Spar

Once upon a time when I was still younger, I joined a random out of nowhere club where we practiced various swordsmanship used around the world.

"Come on me boy, at least lift that thing up and swing it as a man should," said the fat PE teacher who was the instructor of the club.

"But sir"

"No buts kid, you signed up for this" I still vividly remember the days when I swung a real steel sword during the afternoons when we had club activities. Man, I miss school and those moments.

Now, those memories are something I am going to just reminisce about.

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A commotion sparked in the very arena behind the adventurer's guild. It was still an hour after lunchtime, but the place had a lot of audiences looking for something to get entertained. Perhaps, thinking another newbie will get beaten the crap out again.

[Who's up to who?] (??)

[I don't know, but the redheads are related to this] (??)

The audience gossiped as they waited at their seats. That was when they finally saw who the champion was up against.

.....

...

.

[Are we really doing this?] I asked the person as she eagerly readied herself to spar against me.

To test whether I was still up for it, I decided to just accept her offer reluctantly as I also wanted to try my capabilities in a one-on-one confrontation against a human opponent. This is a chance I could not have been hoping for.

[Of course! Gahahahaha!] (Rynia) Is she really a woman? I've never heard of a battle-frenzied warrior that happens to be a woman.

I gulped as I grimaced while she unsheathed the huge naginata 1from her back. That thing is massive!!!!!! Holy shit. I would not survive if she fully swung that thing to me for real.

[Then let me do some preparations too] If she allows so to speak, to which is answered with silence. A yes huh.

I know, it is a disadvantage for Rynia if I use a gun but what could I use other than that anyway? A sword? Perhaps....Will I win? I don't have an answer to that yet.

Theoretically with the buff I got from selecting the MILITIA faction, I should have a boost in physical attacks. I hope I do, because fingers cross, I will be ass whopped in this spar. 

For starters I could not use a long-rifled weapon since its length would be inconvenient hence using a pistol as the main weapon and then a short sword for a melee is the optimal selection. Is there a downside? Yes, but no matter what I choose would not matter especially when she has that shit eating grin pasted on her face.

[That's one hell of a weird outfit you got there] (Rynia) I changed into the outfit the mix between a titan pilot's suit and a grunt's uniform. Wearing the helmet bearing a skull logo on the side of my helmet, with the red long-sleeved shirt underneath the plate carrier, and the jump kit equipped I could say that I was ready.

[I'm ready]

[Then!] (Ethan) The referee of this spar would be Ethan.

[Any injury sustained in this fight will be shouldered by both sides, death is unlikely as we have a healer here on the site. The only thing I won't allow in this fight is unsportsmanlike behavior!] (Ethan)

Rynia gripped the handle of her weapon tightly as she made a nasty grin on her face.

[Hey kid] (Rynia)I had to calm my nerves because I knew I was fighting a seasoned and experienced fighter.

[Yes?]

[Don't hold back on me okay?] (Rynia)

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[Both fighters, are you ready!?] (Ethan) The answer from the two were only nods as their eyes were only locked on each other.

[Then...begin!] (Ethan) Just as the signal was given.

[Raaaa!!!!] (Rynia) She immediately went in for the first preemptive strike.

Sensing the dangerous swift attack incoming. Jack nimbly dashed to the side.

[?!] Dodging the blade by a hairsbreadth. Jack then aims at her and shoot.

*BANG! BANG! *

*Klang! *

The bullets ricochet as they bounced off from the naginata's side. With the distance between the two decreasing, Jack opted for a vertical left to right swing.

*Klang! *

The sound of metals hitting each other soon echoed in the arena. A sword had parried another strike coming from Rynia, and Jack managed to deflect the attack while giving her a kick to the leg. Yet, despite that she managed to block the kick with the side of her naginata.

*BANG! BANG!*

She dashed to the left and right, dodging the bullets as she closed the distance again.

[Not bad young man, but could you fare well with this!] (Rynia) Kicking the earth, she dashed at him opting to make a slash from above.

Jack, seeing the move knew that an opening was at her side, and tried to counter her by also attacking. Since he is not capable of heavy sword swings due to the nature of the weapon chosen to be light, all he can do is utilize his speed and agility in handling the weapon.

*SWISH!*

*KLANG!*

The metallic clash was loud enough to be heard from the furthest seat within the audience's side, and sparks flew out as another repetition of the same attack and parry ensued.

A cord suddenly flew in the air, but it did not hit her. Without wasting a single second, Jack deployed the grappling hook and pulled himself towards her fast. The jump kit boosted the speed he was getting launched; thus, the surprise attack was able to be pulled off successfully.

Making an overhead stance midair, he spun at a speed to make an attack using pure inertia.

[?!] (Rynia) Suddenly seeing the method of attack, she tried to counter it by holding the naginata with both hands and guarding overhead.

*Klang! Klang! Klang!*

Sparks flew in the air as metal contacts with metal at such great speed. This caused Rynia to be pushed back.

[Now that's like it!!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!] (Rynia)

[!?] A red aura soon engulfs her body, and then her weapon. The effect boosted her physical capabilities to the maximum, and the onlookers who were watching could only predict what will be the outcome of this fight.

He will lose, they are sure of it. The reason?

[Woah!?!!!!] She's too much for him to handle. In the first place, why would she ask for a spar if she knew she would win?

Straight down from the top, straight up from the bottom, diagonally down to the left, diagonally down to the right, diagonally up from the left, diagonally up from the right, and left and right strikes horizontally. The attack came nonstop as Jack tried to evade them all, but he also sustained damage in the process.

