"We'll be doing one on ones!" Zen's voice overpowered anything else going on. All the students were gathered around Zen and Grula. Zen had finished healing Ventrix's nose before he started explaining.
"These are to be treated like life or death fights!" Grula's voice was somehow even louder than Zen.
"You should notice that I removed the Mana for the weight and protection aspect of the gear! Which means… Severely damaging each other is allowed!" Zen snapped his fingers. The students all felt a great weight lift off of them.
"This does also mean that if you aren't up to snuff!... You can die!..." Grula put a lot of emphasis into her words.
"However, there are rules and goals! These are not death battles! So, despite the fact that dying can happen, we wish to avoid it! The two of you will fight, and the first person to successfully land three attacks on the other wins! Knocking your opponent unconscious before three hits is also a win! Anything other than killing is allowed! Are we clear?" Zen waited for the students to respond. And though their opinions on this differed, they understood the assignment.
"I'll be choosing who fights who while Mister Zen acts as referee and healer! Everyone else, into the stands!" Grula quickly jumped the wall and took a nice sit down. The other students quickly followed and sat in a group. Zen walked himself to the middle of the arena and waited.
"Hmm… Gimme Lylas!... And… Avures? Are you feeling up to fighting today?" Grula turned to the student.
"Sure. I'll fight." Avures surprised them with his willingness as he stepped down off of the seats. Lylas quickly followed him down.
"Hey. Miss Grula. Two questions please." Rael tapped her teacher on the shoulder.
"What is it sweetheart?"
"Okay, one. It's kinda very unrelated, but I know you said we'd be able to get our own armor later… But these seem plenty good enough. Is there any reason for that?"
"Oh, this armor is… Bad. It sucks. And I know what you're thinking… "The enchantments and the Mana blah blah"...but it's not very wise to use up all your Mana and make yourself a one-dimensional fighter."
"Oh… I get it. And uh, why are we doing this?"
"Mister Zen doesn't seem to think that you guys are being pushed hard enough… And I have to agree. We have been a little easy on you guys so far, even if it's the second day of advanced training. I'll let you all know now… In about six months, Zen and I will be able to take you kids on contracts with us. Field experience. But if you guys don't seem to be up to snuff, we can't take you. And then there's also the one on one competition with the other class we do as well."
"Ah! Really?"
"Yep. Lots of exciting stuff for y'all. But that means I need you to work hard..."
"Understood Miss Grula!" Rael saluted her teacher and then turned back to watch the fight unfold...
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"Alright alright. How do ya think this is gonna go down?" Lylas stretched his arms as the two of them walked to the center.
"Hmm… You'll probably win." Avures shrugged.
"Hey hold on. No confidence?" Lylas looked at Avures in disbelief.
"I don't think it's that I lack confidence. You're just more… Complete as a Lancer… Complete in all of this." Avures took his spot to the right of Zen.
"Oh my god man. Come on! Of course ya aren't gonna win with an attitude like that." Lylas took his place opposite Avures.
"He's right, Avures. Don't underestimate your own abilities. You've got some talent..." Zen patted Avures on the shoulder.
"Yeah. Don't be afraid to go all out. I ain't gonna stop being your buddy after this." Lylas pulled out two of his knives, one in each hand.
"This is my first time in real combat though… I… I'm not sure what to expect." Avures unsheathed the sword and readied himself like Ventrix had taught him. He held his blade in his left hand, and kept his right hand free.
"Just roll with the hits, dude-... Yuck...you're keeping that hand open?" Lylas pointed his knife towards the black hand of Avures.
"I'm left-handed."
"Ew. Gross."
"To what? Being left-handed or my right hand?"
"Hah… You can be real funny sometimes, Avures. I'm ready."
"Me too."
"Alright. If anything should happen that keeps us from seeing, I'll still be able to tell who gets hit. Now, I'm going to let off a loud clap. When I do so, the fight starts." Zen backed away out of the arena and into the stands with everyone else. Both Avures and Lylas were ready to go. Zen held his hands out. The boys both stared at each other, not moving a single muscle. Zen finally clapped his hands together, and the battle began.
Lylas started out with aggression, charging at Avures. Avures recognized his leverage, and started making retreating slashes and pokes at Lylas. Though, this did little but slow Lylas's advance as he only needed to block those hits. Seeing the position they were in, after blocking Avures's most recent attempts at attacking, Lylas tossed his two knives in the air and swiftly pulling out another pair to continue to block.
