"I guess this isn't working, huh," Noah muttered as he got back up.
"In all fairness, you're the only one crazy enough to go up against a primordial spirit in human form," Samain replied casually, after all there was no better way of breaking the ice than the age old method of kicking the shit out of each other.
"But it still feels satisfying to give me a beatdown, eh?" Noah broke into a smile as he asked the question, getting a not-so-subtle chuckle in return. Good, the whole ' being an asshole' act was getting to him anyway.
He was still trying to think back on the moment he had somehow managed to use myriad illusions in his Titan form, he still had no way of controlling his reduced intellect in the form; then how exactly he had done it.
What was different between the fight with the Goblin Lord and his duel with Samain? The former was much stronger than the later, it wasn't even a comparison in all honesty.
Then, it struck him. The memory of the fight was fragmented, but Noah remembered the sheer rage and indignity he felt when he saw the Bladed Lizardman. It wasn't anything to do with Samain, but rather the act of transformation itself, the very idea that some other primordial spirit would dare to challenge the mighty spirit of the Titan was sacrilege! In that moment, Noah didn't want to destroy his opponent, but to make the sheer gap between them known; The dispair at the disparity must be felt by his foe for the indignities offered towards him. Even his own power wasn't enough, thus, he relied on an illusion to create three massive hammers that would envelop all of creation itself and shatter the world. Or.... Well that's how it felt in the moment anyway.
So he wasn't any closer than he wanted to be to controlling Titan Form, but at least he had a little extra in the tank when it came to dealing with other Primordial Spirit Users.
Why did a Titan, master of destruction itself, need to rely on a deceptive and illusory combat art anyway? It was a curious mystery, but perhaps Azamorath had witnessed too much loss to think from the perspective of a grand race, for he was a survivor instead. Of what, Noah did not know and Liam was frustratingly silent on the matter, though Noah suspected he knew more.
Shaking himself from his musings, Noah cracked his neck in either direction, and grinned at Samain.
"I guess it's time to use it," Noah gave the Bladed Lizardman a mischievous smile, and pulled out a long scimitar from his inventory, the very same he'd relieved the Goblin Lord of.
Runic Scimitar of the Duellist, Uncommon
Requirements- 30 Dexterity
A fine blade crafted for the quintessential duellist, with speed, grace and most important of all, finesse, in mind. The blade may not make the duellist, but if one were to indulge in the splendor of the ancient artform, one would prefer to have this weapon at arm's reach.
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Spatial Compression- The Runic Scimitar of the Duellist adjusts its size and weight and comfort according to the wearer’s specifications, to a maximum length of 3 meters.
Master Duellist- Each strike from an entity parried increases speed by 5 percent, to a maximum of 50 percent within 10 minutes. Duration- 10 minutes. Cooldown- 30 minutes.
Mark of the Duelist- Each successful strike made within 30 minutes reduces the opponents' speed by 1 percent to a maximum of 30 percent (Dependant on Target's Constitution) Cooldown- 1 hour.
Noah wielded the [Runic Scimitar of the Duellist] in his right hand, while his [Gladius of Piercing Frost] was held in a reverse grip within his left hand, ready to parry the errant strike his right couldn't deflect.
The length of the Scimitar was unfamiliar to him, but it was still a light, bladed weapon so it didn't come completely out of left field.
"A new weapon? What's that going to do?" Samain gave Noah an odd look, that somehow still managed to be intimidating in his Lizardman form.
"More than you can imagine. Now come!" Noah loudly proclaimed, and Samain heeded his call- sprinting towards him without any hesitation.
Noah braced himself for impact, yet Samain was still faster than he was prepared for. He caught the first blow on his scimitar, barely hearing the clang before the second arm came smashing down towards his forehead. His body exploded with a small reserve of energy directing him to move faster, and it was just enough to catch the second strike with his blade.
Noah went stumbling back a few steps, but the assault came chasing after him, relentless and undaunted.
Each encounter continuously pushed him back, but he only had a fascinated grin on his face. It was as if he could see a little more each time he parried Samain's blades, grasp more combat awareness each time their blades clashed. Faster, he could go even faster!
The Lizardman charged at Noah with his right blade extended, and he saw it coming this time. Instead of parrying though, Noah sidestepped past the lizard, sending him charging towards the training chambers' wall.
A befuddled Samain muttered "How?" incredulously. Noah knew Samain wasn't coming at him with the maximum seped he could muster, that would be a pointless endeavour instead of sparring; His speed however, was still well into the realm of the supernatural.
"A little something to even the odds, is all," he said with a smile, and both of them resumed the duel.
Two silhouettes tangled against each other with contained ferocity, Noah cycling through the various forms of myriad illusions he'd learned; it was a little harder with the scimitar, but he was getting better.
Noah waited for the Lizardman to swipe at him, countering with a falsetto grip that caused him to stumble past him; He thought he had Samain there, but a desparate right swipe that almost disemboweled him quickly remanded him of that notion. Of course, Samain had enough control of his reflexes to stop before doing any actual damage, it was kind of part of the superhuman reflexes package.
The Lizardman was still faster than him, but Noah was gaining the invaluable experience of confronying a far superior foe; Every inch of his potential was being squeezed out, and it was only just enough to keep pace with Samain.
And then...
His 10 minutes of bliss ended and he was sent flying with another kick to the gut.