Chương 20

With how easily and quickly the steel moved, the Templar warrior could've been swinging a dagger—as it was, unfortunately, he was swinging a several-foot-long hammer, which looked like it could decapitate Alex in a single blow. And this was without the Force mana slicking its face. Alex was forced to sacrifice a Mana Shield to block it even as he stepped back. CRACK-CRSSH! He was lucky he'd stepped back when he did, since that fast-flowing Force mana lit up as steel struck hardened mana.

The shield shattered, and an instant later exploded into fragments; the hammer flew inches from Alex's wide-eyed face. The shine of the steel as it went by felt like it might as well have been his life flashing before his eyes. His heart sank. A full Mana Shield can't halt a single swing? The Templar warrior was already blurring into motion once more—like his sister, it was like he didn't want to give Alex time to so much as take a single breath. In their first few exchanges, he was doing an excellent job of it.

"Your Mana Shield's really very good for your level," said the Templar warrior, advancing.

"Thanks," said Alex, gasping.

"I'm not sure how to take that, considering how little difficulty you're having with it." The warrior smiled.

"It's the placement and cast speed," he said.

"But the durability's also relatively impressive. Kennedy—my sister—she says you're an Outworlder?" Alex blinked.

"You two are very perceptive." He tried stabbing up at the warrior's eyes, but the warrior easily deflected the strike.

"It doesn't take her perceptiveness to realize. Casting upwards of three or four spells simultaneously is a several-years-long endeavor," said the Templar warrior, speaking like he was instructing a new student.

"It's very rare at F-rank. It takes a mind uniquely well suited to it." The warrior threw a counterswing Alex dodged, very barely. He might be speaking casually, but he's still very much trying to kill me. Alex chanced a glance behind him and saw that three-on-one seemed to be enough to hold the Templar archer at a deadlock, at least for now. He was also contributing a Mana Shield or two to the effort, where he could. Raingirl had her staff planted firmly in the ice.

The bulk of Alex's attention was on frantically trying to figure out how, exactly, he'd execute his idea. Ideally it would've involved an out-of-control, enraged Templar warrior—one that could maybe make the kind of mistake Alex wanted, but right now this guy's mind felt like a ripple-less spring pond. I'll just have to trick him. As for how, he didn't have a single clue.

He tried pounding a Mana Spear into the warrior's back, then his head—the idea was to make the man slip, maybe lose his balance—but the Templar warrior tanked it, hardly breaking stride. It's like throwing glass at an actual tank. And meanwhile the man kept complimenting him, bafflingly.

"I like the idea, with the spears," the warrior said.

"Very well made."

"Again," said Alex, air whistling through his teeth.

"It'd mean a little more if they were having any effect on you."

"You're getting closer, if it helps," said the warrior.

"Your spears' trajectory has tightened quite a bit, did you notice? Since the start of this fight." Alex actually hadn't; he'd been focused on a lot of other things, but upon thinking about it, it was true.

"What I'm seeing does make me curious," said the warrior.

"What your talents and Skill supports are, but another tip, in case you're not yet aware—it's considered impolite to ask." Alex didn't volunteer, and the warrior didn't seem to be expecting him to. The warrior easily dispatched another of Alex's Mana Shields, and walked through the string of mana Alex tried to trip him with like it wasn't even there. It almost made Alex envious.

"What are they feeding you and your sister?" he said, semi-desperately.

"And can I get some of it?"

"There's ways you can reinforce your body with mana," said the warrior, eyes glinting with amusement.

"We'll speak after. As admirable as this resistance has been, you seem to be running out of space." It was true. Behind him, Alex's runway had shortened to less than ten feet; another few seconds and he'd run straight into his teammates. And raingirl seemed to have at least tried his idea, which was all he could hope for—he didn't know how it'd gone, as he hadn't spoken to her since, for obvious reasons. The last few exchanges had given him a few ideas, potentially.

Alex was glancing around, a plan crystallizing in his mind, when he caught a glimpse in the distance that startled him; he forcibly refocused on the Templar warrior. It felt like several things had to go right for his overarching idea to work, and he was surprised how close it all was to being realized. He'd glanced at where raingirl, and kal, and his healer were, still holding off the Templar archer— they're actually positioned pretty well?

If raingirl finished what he'd asked of her, which he could only trust, he genuinely had a chance at this. After all these one-sided exchanges, it was a shocking thought. His foot skated over a deep crack in the ice. For the first time, Alex ceased backpedaling.

