Rio glared at the Titan. The Titan stared back.
And…
The Titan ran with incredible speed, its body moving like a professional sprinter. It then launched a devastating kick with its right leg.
BOOM!
The boulder that had been supporting Rio's body was shattered into pieces. The destructive force of the kick penetrated 10 meters behind it.
However, Rio wasn't there. A moment before the Titan's attack would have connected, he used a flash step to his right side, so the kick only hit the boulder.
"You bastard! Calm down, I'm not going anywhere, damn it!" Rio said, caught up in the hype of the fight.
The Titan immediately turned its body toward Rio. They stared at each other.
"Don't underestimate me. Even if I look like an idiot, I'm still a graduate of Ostrivien Academy."
"Let's start round two, you ugly bastard. You bald freak."
The Titan immediately rushed toward Rio, and Rio did the same, but with a different technique than before. As Rio moved toward the Titan, he suddenly blurred. Rio became four people; in other words, he was using his lightning clone technique.
The lightning clone technique was not easy, as it required immense concentration to control all the clones. The clones' vision was connected to the original, so in other words, Rio had five points of view at one time.
The Titan attacked with both hands, but Rio's clones instantly dodged. The five of them surrounded the Titan.
Rio's swords began to vibrate at a high frequency. All five Rios attacked at the same time, slashing at its legs, thighs, calves, chest, and back. The confused Titan could only defend itself by protecting its eyes.
"Thunderclap Blade!" A slash aimed at the Titan's neck tore its flesh but did not penetrate the bone.
The Titan's eardrums ruptured, and blood poured from its ears. The Titan immediately began a spinning motion. It hardened its hands and spun its entire body rapidly like a storm. Automatically, Rio and his clones retreated.
Rio just waited for the Titan to finish.
"Self-defense, huh? Your face is already ridiculous, but that spinning just makes you look even sillier, haha," Rio taunted.
The Titan stopped, standing and panting heavily. Its body was covered in green blood, and its wounds were crackling with electricity. Its regenerative power wasn't working because of the electrical attacks from Rio, which were disrupting its nervous system.
Rio raised his middle finger and said, "Come on, you pig. Show me your dominance."
"Since you won't come forward, I'll go first."
Slashes from an intermediate technique can't break its bones, Rio monologued. I have to use an advanced-level technique.
Rio leaped as high as he could and then dove down like a lightning meteorite, slamming into the titan and the ground with a massive explosion.
"Heaven's Flashfall!"
BOOM!
Althair's Point of View - a few moments later
I saw Rio charge straight for that Titan, so I immediately began preparing a magic spell. I just needed to help him from a distance. But the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I glanced to the side and saw three Titans running towards me, Alex, Alicia, and Clara. They were carrying massive hammers made of Orcanium iron.
I immediately cast the spell 'Wind Jump' for myself and my friends. A powerful gust of wind appeared at our feet, making us levitate upwards. As we hovered, the three Titans now stood where we had been.
Then I canceled the Wind Jump spell. We shot down from above and landed on one foot, except for me. I landed carrying Clara in a bridal style.
It's not that I was trying to take advantage of the situation, but she's a healer. There's no way she could land without injury from a height of 20 meters.
...But couldn't Clara have just cast a protective spell?
Okay, I didn't think that far ahead. You can call me whatever you want.
"Alex, Alicia, can you two handle those two Titans by yourselves?"
"Of course, we can."
"Don't worry. Have you forgotten where we came from?"
Yes, I shouldn't have been worried. After all, back at the Academy, we had each defeated A+-rank monsters on our own.
"The one you should be worried about is Rio. He always underestimates his enemies," Alex said.
"Yeah, you're right. It's been a bad habit of his since he was 9, haha," Alicia responded with a small laugh.
Alicia and Alex then went in different directions, leaving just me and Clara to face the remaining Titan.
"Stay back, but not too far. I'm afraid an enemy might come from behind you and I won't be able to help."
"Okay," Clara replied, her cheeks blushing.
I knew... I'm no amateur. I've made many women fall in love with me since my time at the academy. Alicia also fell in love with me, but she never confessed because she was afraid it might strain our friendship, so she chose to remain my friend.
Sometimes I wonder if this is a blessing or a curse. I can get beautiful women with my face, but I find it hard to find true love because most girls only see my face and my talent.
The Titan immediately ran at me, swinging its hammer.
If you're curious about who would win in a fight between a Swordsman and a Mage, I'll tell you.
In the Swordsman role, there are 6 tiers:
6. Apprentice
5. Knight
4. Advanced
3. Master
2. Grandmaster
* King
In the Mage role, there are 7 tiers:
7. Novice
6. Midvice
5. Advanced
4. Adept
3. Archmage
2. Sage
* Transcendent
If a Mage has not yet reached Tier 4 {Adept}, the fight is almost certainly won by the Swordsman. Why? Because Mages from Tiers 7 to 5 need time to cast spells. So, before the Mage can finish casting, the Swordsman will strike first, canceling the spell. Lower-level Mages require full concentration to cast spells. But what about Mages from Tiers 4 to 1? They no longer need it, because casting spells is like breathing to them. They can cast spells while moving. And if a high-level Mage fights a high-level Swordsman, the fight will be won by the Mage.
Back to the present
As it swung its hammer at me, I changed the direction of the swing to the side so it wouldn't hit me.
How? I manipulated the wind around us. When the Titan realized its attack had missed, it launched a kick at me. But before it could, I pointed my hand at the ground and instantly cast Wind Jump on my hand, allowing me to immediately retreat backward.
I'm not actually that fast, but this is experience. I already know how a Titan moves. So, the moment I redirected the hammer, I was already thinking about the next potential attack the Titan would make. Titans are aggressive; they use their entire body to fight. Since we were at close range, I had already figured that the biggest potential attack would come from its legs.
I summoned a sword in my right hand, not made of wind, but of pure mana, just like Arthur did in the previous chapter. My sword shone with a white light. I am a Tier 4 {Adept} Mage. From the beginning, this fight was already mine to win.
My body glowed with a yellow light, indicating I had been buffed, and the Titan's body glowed a dark purple, indicating it had been debuffed.
I immediately attacked with a long-range strike. I swung my magic sword, and a blast of wind shot out from the slash toward the Titan.
Even though we're Mages, we can still fight with close-range weapons, just not as well as Swordsmen, and we can't use sword aura.
The Titan advanced while swinging its hammer to block my attacks. It couldn't block all of them; some of my attacks got through and wounded its body. But the wounds healed immediately, slowly but surely. It closed in on me and swung its hammer from top to bottom.
I immediately leaned my body to the side. And because its posture was low from the vertical attack, I immediately jumped onto its back.
BOOM!
The hammer smashed into the ground, shattering it on impact.
While I was on its back, I immediately stabbed both of its eyes with a short sword.
"AAAAAAGH!" (the Titan's roar)
I flipped my body around. I was on its back facing the back of its head, but now I was in front of its face, holding on with my legs wrapped around its neck.
Because it was roaring, its mouth was wide open. I put my hand inside its mouth. This was actually a very dangerous move; one small mistake and my hand would be bitten off. But I am Althair von Kaelvros—the son of a respected Duke. I've been doing dangerous things like this for a long time.
Once my hand was inside, I created a magic weapon. Not a sword, but another object: a large, square box. Automatically, the Titan's head was instantly crushed.
And yeah, I won.