#30 Spar with Taeko
I went back to the cottage to dress up and tell girls about the situation.
After a few minutes, we were led by Babara into a pretty nice location for fighting, there were no obstacles anywhere near us, therefore, it would be a fair fight.
"Taeko, don't forget to properly clean your blade with a wet cloth." Babara reminded her pupil who was getting ready with her katana.
Hmm, even her pupil's sword is coated in poison, huh?
I also cleaned my blade just to be fair even though there was no poison on it since the Capital had very weak poisons in the public market.
"Alright, go 20 meters away from each other and when I swing my arm down, you can begin your duel. I hope you know when to stop because you are using real blades..." Babara said and the last sentence was more focused on me but she also meant it for Taeko.
[Defeat the most talented member of the Oarburgh clan while using only 70% of your stats.]
[Reward: +1 to all stats]
[Failure: Babara's opinion of you will worsen by a bit]
[Hidden: ???]
Hm? What's up with that hidden thing? Is that perhaps the "hidden ending".
We both nodded, Taeko with a serious expression and I with a small smile and half-open eyes.
*Whoosh* Babara swung her arm down and both of us immediately kicked off the ground.
The first exchange, we just slashed our swords with no technique behind it and when our blades met, we started trying to overpower the other. All of this just to explore each other's strengths.
Taeko started pushing really hard which slightly surprised but I pushed her back on her original position.
She has supernatural speed and strength for a kid. Although I am not using my entire strength, it's not like I am totally playing around with her.
We made eye contact and both of us retreated more than 5 meters.
"Come! Scattering Breeze" She shouted at me and got into a special defensive stance with her eyes closed.
----
'?! That idiot is using that move, right from the start? Is that boy really so strong?' Babara thought while observing their fight. It was hard to determine whether one is strong or not if they are using only normal slashes without any technique behind it. She would need to be the one blocking that slash to understand Akashi's strength.
----
Oh? This girl is really a genius. What an immense focus, it looks like she has closed eyes but there must be "zone" created around her. It's practically the stance I created with one disadvantage. Her stance might look defensive but she is actually aiming to strike any enemy that draws too near her, she doesn't care a bit about defense if she can instantly end her opponent's life. On the other hand...my stance is defensive and I can block anything coming at me as long as I have enough time to get into that stance. Her stance is different in this aspect which means that its deadlier but also the defense is worse...
Anyway, let's try how actually good is this stance of hers.
I thought and rushed towards her but when I stepped into her "zone" I immediately felt new pressure coming out of her. I instantly stopped and jumped backward, dodging incoming horizontal slash by a few centimeters.
---
'? He actually dodged that? His instincts are on par or even better than Taeko's.' Babara was slightly surprised when she saw Akashi retreat without any second thoughts after he immediately entered Taeko's zone.
---
Taeko was also surprised by this but she had no time to be surprised so she calmed down in a second.
Although at first, she looked like an idiot, she really is a different person when fighting. It's hard to believe that someone so young is so strong and her technique is also extremely strong...but not flawless.
I picked up a small stone on the ground and threw it at Taeko's face.
I narrowed my eyes and carefully watched the stone as it flew towards her.
When the stone entered her zone, she split it in two by vertical slash of her katana.
At the exact moment, I saw her blade flash, I opened my eyes wide [Phantom Strike].
[Energy: 685/695]
I appeared 1 meter in front of her out of nowhere and she opened her eyes wide in surprise. I slashed my sword at the left side of her torso.
"Tch!" She clicked her tongue and tried to parry my incoming strike but that was only a feint and kick was coming to the right side of her torso.
My kick connected but it felt like kicking a boulder, I guess this must be some certain body manipulation.
She was sliding on the ground for a few seconds before she stopped 10 meters away from her original position.
She looked at me and narrowed her eyes in a very serious manner.
---
'?! Did he actually find a weakness in Taeko's stance in only 1 exchange?! I really wonder who trained this kid...Plus what was that speed...even I had problem following his movements for one moment' Babara thought with a shocked expression.
---
Even Ichika on the side was looking at the fight with a serious expression. She could feel how strong Taeko is only from seeing the fight. Kurome was also watching the fight but she had a problem following their moves with her eyes but she still cheered for Akashi inside her mind.
"...What was that? There is no crack in the ground so you couldn't have used physical strength to appear so suddenly in front of me." Taeko asked while holding the place where I kicked her with a pained expression.
---
'I positioned myself so his kick would hit my strengthened muscles, yet the impact I felt from his kick was extremely hard. His strength...his speed, he is better in both. I can only win by using those 2 techniques but he already saw through 1 of them.' Taeko thought with a serious expression but deep inside she was excited from finding someone stronger than her around her age.
---
"Will you describe to me how your own stance "Scattering Breeze" works?" I asked with a smile while cracking my knuckles.
"...Sorry for asking a stupid question. But does that movement technique has any name?" She asked with a forced smile when she realized how stupid her question was.
"...Phantom Strike" I replied after a little hesitation.
---
'Phantom Strike...? Fitting name...I just hope that he can't use it repeatedly or I will have a big problem.' Taeko thought with an absent-minded expression.
---
"Taeko, you are strong but this is just a little spar so how about we make it fair." I praised her skills and she nodded to show that she is listening.