"I have a confession to make," he said.

"Yes?"

"I have been holding back on you," he said.

"A little." He focused 100% of his attention on the warrior. He launched himself at the Templar warrior, his blade arcing directly for the slit between the man's helm and his chestplate. At the same time, two Mana Spears went right for the warrior's face, wobbling slightly, but almost linear—and moving significantly faster as a consequence. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

It was the first time this duel he'd truly marshaled all his resources—he wasn't even thinking about the Templar archer in that instant. He decided to pull every trick he could think of, and it started with the spears. The warrior parried Alex's sword, then ducked to get out of the way of the Mana Spears, the way he'd done all duel. Freeze. And Alex's spears stuttered. They simply stopped moving for a half-second, and then resumed their motion.

Such a small thing, but he felt the willpower drainage arresting all that force, then re-starting it, and winced. It was worth it. He'd had a stint, helping as an assistant coach for Bella across various sports, when she'd asked for his input; there were simple ideas he'd learned doing it, which he figured would apply in many circumstances. In this case he didn't need to be faster or stronger than the warrior to land what he wanted to. I just need to teach his mind a pattern, and disrupt it very suddenly.

It was a testament to the warrior's sheer—perceptiveness, or ability, Alex didn't know—that he managed to avoid the first spear. The second exploded directly in his face, and he cried out. There! There was a schwing! as Alex's sword snaked for the warrior's throat—and he made sure to do it with 100% commitment. As true an intent to kill as he could find within himself. It must've been convincing because he heard the Templar archer let out a cry.

The Templar warrior's hammer went straight to his face in defense, sealing away his vitals— how is he still this fast? Alex was almost convinced he had the man. He changed course mid-strike. His sword swung down; he could've tried stabbing deep, but he wanted the warrior to feel the sting of this. A wind slash, lashing down the warrior's side, toward his hip—drawing a few shallow bursts of blood.

"That's it?" said Alex, genuinely incredulous. And then he was in too deep. Directly in striking range of that massive hammer, and when he saw the warrior's eyes, he realized they both knew it. He was too far out of position, and he'd just given the man the biggest provocation he'd given all fight. The Templar warrior swung straight back, with violent intent. Alex dropped straight down, sword arm rising to parry— I need to force this, he was thinking. Any way I possibly can.

And several things happened in very quick succession. Alex sent the two Mana Spears he'd summoned behind the warrior straight into the back of his knees. The fastest Mana Spears he'd summoned yet—in a pure, straight line. Sword, with swordforce, met falling hammer at an angle. Alex's hope was his new near-perfect spears would buckle the warriors legs slightly, changing the hammer's trajectory, and his sword would deflect the blow even more. Straight onto the ice, ideally.

His spears did buckle the warrior's legs slightly, but the warrior stepped forward right after; it was almost like the warrior was expecting it. The hammer halted mid-swing. Alex's sword, going upward, CLANG'd off the hammer. And that was his single greatest hope at forcing what he wanted, finished, to his dismay. And then Alex was following the momentum of his rising sword arm, falling upwards, turning away from the Templar warrior— how did that not work?!

Even as the man resumed his strike, a strike Alex was turning his back against, and there was no way he could physically block this. This time there was no time to summon, and also fire Mana Spears; there was maybe time to summon a Mana Shield, but he knew it'd shatter instantly anyway. There was, in that split-second, only one final idea in Alex's mind, a pure hail mary. It was an idea he'd had back when he was trying to trip the warrior with mana strings. He was certain it wouldn't work.

He fully expected his vision would go all white in the next split second, as he solidified a simple sphere of pure mana, right under where he thought the ball of the warrior's foot would be stepping. SCHLINK— CRSHHH!! He whirled away, wide-eyed, turning back into the warrior, just as he saw the Templar warrior slip, a cracked sphere of Pure mana spinning away— That freaking worked?! And then— I fucking did it.

The hammer, still full of Force mana, whistled by Alex's face, destined for a great, big fissure in the ice— The Templar warrior's hand shot out in time, bracing against the ice. The hammer fell, slowing as it did, and tapped the ice. CRACK-CRACK! Its Force mana flooded the ice, deepening the fissures, and sending brilliant new ones shattering through the ice… But that was it. It didn't shatter. It was almost perfect. The hammer had landed in the exact zone Alex had asked raingirl to pre-weaken.