Though, Avures was able to see this maneuver for what it was, an future attack or setup from Lylas. Even if Lylas was advancing on him, he still had an advantage in Lylas needing to block his retreating hits. Using his free hand, Avures put his hand up straight, balled it into a fist, and then pulled it down. After this, he stomped hard with his right foot's retreating step. A darkness exuded from under his foot. The darkness snaked around on the ground and attached itself to Lylas's left foot.
The moment Lylas noticed it was the moment it was too late. Avures balled his hand into a fist. The mana he brought forth traveled down the winding darkness on the ground and up and around Lylas. His advancement and movement completely stopped as he felt his body freeze. Avures took this quick moment to turn around and slash at the two daggers falling down behind him, knocking them off course completely. However, trying to keep Lylas restrained with his mana was proving tougher and tougher. Avures turned back to his opponent. With no time left to spare on his hold, he pushed his fist outward and released it into an open palm. A dark looking energy sprouted forth from Avures's hand and boomed, sending Lylas flying backwards. After this, Avures's shadow dissipated.
"Avures has the first hit!" Zen loudly proclaimed.
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"Yay! Go Avures!" Rael clapped her hands as she watched Avures manage to hit Lylas.
"Wow. I can't believe he has it in ‘em." Bif was stupefied. "Though, Lylas shouldn't be slackin'.
"Snaking Shadow. What a good technique there. He countered Lylas's setup with his own. I also see he finally decided what types he was going to invest into. Though, it's clear that he's struggling to maintain it. That might be what decides this." Zen tapped his finger to his chin as he watched Lylas get back up.
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With a sizeable distance between the two, Lylas could only see this as his advantage. The thing was, if Lylas's setup had succeeded, he knew he would have gotten all three hits faster than Avures could have defended himself. But, it didn't work out well. On the plus side for him, Avures created way too much distance for himself, most likely a side effect of the lack of confidence. Lylas wouldn't let this opportunity go to waste.
Lylas decided it was time to go all out. With quick movements, Lylas started hurling his throwing knives at Avures, empowering them with his mana to make them fly further and faster. Avures saw the storm of knives approaching. Knowing that he couldn't possibly knock them all away with his sword alone, even when empowered, he furiously made more hand gestures. He made his hand straight, swiped up, down, and then balled his hand into a fist before releasing. Wasting no time in empowering himself and his sword as well, Avures furiously started swinging around and blocking as many of the knives as he could. Along with his own sword, a strange darkness in the shape of a cylinder seemed to bounce around the arena, blocking lots of knives as it would seemingly jump in front of their path.
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"Ah. Light Consumption along with enhancements to himself. These are high level techniques. But using such a powerful and mana-hungry move on the defensive… Bad. Something like Shadow-Whip would suffice." Zen shook his head in disapproval.
"Huh? You mean that big black thing is eating light?" Rael raised an eyebrow.
"Yep. Its mana cost is mitigated a little by the light it eats, but it's just inefficient when not used with other techniques. On the other hand of this, Lylas has Avures backed into a corner. Even if he was using something easier on his mana, Lylas made him commit to a losing battle." Zen pointed to Lylas.
"How so?" Rael looked back to her teacher.
"Take a look."
Avures kept fighting and fighting the hail of knives. He was sure that Lylas only had around twenty of them...but this flurry had clearly proven his theory wrong. Still, if he let up on his swinging and technique now, he'd get hit.
"Lylas himself decided to specialize in three types. Artifice, Protection, and Time. You may have seen him use Protection aspects before, but right now, he's using both Artifice and Time. Essentially, he's throwing his mana and casting into the future using simple Time magic to create more throwing knives in the simplest form of Artificing. These knives won't last more than a few seconds, but that's all he needs in order to keep threatening Avures. It's very Mana efficient, and has Avures in a deficit when defending himself. Not to mention, even after his onslaught is over, Lylas still has his real knives on his person still."
"Oh no..." Rael covered her mouth.
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Avures couldn't take much more of this. All of the swinging, all of the casting was putting a heavy toll on his body. He needed to do something fast. Avures dropped his current defense and opted for a different one. Dropping his sword while dropping to his knees, Avures quickly channeled his mana through his hands and pushed his hands onto the ground. A wall of complete darkness pitched itself up through the entire arena, cutting off half of it from view. Though, this wasn't without a price… Avures had a throwing knife lodged into his right shoulder blade, and another lodged into his left arm. Avures winced in serious pain as he removed the one from his arm, then the one from his shoulder blade. The blood started to flow out. Avures nearly felt sick seeing his own blood, but he needed to persevere.
"That's two hits for Lylas!" Zen proclaimed.
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"Hey what gives? I can't see the nerd now!" Bif screamed. Rael shot him an angry glare.
