Mana Strength Test
Getting in his stance Marcus readies himself to fight with the hooded man. The man simply makes a mana blade that doesn't look strong enough to hold up under any force. "You may attack when ready." he says to Marcus in a nonchalant voice. 'Is he trying to make me angry by pretending this is gonna be easy. Well that won't work but I'm make sure to get him to be serious.' thinking this Marcus charges forward while sending crimson aura blades at him.
"Oh. You have some skill but," he easily dodges the mana blades, "you have to do better than that." Using a quick burst Marcus closes the distance in an instant and unleashes a flurry of slashes at the hooded man. 'He isn't using all his strength at the start? Want me to show what i can do huh well let me show you boy.' The man thinks starting his first attack. Shinning brightly Marcus' heart allerts him to the danger. Quickly backing away he stares at the man waiting for an attack that didn't come.
"You are in tune with your power more than I originally thought. If you reacted any slower then maybe I would've killed you accidently." Before Marcus can ask what he means he feels a sharp pain in his chest and looks down. He has a long gash on his chest from his left to right shoulder. 'What the!? I didn't even see him move at all. Interesting.' he thinks in shock before recomposing himself. Enhancing himself with more mana he charges in faster than the first time.
Bringing his blade down in an arc he uses his mana slash but doesn't let the mana fly out. The hooded man blocks the attack with his blade thinking its just an empowered slash but soon gets a shock when a crimson aura blade flows out upon the impact. Quickly dodging to the side he counter attacks but Marcus this time is able to block an only gets pushed back a couple feet. The man feels an itchy feeling on his left arm. Looking at the spot he sees a small cut. "You impress me young man." he praises Marcus slightly.
Changing from his dual mana blades to his mana katana he charges in again and starts exchanging blows with the man. Marcus is able to connect two more of his attacks but at the risk of taking a couple hits himself. Watching the fight Iesha and her friends are shocked at the fast movements they are able to do. They feel that Marcus and the hooded man move as fast or perhaps even faster than bullets.
After being notified about the suspicious man Doc Stephon and the other leaders finally show up at the West gate followed by other curious people who heard the commotion. "Whats going on?" Steph asks her as soon as he gets there. "This guy just showed up and said he wanted to test Marcus and he agreed." Iesha says to him. Looking at to where they are fighting Steph, along with everyone that came to see the situation, are left speechless at how fast their movements are.
'Just how fast can one get using mana!? This is amazing.' Steph exclaims inwardly not being able to keep up with their movements. Huffing and panting Marcus stares at the man seeing that he doesn't seem tired. "Are you finished?" the man asks him while healing himself. Pulling out the last bottle he filled earlier with mana water Marcus heals fast while getting a big boost. His heart glows a dark blue color while it pulses with his heartbeat. Adding his original mana to his new crimson mana the crimson katana turns a deep purple.
Seeing this the hooded man changed from his mana blade and made a mana wall enforcing it a couple of times. 'I never thought he would combine the streams forcefully. If he is lucky there won't be to much backlash.' he thinks watching Marcus. Before making an attack Marcus' eyes turned stary blue seemingly analyzing and comprehending what he is attempting. Raising his blade he starts his new skill. "Violet Blade Rain." Swinging his purple mana katana multiple times he sends a torrent of violet mana aura blades to the hooded mans mana wall.
Bracing for the impact the man enforces the wall again making it darker in color and sturdier. The aura blades assault the wall causing loud bangs to resound in the area upon each impact. He is slowly being pushed back an inch with each strike that hits the wall. 'Very impressive indeed. He is also learning as he fights and he has already compensated for the backlash.' the man praises inwardly. While the last strikes come to the wall it starts to show signs of breaking.
The last aura blade connects and leaves a lot of fractures in the aura wall. "That was very impressive young man. Should I assume that you are done now?" the man asks Marcus. His heart stops glowing and his eyes go back to its normal color before he drops to his knees breathing heavily. "Yes...that was the last of my energy." Marcus answers in a weak tone. Releasing his mana the wall disappears and he looks to the people that have been watching. 'None of them have gained the use of mana yet.' he says inwardly.
"You have more control than I thought you would. I can help you get a better understanding of mana if you come with me." He says to Marcus. Looking up Marcus asks, "Come with you? I don't even know you and I only agreed to fight you to test myself against someone with a stronger mana control. Even if you can help why should I willingly come with you?" "I have another mana pool that is beneficial to you and I can give your companions a map of your area that shows mana pools they can use if they want." he tells Marcus in a calm voice.
Stephon hearing this is intrigued but he doesn't think they should trust him. Slowly getting off the ground Marcus stares at the man for a while before speaking. "Give me a sec." Walking over to where everyone is Marcus looks at Steph with a look that says 'I will do it'. "You just met and the first thing you do is fight as a test Marcus. You should be more cautious." Steph says to him.
"You are right. Even so there is so much I can learn on my own than if I were to learn from someone experienced." Marcus says. "And remember I was trained to hone all of my senses by my dad so if he had an ulterior motive I would know." he says while giving a slight smile. Knowing Marcus he will want to learn all he can when there is something new to learn which is a mindset he got from his mom.
Steph looks at the other leaders and asks, "Do any of you have a problem with him going?" They all shake their heads. "Well I guess you are free to go even tho we couldn't stop you if we wanted to." Steph says smiling at him. Nodding his head Marcus turns to the man. "I will leave with you but I will need time to rest." "Then I shall return once you have properly rested. Before i go here is the map as promised." He says before disappearing leaving behind the map in his previous spot.
"How come you didn't leave with him now? How much energy did you use?" Iesha asks him. "I completely used up the mana i had stored and the last move i used was forcefully made. Doing that put a huge strain on me so its hard to move even now." he smiles wryly as he explained his situation. "Oh. Well we will help you back to your quarters." she replies. "Thank you."