[8]: This kid is weak
After some convincing from Shalnark, Uvogin finally agreed to a match with Ryo.
"Take it to the open area. Don't damage the church or any nearby buildings in District Twelve," Syd said loudly, crossing his arms as he watched them.
The two of them moved to a clear spot, while Syd and Shalnark observed from a short distance.
"Relax, Uvogin has a good sense of control," Shalnark said with a reassuring wave.
As he spoke, Uvogin raised his fist and threw a punch at the white-haired boy, a red aura glowing around his hand.
Standing at 2.5 meters tall, Uvogin's beast-like body was covered in muscles that bulged like steel walls, his fist like a small missile.
Just as his punch was about to land, Ryo's figure vanished, leaving Uvogin's powerful punch to hit the ground, creating a loud rumble and scattering debris.
Syd glanced at Shalnark.
Really? That's what he called "control"? Since when did Enhancement types have control?
Enhancement users were always straightforward fighters, where all that mattered was winning or losing!
"Haha, Uvogin just takes fighting seriously. Don't worry, he won't go overboard, especially with you here," Shalnark explained, keeping his easygoing smile, though his sharp gaze never left the fight. He was trying to analyze Cyr's combat style.
But… he saw nothing.
The boy's aura was entirely normal, as ordinary as a person without Nen.
His attack stance, his footing, everything was full of openings.
He didn't look like he could fight at all; even random kids in Meteor City wouldn't be this full of gaps.
From what Shalnark could see, the boy seemed only capable of using short-range teleportation to dodge Uvogin's attacks.
Occasionally, he'd throw a punch at Uvogin, but it did no damage and only increased Uvogin's irritation.
As the fight dragged on, the number of injuries on the white-haired boy grew.
Oddly enough, Uvogin hadn't even hit him directly.
So why was this kid bleeding more and looking increasingly battered?
"Hey, are you guys from the church trying to stage an accident and extort us?" Shalnark's smile turned a bit stiff, with a hint of nervous sweat forming on his forehead.
Was the church trying to squeeze more out of their annual funding with a stunt like this?
Syd's face flushed with indignation. "The church would never do something like that!" he snapped back.
Meanwhile, Uvogin grew more annoyed with this evasive opponent who occasionally popped up to throw a punch.
His blows grew progressively stronger, each one sending up clouds of debris and creating small tremors, like a minor earthquake.
Ryo, while using Blue for teleportation, occasionally got hit by flying rocks. Most of his injuries were from these rocks, as he couldn't avoid them in the limited space while teleporting, often colliding with them directly.
To dodge entirely, he'd have to give up attacking, but the purpose of his spar with Uvogin was to practice close-combat reflexes, cursed energy control, and… the elusive Black Flash.
The mechanics behind Black Flash involve a spatial distortion caused by synchronizing physical impact and cursed energy impact within 0.00001 seconds, resulting in a critical hit.
Critical hits usually only show up once in thousands of regular attacks.
But with skilled cursed energy control, it's possible to reduce cursed energy lag, increasing the chances of a Black Flash.
For someone like Gojo with Six Eyes, this would probably be simple, but supposedly no jujutsu sorcerer or curse has ever fully endured a Black Flash from an opponent.
Currently, Ryo's skills were nowhere near Gojo's level, and even with Six Eyes, his cursed energy manipulation was still awkward.
So he abandoned other forms of attack, using only Blue to dodge Uvogin's attacks, trying repeatedly, clenching his fist each time, hoping for a Black Flash to manifest.
If he could get it even once, he'd be able to hold on to that feeling.
Eventually, Uvogin even gave up trying to hit him, focusing solely on body movement to catch Ryo.
As the fight began to resemble a game of tag, Shalnark clapped his hands, putting an end to the farce that was about to unfold.
"Alright, alright, that's enough fun for Cyr. It's about time we leave." the blond, green-eyed youth said with a sunny smile.
Uvogin halted, his scarred face twisted into an intimidating expression.
"Kid, that's not how you fight," he grunted, throwing out the words as he joined Shalnark.
Ryo also stopped using Blue, standing amidst the rubble, looking down at his fist.
Blood was flowing from cuts on his forehead, cheeks, and limbs, and his nose was constantly bleeding, leaving him looking utterly battered. Yet, with a hint of disappointment, he clenched his fist.
"Failed again… still couldn't get it."
Black Flash was proving to be as elusive as he'd expected.
Even experienced jujutsu sorcerers relied on luck to trigger it, so someone who'd only had cursed energy for two days couldn't realistically expect to pull it off so quickly.
Using Six Eyes for cursed energy control in battle, though, had yielded good feedback.
Previously, his mana would drain almost instantly with just a few skills. But after practicing cursed energy control, he could activate skills with minimal energy, preserving a lot of mana, letting him use abilities a few more times.
Overall, this spar with Uvogin had been a worthwhile experience. A free fight, a free learning opportunity — it was a win-win.
After all, it wasn't every day one could spar with a Phantom Troupe member of Uvogin's caliber.
Plus, now Uvogin and Shalnark probably thought he was pretty weak, without any special abilities, so he didn't have to worry about the Troupe targeting him.
A success on all fronts.
Thinking this, Ryo looked up and called out to the two figures already a hundred meters away, "Come play again sometime, Uvogin."
The two didn't stop or even look back, seemingly ignoring him completely and walking away even faster.
Syd, meanwhile, stood with his arms crossed, his expression blank as he looked at the blood-stained boy who seemed oblivious to his injuries. Finally, he said, "Come with me," and turned to head back toward the church.
"Hm?" Ryo felt a bit lost but followed him inside.
He was promptly seated and had his wounds tended to.
"You…" Syd wrapped a bandage around Ryo's head to stop the bleeding, hesitating with words as he looked at him.
"What?" Ryo, with tissue stuffed in his nose and a bandage around his head, casually bit into an apple.
"How did someone like you end up joining the church?" Syd sounded thoroughly baffled.
Just based on the fight with Uvogin, there had been plenty to criticize.
Especially since Uvogin hadn't even landed a direct hit, yet this kid had been battered by the debris from his punches.
Sure, every punch seemed to connect, but… he hadn't managed to hurt Uvogin at all!
With this level of skill, how was he allowed to join the church? And supposedly, Pampas himself had invited him…
"Pampas isn't your dad, is he? Considering your age, it could be possible… though you have white hair and Pampas is blond. Maybe you take after your mom?" Syd began constructing a wild backstory for his superior, Pampas.
Ryo's fighting ability was so questionable that Syd couldn't believe he'd been let in without special treatment.
"You're definitely an Enhancement type," Ryo replied, giving Syd a single, matter-of-fact assessment.
Everyone knew that Enhancement types weren't exactly known for being the smartest.
In other words, he was indirectly calling Syd a bit dim.
"You're the Enhancement type!" Syd shot back loudly.
So, he wasn't an Enhancer. He didn't look like a Manipulator or Transmuter either… maybe he was a Specialist, Emitter, or Conjurer?
He seemed more like an Emitter since Emitters and Enhancers were often closely related.
Ryo quietly munched on his apple, mulling this over.
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A/N: Shalnark/Uvogin: This kid is so weak.
Ryo: Mhm, mhm (nodding absently).
If I'd written a story where the protagonist started off 100% OP, Shalnark and Uvogin would be shocked, like, "This kid is terrifying!"
But I enjoy gradual development. Haha.