I ran towards him, my heart pounding against my chest. Just as I closed in, he vanished from my sight with startling speed, leaving me momentarily disoriented. "He's fast!" I thought, scanning the area frantically for any sign of his whereabouts. Then, my iris flickered slightly to the right, and there he was, a mere ten feet away at my five o'clock position. In a swift motion, he slammed his right foot into the ground, executing a precise pivot. Reacting instinctively, I shifted my weight and launched a powerful punch, the force of which sent a gust of wind hurtling towards him.
The gust of wind seemed to find its target, but just as quickly, he flipped upward, effortlessly evading the attack with a graceful leap. As he landed, the metallic ring of a sword being drawn echoed through the air. Instinctively, I took a step back, my muscles tensing in anticipation of the impending clash. Amidst the adrenaline-fueled chaos of the moment, a nagging thought pierced through my mind: Did he pivot his foot in anticipation of my ranged attack? How could he have possibly known what I was about to do?
Following my movements with uncanny precision, he kicked his heel to swiftly orient himself toward my trajectory. With both hands firmly gripped on the hilt of his sword, he unleashed a powerful downward slice, the blade gleaming menacingly in the light as it arced towards me. As he descended through the air with remarkable speed, I thought of ways to tackle this. The blade wasn't just static, it was vibrating with a subtle but palpable energy. Reacting on pure instinct, I threw myself to the ground. I propelled myself upward with a burst of strength, using both hands to steady myself as I prepared for the next move. With a swift and calculated motion, I lashed out with my left foot, aiming a precise kick at his vibrating sword.
The clash was intense, the sound of metal meeting flesh being brutal. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as though time stood still as our strengths collided. Despite his tight grip on the weapon, the force of my kick proved too much, causing his sword to ricochet violently off my foot. But victory came at a cost, as the sharp edge of the blade left a deep gash on my foot. As I regained my footing, I could feel the weight of the battle shifting once again. With a fluid motion, Roman adjusted his position in mid-air, gracefully landing back on the ground with the poise and precision of a seasoned warrior. The dance of combat will further continue.
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Health: 8300 (-300)
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Roman's heavy footsteps echoed ominously as he stalked towards my left flank, his movements calculated despite their deliberate slowness. With a fluid motion, he sheathed his sword onto his back, a silent signal that the next phase of our confrontation was about to begin. As we squared off once more, I couldn't help but notice the subtle tremor in Roman's arm, a telltale sign of the tension coursing through his muscles. He shifted his center of gravity lower, leaning forward in a stance that spoke volumes of his readiness to strike. The anticipation hung thick in the air, electrifying every nerve in my body as I prepared for his next move.
With a sudden burst, Roman surged forward, his left arm coiling like a spring as he closed the distance between us in a blur of motion. Reacting instinctively, I shifted my arm slightly to the left, bracing myself for the impending impact. The force of his punch was staggering, but not enough to kill me. I intercepted his fist with lightning-fast reflexes, catching it in my grasp and halting its advance with strength surpassing his. I held his fist.. and he was unable to remove it. For a brief moment, we stood locked in a tense stalemate. And then, with a cryptic utterance, Roman broke the silence, "Got you." he stated simply, his meaning shrouded. Got me with what?
I released Roman's fist and instinctively took a step back, creating a safe distance between us. With a swift motion, I unleashed a lightning-fast jab aimed at his cheek, hoping to gain the upper hand in our escalating confrontation. However, Roman's intelligence was way ahead of mine. Despite the speed of my attack almost near his, his head rotated with the punch, lessening the impact and leaving me momentarily off balance. As I stood at a safer distance, my mind raced with something I had noticed. Why did I feel so sluggish, so weak, so suddenly? Even a simple jab, delivered with all my strength, seemed to lack the power it should have possessed.
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His voice cut through the silence, dripping with a mixture of admiration and determination. "Damn, you have some power on you." he remarked, his words punctuated by a spray of blood as he spat onto the ground. "You were right. Now, I'm sure you've realized it with that punch. You're weakened. Blame yourself for not having Aura." Aura? The word echoed in my mind. I felt it now, the undeniable weight of my diminished strength. I was weakened by at least twenty percent.
Roman's final declaration shattered the fleeting equality. "Now, I have the advantage." His hand raised, unsheathing his sword once more as he prepared to deliver the final blow. But as he charged towards me with a speed that seemed almost supernatural, I was shocked. His weakening ability wasn't just draining my physical strength—it was impairing my reaction time as well! In a desperate attempt to defend myself, I began to raise my arms in a futile gesture of defense. But before I could complete the motion, the sharp sting of his blade pierced through my defenses, sending waves of searing pain coursing through my body as darkness descended upon my consciousness.
The searing pain radiated from the point where his blade pierced through the edge of my hip bone, sending shockwaves of agony coursing through every nerve in my body. I clenched my teeth so tightly that I could feel them strain, the pressure threatening to crack them under the weight of the excruciating torment. Despite my efforts to suppress it, a grimace twisted my features. As if reveling in my suffering, Roman's lips curled into a menacing smile, his eyes alight with a sinister gleam. With calculated precision, he shifted his weight, preparing to execute the next phase of his brutal assault.
In a swift motion, he propelled his left leg upward, then firmly stamped the ground. His arm followed suit as he drove the blade further inward. The realization dawned on me with horrifying clarity— he intended to cut me in half, to sever my very being with the merciless edge of his sword.
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Soul: 380 (-20)
Skills:
Lvl. 1 Speed Booster - Increase your speed by 150% for three seconds. 20 soul to use, one minute cooldown. (Activated) The one minute cooldown has commenced.
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Swerving to the right with all the agility I could muster, I narrowly evaded the deadly arc of his slicing blade. Sensing an opening, I launched myself into a spinning motion, the momentum propelling me into a soaring roundhouse kick aimed straight for Roman's head. He was quick to react, lifting his sword just in time to intercept the powerful strike with a resounding clash of metal against muscle. The force of the impact sent a shockwave of pain reverberating up my leg, the sheer strength of his defense thwarting my attempt.
Undeterred, I seized upon another tactic, drawing upon the latent power within me as I twisted my ankle and unleashed a focused burst of wind directly into Roman's face. The unexpected assault caught him off guard, his body propelled backward by the force of the gust until he collided with the edge of the arena.
For a few moments, he hung suspended upside down, his sword plunging into the ground with a resounding thud as he fought to regain his balance. With a deft maneuver, he managed to twist his body mid-air, landing on his feet even as the wind continued to whip around him.
It was his accusing words that told me his feelings, "You... manipulated your soul just now." he accused, his voice tinged with a mixture of awe and disbelief. "You- you're not just brute strength."
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Soul: 360 (-20)
Skills:
Lvl. 1 Strength Booster - Increase your speed by 150% for three seconds. 20 soul to use, one minute cooldown. (Activated) The one minute cooldown has commenced.
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Summoning the last second of my Speed Booster, I surged forward, each step propelling me closer to Roman with a sense of unstoppable momentum. My fingers danced with anticipation, instinctively coiling my arm as I prepared to unleash a devastating right straight aimed squarely at his face. As I closed in on him, the words tumbled with a quiet confidence, "I'm much more than that."