As the figure dropping down from the balcony ca plumting towards my face, there was a split-second to decide how I was handling this. If I could get off in ti, it would be easy enough to fuck with their landing, potentially shattering their leg from the fall.
I hesitated, drawing my hand back.
Despite the clear ambush, muted reaction to the preceding series of events led to believe it wasnt entirely as it seed. That left only one real possibility. This was a test.
And that, placed entirely within my comfort zone.
I hopped backward easily, letting the figure land hard directly in front of . Saes mouth was tightened in concentration, her body off-balance from the fall. She was fully decked out in lightweight armor, a glowing escrima stick in her hand. Behind her, I saw Nick reluctantly drawing out a much larger stick with a cross-guard.
Now that I think about it, recruitnt went a little too smoothly.
A small smile played across my lips. Okay. They had no intention of making this fair. If I went all out, there was a possibility I could win, but that would likely reveal far too much and put at odds with the team. The point of this was probably to assess how well Id do in physical situations. Still. They were Users with access to Selve and healing potions.
aning, there was no need to make this easy.
flared in my mind, guiding my movents. I stepped in, grabbed the side of Saes head and spun her, anchoring a foot between her legs to keep her off-balance, and slamd her face into the foyer table. There was a crack of wood and an audible yelp.
The stick in her hand clattered to the floor, still glowing.
I needed a weaponeither the stick or sothing else non-lethal. Pulling either the dagger or crossbow would have the sa effect as pulling a handgun in a fistfight, and that wasnt the sort of impression I wanted to make.
Nick wasnt going to give ti to breathe. He charged forward, practice sword extending backwards. triggered in my mind, a whispered warning that the attack was a skill, and the strike would be far harder to dodge than it appeared.
So, I didnt attempt to dodge. I grabbed a handful of Saes dark ponytail, yanked her up from the table, and planted a foot in the small of her back, shoving her hard towards Nick, positioning the girl between the two of us as she stumbled.
Only, Nick didnt panic.
He canceled the attack and hurdled over Sae, with a practiced ease that imdiately invoked his sports background.
But the detour gave ti to grab the stick from the ground.
flashed in my mind, and I ducked low instead of rising, feeling a breeze as the practice sword slashed diagonally through empty air where my shoulder would have been.
If he keeps this level of aggression up, hes going to steamroll . I need to get him to back off.
Instinctively, I pulled my arm back and slamd the stick into his newly healed leg.
The reaction was imdiate. Nick hit the ground and rolled away from , hand inspecting the place of impact, sheer terror on his face.
His leg was spasming, likely due to whatever buff Sae had placed on my commandeered stick.
Nicks terror faded almost imdiately to a particularly sour look. I couldnt bla him. I hadnt done it intentionally. My strategy in every fight so far had hinged almost exclusively on exploiting weak-points. It was the only way I was winning, and the strategy itself was becoming second nature. Despite its healed and restored appearance, Id targeted the leg subconsciously, hoping to knock him out of his flow state.
Only, it appeared that all Id managed to do was piss him off.
Every nerve in my body warned that Nick was a cut above the opponents Id been facing. He was likely either close to my level or higher, and his base physical stats would have started much higher than mine. If I underestimated him for a second, it was over.
Even knowing that, it was unbelievable how fast he was. His strikes ca in blisteringly quick combination, each attack effortlessly flowing into the next, giving little window to do anything but retreat.
I backpedaled wildly through the house, the rubber soles of my shoes squeaking, until I hit sothing that rattled behind .
That should have been it. Nick pulled his sword back, imdiately ready to capitalize on the distraction, when he hesitated, his gaze flicking behind . I used the mont to dodge away, snapping my head out of the way of a horizontal swing.
It gave just enough ti to take stock. The living room was aesthetically bohemian, littered with small, expensive looking furniture, and tiny statuettes. The object Id backed into was a cabinet with glass panels, filled with small porcelain dolls.
Thats right. Its his aunts house. He wants to avoid wrecking the place.
I shot him a nasty smile and reached towards the coffee table.
