[Are you telling her real na isn't Fluffles?] I demand.
[Of course not,] Grey scowls. [What kind of a na is Fluffles?]
[That's the na she gave !]
[I believe I told you before, we do not give out our nas so easily. My na isn't Grey, and my student's na isn't White. These are aliases we use. Our real nas are only shared with those we are close to.]
[Wait, so that guy's na isn't Barker? Sohow that fills with relief.]
[What kind of no his na isn't Barker. It's Woofington the third.]
[REALLY?!]
[Obviously not.]
[Dang. That would have been amazing.]
[Are you going to let Phil get up yet?]
I look down at the turtle-Folk, struggling to rise under the weight of my empowered gravity field. I was nice. After I caught him in it, I made sure to turn up the pressure gradually until we reached this point. If I slamd him with full power from the get-go we'd have turtle pancakes here.
I expected the crowd to boo or react negatively in so way. They co to these places to see a skillful, honourable fight, I assu. Instead, they've got standing around looking at a turtle-guy who can't stand up. Surprisingly, they don't seem uninterested in the slightest. There's no anger or disapproval even, they simply watch, eyes sharply focused on Phil as he battles against gravity.
[I an he's still trying, right? Shouldn't I hold him there until he surrenders?]
Being rude is sothing I want to avoid. Also, I don't particularly want to let him take any more swings at . Phil carries a blade much larger and heavier than what Barker used, but holy moly is he able to hit a lot harder with it. The guy actually managed to put a chip in my carapace, which is an impressive feat.
Looking bored, standing to one side with his arms crossed, Grey speaks to Phil, who snaps back sothing, causing Grey to frown. Seeing his expression, Phil capitulates and surrenders, so I connect to him with a bridge.
[Well done hanging in there. That can't have been pleasant. I'm going to assu that you aren't a blademaster after that fight, though.]
[I am of the seventh sword,] he growls, [I believed I could hold out until your power, whatever it was, beca exhausted, then the fight would have been mine.]
I check my mana reserves.
[Yeah no. I could have kept that up for a day and night. Besides, that wasn't close to how strong that pressure can get.]
He looks a little taken aback by that, so I hasten to reassure him.
[Your sword was amazingly strong, though. Look, you actually managed to chip my carapace! Right here wait I think it healed already. I assure you it did, though!]
Shoulders slumped over in defeat, Phil makes his way out of the arena, clearing the way for the next challenger. Pete steps up next, bowing to show his respect.
[I am of the sixth sword, and therefore weaker than my master, but I hope we can engage in instructional combat.]
[Sure thing. Let's have a good fight.]
I trap him in gravity imdiately. Gweheheheheh. Pete manages to unleash one wild swing before his sword becos too heavy for him to lift, but the sword light sparks off my carapace without harm. After struggling to resist the pressure for five minutes, he too surrenders.
[Got to be a little quicker, I'm afraid,] I tell him. [Once I've got you in that field, you'll struggle to get out.]
[I've never experienced anything like it,] he frowns, clicking his hooked turtle beak. [What type of magic is that?]
[Oh just sothing I stumbled across.]
I'm not advertising my gravity mana more than I have to. If other people want to learn the secrets I worked so hard for, they can jolly well do it without help from ! Until they earn a bit more trust I suppose.
White steps up next and offers to fight, her cool dignity and calm deanour unruffled when facing down a tier seven monster such as myself. I make sure Grey is fine with it before accepting the challenge, and he gives the nod.
Fighting White isn't what I'd expected. The mont the fight begins, she's moving. She's fast, incredibly fast, but it appears almost effortless, like she's floating above the ground. In one hand, she holds a long, slender blade, a gentle curve running through its length, and when she strikes, my eyes almost bug out of my head.
So. Many. Slashes!
Her arm moves so fast I can't even see it, and a veritable forest of sword light is created, slashing toward , curving through the air and cutting off my avenues of escape.
Even so, forewarned by my antennae, I execute a quick drop, stop and roll, avoiding the bulk of the damage and letting my carapace absorb the blows on one side. As expected, the slices are a heck of a lot lighter than what Phil and Pete were able to produce, but sohow much sharper. A centitre-deep groove is carved into the exo-skeleton, which gives pause.
For her part, White is still on the move, fluttering around the arena like a fairy as she continuously executes intense flurries of slashes. Clearly, she's a cut above Phil, possibly the eighth or ninth? I'm starting to get seriously interested in what a full blademaster is actually capable of.
As the fight drags on, it becos clear that White isn't really capable of cutting through on her own. Were she able to land a higher number of slashes, perhaps she'd be able to get more penetration, but so long as I avoid most of them, she can't get through.
I could just cover the entire arena in gravity, weighing her down enough that she slows down. Once that happens, I'd be able to focus the full might of my gravity well on her, but I want to test a few things against a higher level opponent while I have the chance.
Spinning up my minds, I start peppering her with gravity bolts, but she easily cuts through them all, dispersing the magic with her blade. However, it puts her on the defensive and dramatically reduces the number of slashes coming my way. I'm starting to see why you would normally need a team to take down a monster like . It's hard for one person to defend themself against a monster's strength while also attacking.
Eventually, I go for a lunging chomp attack, which is when White reveals that I wasn't the only one going easy. Right in front of my face, she flickers and vanishes, reappearing beneath , out of my line of sight.
Without my keen senses, I wouldn't have even realised where she'd gone, straight into the blind spot. As graceful as ever, she attempts to stab upward, directly into my carapace, but I'm already moving, rolling to one side while my minds focus on the gravity well.
If she's going to stop moving, then I won't let the opportunity slip by!
The mont she feels that crushing weight co down on her, White looks, just for a mont, a little irritated, before she bows and surrenders.
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