“Arthur, do you know what the Chaitin Theory is?”

  The boy turned around, raising his gaze from the pages of the book he was immersed into. It was a study book about Gemstone engineering, and how it evolved alongside the doctrine of Archêometry.

  “Can't say I do. Care to humor me?”

  Gunnhildr chuckled, pulling out a chair and sitting down beside him. She snatched the dagger from his hands, unsheathing the blade and pointing it towards him.

  She glanced at the Remembrance Stone embedded into the weapon, before nodding to herself, and handing it back to him.

  “Just now, I tried shooting you in the face. Any idea on why you still have your face?”

  Arthur stared at her for a moment.

  “You know, I was really hoping I saw wrong, seeing your Ark run to your fingers. No idea at all.”

  She placed her hands in front of his eyes. He squinted, seeing the dim Ley Lines under the surface of her skin.

  “The Chaitin Theory is an Archêometry theory formulated by a brilliant researcher, Agnes LaPlace-Chaitin. It was a turning point for Archêometry and engineering both: before her, no one could figure out why only swordsmen and warriors managed to use magic weapons.”

  He leaned forward, his interest piqued. He placed down the book in his hands, and predicting what she would do, handed her a piece of paper and a pencil.

  Gunnhildr’s surprise was quickly replaced by amusement, letting out a laugh and quickly drawing up a scene on the piece of paper.

  She drew a large circle, with a stick figure inside. That was a person, probably. Then, she drew a second, smaller circle around the person, filled by circuits and symbols.

  ‘Calm down and think. Even without the Archive’s help, I can figure out how it works.’

  Arthur thought to himself, before throwing his body to the side, to avoid another attack from the rapier-wielding woman.

  He could hear the mechanical clicking of his Gift in the background of his mind, a sign it was analyzing Emilie’s behavior as efficiently as it could. Most likely, it already accounted for the fact that Arthur couldn't read a long explanation, and was summarizing it.

  Even without the Archive, he had noticed a few peculiarities about her swift movements. But more than that, her Ley Lines were unique.

  He squinted. In his eyes, her body was hidden, beneath a grove of Ley Lines. The circuits filled the air around her body, making it hard for him to get a good look.

  The only time that the barrier of Ley Lines cleared up, was when she attacked. The tip of the rapier led her stride, cutting the distance Arthur had put between them in an instant. He shot an Ark projectile, which she swiftly blocked, before thrusting multiple times in his direction.

  ‘Think, think… Why does she not use it to attack? Why did she block, instead of dodging?’

  The sharp tip pierced his skin multiple times. He couldn't use the protective brooch properly, due to his Ark Downpour Syndrome. She seemed to have caught on to that, delivering only light wounds.

  He weaved through the incoming attacks, slashing the position where she previously was. The image of her body dissipated like an illusion. He widened his eyes, immediately turning on his Ark Sight, to try and catch any clues.

  ‘Just now, that blockade of Ley Lines lit up. Is she using a spell that affects the area outside of her body? No, it can't be something that strong… Remember, the Chaitin Theory. It has to be related.’

  He observed Emilie, while blocking an arcing slash. The only reason he could be so sure about that fact, was that he had employed that theory for magic, too.

  The Chaitin Theory, formulated by Agnes LaPlace-Chaitin. Accepted widely as one of the Laws of Archêometry, it cleared up a number of doubts and questions that the scientific community of the time had been dealing with.

  Agnes proved that Ley Lines could only form, extend and activate inside of Archê. Moreover, they could only exist inside the Archê of the individual that activated them, proving the theory that each individual possessed an unique ‘Archê Signature’.

  Inversely,

  ‘Your Ley Lines can extend past your body, if you fill the air with Ark. That’s a spell in and of itself, but she’s building her mobility on it. That’s the same way I used that “sure-hit” spell.’

  He clicked his tongue. If his assumption was right, and she was using the Chaitin Theory for some kind of movement spell, then he couldn't do anything against it.

