Chapter 366 - Three Minutes

  Kai raised his aching arms to meet the longsword whistling for his left shoulder—a dark gleam cutting the peaceful meadow.

  Blades clashed.

  The impact rattled down his wrists as he strained to deflect the force, Body Augmentation woven through bone and muscle. The strike carried a fraction of Elijah’s earlier test—still enough to make his arms throb painfully.

  “Can’t we—”

  The black steel cut toward his ribs—the only diplomacy was the ring of blades.

  “Foes won’t wait for your convenience.” Elijah lunged at him, gaze calm and assessing.

  If he weren’t busy avoiding getting skewered, Kai might’ve laughed. How many times had he heard that line, just before being pummeled into the sand?

  Despite using less Strength and Dexterity than him, the gap in skills and experience was overwhelming. Elijah moved with the elegance of a dancer and the ruthlessness of a warrior. Jab. Down thrust. Feint. Counter. Leg slash. Every swing seamlessly flowed into the next, his longsword striking an extension of his body. No wasted motion or warning in his posture.

  Shi—

  Kai parried a jab, twisted and ducked beneath the following slash. The dark blade sang above his head, close enough to blow his hair.

  The clangor of steel swallowed his curses. He shifted his stance to block the next strike. His surging mana drowned the burn in his arms. Hallowed Intuition alerted him of angles and traps. A shallow cut opened on his forearm, though the whispers remained strangely faint.

  “Good speed and instincts,” Elijah noted dryly as he methodically pushed him toward the meadow’s edge. “You’ve neglected your Swordsmanship, though. A blade isn’t just a lump of sharpened metal to swing around. Watch your footwork. Put some intent into it. Is this everything you’ve learned in four years? What’s your plan to beat me?”

  Fuck— you!

  Kai glowered through his panting. Mana flared through his legs as he leaped away from the tree cornering him. His boots skidded on the damp grass, ripping the ground to regain balance. The cold air burned in his lungs. He backed toward the creek, eyes locked on his opponent.

  How long had it been? Twenty, thirty seconds, if that?

  “Tired already?” Elijah strode with unhurried steps, smirk tugging at his lips—the bastard was enjoying himself. “Come, show me that fabled genius.”

  Kai rolled his shoulders, sweaty fingers tightening around the hilt. He had no breath to waste on words or the unfairness of these rules.

  If Elijah aimed to win, he wouldn’t stand a chance. But beyond the duel, this was a spar between master and student, a test and a lesson. Like on the shore of the estate, the butler would push his limits, only finishing him early if he slipped. That and match him if Kai escalated with spells and skills.

  Without pacing himself, he’d never last three minutes.

  Spirits, I’m so dead.

  His heel sank into the silt of the burbling creek, cutting off his retreat. On the opposite bank, the meadow rose steeply, overgrown with weeds and shrubs.

  The instant he glanced away, Elijah was upon him, silent as a shadow. His blade fell in a blur.

  Kai narrowly managed to raise his guard to parry, point angled down. Earth mana surged through his sword, coating the steel in a dull sheen that increased its solidity. He absorbed the impact through his legs, channeling Water and Shadow to slip inside the butler’s guard.

  His cloaked sword slashed at the smug bastard—and missed.

  With a sidestep, Elijah tilted his head, letting the strike graze his jaw. He rubbed his chin, the ghost of a smile on his face. “If you wanted to help me shave, you could’ve just asked.”

  Funny. Let me shave your ego.

  Unwilling to lose the initiative, Kai charged. Earth and Water lent supernatural strength and flexibility to his strikes. He abandoned Shadow, seeing the shroud was useless against Elijah. His shimmering blade hissed through the air and tore the ground—yet failed to find its mark.

  “Elemental Swordsman, eh?” Elijah shifted so the strikes seemed to miss by design. “Not a terrible choice. You have the affinities, but you haven’t practiced much with it. Earth is more than hitting harder. It’s stability and momentum. Especially when you combine it with Water. You’re hindering your own swings.”

  The butler continued lecturing as he dismantled each blow. A jab and two swift swings drove Kai back to the defensive. Even more humiliating, the man’s advice actually helped.subtly improving how he wove mana into his strikes.

  Usually, his fights either ended too quickly or were too dangerous to engage Elemental Swordsman in close quarters. A whole field of untapped potential opened before him—how to draw out the different elemental aspects, switch and layer them so they complemented instead of clashed.

