The crocodile had three powerful weapons at its disposal, its scales, its jaws, and its stealth. Dion had removed the latter and could deal with the other two with relative ease. Its jaws would be the main problem though.

‘If it strikes me with them I will lose.’ Dion noted blandly as the creature fell from the sky in front of him, the swamp water parting just in front of him as though it refused to touch him. Of course, it was actually a small wind barrier that would keep him clean.

As soon as it touched the muddy ground the crocodile roared in indignation, angered that it had been disturbed. It quickly searched its surroundings for the creature that had disturbed it however it was forced to pause when pain engulfed its back.

When the creature had touched the ground Dion had instantly sprung into action, dashing forward while utilizing the crocodile’s blind spot in front of its nose to hide himself, before leaping into the air and stabbing the tip of his spear into the creature's back.

‘It’s shallow.’ Dion observed, unsurprised by the revelation. As one of the crocodile’s three main strengths, it would be difficult for him to pierce through it even if he had enhanced his weapon with his mana.

Feeling his footing begin to slip he jumped backward just before his opponent began to roll, its tail flailing wildly. As the large tail approached his position Dion righted his position in mid air, his feet aimed toward the whip like tail.

As soon as he felt his feet make contact he pushed himself backward while using the tail like a springboard, azure mana surrounding his legs to protect them. With the force of himself and the crocodile, he flew through the air quickly yet his body slowed down with equal speed as the wind surrounded him.

Landing softly on the floor he looked at his opponent who was still thrashing around, its figure appearing ever so slightly bloated. Dark green mana surrounded the creature as it roared in anger and charged at him, its every movement destroying the land.

‘Its mana control is sluggish. Did Dimitri Alden lower the difficulty?’ Dion thought simply, his azure eyes taking in every inch of not only his opponent but also his surroundings. Its mana control was odd, however, always appearing late.

The creature's mana was so incredibly dense that it struggled to move it where he wanted which resulted in his mana control being innately flawed. Unlike Dion’s mana which was both dense and fluid that could be moved freely the animal focused purely on destructive power.

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Standing his ground Dion waited patiently for the creature to arrive, only moving when it was mere feet away from him. Gracefully he lept into the air, the animal's momentum carrying it forward, forcing it below him.

Grasping his weapon tightly Dion encased its tip as well as certain points in his arm in azure mana. Time seemed to slow down as his weapon descended through the air, its tip practically shimmering with power.

However his movements slowed slightly as Dion’s eyes clouded, the vision of a young child looking toward the cloudy heavens appearing in his mind before abruptly vanishing. Quickly regathering his focus he continued with the strike, his blow landed slightly behind where he intended.

Removing his spear from his bloated opponent after a mere moment he conceded the wind under his feet to use as a platform to jump away just as the animal’s tail passed by where he once was.

‘What was that?’ Dion questioned himself seriously, a deep frown on his face. Certain features of the child were blurry at best however the black hair and the familiar shade of azure were ingrained deeply into his mind.

It was a memory he was certain he did not have yet it felt like it was certainly his own. He could not understand what was happening at all. The only possibility in his mind was that the memories of the original Dion Aster were showing themselves.

‘Why now of all times?’ Dion probed himself as though the original Dion Aster would answer him. If the reason the memories were surfacing was that he was in combat, the distractions could one day cost his life. It was something he needed to answer.

Deciding to end the battle quickly he dashed forward toward his opponent who mirrored his actions. The two grew ever closer to one another, both preparing themselves for the inevitable conflict.

Yet the animal's movements rapidly slowed as they approached one another, his figure expanding as though he was a balloon. Quickly maneuvering himself to the side of the madly charging animal Dion struck the animal once more with his spear, another small hole forming in its side.

As soon as the third hole was formed, the crocodile’s figure expanded once more until it was over twice its original size. It was an odd sight that very few of the class truly understood for a variety of reasons.

Removing his spear from the creature that had stopped moving at some point Dion moved away a few dozen meters before the animals popped like a balloon spreading blood and pieces of flesh all around.

It was a simple strategy really, one that even a child could think of, the difficulty was acting it out. All Dion had done was create a few small holes in the crocodile’s tough skin, each barely enough to draw blood.

From there, he merely pushed in the air until the pitiful creature couldn’t handle it anymore and exploded. It was a strategy that required finesse in both physical combat and magic control, both of which he had in spades.

In the end, it made the battle that should have been extremely difficult fairly simple. Like all his classmates, Dion does not have a way to consistently pierce his enemy’s defenses let alone kill his opponent quickly.

So he simply chose not to. He ignored his opponent’s impressive outward defenses and focused solely on its weak insides. It would have finished in only two blows if the strange memory didn’t disrupt him.

To Dion, and anyone with a certain degree of experience, battle wasn’t just using brute force on every opponent. Some opponent’s needed a more delicate touch while some required endless beatdowns. It all depended on the enemy at the time.

Dion simply chose the right method for the right opponent and it worked wonderfully. What should have been a defeat was turned into a victory because he thought about the fight more than just how to punch it really hard.

To Dion, that’s all life was. As long as you thought about it, as long as you were creative, life would bend to your will. That was why he was confident he could survive in this world where he died in every end.

After all, magic was the personification of will.