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"Oh man… That was a little tiring. But I've got Avures right where I want ‘em." Lylas threw one more conjured dagger through the wall of darkness for good measure...nothing. "Huh...well, I'll wait. He can't keep it up forever."
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"Dusk Wall. Again, another high level technique. This probably would have served him better if done earlier. If I had to guess, he's got it dispelling magic that passes through. That would be the smart option. Still, another thing he can't keep going for long..." Zen rubbed his chin, waiting to see what would come next.
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Avures was feeling the pain, and he could feel his mana pool slowly wither down. He needed to try and end this now. Avures walked closer and closer to his wall. As he took bated breaths, he lowered the wall. He was greeted to the sight of Lylas, still standing from where he was throwing the daggers a moment ago. To everyone else, Avures looked to be in horrible condition. Lylas pulled out a dagger, ready to throw a couple more to finish him off. Avures closed his eyes...
"Perfect Dark." His words echoed throughout the arena. Lylas held his dagger, frozen by what he saw. Everyone else stared in a bit of disbelief. A shadow-like darkness emanated out from Avures, spreading throughout the entire arena, covering every surface, even the ceiling. The darkness was like a puffy smoke cloud made of black. The light still shone within the arena, but all that was visible were the people. Avures raised his right hand, ready to attack, when he suddenly felt a tightness grip his entire body. The darkness from his technique quickly dissipated as Avures gripped at his chest and fell over. Lying on the ground, Avures's breaths were large and frantic.
"Alright! Winner is Lylas! Avures is unable to continue fighting!" Zen shouted as he jumped down from the stands.
Zen quickly ran over to the student lying on the ground. Zen picked him up, put him on his shoulders, and carried him back to the stands. Hopping back up and laying Avures down on the seats, Zen emitted a light blue glow from his hands as he held them on Avures. Slowly but surely, Avures's breaths returned to a normal rate and the wounds from Lylas's knives started to close.
"Aw… I lost." Avures put his hand on his forehead as he still lay, recovering from what just happened.
"That's what happens when you try to overwork your Mana pool. It's pretty impressive that you have a decent grasp on Perfect Dark already, but you don't have anywhere near the amount of mana required to maintain it. Especially not after all those other techniques you used." Zen shook his head again in disapproval. Avures slowly sat up.
"Ya had me pretty good there with that first hit." Lylas gave a thumbs up to Avures.
"Thanks. I kind of sucked after that though." Avures shrugged and looked away. Rael maneuvered through the stands and sat beside Avures. She patted him on the back.
"Alright! Now! Let's do..." Grula looked at the four other students left. "Bif!..."
"Sweet… Now c'mon, give me Blue-Blood...maybe even demon girl..." Bif crossed his fingers.
"Rael!" Bif and Rael!" Grula pointed towards the arena. "Get in there you two!"
"I-... Whatever..." Bif hopped on down into the arena, wasting no time whatsoever.
"Oh. Guess it's my turn. Cheer for me, won't you?" Rael closed her eyes and smiled at Avures.
"... Good luck..." Avures gave a small thumbs up to Rael. She opened her eyes and her smile only grew wider. Wasting no more time, she jumped down from the stands and skipped onto center stage. Zen followed suit, coming down to wait until they were ready.
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"Imma try not to embarrass you too hard in front of your boyfriend." Bif pulled the two clubs off his back as he awaited Rael and Zen.
"Same here." Rael smiled back, unsheathing her ax off her back.
"Pf. What? I don't-... Are you calling that pansy knife thrower my boyfriend?"
"What else is he supposed to be? You follow him around all the time."
"That ain't-... That's cause he ain't nothing more than my punching bag."
"How about this then? Be careful I don't beat you down in front of Miss Grula, huh?"
"Oh… You pushed the wrong button..." Bif lowered his head and gaze.
"Are you two ready yet?" Zen stood between the two of them. Bif and Rael nodded in response. "Okay, when I clap, fight begins, okay?"
Neither of the two moved.
"Great… Okay." Zen made his way back to the stands. He rubbed his hands together, paused, and let out the loudest clap he could...
Bif's first step was fast. Rael's first step lagged behind Bif's, through no fault of her own, but it cost her. Rael's first strike was a swing from her right side. Bif's first strike was a swing from his right as well. The outcome of this quick-draw came down to the quicker of the two… Bif's club solidly hit Rael right in her lower left torso. Rael's entire center of gravity was moved by the force of Bif's attack, sending her own off-course while launching her to the left of him.
The attack had flung her, and though she managed to keep a hold of her weapon, she couldn't keep her footing. Rael fell to her side and rolled across the ground, completely winded by the attack as well. She coughed up a mixture of saliva and blood. Bif would give her no time to recover as he hopped over to her and swung downwards with his left club. Rael could do nothing as she was hit again, this time more centered in her upper abdomen. A muffled and short yelp escaped Rael's lips, a severe, indescribable pain coursing through her.
