When your opponent has advanced reflexes and higher speed, the consequences of a momentary stun could indeed be fatal but...Just as Barkus relaxed for a moment to enjoy this sweet feeling of landing a hit on this unlikable kid, his own head suddenly forcefully turned, a heavy sound of impact followed by pain from the right side of his face. THIS BRAT!
He used that split second when Barkus let his guard down and the opening in his defense during the attack to counter his counter. Even with [Outer body Armour] he dislocated his jaw ! He completely disregarded his own damage to turn the tides.
After that diagonal slash had failed, this blackie used the remaining momentum to insert the sword into the ground. Even after getting hit he did not deviate and kept using the sword as a pivot to give him a flying roundhouse kick. Swordsmen don't kick !
[Rogue Sword Art : Second Stage]
Zen completed his rotation, landed back to his original position only to continue his barrage of hits, much faster than before. Barkus could only barely dodge this time while backing away and even so, long gnashes would decorate his face and arms from time to time from all the stabbing and slashing.
Frustrated beyond compare Barkus could not bear with it any further and stopped all of a sudden to take a solid stance and block. Just as the sword was about to make contact with his arms he shifted his hands to grab it tightly, a stinging pain came from his palms due to the hit but he paid it no attention as he directly pulled. Zen clearly did not expect this so his pace as well as whatever footing he had was disrupted and Barkus used this to land his second hit, a solid one in his gut that threw the small blackie several meters diagonally into the air.
He thought he finally managed to separate the kid and his black 'stick' that he now held in his hands but unfortunately what he held in his hands really was just a 'stick', a hollow stick in fact. The scabbard. A slick dark blade now protruded out of the hilt Zen held.
'UGGHHH ! Why won't you let it go !?'
Almost as if the answer his mental scream, Zen.. let it go. He threw it towards Barkus while still in mid air. *SLASH* It pierced Barkus's left shoulder and protruded through his back as blood spilled out like a fountain. Barkus fell to his knees.
In comparison Zen's condition looked much better. He flipped once in mid-air and landed safely on his feet. He spat out some blood and for the first time Barkus heard this brat's crisp yet low voice, "Surrender, it's your loss."
Indeed he was in no state to continue the battle. Even if he could ignore the extreme pain, he would not be able to use his left hand properly. A continuation of this intense battle would only make his injury much worse than it already is. Not to mention all the blood loss he would have every second he refuses medical attention. But...
Frustration and indignation filled his heart. This brat was at least two years younger than him. He didn't even use a speck of magic while he himself went about multi-casting three spells. He wouldn't accept this, he couldn't.
"AGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
He focused his mana on [Blessing] and [Nerve Strengthening] and rushed over in his anger.
[Physical Art : Second Stage]
Zen *sighed* once, side stepped and ruthlessly hit the back of his head.
That's the last thing Barkus remembered until he passed out. When he woke up, he found himself in a random clinic with his wallet missing and a small note -
[Send the rest of the money to the Adventurer's Guild]
...well, at least they were humane enough to pay the medical bill.
---
"You could have knocked him out the first time you closed the distance. Why injure him as such?"
"...He wanted a thrilling Duel. Not a one sided knockout."
(That seemed pretty one sided to me)
"But really, that was no 'D' ranked mission, it was a 'C', even almost 'B'! ...This is what happens when you take months old missions I guess."
Little did they know that they just crushed the strongest Second Year (their soon-to-be) Senior in The Academy.
YOU ARE READING
The Ascelan Vessel
FantasyMissing six years of memory since birth, Zen started his life with a very peculiar and incoherent first memory. But as he answers the callings of his soul, as instructed by his master, he is to soon find out that the circumstances behind his birth w...