"I was the one who was on the offensive right now, as far as breaking through your own defensive technique even though I didn't need to approach you at all. How about we change the positions and now you will try to break through my own technique?" I suggested with a smile and got ready into my stance.
I sheathed my sword and lazily put my hand on it and the other hand into my pocket. Making myself look completely unguarded.
?! Everyone looked at my stance with surprised expressions but there was one exception.
Taeko...she was looking at me with a serious expression, trying to find any weakness in my stance.
---
'...I will use it, it's now or never!' Taeko shouted inwardly and moved towards Akashi.
---
My own zone is much shorter than Taeko's but mine is an absolute defense as long as I am in this stance.
Taeko run towards me and when she was near enough to attack me, she actually kicked into a stone lying on the ground, sending it towards me.
When the stone entered my zone, it split into two halves, completely missing my body.
"Light Gale!" Taeko shouted and slashed with her katana at my torso at unbelievable speed while her blade was producing blinding light.
"Naive" *Clang*
I only said one word before her katana was forcibly repelled, leaving her front fully open.
---
'How?! ?! Closed eyes?! His stance is similar to my own!' Taeko thought while gritting her teeth.
---
Seeing the opportunity, I switched from my calm stance to my ferocious one and slashed my sword in a horizontal trajectory.
"Tch! Not yet! Light Gale!" She shouted in frustration and performed once again her previous technique but this time with an overhead slash.
I felt light piercing through my eyes but this time I couldn't afford to close them so I had to endure the pain until one of my eyes started to bleed.
Our swords met once again and it was a draw once again, we began pushing each other and brought our faces closer.
"Grr!" Taeko was gritting her teeth doing her best trying to overpower me while I was having an excited smile, showing off my white teeth.
I used crossguard of my sword to lock Taeko's sword there and then pushed both of our swords to the side.
"Haa!" She also noticed this but couldn't do anything with it so instead, she used her entire strength and went for a headbutt.
Seeing her reaction only widened my smile so I followed right after her, charging at her with my own head.
*bam* Our foreheads met each other and both of us started to bleed from it.
[Health: 318/320]
But that wasn't the end, we didn't return to our positions but we started to pushing once again, trying to overpower each other, this time with heads.
Our faces were so close that I was able to feel the fighting spirit from her eyes.
---
'...Those vertical pupils look even more imposing from such close distance...He is still smiling even though he is bleeding from his forehead...' Taeko thought and couldn't help but form an excited smile too.
---
"Alright, that's all! You better stop before the things get too heated" Babara stopped us and our foreheads finally parted ways.
What do you mean "heated", granny?
I couldn't help but thought with an annoyed expression while cracking my neck.
This kid is extremely good, I can't wait until I start Kurome's training. She might not be so talented as Taeko but I will teach her everything numerous times if necessary.
"I am sorry for losing, grandma." Taeko said with a downcast expression.
"It doesn't matter. This wasn't a real fight to the death so you can't be aware who would win then." Babara comforted Taeko with a light smile.
---
'...No, even though none of us were being serious...Akashi was enjoying the fight which only showed that he still had a lot of moves to use plus I also have a feeling that he is much stronger than what he just showed. I must catch up to him!' Taeko thought with a determination in her eyes, she clenched her fist and discovered a new motivation to get stronger.
?! Babara also noticed it and couldn't help but feel grateful to Akashi.
Thanks to this little spar, Taeko gained much more motivation to grow stronger.
---
[Taeko accepted her defeat even though your fight ended in a draw.]
[Reward: +1 to all stats]
[Hidden: You were able to motivate Taeko into training harder.]
[Hidden Reward: +1 to all stats]
---
<Stats>
[Strength: 24 (28)]
[Agility: 28 (41)]
[Intelligence: 26 (43)]
[Constitution: 22 (31)]
[Charisma: 19 (33)]
[Health: 338/340]
[Energy: 725/735]
---
"That was really ferocious fight..." Ichika approached me together with Kurome and said with a forced smile.
----END----
[Name: Akashi Phoenix (Age: 9)
Title: King of Sloth
Class: Assassin (Lv. 9; +13 Agi, +7 Int, +4 Str, + 2 Cha) 959/2560 XP
Special Class: Fire Monarch (Lv. 6; +12 Cha, +10 Int, +9 Const) 204/320 BXP
[Health: 338/340]
[Energy: 735/735]
<Stats>
Strength: 24 (28)
Agility: 28 (41)
Intelligence: 26 (43)
Constitution: 22 (31)
Charisma: 19 (33)
Free Stat points: 26
Classes: Young Noble (Lv. 4; +5 Cha) 12/80 XP, Warrior (Lv. 4, +7 Str, +3 Const) 3/80 XP
Special Classes:
ACTIVE SKILLS:
[Absolute Dominance - When facing the formidable foe, show no fear, instead show your arrogance. + 40% to every stat, fire intensity, and explosiveness]
[Phantom Strike - Blink towards your enemy, the maximum distance is decided by your Agility (10 energy)]
PASSIVE SKILLS:
[Child of Fire - Flames love you as its own child. You are protected by the fire itself, whenever someone uses long-ranged attacks, flames will protect your body from projectiles even without your consciousness but you can still stop them if you want. This isn't ultimate defense!]
GOLD: 2315
SILVER: 87