Thinking about what Rael said earlier, Bif decided to make it a little personal. He already had two strikes, so he was going to make her hurt. He lifted up both of his clubs at the same time as he still stood over her. He wouldn't end with three hits, he'd end with four. Rael took a deep, sudden breath. To Bif, it looked like she might fight back if he didn't finish this now, so he brought the clubs down. And with credit to his own thoughts, while to his own surprise as well, he was right. Before the clubs hit Rael, she exhaled through her mouth. A sudden ball of fire leapt out from her mouth, colliding with Bif before his clubs hit. The ball of fire made contact with his torso, and reacted immediately, turning into a fiery explosion that encompassed both of them.
Bif went flying up and backwards. His airtime ended as he hit the arena walls with a loud thud and the stone cracking behind him. He slowly peeled off of the wall and fell onto the ground on his hands and knees. Bif's hair and skin was thoroughly singed by the sheer power of the fire Rael produced. Rael herself slowly stood herself up from the ground.
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"Two hits for Bif! One for Rael!" Zen's voice boomed throughout
"Bif being able to swing such heavy-handed weapons really fast makes it a bad-matchup for Rael and her ax." Grula’s eyes fixed onto the movements of Rael. "That is, unless Rael uses magic on herself. Hopefully, this serves as a lesson for Bif too."
"That was also a well-timed and executed Fireball by Rael." Zen pointed to the girl.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"Wait. Miss Grula, you think Rael wins this?" Avures looked over to his teacher.
"Definitely. Bif has a deep underlying problem. His mindset. Refusing to use magic is as bad as you neglecting your sword skills, Avures." Grula gave a serious stare to Avures. "I didn't want to throw him up against Ventrix or Olicia. He'd get the wrong idea on why he lost. So, losing to Rael ought to put his ego in check. Though, it almost feels a bit wrong. Don't tell either of them this but… Rael might actually be the strongest among all of you."
"Huh? Ya sure about that, Miss Grula? That doesn't seem right." Lylas shook his head, not agreeing with his teacher.
"You'd be surprised. She's got more natural talent than most who come through here. Powerful magic, strong-bodied… The only reason it doesn't seem so, is because she lacks genuine combat experience. The moment it all clicks together for her… Is the moment she's putting you all in check."
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The two of them had a stare-off, neither one budging. Bif didn't think she had a nifty defense like that. He felt wary of approaching her now, but still felt confident if he could just get in there. To him, it seemed like Rael had no way of countering a full assault from him. In his own thoughts, there was no way when comparing swing to swing that Rael could keep up with him. Nor could she move the ax fast enough to guard from his devastating follow-up swings. But, that was just it. He needed to get in.
Rael, on the other hand, wasn't so sure about her defense. It seemed like the fireball might be a one-time use sort of trick. This thought was only emboldened by Bif's hesitance to get back in close range again. There was no doubt in her mind that he was going to be constantly aware of such a move. But, she still had a decent pool of magical tricks and techniques to pull from. And knowing Bif's own reluctance to use magic, she felt confident.
Rael started approaching Bif. Bif did the same. The distance between the two of them quickly closed. Bif watched closely, refusing to let Rael pull the same trick twice. However, it became fairly obvious she wouldn't be doing that as she quickly jumped at Bif, coming in with a downward heave from her battleax. The attack was fast, faster than Bif had even expected. He raised both his clubs in defense and blocked the hit. With both clubs blocking the attack below the head, Rael grinned and tried something different. She pulled back on her weapon, trying to use the curved head of the ax to disarm Bif. Though, considering the lengths of the weapon and the position of them, this didn't work at all. Instead, it freed Bif from having to guard Rael's weapon. He used this opportunity. With both clubs still high up, he swung them downward at Rael.
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"Jeez, that's bad." Zen gritted his teeth.
"That's what happens when you don't use magic with martial combat." Grula shook her head. The other students looked at each other with very confused looks. They turned back to the arena.
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Before Bif's downward swing got even close, Rael lowered her center of gravity and herself. She adjusted her battleax, and placed the area in between the hooks of the head right at Bif's lower torso. Bif's body was now in between the hooks. The flat, yet single-studded middle of the head of Rael's ax now touched his stomach. Rael, in the most impractical move, jabbed forward. A condensed, fiery explosion centered from the impact burst out. Bif was sent sailing out straight ahead, rolling onto the ground and shortly stopping.
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"Two hits for Rael!" Zen's tone sounded very loud, disheartened.
