The Pillar of Enera

[Chapter 37] Wise - Starfire

I'll win this, Wise decided. At the beginning, he hadn't been confident. His opponent was Riley Wardoff, a nineteen year old who wielded a pair of gauntlets, amplifiers for 'granite'. When their match had begun, she'd leaped into the air and hadn't touched the ground since. From her aerial perch, she'd pummeled him with projectiles, none of which had hit. Sadly, Riley had avoided him just as effectively.

The issue wasn't her elevation. Radin had taught him to manipulate his weight. I might soon out jump Dawn. Regrettably, he couldn't change trajectory mid flight. Meanwhile, Riley's gloves had a range of thirty feet, letting her glide freely above her summoned rocks.

While he floundered, Riley had gone through a whole spectrum of attacks. First she'd summoned medium-sized blocks, flinging them downward. Next she'd materialized large slabs at a distance, right over his head. Finally, she'd resorted to her current troublesome strategy.

Dozens of pebbles were circling her then shooting forwards at frightening speeds. Leveraging telekinesis's strength at close range, the orbiting method produced the fastest velocities. Riley had boosted this further by shrinking her stones. She correctly judged only attacks too fast to dodge would work. He'd been forced to deploy his staff.

Radin believed in mastering the fundamentals. He'd begun by polishing everything Wise knew. With a drastic rise in potency, his weapon was now coated in a three inch negation aura and could penetrate most protections, including the hardening from martial arts. Unless faced with a ridiculous defense, a single strike was all he needed.

Alas, that was proving elusive. His opponent knew how to pace herself, and he'd begun fearing they were destined for a draw. Then, seconds ago, he'd seen the path.

Wise made his way under Riley while striking the granite she was using to levitate. The earth mage responded by raining down an avalanche. He weaved and parried through these projectiles. It's working. Riley was rising.

Once she was fifty feet up, Wise sprang. Riley reacted instantly, forming a large boulder to escape sideways. No sooner had it appeared that it collided with Wise's thrown staff. With her means of motion vanished, she watched in shock as her ankle was grabbed.

With a burst of necromancy, he quadrupled her weight. It'll last five seconds, which is enough. He pulled her close and leap upwards.

It's over. Plummeting, Riley flipped and readied both gauntlets. Once near the ground, she struggled to halt her momentum and managed a rough landing. Unfortunately, Wise was already standing next to her, staff in hand. He'd jumped off the force field dome, caught his weapon, and touched down at the same time. Still weighed down, there was nothing Riley could do. Wise prepared his winning strike.

"I concede." Riley resigned.

Cheering exploded, and a booming voice rang out.

"WE HAVE A WINNER. THE WISE NINJA PREVAILS AGAIN. RILEY WASN'T ABLE TO WARD HIM OFF!"

For some lamentable reason, this announcer had a fondness for bad puns. Wardoff is a tragic last name for someone who fights at a distance.

"I had a draw in the bag." Riley lamented as they exited. "Then you positioned yourself underneath me and presented such a juicy target. I got greedy. What a mistake..."

Not holding a grudge, Riley was friendly and open. The two chatted a bit before Wise descended to the Obsidian Cavern. It's the faster route with my leaping ability. More inconspicuous too. Rumors were swirling over Cedric's banishment, and he preferred avoiding attention.