Blood gushed out from Brand's mouth as he took the attack head-on. He even felt his body paralysed after taking Karl's full-blown attack.
'This was different from fighting against Lena!'
Karl held the spear's wooden end and tapped the ground with the spearhead while hopping in his position. A smug smile formed across his face, as if telling Brand to keep up with the following attack.
He stomped on the ground hard and side-stepped with great force, propelling his body to the side, and kicked the ground once more to rush toward Brand.
After the initial ambush, Brand learnt to react to the pattern of his attack and tried to deflect his spear thrust with his wooden sword. He used his body enhancement skills to boost his agility to keep up with Karl's speed.
He successfully defended against the attack and quickly released Reverse Strike to gain tempo. He needed a breathing room. He would be screwed if Karl managed to land another one on him consecutively.
The crimson energy wave sent a shot towards Karl, and he took it head-on as well. He didn't expect Brand to be able to return an attack from the position, but he managed to block it with his forearm.
"To be making such an amateur mistake…" Karl muttered. "I still have a lot more to learn."
Though his forearm was bleeding, Karl exerted more force on his spear. He tapped the ground with faster speed, as if he was ramping up his gear.
"Do you get it? I went easy on you so much!" Lena shouted as if cheering. She looked happy that Brand was getting beaten up.
"Damn…" Brand muttered while keeping his breath stabilised.
'The power gap was so much?'
"You didn't even use any of your additional stat points, remember?" Seraphine checked on him. "You were basically fighting against a capable fighter with Level 1 stats."
"Then the Ed trio were just goons?" Brand asked, but he already knew the answer. The trio were just like street tugs.
But this man in front of him was the real deal. He was a seasoned warrior, and he had more experience in him. The way the other young warriors looked at him with respect spoke volumes. He must be training every day, despite having a great talent.
"That newbie was crazy!"
"He managed to deflect Karl's Lightning Rush attack?"
"This was the first time I saw Karl bleeding!"
Brand was surprised that his actions had gained him recognition from the other young warriors. He focused back on Karl and thought. He would gain more than recognition in this duel.
He started to observe Karl's footwork.
Karl was hopping around the same position, but he was shifting his centre of gravity back and forth. He juggled it between the front and back legs with swift transition speed.
Being able to see it was one thing. But Brand don't think that he could replicate the movement as of now.
If so, what's the next best course of action? He couldn't think any longer, as Karl would leap toward him anytime, like previously, if he showed any hint of hesitation.
He felt Karl's leer was akin to a wolf stalking its prey. Karl was just looking at him silently, but in reality, he was preparing a deadly, instantaneous attack.
He was not sure if he could block the next attack or dodge it. It was completely different from the beetle's bombardment and Lena's Phantom Thrust, where his enhanced eyesight could help him.
Karl's attack was an instantaneous burst attack. He would have to face it head-on, and the next attack would decide the winner, as they both were injured. He had no time to prepare for the Debuff Cubes either.
Haste's speed enhancement was close to its effect time limit as well.
He lowered his centre of gravity, shifting to the crouching stance again, to prepare for his mimic of Lena's attack.
But this time, it would be a sword variant. He charged up energy to the sword's edge. Though it was not as stable as Lena's aura, it was enough to strengthen his wooden sword.
"Were you nuts?!"
Lena noticed what Brand was trying to do and shouted with concern.
"Using a wide range of skills to clash with a single target piercing attack?"
Karl was also curious about Brand's decision. This was a mistake in his eyes. Nevertheless, he welcomed it. He respected his choice.
'It should be okay to cheat a bit, right?' He grinned.
There was a common saying. "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying."
'Well, creativity was part of our skill, wasn't it?'
He detached two of his fingers and transformed them into Beetle Scouts. One of them was etched into the sword's tip, while another was merely standing on it.
The beetle's shell should be hard enough to break the wooden spear if it clashed.
He was prepared now. He started to brandish the sword while standing firm on the ground, without waiting for Karl's attack. Taking initiative was important in a duel.
The beetle that was not etched on the sword was sent flying into the sky and was circling the vicinity, providing peripheral vision that was also extremely sensitive to motion.
Right then, the form of his wooden swords began to blur as he executed the skill sequence. His hard work has paid off.
[A new skill was created from your understanding of the concept.]
[Name your newly created skill.]
This would now be his own skill, which was compatible with him. His own combat art.
"Phantom Slash!"
[Registered.]
He brandished his sword swiftly, rotating around the limit of his arm reach. Afterimages of sword slashes were layered with a mirage of swords shaped with an aura.
This painted the visual of a dome of slashes. This was more of a defensive skill than an offensive skill.
Karl knew he would win without doing anything. He only needed to wait for Brand to run out of energy, but waiting for an easy win was not part of his nature. He chose to confront Brand like a warrior.
He kicked off the ground with all his might and leapt forward with the fastest speed he could muster.
Right before he reached Brand, he saw a faint image of Brand under the sword storm.
Brand was grinning right before Karl reached him and closed his eyes.