In response, Nick looked almost comically concerned. Matt, dont
Before he could finish, I threw a 1/10th scale bust of Debussys head at his face. The throw was remarkably more accurate than it would have been weeks ago, approaching his nose with a spiral and velocity I hoped he, in particular, would appreciate.
His eyes widened as his instincts clashed, and he attempted to catch the bust and move out of the way simultaneously. He caught it, but only barely, half-juggling the statue with his off-hand to keep it from hitting the floor.
You fucker!
But I wasnt paying attention to him anymore. Sae had recovered, and judging from the grim look on her face, wasnt too pleased with the way her previous attempt had gone. She was sprinting toward , both hands glowing brightly with an otherworldly blue magic.
Even if this was a test, it seed best to avoid that.
Actually, I needed a way to get Sae off the board completely. From what I could tell, she was a Magic/Agility hybrid, and I was guessing Nick had told her not to use ranged spells for the test. The only reason I was fairing this well was because their efforts were staggered. If they managed to start coordinating, I was fucked.
Only, my options were limited. I seriously doubted Sae had the sa level of deference for Nicks Aunts house as Nick himself did.
The glass door to the backyard out of the corner of my eye stuck out as sothing I could use.
I ducked beneath Saes magic infused embrace and spun away, sweeping her legs out from underneath her. And, aiming carefully, slamd the magic-infused stick into her temple. The muscles in her face began to spasm as she began to press the attack, squinting slightly, her vision impaired. Her blows were small and deliberate, reminiscent of wing chunNot ideal for sothing like an MMA fight, but perfect for making contact with a spell.
I retreated deliberately, fighting the instinct from to block rather than dodge. Right when the positioning was almost perfect, disaster struck. Sae feinted with a finger-strike towards my face, and when I reacted, imdiately grabbed my arm. The warning from ca too late.
Creeping frost spread quickly from my arm to my shoulder. Sae gloated, smiling victoriously.
Without enough leverage for anything else, I reeled my head back, then plunged it forward, my forehead colliding against her already broken nose andhopefullyobscuring her vision further.
Sae staggered backwards with an understandably stuffy cry of Motherfucker! When she rallied, her charge was half-assed and half-blind. Harnessing the montum, I slid the glass door open, grabbed her and narrowly avoided her glowing hand as I threw her out.
A discrete application of ensured that her stumble was extended, sending her careening, fully clothed, into the pool.
Nickin the antihad clearly lost the struggle to keep the bust intact, as it was lying shattered on the floor.
Sae seems nice. I comnted.
Yeah, shes great, Nick paused. A lot better when she has access to her whole repertoire.
I circled back to the center of the living room, next to the oval shaped crystal table. Are we done?
Nick shook his head. I want to see what you can really do, when youre not pulling cheap bullshit.
Uhuh. I crouched down and grabbed the crystal coffee table by its base, ignoring the pain in my frozen arm as I brandished the top of the table towards him like an oversized shield.
Nick audibly groaned, muttering sothing that sounded like Co on, man. He was both faster and stronger than I was. No way in hell was I giving him a fair fight.
Before either of us could break the stalemate, a cloud of gold, glowing dust settled over both of us, carrying with it the scent of lilac. I tried to move and found I couldnt. My entire body felt like I was encased in tar, unable to budge more than a few inches at a ti. The table slipped out of my hands in slow motion and landed on the ground, glass unmarred and intact.
Jinny? You were supposed to sit this out. Nick said, voice as strained as I felt.
Jinny was sitting sideways at the top of the stairs. Her armor was similar to Saes, though it was white rather than black, with flowing white fabric that seamlessly shed with silver regalia. A single wooden scepter topped with black iron-work framing a violet jewel crowned the top.
Figured Id end it, before the two of you destroy our base of operations. Jinny scowled at Nick, then gave a friendly wave.
I waved back, though the action was hilariously slow with the spell in effect. If the point of this was to test , I could see why Nick had asked her to sit out. A single cast of that at the entryway, with the others out of the area of effect. It was a review of the lesson Id learned on the third floor of the dungeon, facing off against the gnolls:
Magic was fucking scary.
There was an angry sounding knock at the glass door.
I held my hands up in mock surrender and smiled. You got .
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