A few cuts in the arms and a cut in the cheek made him feel that his life was at stake on this one. The terrain of the arena is starting to become difficult to have a good footing as her attacks have also cut the ground in the process.

[Oraaaa!!!!!] (Rynia) He may be nimble and fast, but she's nimbler and faster.

[Ah?!] He got critically hit in the solar plexus as the rear end of the naginata managed to stab him. Knocking him down, coughing in the process.

That does not mean he already admits defeat as he still has a few cards on his hand.

[Not yet] Throwing an arc star at her...

*BOOM!*

...an explosion rocked the arena as something burst in front of Rynia. Sparks of paralyzing electricity crept to her body, but no effect had been visible whatsoever. Jack, sensing it immediately distanced himself from her.

*BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!*

[What? You could have used that earli...] (Rynia) Suddenly he disappeared in front of her into particles of light.

Rynia's visible confusion as well as the audience was what silenced the entire venue, the challenger has just disappeared out of thin air and vanished into nothingness.

Not until a slash managed to hit Rynia in her calves.

[That's a neat trick right there] (Rynia) Jack appeared back again in an instant, but now a bit further than where she had expected him to be.

[Perhaps, but there's more to that you know?]

It's obvious who would win in a one-on-one fight between a seasoned adventurer and a newbie. The answer was obvious, but now the tides might have changed.

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Damn it, why did I have to fight a monster? This woman is clearly more than just a human, she sensed where I was approaching despite activating the phase ability. I, who should have been almost completely invisible due to the suspended dust in the air, was sensed. That means I am not fighting a mere adventurer, but a seasoned and experienced one. Gosh. What are the odds huh?

[Perhaps, but there's more to that you know?] Guess I will use what I can to at least increase my odds of winning.

The arena is pretty hard to move around now because of her rampaging attacks earlier. So, I have to be mindful about where I place my foot otherwise my ass won't be in good shape.

As soon as I phased out of existence, I immediately went over behind the glowing orb in front of me, and the second I canceled the skill my stab and slashes came next.

[Tto! Nice one!] (Rynia) She parried them though.

How?! Does she have eyes behind the back of her head?! Hell naw man. No way in hell do I even have a chance to win when I am up against her. It's just impossible, nuh-uh.

Shit, so perhaps her showing of an opening is a trap she laid to bait me into thinking I could attack her vulnerable spot? Yes, it seems likely.

Damn it. I was already dancing by the palm of her hands at this point.

[Ora! How about sending one back again!] (Rynia) I tried to parry most of her attacks, but they were just too heavy to do so. Each blow was equally powerful and heavy that my foot would sink into the ground each time I parried. I could not even draw the pistol as her weapon's reach is capable of disarming me. Damn.

Gosh, Souls Game should learn a thing or two from her, golly. She's really not letting me even send an attack at this point, it's just a dodging game.

Each time I sidestepped, she would accelerate and close the distance again, thus putting me in that cycle.

[I got you now!] (Rynia) She manages to pierce my arm...

[Fuck...] Or did she.

[Wa?!] (Rynia) I sent a strong punch to the stomach via the liver's theoretic spot, making her retreat in the process.

What was pierced just now vanished into particles of light. That was the holographic pilot ability, a feint that tricks others into thinking it was me all along. A skill that generates a lifesize 3D image of the pilot's body that mimics everything from the skin to the clothes that I am wearing. Even the weapons I am using are so perfectly imitated that it is difficult to distinguish who's the real me unless I start talking.

It's neat, and it worked against her.

[I guess you've got more tricks up in your sleeve huh] (Rynia)

[Hahahaha...maybe, maybe] This time, I will try to be the one on the offensive.

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She could not believe it, a guy who hadn't yet registered at the guild was pushing her back into the corner (metaphorically). She's still overpowering him through sheer force.

[Raaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!] (Rynia) Known by the guild as the red-headed executioner, she had a plethora of skills that could rival that of a hero. 

She once brought down a dragon, she once fought head-on against a sword saint, she once faced the empress of a neighboring country, and she fought an experimental golem before.

All of those experiences culminated in what is currently known as the red-headed executioner, Rynia. An A-ranked adventurer of the duo party "Crimson Twins".

She was getting bored when it came to challenges offered to her by other adventurers as they were easily defeated without even using her sword. Just her fists and kicks were enough for them, but that is different for the young man she is currently facing.

*SHWING!!*

*Pang!*

The young man in question is evading her attacks, and even parrying them. He is able to push her into a corner, which was what she was dreaming of and that is to fight a person stronger than her.

She might now be physically stronger than him, but he is talented and gifted with skills that could help him.

That made her form a nasty grin on her face. A type of enemy she had been waiting for all these years has now finally arrived.

[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] 

[?!] (Jack) She activated it, and thus the entire arena was silenced.

The air around her changed as sparks soon started appearing around her.

[Wait! If you use that...] (Ethan)

[Ah shut up! He's the one that I was waiting for, I just can't let the opportunity be wasted!] Disregarding her twin brother's comment, she then coated her weapon with a much denser amount of mana.

.....

...

....

I could feel it for some reason, a chilling sensation crept up to the back of my neck indicating that I am feeling something ominous is about to happen.

[Holy shit!] Something did happen.

Her naginata which was coated with mana earlier has now transformed into something else. It elongated itself by 2 meters and is now fully coated with mana from its handle to the tip of its blade. A gust of wind is enveloping it and I could see it because its sucking in the dust around us.

[Are you prepared for the worst?] (Rynia) She said before she swung it to me in a way I will never forget.

At this point, I don't even know whether this is a gladiator fight in an arena or just a casual spar. Man....