Duel (2)

  After awakening my core, it was much easier for me to sense the magical energy in my surroundings. Before, I could only get vague sensations whenever I tried to scout my surroundings, but things were different now. I could easily feel the presence of mana flourishing around me as well as within the bodies of others.

  That’s why it was painfully obvious to me who the stronger combatant was here. While Owen had also cloaked himself in a thin veil of mana that served to boost his physical prowess, it still paled in comparison to the aura of the man he was facing. In my estimate, Owen was around ten times stronger than the humans of my old world and yet he still couldn’t land a single strike on Oliver.

  The power gap between these two was just about as obvious as it could get. The display Oliver had put on earlier with his aura, while it was impressive, I could tell that it was only a fraction of his true power, this battle was shaping up to be little more than sport for him.

  BANG!

  The trembling echo of an explosion rang out, sending plumes of dust and smoke rising into the air.

  “I knew this was going to get heated one way or another...” Vreena watched on in amusement as the mounds of dust swirled and danced along the span of the yard space. Although she sounded exasperated at the thought of a duel earlier, she was clearly enjoying this now.

  “Let's just hope they wrap this up soon, I think Liam’s seen enough action for one day.” Julia remarked with slightly puffed cheeks, it seems she wasn’t very fond of my absent-minded gaze, but that was of little consequence to me at the moment, the important thing here was the battle underway.

  Owen’s expression was contorting into a grimace, each time he closed the distance and attempted to attack Oliver, his body was abruptly blown away by the dense sphere of rotating air that acted as his shield. To make matters even worse for the weary knight, Oliver began firing compressed wind bullets at him and since Owen was a close quarter combatant the intention here was obviously meant to keep him at a distance.

  Given the circumstances, one would naturally assume he was out of options, but instead of giving up, Owen smiled.

  “Owen, It’s about time we wrap this up, don’t you have any other tricks up your sleeve?” Oliver asked in a cunning tone, confidence still brimming from his voice.

  “Just one. I can’t let you show me up like this in front of your family Oliver.”

  “Heh! Show me what you’ve got then captain.” His response sounded both jeering and respectful.

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  Crouching down low, Owen began his sprinting charge, gradually building up speed before kicking off the ground in a burst of superhuman physicality. Oliver extended his right arm just then, aligning his index finger with his target and curling back his thumb. The surrounding air quickly condensed to form a dense bubble at the tip of his finger.

  With a slight twitch of his hand, he fired the compressed air bullet, sending it whistling through the open space with a sharp, screeching sound.

  Just before the attack made contact with Owen, he used his left leg to abruptly change course and leaned to the right with the entirety of his body weight, narrowly managing to avoid the blast.

  With a loud bang, the bullet crashed into the ground, once again displacing large amounts of rocks and dirt from their original position. Oliver fired off three more wind blasts in rapid succession, but it was ultimately futile, none of them made contact with the intended target. Altering his trajectory with a zigzag dash, Owen managed to narrowly avoid the attacks being thrown at him, steadily increasing his speed with each one he avoided.

  It wasn’t until he was once again within striking distance of Oliver that I discovered his strategy. Unlike his first attack, he wasn’t charging towards Oliver with the intention of delivering an all-or-nothing surefire strike. This time, he opted to steadily increase his momentum and make it seem as if he was already moving at top speed. By initially starting off in a predictable way, he purposefully opened himself up to Oliver’s head on attacks, and each time he dodged one, he would increase his speed a bit more, not to the extent where it was painfully obvious, but just enough to get Oliver to misjudge the distance between them and the time it would take for Owen to reach him.

  Owen was now only a few steps away from his target. Planting his foot firmly in front of him, he tilted his upper body backwards and used all the built up momentum to throw the polished short sword like a boosted javelin. In response, Oliver fired yet another wind bullet, but the force behind the bladed weapon was enough to split the fearsome attack in two, forcing it to collide with the ground and conjure a dust cloud around where Owen stood.

  The familiar sound of an expanding air bubble rang out. The blade Owen had thrown at the last second had once again been denied by its target, but something was different this time. That desperate throw just now was nothing more than a feint, and Owen—clad in a veil of blue mana— positioned himself in Oliver’s blind spot on his right, mere seconds away from landing a decisive blow.

  Swiftly turning his body, Oliver’s expression betrayed neither shock nor confusion, but rather, admiration. “Not bad!” The bespectacled mage shouted ecstatically.

  “HAAAAHHH!!!”

  Clenching his fist, Owen threw a devastating right hook towards Oliver’s face, but to his surprise, instead of retreating Oliver advanced instead. Ducking under the passing blow, he grappled Owens outstretched arm, and before the knight could even react a devastating palm strike connected with his chest, forcing a dry gasp of air from his mouth.

  Taking full advantage of the opportunity, Oliver opted for a finishing move and conjured a violent swirl of flames at the point of impact, unleashing the explosive attack less than a second later and sending Owen’s body hurdling through the air once more, though this time his final destination wasn’t solid ground, but rather, the tranquil pond in the distance.

  With an abrupt splashing sound, his body disrupted its serene surface with chaotic ripples.