Wizardly

Chapter Thirty-Two: Spectator

He seemed to think about it for a moment and sighed. He then followed Master into the open space of the Training Grounds. Captain and I shared a look and followed close behind them.

Not only was Zane, and Master here but there were two others as well. Diana and Oliver. Well he did say he was trying to get more people and make my day even harder.

"Before we start we have a visitor and he would like to see why were letting Tyrian fight. Now who's up for going one on one with him for a bit?" Captain asked.

"You're really facing him off with magic users? Not a single one of them are powerless like him," the other Guild Master said.

"Why don't we keep up with training while we fight and tag out like we did yesterday?" Zane offered.

"Sounds good to me, Captain," I replied and slid my shirt off.

"Alright, well I guess Zane can go first then," Captain said though he looked nervous. Zane and I made our way to the center of the field. Master threw me a wooden sword saying since this was a fight I should at least arm myself. I caught it and nodded. It's still training so a real sword might hurt someone, but it was better than nothing I guess. Not to mention it would be like a lightning rod against Zane if I used a real metal sword.

I noticed Captain say something to the other Guild Master and he shot me a scrutinizing look. The guy doesn't even know me. I felt Zane call forward his powers and I instantly went on defensive. Since this is a condoned fight I doubt he's going to go easy on me. He made the first move and came at me with his lightning fist. I dodged out of his range but still felt the tingles from it grazing me.

He started with his lighting like whips and I managed to dodge them. This isn't any good I'm just dodging, I need to find and opening and attack him. I have to be really careful about his encircling attack like he used before. I was lucky to find an opening last time, but I might not be so lucky again. Just as he was about to use his attack Master stepped in and switched out with Zane. Zane didn't look to happy at the interruption.

Both Master and I grabbed real swords and took our stances across from each other. He called his powers and instantly attacked me. I managed to block his sword with my own and he smiled as he launched his foot out. I managed to block it with my free arm and we squared off again. That hurt quite a bit. Good to see he's still taking me seriously.

For the next twenty minutes we continued like that, neither one giving any ground and meeting each other's attacks blow-for-blow. When it was time to switch out we both had to stop our attacks and pull our swords back.

Oliver took over and never really facing him before I was on guard. What was his powers again? I think it has something to do with water, maybe ice? I felt his power slowly rise, just as the temperature in the area slowly started to drop. So I was right the second time, his power is ice? I instantly went on guard knowing he had to be up to something.

"Your awfully jumpy, what's got you so on guard?" Master asked. My guess is that since they were a little bit away from us they haven't noticed it yet. I just ignored his question and kept my eyes on Oliver. No way was I getting distracted right now. Suddenly a burst of freezing cold air came from him and I could see the ground around him freezing rapidly. I'd better get my distance, it might freeze me too. I kept backing away until I was sure his attack ended.

"Not bad staying out of it's reach, however not only is that an attack that would have frozen your feet too the ground, but it's also a good defensive attack. You see, now the ground is frozen solid and it'll make it very hard for you to attack and stay on your feet. However, since I'm used to the ice it won't slow me down one bit," Oliver said.

I kind of realized that already without him explaining it to me. It was a very good move on his part. Though I know how to skate it'd be a lot different and more difficult in regular shoes, than it would be on skates. So how do I find a way through his defense? I can't just stand here and wait for the time to be up and going around the ice on solid ground would be too predictable.

I'll have to face him head on and hope I don't fall and that I get the hang of it quickly. If not, I'll loose this fight and I can't afford to do that with both Guild Masters and Master Faraday watching. Oliver called out that I shouldn't let myself get distracted over thinking things. As soon as he spoke I noticed the Sharp ice shards coming at me and barely managed to dodge them.

Though dodging his attack landed me on the ice and I had to catch myself from sliding further. As soon as I got my footing though more shards came at me and I found myself dodging again. Too close that time. If it weren't for me slipping a little one of those might have actually landed a hit or at least grazed me. Damn, fighting on the ice IS a lot harder than I thought.

As I attacked him he dodged my punch as he bent himself backwards and went up on both his hands. Using the ice and his momentum he spun and countered my attack with a kick. I managed to block it with my arm, but slid on the ice a little bit before I was able to get my footing and balance right. He's really good and not just because of the ice. He's clearly had a lot of experience fighting and had a lot time to hone his battle strategy because of it.

"I'm impressed how well your doing staying on your feet. Most people who manage to dodge or even block my attacks have fallen on thier asses by now, leaving me an opening. You still have your guard up and I don't see an opening yet," he said. I shook my head at him.

"It wouldn't be training if it was easy. I like the challenge, it'd be no fun of I gave in that easily," I said.

"A battle isn't supposed to be fun, it's grueling and dangerous. You need to take this more seriously or you will die," He said and launched more ice spikes at me. There were a lot more than before and I slid on purpose in order to dodge them. The ice does come in handy for me as well.

We continued fighting and at one point when we both attacked at the same time and caught each other's punches. It was then we both seemed to realize something and we backed off from each other. It's been well over the 20 minutes and Captain hasn't stopped the fight.

Looking at them I realized why. The other Guild Master kind of had his arm out to block Captain's way like he had stopped him from interfering. Why would he do that though?