A/N: Double Release!
After almost a week of toiling away with school and this chapter, I'm back with a double release!
Not much to say other than, happy reading :D
Asher POV
—Counting down! Three!
The host must have thought we were ready as he started counting down.
Taking this as a signal, I readied myself, sending mana to various parts of my body, scrutinizing its every movement, my concentration on adjusting and finetuning each of my acupoints.
Though I didn't notice, it seemed that the movement of my mana elicited a reaction in Chicken as he finally broke out of his lackadaisical and arrogant stance and assumed a more combat-appropriate one. He then began chanting his first spell.
—Two!
Feeling that appropriate adjustments had been made, I readied my sword, readying my body.
I breathed in deeply, closing my eyes, emptying my mind of idle thoughts.
—One!
One hit.
That was all this fight was going to be.
"Huuuuu..."
I exhaled and looked at Chicken with clear eyes.
My center of gravity leaned forward, and I dug my feet into the ground.
—Begin!
—KRA-BOOM
The second the 'n' of 'begin' was uttered, I shot forward, accompanied by the sound of roaring thunder. It was a movement technique that I developed named based on a move in a novel I read back on Earth.
Flash Thunder.
The concept was somewhat similar to the technique in the novel, and I thought it was fitting considering how similar the sound was to actual thunder.
Anyways, I couldn't get it to work the same way in the novel as it seemed I lacked the mental thinking space to control the mana for it. So, I created my own method to replicate it.
My method of replication's principle was simple enough. An instant emission of mana throughout the entirety of my body and using my control over my acupoints to control the direction of kinetic energy to orient me in the right direction.
You see, I wasn't smart enough to know about anatomy or science and other things to come up with fancy techniques. The best I could do was just brute force my way through all of my problems. It definitely wasn't the best method, but at least it worked.
It was crude, but at least it let my somewhat rival Virion's speed when he became Black Panther, albeit momentarily.
In any case, back to the fight...
The second I launched forward with the resounding crash of thunder, I threw my arms, swinging the flat of my sword.
Resistance and drag pulled my every movement back, like shackles pulling my body. The raging winds pushed against my face.
But years of cultivating my proficiency with this technique had helped me get used to this sensation.
Then, mid-swing, I could feel the sensation of the impact of hitting Chicken's body.
I circulated some more mana into my arms and pushed my arms with as much strength as I could muster.
Unfortunately for me, Newton's third law held true, even in a fantasy world.
The force I exerted on striking Chicken was equally exerted on me.
—Ba-BOOM
Two raucous noises busted out, resounding across Ingesseum.
I flew back, but practice and mana control helped me land on my feet, coincidentally in the exact location from which I launched myself.
However, Chicken's fate wasn't nearly as generous.
The second and much louder noise was the result of Chicken being smashed against the stadium wall.
"""..."""
"..."
It seemed I managed to silence the crowd once more.
—H-how... w-wha...
The host's job was to announce, but it was also to commentate and hype the match. However, seeing as how the match was over in under 5 seconds, it seemed he could only sputter incomprehensible blather.
—T-the uh... It seems that contestant Aureus teleported!?
Fortunately, the host managed to get it back together.
And also, yes, this was the true nature of Flash Thunder. It wasn't just an incredible short-range burst of speed but a technique that gave an illusion of teleportation.
This aspect was something that I stole from Virion's Black Panther movements.
In that form, Virion takes advantage of the shadows surrounding him and melds into them, and also utilizes his opponent's blind spots; he's practically rendered invisible when he moves at his fast speeds.
I did the same, but rather than shadows, I 'melded' into the sound.
The loud boom was what grabbed people's attention, and sure, it came from me, but people's attention and focus weren't on 'me' but rather the 'sound.' This, coupled with my own instantaneous movement, gave all the onlookers and my opponent the illusion that I had 'teleported.'
It was especially bad for my opponent since I was also using his blind spots, and with the speed, I was moving at, they probably legitimately thought that I teleported.
"Keuk."
Then, I coughed lightly and felt something warm dribble out the side of my mouth. I rubbed the blood and winced. My child's body wasn't yet suited for extreme acceleration, and this was one of the side effects.
Of course, I'd normally be worried, but Virion told me that it was the same when he first got his Black Panther form and that the body adjusts in due time.
"Ehew."
I sighed, bowed (a customary practice after duels in Elenoir), and walked away, the world silent all the while.
**
3rd Person POV
"..."
The VIP box for the human royal family was quiet, with its occupiers making various expressions of shock.
Priscilla had forgotten her noble decorum and was staring with a half-opened jaw.
Curtis's reaction was especially noteworthy, seeing as his eyes widened to the point they looked like plates, and his jaw was dropped as far as it could go.
As for Kathlyn, who had been too young to understand the significance of what just happened, she was glaring at her older brother. Her trust in what she had believed to be an infallible brother had just been betrayed.
In any case, Blaine was the quickest to recover after staring with widened eyes and called out to his knight.
"...Varay."
"Y-yes, my liege."
It seemed that even the usually indifferent Varay with her frozen face had been shocked as her eyes were narrowed and her brows furrowed as though disbelieving of what she just witnessed.
Blaine didn't see this as his eyes were still glued on the figure of the elvish child fiddling with his broken wooden sword.