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"Huh? I don't get it." Avures tilted his head at the way Zen yelled.
"Oh… I see." Ventrix almost visibly cringed.
"Eesh..." Olicia was much the same.
"If this were a real fight, a real battle to the death… Bif would have been killed there. And Rael could have done it in several different ways." Grula turned to Avures again.
"He's lucky he got off with a Flame Break and jab to the stomach." Zen rolled his eyes.
"Rael had obviously enhanced her own speed and strength. And whether out of ignorance or pride, Bif didn't recognize it. If he was using his own Enhancement magic, his attempt at a counter would have worked, or at least reset them. You don't even need to be an Enhancement type specifically to match that. This tells us two things… Rael is getting better at fighting. And Bif is now refusing to use magic to his own detriment." Grula turned back to the fight.
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Bif slowly stood himself back up, wincing at the pain his stomach was going through now. He was starting to think his lunch might come back up. Bif dropped one of his clubs and clutched at his stomach. Looking over at Rael, she simply stood there. He wasn't sure what she was doing, until he noticed something. A circle of small flames seemed to surround Rael and move around her. He could recognize what was going on. She was pooling mana together. He couldn't let it go on. Bif grabbed his other club and charged at her. The distance was rapidly closing. Rael stood still.
Bif was finally in range to strike. It didn't seem that Rael was going to bother moving her weapon to block, instead, opting to keep it only slightly raised at her center. Bif came in with a side swing, Rael's weapon didn't move. This was it. Her confidence would be her downfall. But, Bif took quick notice of Rael once again taking a sudden deep breath. He refused to lose to the same trick twice. Bif swiftly disengaged, stopping his momentum in place and jumping back several times. He was back to where he just pulled himself up from… No explosion.
"Hah… Gotcha." Rael smiled. She looked behind her, everyone was behind her. This gave her the go ahead for what she was about to do.
By the time Bif realized that her breath was a bluff, it was too late. Rael raised her ax high in the air with both hands. The flames around Rael started to rise and surround the head of her ax. The flames seemed to be being pulled into the ax itself. There was an immense heat filling up the arena.
"Completely… Impractical." Rael struggled to keep the ax and flames going. "But… I can't miss you, if the entire arena is getting hit. And that's all I need."
Bif's eyes widened. He hardly had the time to defend himself. After Rael had finished speaking, the ax glowed. She brought the ax down in a mighty swing and a massive wave of fire spilled forth from it. It was like watching a dust cloud made of fire slowly sweep over the rest of the arena. The entire area reached high, unbearable temperatures. The fire slowly moved forward, eating everything in its path before hitting the arena walls. Slowly, the fire all faded. Rael was practically panting for air as she was sweating all over. Though, everyone else was sweating now too. Bif was soon spotted too. He had raised his clubs up in defense, but was clearly scorched by the fire all over his body. His arms lowered, and his clubs drug along the dirt as he trudged forward.
"That's three hits! Rael wins!" Zen shouted.
"That's bullshit! I'm still standing!" Bif walked himself to the center while shouting back.
"Bif! We outlined how this would go down beforehand! Don't be a sore loser about this!" Zen stood up from his seat and beckoned for Bif to come back in the stands.
"So?! I want to keep going!"
"Bif!" Grula's voice overpowered them all. Rael quietly left the scene, jumping up to the bleachers and placing herself beside Avures.
"C'mon!" Bif raised his arms and clubs in a contemptuous manner. Zen sighed, snapping his fingers. When he did so, Bif appeared to have been suddenly moved to the stands with everyone else.
"Bif! I'm gonna lay it out for you. Rael could have killed you during that fight if she wanted to. Do you understand that? In fact, let this be a reminder to all of you! For any battle, even for Lancers!... It can be decided in three hits or less! Your life can end before you have a chance to fight back! So, do not!... Argue!... With me!... Or Mister Zen!... Understand?!" Grula grabbed Bif by the collar of his gear, lifting him up in the air.
"... Yes..." Bif looked away from Grula. She threw him back onto the seats as she sat back down herself.
"Alright… Ventrix. Olicia. You're up." Grula sounded disinterested. Zen went to the center of the arena to wait for the two of them.
"So, Avures… Did I look cool out there or nah?" Rael bumped Avures with her elbow.
"Hmm… I'd say you looked pretty hot." Avures watched Olicia and Ventrix hope down from the stands above the wall.
"Yeah. I-Ah-..." Rael's face turned a deep red as she looked at Avures.
"Hmm?" Avures noticed Rael's sudden change in mood. He tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Get it. Because you used fire."
