Xie Ling lunged toward Gabriel. He swung his blade. Gabriel dodged, but his Agility stat was too low. The blade cut his stomach. The attack created a powerful current of air, sending sharp rocks flying toward him, digging into his skin.
Gabriel healed himself immediately. He sent a few Magic Missiles toward Xie Ling. Most of his skillset seemed to be close range, Gabriel just had to keep casting Magic Missile and Xie Ling wouldn't be able to touch him.
[ Magic Missile ( lvl 5 ) ]
He cast Bless on himself. It was his first time using that spell, and he immediately felt its effect.
Xie Ling dodged all his spells and swung again. This time, his blade and arms became peach black.
Gabriel jumped back. Xie Ling followed him. He tried to stab him. Gabriel barely avoided the attack. Beside him, he heard a crater form. The weapon hadn't touched him, yet his cheek bled profusely. Had the attack touched him, he would have most certainly died.
Gabriel cast Heal and Bless again. He used Magic Missile again to keep Xie Ling at distance.
[ Bless ( lvl 2 ) ]
[ Heal ( lvl 6 ) ]
Xie Ling was getting more and more tired. His movements were slower. Soon, he would get hit. Everything was going well, too well. Gabriel saw a shadow in the corner of his eye. Gabriel threw himself on the ground just in time. A piece of his hair got cut off. A warm liquid dripped down his neck.
Gabriel thought back to the ' Ghost Steps ' Xie Ling had mentioned. He cursed under his breath. He still couldn't see Xie Ling. Gabriel thought back to all the skills he had. He used Eyesight. Gabriel noticed Xie Ling just in time. He dodged again.
He hissed in pain. He needed to end this fast. He wasn't agile enough to fully dodge the attacks. He used Magic Regeneration as much as he could.
[ Magic Regeneration ( lvl 2 ) ]
Xie Ling was too fast, long range spells wouldn't be enough. He still cast Magic Missile again to temporarily keep Xie Ling at bay, just long enough to heal himself. No better time than now to try out his new skill, he thought.
His muscles tensed. His magic burned with anticipation. The technique was still crystal clear in his mind.
He used Divine Fire Art.
[ Angel helps you understand Divine Fire Art ]
[ Divine Fire Art ( lvl 4 ) ]
He felt the moment his magic started moving with purpose, its usual warmth dialed up to a hundred. His magic materialized into flames
His arms were drowning in fire, yet it didn't hurt. On the contrary, the flames seemed to heal the lasts of his injuries. Xie Ling swung again. Instead of dodging, Gabriel stayed firmly planted. On instinct, he used Divine Fire Arts to cover his chest with flames before the attack landed.
Gabriel didn't feel any pain. The flames had completely absorbed the damage and was slowly burning Xie Ling's weapon.
Xie Ling stayed unflinching as the flames licked his arms. The darkness covering Xie Ling started eating at the flames, something that Xie Ling seemed to have expected. Yet the fire didn't fizzle out for a moment, it burned bright until all of the darkness disappeared.
Xie Ling finally realized something was amiss and started panicking. He registered the burning sensation in all of his arm, like a thousand needles pricking him at the same time.
He yelled out in pain. He shook his arm, trying to stop the fire from advancing.
" I give up ! I give up ! " Xie Ling repeated, his face twisted with panic. His eyes were wide and bright with held-back tears.
Gabriel immediately cut off the flow of magic. The flames slowly died out, too slowly for Gabriel's liking. Xie Ling kneeled on the ground. He was holding his hands, heaving. Gabriel cast Heal on Xie Ling. It didn't seem to do much.
" Xie Ling, are you okay ? " Gabriel crouched down to his level.
Xie Ling's skin wasn't just burnt, it glowed a faint gold and white color. Its light was like dying embers. Seeing Xie Ling's shivering, it must still hurt.
" Sorry. " Gabriel muttered.
It was the first time Gabriel apologized after the Rebirth spell. Having almost constantly been forced into apologizing in his previous life had been almost insurmountable to his pride and he had promised himself that he would never again have to say sorry to some arrogant, annoying noble.
But Xie Ling was the furthest from arrogant or annoying. If anyone deserved Gabriel's respect, it was him. And Gabriel found that he truly meant his apology this time.
He tried to use Heal again. But it was useless. He felt powerless, watching Xie Ling shaking in pain because of him.
" Hey, you shouldn't apologize for that. We were fighting, never apologize for giving your all in a fight. I may be weak, but I'm not weak enough for you to hold back. " Xie Ling stated firmly despite his shaking.
He seemed to feel strongly about this. Gabriel sighed. He was still sorry. Then the rest of Xie Ling's word registered. Instead of guilt, Gabriel was now full of indignation.
" Weak ? " Gabriel glared at Xie Ling.
If he hadn't been injured, Gabriel would have shaken him by the shoulder. Gabriel had to heal himself every second of this fight. If Xie Ling was weak, then so was Gabriel, and he refused to let anyone call him weak.
" I mean, you did just saw me nearly faint because of a single attack of yours. " Xie Ling whispered, he tilted his head so that his hair would fall over his face, as if trying to hide from the world.
Gabriel could still see his ears flushing red. He usually found it cute, but this was different. It wasn't just simple embarrassment on Xie Ling's face, but humiliation.
He frowned. Xie Ling had nothing to be humiliated at. His skills were nothing to scoff at. Gabriel had many unfair advantages and Xie Ling still managed to keep up.
Gabriel usually didn't care about his lack of social skills, but he hated his incompetence right now. He wanted to say something to stop Xie Ling's ashamed expression. He wanted to comfort him, to make him smile or laugh. But the words weren't just stuck in his throat, he had absolutely no idea what to say.
" So what ? We sparred and you got hurt. It could have happened to anyone. You're allowed to feel and show your pain. " Gabriel tried to comfort him, awkwardly patting the other on the back.
Somehow, through a miracle Gabriel could never hope to understand, his words did calm down Xie Ling. His pain also seemed to have died down, his shaking had stopped.
" Yeah ? " Xie Ling smiled softly at him. His eyes crinkled slightly.
He noticed his eyes were shiny, a bit of redness under his eyes. But he was still smiling, a genuine smile. Gabriel wanted to draw that smile, to have it forever burned into his mind.
" Yeah. " Gabriel whispered, afraid that speaking too loud would break the moment.
" Can you accompany me to the infirmary? " Xie Ling asked.
But to Gabriel it felt like a confession. It felt like trust.
" Sure. " Gabriel held out his hand and helped Xie Ling get up.