“Nice tricks.”
Valeria pulled her fist from the ground. Her movement was so fast that it created a massive wave of sand toward us. I covered Nocturna and myself in my cloak, aiming to both take the brunt of the hit and avoid sand from getting into our eyes.
“Mage Hand!”
Before the sand wave could reach us it was stopped in front of us by an invisible force. Considering Nocturna’s shout before it stopped, I owe her thanks.
“Howl!”
G?kb?rü howled and most of the sand wave was trapped in a block of ice. I cut it into two and kicked both of them towards Valeria.
“Good reactions!”
She complimented us while turning both the ice blocks into dust. However, our efforts weren’t in vain as Lily managed to sneak close to her. He swung his swords to her neck. Even though she had no way of seeing him, Valeria must sense him as she turned around and elbowed Lily in the face.
Rather than blood and tooth flying, Lily simply turned into a haze. With my Enhanced Senses, I could see that his swords were now just a centimeter away from her stomach.
“Bullshit.”
I cursed when I saw her dodge Lily’s swords and backhand him to oblivion. Even though he flew far away I could tell that he wasn’t badly injured. He managed to roll with the impact to lessen the damage.
“Illusion, huh? Another nice trick. But tricks will get you nowhere against me.”
Valeria cracked her knuckles and took a step forward. Normally I would call her stupid for turning her back against Lily but she was just that strong.
When our fight first started I thought of her as a wild animal.
I was wrong.
She is a fucking natural disaster.
“So, got any more interesting tricks?”
“Just several more.”
(Monstrous Strength is activated. Strength is increased by 30 for 150 seconds.)
(Frost Booster is activated. Your weapons will be enchanted with ice element for 10 minutes. During that time your weapon’s power will increase by 5 percent. Enemies hit by ice element will slow down and may get frostbite if their resistance is low.)
(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increase by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)
(Armor Collapsing Claw is activated.)
While my body heat up with strength, the air around me grew colder. I could see my breath. Dark purple ice crystals began to form on my sword, encasing it in an otherworldly sheen.
“I wouldn’t call this a trick, kid.”
She looked impressed. She better be since I was bursting my ass off to have a chance against her. By focusing mana on my legs once again, I charged forward to her. She opened her arms wide as if to welcome me.
“H?h!”
(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increase by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)
(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increase by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)
I used two more stacks of Ferocity of Wolf King the moment I entered strike range. A look of surprise flashed on her face as I got faster than she got used to.
From my toes to my fingertips. I poured every fiber of my being into my swing.
Despite all, she managed to counter it with a punch. Her fist and my sword clashed.
It was like colliding with a truck head-on. My gauntlets cracked due to pressure and calluses in my hand got ripped off painfully. Despite that, we were in a stalemate. My sword and her fist were stuck. If one of us tried to pull back, the other would have the advantage of attacking. Best we could do was try to push each other back
“You could at least look like you are struggling!”
A large grin was stuck on her face.
“Why would I be struggling? I am having so much fun right now!”
Muscles on her arm bulged and expanded. I quickly realized that she was pushing me back by overpowering me. If it went on like that I would be at the disadvantage.
However, by putting more weight and force on her fist, she was also off balance. She was basically using my resistance as a counterbalance.
Very well, time to show off those wrestler moves.
I took a small step to the side while letting go of my sword. It went on flying while I lowered my stance and hugged her at her waist level. I lifted her up and…
“Behemoth Crusherrrrrr!”
Lily’s stupid voice rang in my ears as I suplexed her to the ground.
I quickly backed off.
“Hhahahahahahha! Wrestling? Wrestling? There were a lot of warriors who fought me hand to hand. But no one dared to wrestle me! I see why Aliera chose you!”
Getting slammed with a suplex could break one’s neck. Hell, I shatter even the monster’s bones with it. But she was fine. Did sand absorb the impact?
No. Something was wrong when I grabbed her. I knew that she was heavy with her muscles and height but she was much much more heavier than normal.
“You… Your bones… And even muscles are denser than normal, isn’t it?”
Valeria raised to her feet and dusted herself off.
“You have sharp eyes. No, it is not your eyes. You have a nice head. But you are a little bit off. Even my skin is thrice denser than a normal person’s.”
“Guess asking her to sit on my face is out of the picture. How much vitality do you think I need to survive that?”
Lily made his way to me.
“She will kill us if we don’t give our all. So I beg of you, be serious for a second here.”
“Woof!”
G?kb?rü scolded Lily with me. I manifested another sword.
“Soul Arrow!”
A blue light passed us and aimed for Valeria who blocked it with no problem.
I coated my sword with Armor Collapsing Claw once again. Since Frost Booster was still active, purple crystals started to form on my sword. I focused my mana on my legs and charged at her.
At this moment I could only focus my mana on one part of my body. However, if I wanted to defeat her I had to do better. I had to use every tool available to defeat her.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!This time my swings were lighter.
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Every swing was countered by a punch.
Every counter left me more exhausted. Just facing her directly drained my energy. She seemed larger and larger.