  Calling his previous use of the skill sloppy was generous. His face would have burned with embarrassment if his focus weren’t consumed by the fight.

  His sword struck harder and faster, yet it hardly slowed Elijah’s assault. Cuts and grazes bloomed across his bloodied sweater and pants. Every time Kai thought he’d found the rhythm, Elijah shifted the tempo. He could see what he did wrong, but fixing his mistakes would take longer than the heartbeats between clashes—and even then, it wouldn’t be enough.

  Dammit.

  “Not quite, but better,” Elijah said, and his praise somehow stung more than his black blade. “You’ve kept up with your elemental magic. With a few months of practice, you might be halfway decent. Maybe. Tell me, is your skill Swords or Swordsmanship?” An incandescent line across Kai’s shoulder punctuated the question. “Which is it, brat?”

  He wants an actual answer?

  “Swordsman,” Kai rattled, anything to buy even half a second. His labored breaths came in heavy puffs of vapor. The heat from Kahali’s Retribution steadied his hands, making the cold a distant dream. His drenched clothes clung to his skin—sweat or blood, he couldn’t tell.

  “Swordsman. A variation of the same skill.” A sweeping strike forced Kai to leap back along the creek bank as Elijah advanced. “What is a swordsman?”

  Hands digging into the cold silt, he scrambled back to his feet. “I… am.”

  What’s he getting at—

  The pieces clicked together. Kai discovered his face could still flush with heat through the exhaustion. He’d treated the skill the same way he’d used the enchantments on the sea serpent sword—but the two weren’t the same.

  “Do you understand?” Elijah dashed, his longsword poised to carve a wide crescent through his head.

  I do.

  Without time to think, Kai ducked beneath the strike. Water mana flowed from the soles of his feet down his blade, an unbroken current, every muscle drawn with purpose. He surged into a low lunge, slashing at Elijah’s side, the motion carrying him past into a seamless follow-up at his back.

  Their swords locked for an instant—cold blue eyes met his.

  Elijah smiled. “Not entirely hopeless.”

  Thanks.

  A swordsman drove his whole body into each strike. If mana could enhance a blade, why not his flesh? With a grin, Kai channeled Earth mana to break the impasse. Scorching pain tore through his leg, his channels spasmed and cramped. He staggered back, twisting on the slick weeds to evade Elijah’s black blade.

  “Flesh isn’t as forgiving as steel.” Elijah pressed with two brutal swings that nearly ripped the sword from his grasp. “Nor is elemental mana as kind to sloppy control. You must crawl before you run.”

  Kai parried with a grunt—a fresh cut seared across his thigh.

  How had he never grasped the potential of Elemental Swordsman? And how many other skills had he failed to fully understand?

  His mastery of Body Augmentation and Luck had given him a glimpse, but the spar wasn’t the time and place to experiment. Kai steadied his sword to defend. Nature Healing remained on cooldown. Whispers steered his retreat through the trampled meadow, circling his foe to avoid direct clashes.

  How much… longer?

  Elijah seemed to guess his silent question. “One minute and twenty-four seconds.”

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  No… it can’t be… that short…

  Less than halfway through, and he was already wheezing. His body groaned. He dripped blood and sweat onto the grass, the sword’s hilt slick in his numb fingers.

  “Chin up, boy.” The Butler offered no respite. Each strike landed with pitiless accuracy. “Show me what else you’ve learned. I’ll be disappointed if you don’t last two minutes.”

  I’m so going to die.

  The clatter of steel impacts and labored breaths filled the meadow.

  I just have to delay. Not win.

  Kai grit his teeth. How much longer could he hold? Each blow forced him back a step. Kahali’s Retribution lent his limbs strength, but didn’t erase his wounds. Even superficial cuts would add up.

  I can’t delay longer.

  As the black blade descended again, five icicles formed around him, each at a different angle. They shot at the butler’s vitals, timed with his thrust.

  Showing no surprise, Elijah twisted off the ground. Two projectiles shattered against his sword, two flew wide, and the last he caught bare-handed—frost crackling across his glove.

  “Did you think only you had a danger skill?” He snorted. “Time we stepped things up.”

  The light filtering over the trees around the meadow dimmed as if the moons had eclipsed the sun. Shadows lengthened like hands clawing toward him, the woods falling into an eerie dusk.

  “Don’t lose too quickly.” The butler’s smirk caught the last gleam before he stepped back and melded into the shadows.

