My New Life in TBATE

The Duel

"Well, lets get this duel started. If you are ready Royal Guard Lyle?" I say while giving a tilt of the head towards Lyle who had finally dusted himself off and drew his sword.

"You'll pay for making me disgrace myself in front of the King and Queen." He said through gritted teeth as he held his sword out in front. I just laughed.

"Haha no, sir Lyle, I believe you did that all by yourself." I lowered into stance with my left foot forward and legs couched, my body was turned sideways slightly with my hands spread an equal distance on the staff. It looked like I should be holding a spear and honestly that's how I planned to start the fight with this thing.

Another guard walked up off to the side of us and raised his right hand.

"Fighters ready?!" He spoke loudly, gaining nods from me and Lyle.

"Fight!" He yelled as he swung his hand down, and I charged towards Lyle first. He brought his sword up to slash downwards but I was too quick and hit him with 4 thrusts to several points on his body. He quickly pulled his arm and sword down to cover his body before finally deflecting an attack. Now he's reset his stance to be tighter, a smart decision when dealing with a speedy opponent. Less openings and able to react quicker.

This time he comes to me I decide to defend his blows, each being deflected it harmless sliding down my staff.

"I'll break that staff of yours before this is done." He growled at me.

"Hehe, if you did that then I really would acknowledge your strength this staff is made from ironwood that only grew sparsely in the times of the Beast Era, it was further refined into the steel wood you see before you. Looks can be deceiving as I'm sure you've noticed with this fight."

He went for a horizontal slash so i decided to prove it, our weapons collided and while my staff displaced the shock of the blow his sword bounced off and he was briefly stunned from the contact. This time though he willed Wind mana into his blade and renewed his attack.

"Oh? I didn't think this would be a battle of elements. Lets see how much it helps you."

I'm anger he charges forward and goes for a stab toward my chest, sword coated in wind mana. Out of the corner of my eyes I see Curtis and Kathyln with wide eyes thinking I was about to be skewered. Setting my hands to one side of the staff I swing it as if it was a bat and knock his sword off course. Rather than try to stop the momentum of my staff I let it carry around and spin it around over my head in one hand before bringing it down fast.

It seemed to bend like a whip from the force and lashed out at the sword in his hands. Upon impact it sprung back up and turned with a spin as I heard the sword drop to the ground, holding my right hand up to guide the staff while left is still at the end strike out with pure mana fueling my arms and staff. The resulting strike met wind infused arms, but pierced straight through the wind barrier they created.

Sounds of bones snapping resounded in the training yard as Lyle was sent flying through the air before being caught by a gust of wind that stopped his momentum. However he didn't get gracefully brought down, no I was too petty for that. I raised him up slightly, barely enough to notice and then sent a gust from above to push him down toward the ground. As he hit the air was knocked from his lungs, he got to his knees holding his arms to his chest as he coughed for air.

"I'm sorry for your guard young Prince, but this is the difference between normal people and S rank adventurers." As I said that I saw a healer rush forward and begin healing Lyle's arms, the King stood and his family followed.

"Thank you for the demonstration Rez. I look forward to your participation in the tournament." I give a sweeping bow and toss the staff into my dimension ring. Kathyln looked at me with sparkling eyes, but impassive face. I could only chuckle inwardly at the situation.