Why the fuck Aleria dragged me here? She could have just resurrected Valeria and she would take care of it no problem!
Unless… The problem that needs to be solved is not related to strength.
Blood dripped off my hands. The skin on my palms was gone. It hurt like hell. The only thing that made it bearable was the cold spreading from my sword.
Lily swung his swords to her neck. She ducked to dodge but most of her hair wasn’t that lucky. She didn’t seem to care as she elbowed Lily who turned into haze again. I saw real Lily already on retreat while Valeria’s fist started to cover my vision. I tried to raise my sword to block but blood caused it to slip from my hands.
I felt cold spread in my hands as my blood turned into ice, causing it to be stuck in my hand.
“Wooooooof.”
That’s my boy! I raised my sword but the punch never came. Instead, it missed me. Valeria stumbled past me while holding her ears. My first instinct was to look at Nocturna. I was sure it was her doing. However, I didn’t look at her. I charged toward Valeria before she could recover.
“Lily!”
I shouted for him to join me. Years of fighting together made us match our moves without talking. I charged first, bashing her stomach with my shield. Even though it felt like I was pushing against a large boulder, I managed to knock her off balance completely. I slammed her into the colossum wall.
Lily’s swords clad in green mana closed on her neck. I watched them almost in slow motion. They managed to nick off her neck before a loud explosion rang out and rock shards flew everywhere causing us to fall back. I was fine since my armor managed to block it. I looked at Lily and saw rock shards flying in front of him. He must blocked it with his wind manipulation.
“This is getting ridiculous.”
Before Lily’s swords could dig deep enough to draw blood, she elbowed the wall behind her and made it collapse.
“I am ready! Quadruple Casting! Shadow Bolt! Soul Arrow! Arcane Barrage! Force Blast!”
Nocturna, who was behind us shouted. Magic destructive enough to kill me blasted Valeria. The wall around her became dust and obstructed our vision.
“Did we win?”
I sighed at Lily’s words.
“You just had to.”
Valeria tore through the cloud of dust. She was running to us at neck-breaking speeds. Using Mana Erupt, I collided with her, my shield against her fist. She looked roughed and bruised but still no drop of blood was present.
“Come on! Isn’t this enough? Haven’t we proved our strength?”
I spat out to her grinning face.
“No.”
Her fist crushed my shield and sent my left hand flying to the side. She pulled her fist back, hundred percent intent on turning me into a donut.
“Mage Hand!”
With my Enhanced Senses, I could sense the invisible force trying to stop her fist. It wasn’t enough but it gave me a second more to focus. G?kb?rü tried to form an ice shield around my torso but sensing intention, he didn’t. Rather than doing it, he transferred his mana to me.
Valeria’s fist went through my chest as her face turned into one of horror.
I could read her thoughts.
Why didn’t G?kb?rü form an ice shield?
Why didn’t Lily try to block for me?
Why did I just accept her hit without striking back?
The answer was simple. Shadow Melt. I turned my torso into shadow. Honestly, it was a large gamble. I never used it before so I wasn’t sure if I could even activate it. I also had to read where Valeria was aiming. If I turned my head into shadow and she hit my chest it would be embarrassing. I also wasn’t sure how it worked. What if I died since a vital part of my body turned into shadows?
But it worked.
She pulled her fist out of me. I broke it ice binding my hand to the sword, letting it go, and grabbed her arm. She looked at me like I was insane. In a sense I was.
(Your partner wants to share the skill “Greater Ice Resistance” with you.)
(You can’t share more than three skills with your current bond. Skill Abnormal Status Resistance is no longer being shared.)
With a howl, both of our arms were encapsulated in ice. However, it wasn’t a problem for me. Turning my arm into shadow, I freed my arm. I manifested a sword and swung it. She parried it with her ice-covered arm.
Damn you and your strong muscles, woman!
She ducked under Lily’s swing and broke through the ice by flexing her muscles.
But it was already too late.
(You completed the Second Trial of Selection.)
A drop of blood dripped from her ear.
I fell down on my ass while breathing roughly.
(Your skill Combat Sense ranked up to B rank. The wealth of experiences gained from facing diverse adversaries grants you a profound insight into the art of war. Armed with logic and the knowledge gleaned from past battles, you can now expertly decipher the ever-changing battlefield, foreseeing the flow of combat several moves ahead.)
Valeria touched her ear and looked at the blood on her fingers. At first, she looked confused but her confusion soon turned into frustration.
“How?”
She agressivly asked. I demanifested my gauntlets and opened up my helmet. I still could feel my bones vibrate. My hands were all torn and hurt like a bitch. Nocturna kneeled beside me and casted healing magic while G?kb?rü shared “Regeneration” with me. Lily lay down on the other side of me.
“How did this happen?”
Valeria asked once again. With all of my buffs ending I felt tired.
“Does it matter?”
She made this shit too hard. No way I am giving her anything for free.
“You won’t even fulfill your senior’s request?”
A smirk blossomed in my face.
“What do I have to gain from it?”