"Ready to get your ass kicked, loser? You really should've followed the lead of the other J-Ranked trash and dropped out," Sneered Trey, as he began warming up.
"Sure, keep talking. Because I suspect you aren't going to have a whole lot to say once this is over," I responded with an icy smile, before adding as I turned my gaze to the side of the training room, "By the way, why are you here, Instructor Glenn?"
"Come on, with the amount of animosity that's been festering between you two throughout the year, there's no way I could allow this to happen unsupervised," He sighed in response, looking nervous and stressed out.
"Yeah, good call, I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of them actually tried to kill each other," Added Ariella wryly.
I mean...she's not wrong.
The fight hasn't even started yet, and my Rage Meter is already at three percent. As much as I hate this bastard, I shouldn't use Obliterate on him, I really shouldn't...I know I shouldn't, but I'm not all that confident I'll be able to hold back in the heat of the moment.
I was using a wooden short-sword, upon Glenn's insistence. Well, it'd be bad if I ended up killing Trey, accidentally or otherwise, so I didn't object too much.
"Alright, let's do this thing!" Exclaimed Trey, an eager look on his face.
Oh, I can't wait to see how his expression twists and changes in a moment or two. This is long overdue, I should've done this a long time ago.
"I'm ready too," I called out, cracking my knuckles.
"Okay, then. I'll count down from five to one, the bout starts on one. And when I say stop, the bout ends, no complaints. If you don't listen, I'll have to stop the fight by force, and you don't want it to come to that," He warned us, before adding, "Am I clear?"
"Crystal," I responded, as I spun my wooden blade around a couple of times in my hand.
"Yeah, I got it, let's just get this started already," Added Trey impatiently.
"Alright, I'll begin the countdown, in five. Four. Three. Two. One!"
"[Water Arrow Scattershot]!" Chanted Trey, unleashing a barrage of water arrows towards me.
"
"Try this on for size, [Water Whip]!" He exclaimed, a tendril of water extending out over the end of his staff, before he swung his weapon across, whipping the tendril towards me rapidly.
The water whip zipped through the air, honing in on my left side, before I swallowed up the end of the whip with Drain, giving him a condescending smirk as I met his gaze.
"What's the matter? Is that really the best you can do?"
"You fucking-...! [Grand Water Cannon]!" He snapped, swinging his jaws open before unleashing a rapid, pressurized blast of water towards me.
Once again, I swallowed up his Spell with Drain, guzzling down every last drop, his right eyebrow twitching in frustration and disbelief as I nullified his third Spell in a row.
Okay, this is just sad.
I know Drain is a pretty damn effective counter against Mages, especially one on one, but still...I really thought he'd manage to put up more of a fight than this.
"Alright, ready to give up yet? I mean, really, surely you've realized that you're going to lose at this point, don't you?" I sighed, as I came to a stop and rested my wooden sword over my shoulder.
"H-Huh? Don't...don't you fucking mock me, you damned loser! I will NOT lose to your cheap parlor tricks, you're just J-Rank trash, you don't even have a Hunter Class! I'll crush you with my strongest Spell, take this...[Water Spiral]!" He roared furiously, raising both hands towards me as a mass of water formed in front of his hands, swirling with immense speed as he compressed and pressurized it, a seething look in his eyes as he took aim.
I let out a sigh, before raising Drain in front of myself as he fired the Spell, a rapid, drilling pillar of water barreling towards me through the air, closing in on me in the blink of an eye.
This is a powerful Spell, I'd have trouble dealing with it if I didn't have Drain in my arsenal. But I do, so too bad for him.
I swung open the jaws of Drain as his Spell closed in on me, swallowing it up with ease, before raising my eyebrow slightly as the attack petered out, to see Trey charging straight towards me, leaping forward as he closed in.
"Let's see you use that trick at this range! [Water Arrow]!" He chanted gleefully, looking assured of his victory.
Hm, a surprisingly clever tactic, by his standards. But not good enough. I don't even need to use Drain anymore.
I deactivated my Skill before swiftly tilting my body across as he fired the water arrow at my chest, which whizzed past my left bicep, his eyes widening before he let out a yell as he lunged at me.
I swiftly stepped forward and swung my knee up, slamming it square onto his chin, a slight clack ringing out as I snapped his mouth shut upon impact, his teeth colliding against each other as his head jerked back sharply.
"Wh-Why, you-...oof!" He began, before I cut him off with a swift strike to the side of his face, whipping my arm across with a flick of my wrist and slamming my wooden sword against his right cheek.
His head snapped across to the left upon impact, a trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth as he stumbled back shakily.
Looks like Glenn isn't stepping in yet...maybe he's also of the opinion that Trey needs a serious ego check. But he'll definitely put an end to the fight if I just start beating on the guy.
Alright, then, I'll end this with one last strike, and I'll make sure to inflict as much pain as possible.
"I won't be needing this anymore," I remarked as I set the wooden sword down, before adding, "One last chance. Give up. Because this next hit is going to hurt like hell."
"G-Go fuck yours-...!" He began as he started to raise his right hand towards me.
I swiftly shot forward, striking his forearm with the back of my left fist and knocking his arm away, before I drove my right hand straight towards the middle of his torso, chanting under my breath as my fingertips pressed into his solar plexus...
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