  Steel clashed against steel, pushing back a strike from the rapier. He glared at the girl, his eyes jolting around his field of view, to analyze that spell.

  Emilie froze for a moment.

  “W-Wait, can you s-see my Absolute Field?”

  Arthur raised an eyebrow.

  “Absolute Field?”

  He added inwardly, ‘That’s a stupid name’.

  “Y-Yes. So long as I’m i-inside of it, you’ll have a h-hard time catching m-me.”

  Arthur clicked his tongue. Not only was he busy trying to figure out how to hit her, but now she was mocking him, too.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “D-Do your best!”

  She pumped her fists to cheer him on. He swung his dagger, annoyed, firing a shot in her direction. As expected, she dodged.

  Emilie reappeared to his right, a few meters away, in a stance ready to strike. The distance was immediately closed once she kicked off the ground, the rapier coming dangerously close to Arthur.

  ‘Shit, might as well try!’

  Ark collected and bubbled around the tip of his dagger, keeping it high. Multiple shots were fired, one after the other, moments after their formation. Emilie’s eyes widened.

  She raised her blade in a defensive stance, before using the mobility spell to dodge Arthur’s attacks. He froze. Slowly, a smirk creeped on his face.

  “Absolute Field, my ass…”

  His expression and posture changed. Emilie felt a chill run down her spine, straightening her blade and raising her guard.

  “I understand it now.”

  Emilie was taken aback, watching the boy dash in her direction. Up until this point, he had only tried to sneak in counterattacks. He hadn't thrown the first attack once.

  She put a foot back, extending her arm, to reach the rapier’s maximum range. Something was different about him, now. There was an unfamiliar look in his eyes.

  Arthur lowered his stance, narrowly avoiding the rapier’s tip to approach Emilie. She withdrew her arm, the flexible blade aimed at his torso.

  He glanced down at the weapon, striking it from below. Emilie was staggered. With the blade still up in the air, Arthur went in for the final blow, aiming his dagger at her neck.

  Whoosh!

  “T-That’s not understanding, you’re j-just fighting like a b-brute-”

  Her words were cut short. Before she could notice it, Arthur was already back in front of her. She hadn't recovered her stance yet, and had no choice but to dodge again. Her eyes grew wider, staring at the boy.

  He wasn't even looking at her. His eyes were set on the empty space beside her, the area towards which her ‘Absolute Field’ was expanding.

  “First.”

  Emilie took a step back, before charging forward with her rapier. Right as the blade made contact with Arthur’s shoulder, a piercing shot fired off into her abdomen, which she had no chance to block.

  The defensive barrier overlapped on her clothes became visible for a moment, that was the first time he had managed to hit her.

  “That’s not a movement spell. Or rather, it doesn't increase your speed, but relocates you as a whole. Since it wouldn't increase your momentum, using it to attack would be inefficient.”

  Before he could follow up with a downwards slash, she had already disappeared. His eyes were already trained on her next position, lunging forward with the dagger.

  “Second.”

  His blade carved the air between them, slashing multiple times in all directions. Emilie clicked her tongue, forced to weave and block the attacks.

  “To use that spell, your need to be still. When faced with multiple attacks like these, you don't have a window to escape.”

  He chained a thrust at the end of the barrage, however lacking speed. In the moment when he pulled back his dagger, she expanded her Ley Lines, relocating a few meters to the side.

  Arthur flipped the weapon in his grip, holding it with both hands. He slowly raised it, aiming it towards Emilie as if it were a magic wand.

  “And lastly…”

  He closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath. Realizing he was up to something, she immediately jolted forward, thrusting multiple times with the rapier. Arthur winced from the pain but didn't move, pouring his Ark into the brooch to activate the defensive magic.

  His reserves weren't fully restored yet, but that was enough to manifest a thick and large barrier, stopping her strikes. Illusionary, hexagonal plates overlapped with his clothes, slowly forming an armor which covered his entire body.