"Oh-... Oh! Right. Ha-ha… That was pretty funny, Avures." Rael slowly turned her gaze back to the arena. The one time it seemed that he went out of his way to show some personality, and all she could offer was a pity laugh. Unless it was intentional… Rael felt silly.
"Yes..." Avures did the same as Rael. Avures derived at least a slight bit of enjoyment in his joke, even if it didn’t show.
"Your fight was pretty incredible to watch too."
"But I sucked out there. I made bad decisions defensively. I have to fix it. I have to keep in mind that I can use basic techniques in place of those big ones. Not only that, but I can use basic concepts from other types as well like Destruction."
"Honestly, Avures… I think you looked pretty cool out there." Rael smiled slightly as she glanced her eyes over to Avures. Avures met her eyes in the same way. Their look held for a short few seconds before Rael pulled back. "But, that also sounds like a bunch of humbo-jumbo. You should do what I do and just hit things."
"Maybe… I am curious how this fight will go though..."
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"Alright look. You might as well tell me now if you plan on just forfeiting. I don't want to get all excited just for you to ditch the fight." Olicia walked by Ventrix's side, but did not look at him.
"I'm not going to say anything about that to you. My actions will speak for me." Ventrix didn't budge whatsoever.
"Fine." Olicia walked to the other side of Zen from Ventrix.
"... Nothing else to say, huh?" Zen looked between his two students. "Well, when you hear me clap, the fight begins, 'kay?"
Olicia and Ventrix pulled out their weapons. Ventrix's sword was pointed straight at the girl. His stance was assumed, and Ventrix seemed as ready as ever. Olicia pulled out her silver chain, holding it in both hands. Zen backed his way into the stands once again. He held his hands out, and clapped them together. The sound echoed throughout the arena...but neither one of them moved a muscle. They both stood there, staring each other down.
Each waited for the other to move. No one wanted to be the first to make something happen...
"Fine!" Olicia one-handed the silver chain while pulling out her gold one.
Olicia flicked her wrist, giving power and thrust to the silver chain. A sideways slash from the silver whip came in at Ventrix. From their earlier sparring matches, Ventrix already knew the effects of Olicia's chains. Ventrix put up his left hand, his free one that is, and made it straight. A light, golden glow emanated over his hand. A transparent golden sphere eclipsed Ventrix. The silver whip made direct contact with this sphere and bounced off, losing all force and momentum. However, he knew that this was just the diversion.
Olicia had dropped her gold chain on the ground. As it made contact with the floor, it seemingly expanded in length as it burrowed into the ground. Within a few short moments, the gold chains erupted from the arena walls and floor. Several chains connected from floor to ceiling, floor to wall, wall to wall, and wall to ceiling. It was very much like a maze. This, of course, was no surprise to Ventrix.
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"Ya know. I've seen her do this before. But I never learned how it works." Lylas rubbed his chin.
"Artifice, Enchantment, and Utility." Zen responded.
"Hmm. Oh I see! She does the same thing I do with the knives with her chains." Lylas snapped his fingers.
"Correct. Ventrix, on the other hand, uses Destruction, Protection, and Enchantment."
"And that's all to accentuate his sword and personal skills..." Avures theorized.
"Most likely..."
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Olicia rolled her eyes as her silver chain then burrowed into the ground like the golden one. She pulled out her purple one, her last one. The silver one then sprouted in a similar manner to the gold one. The breathing room Ventrix had got tighter, and all he did was stand and watch. The thing was, both of them knew how the other fought. Ventrix always liked to get in and do swift attacks. When at range, he'd use destruction magic. Olicia fought in a way of incrementalism. She would trap and control the battlefield, increasing her grip over the area little by little.
This also meant they knew the weaknesses of the other. Ventrix was extremely patient. This patience also bordered on an unwillingness to commit to anything he thought to be risky. Olicia's setups and adjustments to said setups were costly in terms of mana. However, in truth, these were surface-level evaluations. They were both still holding back parts of themselves.
Ventrix was ready to make his move. The silver and gold chain both presented unique obstacles. The gold chain could absorb the force and power from any attack. It was the ultimate defensive tool. And Olicia would often move it around to use it as a shield. However, it was also dangerous in it's own right, as it stored those absorbed attacks, and could then use that power offensively. The silver chain, on the other hand, moved extremely fast and quick, and could even sprout into a different direction from it's own length. It could even reach out and grab things. But, Olicia held her purple chain. She considered it highly reliable. While not quick or extremely hard hitting, it held one property that made it an extreme nuisance to deal with. A simple touch of it could dispel any magic she wanted as long as the chain could withstand disabling it. There was a threshold to it.