Its impact was only very slightly too weak. Just as Alex was processing that—processing a series of disbeliefs—the hammer reversed direction and tapped him on the chin, almost gently. The next few seconds were fragments in his mind. He felt his head snap back, felt so much force go through him his body was lifted straight off the ice. The next image was of kal turning, eyes wide, shouting something, as the Templar archer drew her bow back full, eyes trained on the warrior's neck.

Another image— kal falling, blood spraying, even as Alex fell himself; Alex's body felt like a limbless jelly. CRACK. A final image. Very bleary, and he knew his head had clattered off ice. Vague shouts, the sound of a Mana Shield shattering, not his own, daggers— schwing-schwing! Blood splattered somewhere overhead. A flash of golden light, another whistling sound, like a dagger in air— The unmistakable sound of a body falling. Silence. Several seconds passed. SCHLUNK —the sound of a sheathed dagger.

"What happened?" said the Templar archer quickly.

"Was that a ball?"

"I'm not sure," said the Templar warrior.

"His processing speed's incredible."

"He made you strike ice." She sounded slightly in disbelief.

"I knew what he was going for," said the warrior, clearly amused.

"And he was still this close." Alex listened to all of it, as though through water. A pause.

"He's conscious," said the Templar archer.

"He is?" said the warrior. Then—"He is." Alex saw blinding, painful light. They'd flipped him over.

"You have quite the chin," said the Templar warrior with a guileless smile.

"It was a fair try," said the archer, almost apologetically.

"I can understand why someone unfamiliar with the Frozen Lake arena, and dueling as a whole, would think shattering the Lake is a surprise."

"When did you know?" said Alex, addressing the Templar warrior. He was pretty sure his jaw was broken; his mouth was full of blood.

"When you started trying to taunt me," said the warrior. That early?

"Breaking ice is a fairly common motif on this map."

"I see," said Alex.

"Of course." He'd realized by now they were nobles; archer-guy had said they'd probably been training since they were six.

"If you did get us into the ice," said the archer curiously.

"What then? I'm not sure I follow."

"I'd probably make a mana rope, try to get to shore first," said Alex, slurring a little.

"Try to keep you stuck in there? Armor looks… heavy.

'Specially wet armor."

"Ah," she said.

"Maybe it'd work?" the warrior allowed.

"How close was I?" Alex was hoping for a percentage chance he had of winning, or the like. The Templar archer looked awkward. Then, gently—"Even if you did manage to shatter the ice," she said.

"We'd be able to leap back before we fell in. We can tell, based on the depth and the extent of the shattering, the precise point we'd fall." She glanced over the ice.

"And it's close. But it isn't yet on the brink." A nice way of saying, 0%.

"I think," Alex rasped, glancing at the background.

"I was hoping for a few more things to align. And maybe there was a chance?"

"Like what?" she said.

"A Mid-fight Level up?" said Alex.

"Maybe a Skill upgrade? Help from a few other, possible places, I guess." She looked like she didn't want to tell him what he said still wouldn't have been enough.

"You fought well," she settled on saying, and drew her daggers.

"So did you," said Alex.

"And you," he said to the warrior.

"I hoped this would've happened differently."

"How so?" she said.

"This situation," he said.

"This chance—only exists, because of your mercy. Wish… I didn't have to—rely on that." She seemed like she didn't quite understand what he meant. He saw the moment it clicked in her mind. He helped her by glancing a little more firmly at the background; really he just needed her to turn around. The warrior glanced back as well, eyes narrowing, as the Templar archer raised her bow, mana flooding up her arm. But by then, archer-guy—who'd regained consciousness maybe fifteen seconds ago—had fired a shining arrow.

The Templar warrior moved to block, but the arrow wasn't directed at him or his sister. It raced across the arena, striking straight into the ice, flooding the already shattered ice with Pure mana— It still wasn't enough; it barely wasn't enough. Which was fine, since Alex had already dived for his sword. He raised it, even as the Templars were turning, flooded its surface with Force mana. Not swordforce, but pure Force mana, the kind of mana he used to power his Mana Spears.

And then, with a cry, in one fluid motion, he wrenched it into the ice. The ice, for thirty feet around, shuddered. Shattered all at once. The Templars were already leaping away when the very last part of Alex's concept came into effect. Also, maybe the least likely. Because it'd worked on b0b, and it'd worked on lugia, but against these physical superhumans, he almost couldn't fathom— CLANG! CLANG! Their backs struck Mana Shields, one after another. The Templar talents, and Alex, all splashed into icy water.