Jien slipped the two phials back into the small leather case, one now empty and the other recorked. This left ten untouched phials containing substances of various colors and textures. The phials themselves were not particularly large in size being about the size of an adults index finger but the amount of contents would not hinder the use of the concoctions contained. One needed to know that not all concoctions were made to be used in large doses. In fact it was rare to find them in a large bottle, often because though some of the ingredients may be large in size, once distilled down properly the amount of finished product would be much smaller than the initial amount of ingredients. This was mostly due to the burning off of impurities in the ingredients or sometimes just the fact that only portions of an ingredient would be useful when concocting a specific potion.
After having successfully kept down the burning hot potion until it's effects finished he let out a sigh of relief. He didn't mind the brewing process of that particular potion because it was rather simple, requiring only four ingredients and little skill. However, having know about what it would taste like, its texture and how it would burn on the way down he was obviously not a huge fan of the potion itself. He only drank it as a lesson to himself regarding his prior mistakes and to help him make it through the coming fights.
His first fight had been okay from a tactical perspective but he had failed to think about the future and that he was fighting a long line of battles. His second battle had been a failure on his part both as a strategist and in execution. He hoped to make it up with his few remaining battles by showing that he had the skill to succeed even without the backing of all of his mana. If one knew how to use their resources correctly it was never impossible to come out on top even if at a disadvantage.
Jien took his place at a distance from Olivia, his cheeks still rosy from the use of the last potion. He drew his blade and calmed his breathing, not taking a stance since he and his opponent were close combat fighters at a distance. They would have to close the distance at some point unless they would come up with long distance options. Of course there would always be spells that could be cast over distance but these were often considered as fire and forget spells. One would have a hard time controlling them from a distance and thus instead they would be used much like a battalion of archers to fire a mass of spells onto an enemy army.
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Such spells were never great for one on one battles unless they were a special spell, likely from a god or goddess to cover this exact topic. The trouble was that these spells often lacked power, offering the bulk of the used mana to the aspect of control. This was all to say that Jien didn't feel strongly that Olivia who had taken her place and drawn her twin short swords had that kind of spell. Especially after having seen her fight twice. In her first match against Lesley it was fairly clear that she was almost exclusively a close combat fighter and this was further confirmed in her second fight against Rosalind where she had been over powered, ultimately losing.
As the battle was about to start Jien saw the wolf head on Olivia's breastplate begin to glow a soft blue. This blue light spread over her body, once again drawing Jien's attention to these odd 'magical tools' that each of the youths seemed to be using. He still had no idea what they were or what exactly they did but he had a feeling that whatever was happening now was first not good for him and second, probably not the full extent of what it was capable of.
With his guard raised another degree Jien waited until the signal was given before beginning to move to the side quickly but always facing Olivia so as not to provide her an obvious opening. While there was no 'escaping' the match without giving up, staying still from the start was never the best idea unless you were fortified to a degree. He also didn't wish to approach his opponent carelessly lest he fall into a trap.
Luckily or perhaps not, Olivia didn't give him much time as she charged at him like a raging bull, both blades held firmly in her hands. Each of the noble children had realized that Jien had likely overdone it with his prior two matches. This lead them to believe that their matches against him would likely be if not easier than at least much more straight forward in nature.
Olivia arrived in front of Jien not more than half a minute later, even while having to adjust her direction continuously to account for his movement. Her speed was just all around much faster than Jien's own. Not only was he not using mana to enhance himself physically he was also not using wind spells like those used in the first match, leaving him with his usual running speed. While he was faster than most average people given the level of training he endured he was nowhere near comparable to the girl who had enhanced herself with mana and was glowing lightly with the unknown power from her breastplate.
Olivia even took her sweet time in her approach, knowing full well that she could have covered the same distance in likely half the time. The trouble was that though she was confident that she would win she was still cautious. She could be open in her fight with Lesley because she knew him and his fighting style, but Jien despite being in two prior fights was still a bit of a mystery. On the first he had ended it in one swift move and in the other he had met a fairly swift defeat.
And to top it all off at the beginning before stepping onto the training ground for their match he had taken a potion. She had no way of knowing what that potions effect would be and even more so what other potions or tricks he had at his disposal.