"...What was that?"
"I... I apologize, sir. I do not know."
At this, Blaine furrowed his brows. Varay was the strongest knight in the kingdom who could even rival the current Lances as a high silver core mage, but even she couldn't exactly tell what that was.
"...But I may have an idea."
"Let's hear it."
"...While I do not know how he managed to move at such a speed, I believe that he used a misdirection technique to replicate teleportation."
"...?"
"It's a technique that I faced once fighting a member of 'that organization.'"
"? Ah, right, that elvish assassin."
Blaine remembered an old report about an assassin that an old team that Varay was deployed in during her younger years encountered.
"Yes, they used a technique where they would artificially cause one's attention to focus on something other than them and use said person's newly formed blind spot in both senses and vision to attack."
Blaine pondered for a moment. He wasn't too familiar with how fighting worked as he almost never participated in battle. Still, he managed to figure out the fundamental essence of that move.
"...So, what your saying is that the technique gives the illusion of teleportation rather than being actual teleportation."
"Yes, sir. Instantaneous movement is often not actual teleportation but rather a subjective interpretation of one's senses."
"But wasn't that a technique that was used solely by the leader of 'that organization?'"
"...Yes, sir."
Blaine glanced at Varay who's brows were knitted with concern.
"...That's what I find concerning."
"..."
Indeed. If the documents provided by Elenoir were genuine, then that child was merely 6 years of age but already employing advanced techniques used by the leader of 'that organization,' an organization that had given the humans an endless headache from way back during the war.
"Tch."
Blaine clicked his tongue in tiredness and rested his forehead in his hand.
"It seems that this 'peace' is no longer a mere economic pursuit..."
He paused, his eyes already returned to the figure of the elf, who was casually walking back to the waiting room.
After a brief moment, he continued with a grave face
"...but a necessity."
Varay nodded, her eyes similarly on the elf, a similar grim expression coloring her face.
"...Yes, sir."
Varay Aurae was a powerful mage, and she would only get more powerful after being Knighted. So powerful that she would be considered 'the strongest' but right now, this terrifying future wave... felt threatened by a coming tsunami.
**
Asher POV
[Round 2, Match 7]
It was a new day and a new round for the tournament.
I had any internal injuries patched up, and the guy I sent a step away from death was also healed without issue. I heard he's doing fine now, which was a relief.
In any case, today's round ended in a similar fashion as the last one... well, a little differently, of course.
My opponent, a dwarf who went by the name Tahar Phabion, a solid red core, seemed to have tried to come up with a counter strategy of some kind. He conjured a sphere around himself with earth magic in an attempt to try and block my attack.
I guess he thought that if he could avoid direct contact, he would be able to somehow beat me via conjuring while safely hidden away.
Unfortunately for him, the power that I could generate with swinging at point blank range was still sizable enough to the point where I could launch his hamster ball shield like he was a ball in a pinball machine before he could even begin to manipulate mana.
—TONG UAAAAA BOOM WAWAWAAAAAAA CRASH WAAAAAAAAA BOING WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUHH
His scream rang out from inside his little ball after I smacked him with my sword like I were swinging a baseball bat and as he bounced around.
His sphere eventually broke after the 4th bounce (which was honestly quite impressive), and he harmlessly fell to the floor. He didn't seem as injured as the last guy, but he was probably super sick.
—Ueeeek
...Yup.
I did a kind of half-bow half-nod thing and turned to leave.
**
[Round 3, Match 4]
My opponent this time was an elvish girl who went by the name Ygritte Treelia.
...She surrendered the second the announcer said, "begin."
Now usually, when contestants surrendered, they were booed, but no one said anything this time.
We bowed and left through our respective corridors.
**
[Round 4 — Quarterfinals, Match 3]
Quarterfinals.
I was expecting more of a challenge here. This round shouldn't be a place where people could get to with mere coincidence. They should be in a much higher class compared to the others I've fought so far. Basically, I was expecting someone who could react at the very least.
But, contrary to my expectations, this one seemed to have gotten to the quarterfinals with luck.
Just from their outer appearance, one could tell that they were weak in spirit. Pigeon toed, massive thick spectacles (no offense to you lovely glasses wearing people, y'all are just as awesome as anyone else), and a timid demeanor that screamed a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem.
However, rather than being disappointed, I ended up growing a bit sentimental.
The sight couldn't help but make me remember that person. They couldn't move a muscle when they were facing death.
"..."
Perhaps... I should help this girl out.
First, I examined her. She was a dark orange core conjurer.
...Dark Orange at her age?
"...Asher. Asher Aureus."
I gave her my name. It was a customary practice from my old world to share names with those you acknowledged.
"Fue? Ah! Um... Diane. D-Diane B-B-Bleeker! 16!"
She seemed somewhat flustered.
...Damn, and she has the same name as my mom too.
At this point, there was just no way that I couldn't not help her out.
...The only problem was that I only knew one way to help this sort of thing... Oh well :D
"I'll go all out then."
"Fue!?"
"...And stop that 'fue' thing."
"Ah! M-my apologies!"
... Doesn't she know I'm only 6? I'm a whole decade younger than her; there's no reason for her to apologize.
However, as I had other pressing matters on my mind, I shrugged off the thoughts and began readying my acupoints and mana.