."

"...Alright then. By the way, thanks."

She glanced at him quizically, "for convincing you to let me provide aid?"

"No, for the sparring match. It was fun, well, up until you started twisting that arrow into me."

"Oh? Are you not the one who is usually grinning his way through bloody battles?"

Zed rolled his eyes. "Yeah but I'm not a masochist, just because I don't worry about dying doesn't mean I want to have my stomach gouged out."

"So you do have some sanity left then."

"Heh, about as much as you have a sense of humor."

Yin placed her hand over her chest with an expression of exaggerated shock. "Such insinuation! I'll have you know that I can be quite whimsical when I choose to be."

"Sure, mind if I ask Yang about that?"

Suddenly, the hand Yin was using to support him dug its nails into him.

"I would prefer if you stayed away from my sister."

"...I guess you two are more similar than I thought," he said with a wry smile. The two then reached the wall and reentered the village, drawing a few curious stares from the players nearby. "Still, I don't think you have that much to worry about, I'm pretty sure Yang trusts me about as much as you do."

"I would assume so, my sister is no fool. But I would still prefer if the two of us had minimal contact with you."

Zed frowned. "So I'm guessing that would be a no to having more sparring matches?"

"Not likely."

"I'm not hearing a no," Zed said, his frown slowly becoming a slight grin. "Besides, that was good but you need more practice.

"There are others available to train with, others who will not be so interested in goring me."

"Maybe, but how many of them will be worth it? You're not that great right now-"

"Mighty words coming from the defeated party," Yin said teasingly.

"I was dominating for most of that fight and I'm heavily debuffed. At my best, you have no chance, but I've got an eye for talent, and I think you could be a lot better than this."

"...I will consider it."