Olicia might have had her setup, but Ventrix wasn't going to hold back. He was sick of her attitude towards him. But then again, Lylas had a point.
"Doesn't it sound like… She has the same problem as you?..."
"Just like it seems she only knows ya by her name… It also kinda sounds like ya only know her by the demon sigil."
"Regardless of he or she starting what… Ya be the bigger person...and ya clear the air."
Even if she had brought it up, even if she was the one who made a big fuss of it, he would put a stop to it. Ventrix gripped his sword with both hands, and then raising it to his shoulder while keeping it pointed at Olicia. His body glowed with a golden aura. Olicia looked mildly confused. She hardly had time to react as a blinding flash of light sped past her. The sound of metal clashing was heard. Ventrix appeared some ways away from Olicia in the opposite direction of where she faced.
"One hit for Ventrix! Two hits for Olicia!"
A deep slash wound opened up along Olicia's torso. She grunted and winced in pain, falling to a single knee as she clutched her free hand to the wound. Ventrix, however, had been slashed twice as well. Once along his left shoulder blade, and another along his right knee. And though he managed to stand up, he could feel the very limited mobility he now had. Though Olicia had never seen this move or technique, she was already well adapted to the types of attacks Ventrix would execute. Where Ventrix had dashed through her entire chained arena at once for a strike, Olicia had her silver chains extend and slash out in a multitude of places. She had guessed, and guessed right.
"Hah...o Oe more and I win..." Olicia turned to face Ventrix, still gripping the wound. "Though, it almost feels like a hollow victory since you won't be using everything… Still trying to hold on to your best stuff for when you come to kill me, huh?"
"Shut up… How dense… How stupid can you be?" Ventrix also turned himself to face Olicia.
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you really think I'm trying to kill you?"
"Why wouldn't I think that? You've already hit me pretty badly."
"And think of where I could have hit you."
"We're in the Academy. You wouldn't risk the rest of your life for just ending mine."
"Wouldn't I? I'm a Felsta after all. You seem to know so much about me apparently, based only on my name. So, you should know."
"... But, you told me about the demon sigil. You told me about how you were holding back because of it."
"Because you wanted a "fight to the death" during sparring, you absolute loon. Look, Olicia, think about this. If I really did want to kill you, I would have already. Before you could even adapt, I'd cut you down. I didn't want to have a death-match during sparring, but I could have gone for it."
"You sound way overly confident for your own good. I know you're just waiting to use some super-underhanded method to take me out."
"Look! I'm not going to judge you by your birthright. Stop judging me by mine. For the last time, I'm not trying to kill you..."
"Prove it then. Prove everything you just said."
"Fine!"
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"They sure are talking a lot down there. Can't tell what, but they should be fighting." Rael yawned.
"Here it comes..." Avures pointed at Ventrix.
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"Light of God..." Ventrix pointed the tip of his sword in the air. A strange, ghastly white aura enveloped Ventrix and his sword. After that, an extremely bright sphere of light expelled from the tip of his blade, floating upwards to the ceiling of the arena.
Olicia went wide-eyed at the strange… Thing Ventrix had done. But she was not going to let him just do that without being hit. A silver chain sprung out from the wall behind Ventrix, and another from the floor below him. Then, Olicia flicked her wrist, whipping the purple one at him as well. Everyone watched intently when suddenly...
With the sound of a quick, whirring slice… Both silver chains were suddenly deflected away. The purple one also suffered the same fate. It had all happened so fast. Olicia was frozen in astonishment. How did such a thing happen? Much less, without Ventrix even appearing to move. He hadn't budged an inch. She stared at him, observing, looking for any tell.
Another supersonic slicing sound occurred. Everyone looked on in horror as they saw Olicia's left arm detached and on the ground. Olicia screamed out in agony as she dropped her purple chain and put her right hand to the severed area of her arm.
"Two hits for Ventrix!" Zen recoiled in disgust.
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"That seems too far..." Rael retched.
"Well… Technically, it's not against the rules for this..." Avures was mildly perturbed. "I think we saw worse with the Headmaster though."
"That's one way to get the point across, I guess." Lylas shook his head and looked away.
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"Ah!... Fuck!..." Olicia was breathing frantically.
"Go on. Use your sigil. I'll wait." Ventrix had his sword to his side as he stared her down.