  Always so dramatic.

  His eyes and skills failed to track him. Kai stood alone in the meadow, stance steady, blade ready. Body Augmentation sharpened his senses.

  Nothing moved. Only him and the rustling trees.

  A whisper sent a shiver down his back.

  Kai spun, drawing his sword in a sweep. A dark gleam flashed to open his side. Earth steadied his blade as he redirected the jab and attempted a counter.

  The shrouded figure swatted his attack with ease and vanished under his direct stare.

  Earth mana pulsed through the ground. Kai swung wide, squinting at the coiling shadows. His strikes only managed to unbalance him—useless.

  Damn—

  The black sword cut at his knee.

  Kai jerked back, clumsily casting. Shattering ice bought him an instant. Steel crossed. A new graze opened on his ankle. A hail of ice needles pelted the meadow to no effect.

  Silence.

  Kai gave up enhancing his Perception. He might as well have closed his eyes for all the good they did. His senses slipped off Elijah like oil on water. Without Hallowed Intuition, he might not realize what hit him until the butler ran him through.

  Blades lunged at him from the darkness, slicing through his Water barriers without relent—left side, right shoulder, face, back, left side again.

  How does he move so fast?

  Kai’d lost count of his bleeding cuts—he definitely wouldn’t be returning the sweater to Rain. The rush from Kahali’s boon dulled the sting of his wounds. The butler had never been shy about punctuating lessons with bruises, though he’d clearly gone easy on him as a child.

  I just have to stall.

  Nature mana flooded the ground. Weeds and roots burst from the soil, a wall of writhing green grasping at everything within reach.

  If he couldn’t sense the butler, he’d just have to cover every angle.

  Where is he?

  A murmur warned him.

  How—

  Kai leapt over a low sweep as the brambles lashed at the retreating shadow. The vines looked powerless to lock onto Elijah unless he personally directed them. Was that Green grade Shadow Magic? A trick? Another skill?

  No time for the hows.

  The weeds bought him precious instants to react. Any denser, and they’d start hindering his own movement—not to mention draining his reserves.

  Just another—

  A sharper whisper.

  Kai threw himself into a dodge, steering the brambles to part for him. The black blade swept a wide arc, cutting weeds and grazing his back—well beyond the range Elijah’s sword should reach.

  His roll carried him down the slope toward the creek—away from his protective garden. He heaved for breath, legs tensing to dash back into his sanctuary when a jab cut off his path, lest he impale himself.

  Elijah wouldn’t let him return.

  Kai rose to his feet. Plants writhed at his feet, drinking his mana to bloom. He couldn’t keep regrowing them if he continued getting forced away. The more he poured in, the more he risked losing. Too little, and his defenses wouldn’t work.

  Breathe. Pace yourself. Focus on defending. Ration your mana.

  “Two minutes. Congrats, brat.” Elijah’s sniding tone echoed around the meadows. “Nice dodges. Your affinities have improved. But how long can you keep casting?”

  Long enough.

  “Mind… your… own mana…” Kai panted, keeping the rushing creek on his back. He wouldn’t get baited into boasting before he actually won.

  Just another minute. Mind his sword’s reach.

  A whisper brushed his neck. He turned to parry the attack. Avoiding a deadlock, Elijah slashed the grasping weeds and withdrew.

  If nothing else, Kai had made an art of surviving impossible odds. With Kahali’s boon, no number of grazes would take him down—not within the timer.

  He grinned into the shadows, blood slicking his grip, mind focused on Hallowed Intuition for the next strike. Pivoting on his heel, he deflected a jab, thick weeds writhing around him.

  I know your tricks—

  Elijah’s kick slammed into his midsection with the force of a ram—not a peep from Hallowed Intuition.

  The impact drove the breath from his lungs. His vision blurred. The world lurched. He just registered his feet leaving the ground as he went careening over the creek.

  His back crashed through the dense shrubs on the opposite bank. Pain lanced up his spine and battered his stomach.

  He gagged, mouth open, trying to suck in air and gasping like a fish. His mind blanketed with shock and pain. Curled among the brambles, a whisper clawed for his attention. Instinct narrowly beat the need to heave.

  The black blade was falling toward him, seeming to lengthen with the swing. Kai scrambled to roll away. Thorns tore at his arms and face. The strike carved the meadow in a spray of torn grass and soil.

  Fuck!