  That armor started to grow in size, taking a spherical shape around him. Emilie dashed backwards, taking up a defensive stance.

  “Your spell requires Ley Lines to be placed at the place you want to end up. If your Absolute Field is shut down, your mobility is rendered useless.”

  Luckily, he knew exactly how that spell worked. Ark cascaded out of the tip of his dagger, flooding the area inside the spherical armor. Or rather, the armor managed to expand because of the flooding Ark.

  ‘I don’t have much Ark stored up. Lower the density, reduce its range as much as possible, and increase the speed…!’

  Emilie’s rapier glimmered under the artificial light. Even if this was training, and she was only there to check his level, she felt like she was in danger.

  Piercing the air and cutting the distance, only the light bouncing off of the blade could be seen. Unconsciously, she jolted forward with as much speed as her body allowed her to.

  If that strike landed, she was sure he would be wounded fatally, but it was too late to stop herself. She had built up too much momentum.

  Arthur bit his lip. Cracks were forming in the air, the rapier was slowly drilling through his defenses.

  “Come on… Just work…!”

  It felt like time slowed down in his perception. He observed Emilie’s movements, the posture with which she held her rapier, and how her limbs moved under the shifting Ley Lines.

  The air around him was frigid. He had managed to establish another area full of his own Ark, just like against the floating targets.

  He lowered the dagger, and the shields came down. But Emilie’s blade didn't reach him. She lowered her gaze, watching a torrent of light manifest in front of her.

  She couldn't dodge. Her Absolute Field had been completely taken over by Arthur’s Ark.

  BANG!

  He fell to his knee, quickly forcing the Ark around him to disappear, ending the spell. Emilie, flung to a distance from the attack, staggered back to her feet. He couldn't read her expression, that far away.

  She glared at him, and the next moment, she was back in front of him. He hurriedly raised the dagger to block any incoming attacks, but she simply lowered it, by tapping on its guard.

  “Calm d-down. The test is o-over. Y-You pass with fl-flying marks.”

  She smiled at him, and pointed at her abdomen. Sparks of Ark dripped from the broken armor, the clothes covering her stomach ripped slightly.

  Arthur took a moment to breathe in, before promptly falling backwards to the ground.

  “I see… That was all, then…”

  He let out a sigh of relief, and immediately winced in pain. With the adrenaline rushing off quickly, all of the cuts and wounds were starting to sting. Not to mention, refilling the Remembrance Stone and activating the Defensive Brooch completely drained his energy.

  He grunted, forcing himself to sit upright. Emilie had crouched down next to him, just watching and smiling at him.

  “If I may ask…”

  “Yes?”

  He rubbed the back of his head and continued, “How do you use that… Er, Absolute Field is too embarrassing… How do you use the Chaitin Field so easily? It drains a lot of Ark, but you’ve been using it since the start of the fight.”

  She placed a finger over her lips while thinking. Arthur clicked his tongue. Judging from her behaviour, using the Absolute, or Chaitin Field must have been second nature to her. Most likely, it was her Gift.

  And asking someone who relied on their Gift how it worked was counterintuitive. He figured that out after trying to learn ranged spells from Jacob.

  He ended up developing his variation of the Chaitin Field from it though, which was a positive development. Spreading his Ley Lines through the Field, and only activating the spell once it already was on top of the target.

  “T-The thing is, I didn't use it t-that many times. I only used it once.”

  She winked at him, and stood upright. Arthur once again clicked his tongue, shaking his head while trying to figure out what she meant.

  He could ask the Archive later on, but at least he had something to do for now. He glanced at the side. The Archive had already finished the summary, but in the end, Arthur didn't need it to land a blow on Emilie.

  “T-They should be f-finishing soon, t-too.”

  He turned his head, following Emilie’s gaze. The next moment, an intense light took over the room.