Olicia closed her eyes. A surging feeling of rage and indignation rose. She didn't know how to respond to what was going on. But, if Ventrix was going to let her… She was going to activate the sigil. Olicia's hair started to flutter, as if she were standing against the wind. A feeling of extreme adrenaline flowed throughout her entire body. The black, dormant eye on the back of her neck started to glow a deep purple. All pain slowly left her vessel. Her eyes grew more fierce looking, her veins were more visible, and it seemed as if her muscles tightened as well. Olicia took a few steps back, and took her right hand off of her severed area. No blood flowed out. Olicia picked up her detached arm, and with a smile, pushed the severed area of the arm to her torso where it once was. A sickly crunch of bones and the sound of muscles reforming could be heard. Within a few mere moments, the arm was reattached and Olicia playfully moved it around.
"Are you okay now? All healed?" Ventrix took a mocking tone.
"You're gonna regret that. You've got me all pissed off." Olicia's smile went wide.
"Just to let you know. This is my ultimate power. I'm no longer holding back. You've lost. That orb is The Light of God..."
"We'll see about that!" Olicia's chains went wild, sprouting more and more out of the walls and floors.
"And anything that the light touches..."
Olicia whipped her purple chain around like mad. Everything closed around Ventrix.
"I can strike..."
All of the whips coming from the walls and floors were deflected in the blink of an eye. Olicia's purple chain was hit away once again. And, another deafening strike rang out. A fountain of blood burst out from Olicia. The origin point for all of it being a slash that went from her left shoulder blade, down to the right side of her torso. She stood there in shock and disbelief. The wound quickly stopped bleeding, reforming and healing completely. But even then, she knew she had lost...
"Three hits! Ventrix wins!" Zen yelled out.
As soon as her wounds had all healed, her demon sigil stopped glowing. Her hair stopped lightly floating and her body returned to normal. Olicia stood in place, staring at Ventrix. The white glow surrounding him faded, as did the orb up above. They both gazed at each other. Everyone else came down from the stands overtop the wall.
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The students all lined up in front of Grula and Zen.
"Well. That went… Better than I expected honestly." Zen looked to Grula. "I got to see just about what everyone was hiding."
"I'm just scratching my head and wondering why you kids don't normally put this much effort in your sparring or self-practice." Grula looked slightly confused, scratching her head and closing her eyes.
"This is what I'm going to say. You guys need to show this kind of effort during regular training. The only way you're going to improve is by pushing yourselves. That means going all out during practice. Anyways, Miss Grula made a lot of observations. She's going to criticize you, and I'm going to compliment you. You know the drill." Zen quieted himself as Grula began to speak.
"Avures! You practically let Lylas walk all over you. You had a longer reach weapon, but played on the back-foot. You seem to be unwilling to rely on your sword. If you fight against anyone who uses anti-magic, they will kill you." Grula's eyes sharpened as she looked at Avures.
"Although, you did end up recognizing and trapping Lylas as he overextended. So kudos on that." Zen lightly clapped.
"Everything after that was a clinic on how to make bad decisions. You expended yourself into a loss. Practicality over power. Always." Grula finished. Avures nodded his head in response, opting to not say anything.
"What about me then, Miss Grula?" Lylas raised his hand.
"You got caught early. Avures saw through your future move, and countered you with his own setup. You were being too aggressive there for your own good." Grula shrugged.
"However, you did trap Avures into a mana deficit. You pressed that advantage very hard. Good work." Zen gave Lylas a thumbs up.
"Thank you. Thank you." Lylas jokingly bowed to both teachers.
"Bif!... What a disappointing showing. You had Rael within the first minute, and then lost. And your refusal to use any sort of magic has now become a detriment to yourself. Newsflash Bif. People getting into street-fights usually don't have good magic, so they aren't gonna use it. If you go out on a Lancer job and don't use magic, you will die. There is no sugar-coating that. An average soldier with a simple grasp of Enchantment magic could kill you. Adapt, or die." Grula got in Bif's face as she spoke. However, he kept looking away from her. Bif had been silent for a while now, and he didn't look to be in any mood to talk.
"Uh… You caught Rael on a slow start..." Zen scratched the back of his head.
"And Rael… A slow start means a quick death. Otherwise, I have nothing bad to say." Grula patted Rael on the head.
"Great use of magic, you understood your own position… Overall, good job." Zen lightly clapped again.
"Olicia and Ventrix..." Grula sighed. "You two are the most Lancer-ready out of the entire class. There's no hiding it. However, I would prefer if you treated these classes and activities as serious matters instead of dick-measuring contests."
"Sorry, Miss Grula." Ventrix bowed. Olicia followed suit.
"I think that about wraps it up..." Zen looked between all the students. "Oh that's right! If you won your match, take tomorrow off. Losers have to come in at the peak of dawn."
"Ha! Have fun, Avures." Rael patted Avures on the back hard, pushing him forward.
"Alright. Class dismissed." Grula said, turning to Zen. The two of them started talking as the students all walked away...