Chapter 17

As he rushes forward he urges his mana core to do something. However without a clear thought of what he wants it to do, it just rotated faster. While Amber imagines a shield while urging one of her mana cores.

With a bang Beir runs into the air. Not understanding how he got stopped, he backs up. Smiling Amber chases after him. Urging another core her barrier falters and she stumbles back a step.

He gets close to her and kicks. Blocking a few kicks, ducks underneath one and manages to strengthen her punch sending him flying. She chases after him and kicks him.

After being kicked a few more times, he focuses on his feet and his mana core activates. He speeds behind her in a daze.

Shaking it off he kicks her. Blocking his kick, she punches. Without even making contact, he is pushed back a step.

Kicking at her, he feels a gust of wind. Next to him she appears. He moves quickly from the spot. Clicking her tongue she follows after him.

With a spin he kicks. She blocks with a mana shield. He imagines a small spear and his kick pierces through the shield.

Ducking underneath she punches him. Hearing a crackle from her first he hurriedly thinks, 'shield, shield, shield.' Her punch hits the shield and sends him flying back.

Landing on the ground he launches at her quickly. Approaching her, he acts like he is holding a spear. She spins to the side. His mana spear barely scratches her.

She shakes her head and rushes towards him. Ducking under his mana spear she strikes it to the side. He lets go of it. With a step back he summons another mana spear and starts to bring it down.

She steps to the side. He redirects it towards her. She rolls under the mana spear. In the bleachers, they are unable to see the spear she is dodging. A few notice the use of mana and are shocked.

Raising off the ground she kicks him. With her kick landing he is sent flying into the air. She grabs his mana spear and pulls him towards her.

She then let's go of the mana spear and Palm strikes his shoulder. He lets go of the mana spear. She kicks him to the edge of the arena. With a thought he makes a mana shield and bounces off of it.

Landing in front of her, he punches. With a loud bang his fist makes contact with her hand. Being pushed back she strengthens her legs. Landing on the ground, she sinks a little bit.

Bending backwards she dodges a spear thrust. With a strengthened leg she kicks the mana spear up. Standing up she knocks the mana spear to the side.

With a palm strike she pushes him back. Keeping the pressure she kicks him. Dodging underneath the kick he thinks of a mace. Dodging to the side she avoids the mana mace.

As she dodges the mana mace she thinks, 'which weapon do I actually prefer. I haven't given it such a thought. I never felt drawn to swords or spears. Halberds also don't feel right. Maces and flails I didn't enjoy. Which weapon should I go with?'

Shaking her head she decides to figure it out later. Speeding up she appears behind him. Dodging underneath his mace she kicks his hand. Breaking his concentration the mace disappears.

With a flurry of attacks they separate once again. With a thought she throws a mana dagger at him. Deflecting it with a mana mace he closes the gap.

As he gets closer she kicks him away from her. Changing the mace out for a spear he wonders, 'How can I possibly beat her. She also has a good understanding of how to face armed opponents. There has to be a way. Maybe just maybe that could work.'

As she runs towards him he throws a mana net at her and laughs. With a slight frustration she activates several of her mana cores at once. Her body rapidly heats up. Around her a vague silhouette of a flame appears.

After burning through the mana net, the silhouette of flame disappears. He looks over at her in shock. He stands still in shock for a few seconds.

Taking this opportunity she uses a core to send mana to her feet. Appearing in front of him she says, "This has been a wonderful fight. However it ends here. We should do this again though."

As he tries to summon a mana shield she punches him in the gut. As he loses his breath, she kicks him out of the arena.

Looking down he says, "Amber has won the tournament. She will be awarded 1000 points for winning. Beir has gotten second place he will gain nine hundred points. Vayu, Freyja, and Nyx will all gain 600 points. I am unable to tell which one of them is actually supposed to be stronger. Electra has gained 500 points." He list off the last three in the top ten. Each getting one hundred points less.

"I will also award Amber and Beir an extra 500 points for figuring out how to use mana in battle by themselves. They have just barely scratched the surface as to what they can do with mana. I have also sent a list of names that will gain 100 points for noticing that they had started to use mana at the end of their fight.

"You are all dismissed now."

Jumping out of the arena, she helps Beir up. Smiling she says, "You certainly know your way around different weapons."

"That I do. I took an interest in weaponry. However none of that prepared me to see you just burn through a mana net. You also have a good understanding of how to go against armed opponents yourself," he deeply breathes.

"Well yeah I like to spar against some of the soldiers when they go off duty. Learn a thing or two about how to not get hit by weapons. You should show me some other weapons next time."

Talking the two of them walk out leaning on each other. As they appear at the gates they get surrounded by several people. Nodding at each other they get ready.