7

I rolled my ankle as if that might have hurt a little. I sensed his mana flow change noticeably. I reacted my pulling in my spatial awareness so it circled me tightly. This heightened my awareness within the shrunken area of spatial awareness. Making me so hypersensitive to anything within my range of reach that I could even feel the particles of dust as they fell.

He vanished from my line of sight, but I wasn't concerned. I was waiting for him to cross into my reach. I focused on accelerating my heart rate so that my body could move faster when I required. I could feel the space ripple as my veins bulged. I felt it when space rippled as his blade came down.

He was aiming for the back of my neck, and he was moving at an unbelievable speed. I caught his blade before it could touch me. Moving at a speed that exceeded his own by a good amount as his now empty hands slashed through the air. I held the blade, and tapped the handle on my empty hand. Turning at a rate that was slow to me so he could see what I'd snatched away.

He jumped back when he realized he was unarmed. I gripped the blade tightly, and squeezed until the metal shattered. Blood dripped lazily from my torn skin. The blade may had been dull, but it was made of enchanted metal. A real sword would be able to damage me.

That was exciting. This was the first time I'd felt real excitement for some time. I should not enjoy chaos as much as I do, but unexpected things brought me unexpected joy. I flicked my wrist, and tossed the bits of metal in my hand to the side. Just in time for him to slash at me again.

This time with his real sword. A simple side step was all it took for me to move out of the path of his blade. My heart was finally going as fast as it could. It was time for me to take this seriously as well. I moved behind him, and struck his armor full force.

The enchanted metal didn't give, but his feet weren't nearly as well planted as mine were. He flew nearly ten feet in the air. The air had been driven out of him, but he was a fighter. He landed on the ground, and shot toward where I'd been when I struck him. I was already behind him.

I struck him again. This time in the side. I was giving it my full physical strength, and speed. This elf was getting hit by blows that landed like canon fire, and he was still standing. He skidded to a stop not far from the edge of the ring.

I could see the look on his face. He was trying to figure out what exactly I was made of. I rushed at him with my maximum speed. He swung his sword at where he thought I was coming from. I was already behind him.

I lifted him off the ground as if he weighed nothing for the second time today. I sensed the shift in his mana before the attack came. Dropping him, and leaping off the ground to avoid an attack from below as his shadow solidified. Shooting up at everything in all directions. He couldn't tell where I was attacking from so he attacked everything at once.

One of the blades pierced my foot. It was barely an instant of contact so I worried a bit that he might have noticed my magical inclination. I landed on the hobbled foot a few feet away from the range of his shadow attack. Pain shot up my leg. I ignored that pain.

My blades were drawn by the time my foot hit the ground. I pushed off the hard stone. My blades drawn out behind me.

"Stop," Sekka sensed what I was about to do.

"His voice cut through the excitement of the fight for some reason," I realized what I was about to do, and stopped dead in my tracks with my blade up against the knight's throat, "Yes master."

I sheathed my blade in a single quick calculated movement, and backed off to Sekka's side quickly. I'd almost blown the whole mission. My eyes went back down, and my smile had already faded when I realized I'd almost killed that elf. Granted that would only be a negative if I did it while I was pretending to be a good little slave. I'd have to come back for this one.

He still hadn't been giving it his all since he'd been avoiding any spells, and focusing purely on swordplay.

"Now copy his movements," the lord was completely unfazed by his subordinates near death.

The fight was still fresh on my mind. I could replicate his movements easily. I stepped back into the arena, and mimicked his every movement exactly. Even the ones he made due to my strikes. It was hard to mimic movements that jerky, but the actual swordplay was pretty easy.

I didn't mimic the magic for obvious reasons, but I managed everything else with ease. I bowed respectfully, and moved back over to Sekka. The lord nodded with a slight smirk.

"Few will allow you to stay in the inns with such a dangerous slave. Perhaps you can use one of my rooms for the duration of your visit," he smirked at Sekka, "You are a merchant who sells crystals correct?"

Sekka seemed hesitant. I mentally nudged him.

"Are you sure you want to sully your household with an elf as low as me," Sekka bowed.

"Of course," he nodded confidently, "I may even be interested in browsing your wares."

Sekka tensed up. He didn't like that idea. I remained motionless. No reaction at all.

"Your slave has a name does he not?" the lord seemed to be thinking of speaking to me, "What is it?"

"Nix," Sekka answered.

"Nix?" he seemed to want my attention now, "You have some unusual abilities for a human. What exactly can you do?"