  Kai spat a mouthful of grass, dirt, and blood, managing to draw in half a breath. The air smelled of churned earth. He dragged himself into an unsteady crouch, jaw clenched, surprised he’d somehow kept hold of his sword.

  He didn’t think he’d ever been hit so hard. Not a spot on him was left unbruised, yet he had no broken bones—probably not a coincidence.

  Ignoring another urge to double over and retch, Kai forced himself upright.

  The shadows thinned as Elijah advanced toward him, longsword in hand. “You’re too reliant on your danger skill. The warning escalates with the threat, doesn’t it? Luck-based skills are difficult to work around, but that doesn't mean there is no way.”

  Kai wiped a dribble of blood from his chin and raised his guard. Strength had deserted him, beyond what Body Augmentation could make up for. His next swing would be lucky to carry half his usual strength.

  The butler glanced over his battered state. “You can still throw in.”

  Not trusting himself to speak without coughing, Kai settled for a scowl. Most of his anger was reserved for himself—he’d fallen for Elijah’s rhythm of attacks and retreats, taking it for a pattern.

  I’m not done yet.

  Spreading his senses outward, Kai latched onto the surrounding greenery and pulled. The underbrush behind him withered as Nature mana surged into him through their decay. Knowing his respite was over, he unleashed the flood of vibrant mana.

  Elijah lunged forward as thick thorns tore from the ground around him, barring his path. His slashes and dodges couldn’t stop the wall of brambles closing in. The plants had nearly swallowed him when a black arc cleaved through them, reaching for him.

  Shit!

  His sword came up to defend, but his arms lacked the strength to hold. The force pushed back his blade, opening a cut on his arm.

  Elijah stood amid the shorn weeds, a bramble coiling up his arm—not looking too pleased. He hacked away the last of the creepers, blade raised for a finishing strike.

  Kai winked at the incoming blow and shifted. His vision wavered, edges glimmering. His boots splashed into the creek, icy water biting at his ankles. He stumbled for footing and sent a swaying wave at the butler, already striding toward him—who looked even less pleased now.

  “Hey… tick-tock.” The rasp and cough couldn’t erase his smile.

  Mana drained from his veins. Ice spears, thick as arms, rose from the stream in three semicircles—like a platoon awaiting command.

  Elijah barely changed his pace.

  Can’t let me wait out the timer, huh? Fine. You’re almost… there!

  Kai launched the first volley with a sweep of his sword that looked more drunken than majestic. Tracking the blur of movement, he sent the second and third without breaks.

  The spears shattered in a storm of splintering ice and misty vapor. Before the shards could settle, he locked onto Mana Observer and shifted, reappearing behind Elijah with an overhead strike—at least, that was the plan.

  The blow only met empty air. Somehow, the butler had pivoted to slam the flat of his blade into his waiting ribs.

  Pain lanced through his thoughts. The hit threw him back into the slick grass and brambles. His sword dug into the ground. Kai heaved, flaring his mana to stagger on his wobbly feet. “Not… done.”

  Huffing a breath through the pain, Kai forced a smile and swung at the nearing shadow in a wide, clumsy arc.

  Elijah scoffed, not bothering to dodge a strike clearly about to miss— until the sword darkened and lengthened by several palms.

  Got you.

  In a blur, the butler twisted, bringing up the pommel of his blade to parry and pivoting into another kick.

  The next thing Kai knew, he was sprawled again on the meadow. He groaned, coughing as he tried to roll onto his side. Elijah was already upon him, dodging a point-blank Water Cannon with contemptuous ease and disarming him with a flick of his sword. The dark longsword halted a hair’s breadth from his throat.

  Oh…

  “Four minutes, forty-four seconds. Your blink was predictable. That swing wasn’t.” Elijah sheathed his weapon and drew a finger over a tiny scratch on his cheekbone. “Not bad.”

  “Not… bad?” Kai rubbed his side, wincing. “You almost murdered me.”

  “I’m proud you didn’t die.”

  He glared, though his lips twitched. “You’re the worst.”

  “Possibly.” Elijah offered him a hand to stand. “Since you didn’t embarrass your master, I’ll give you your answer. What grade do you think I’ve reached?”

  Kai gave him a flat stare.

  “Ugh, fine. I’m Blue.”

  His mind blanked for a moment. “Blue?”

  Elijah looked back, the familiar smugness creeping across his face. “I told you, you weren’t the only one who’s grown. Now, why don’t you explain how you used my Wraith’s Edge?”

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