"Spar??" Guilliman looked at Victoria, a bit taken aback by the sudden request.
There was only one person he had seen her spar with, and it was none of the members of the cohort—it was surprisingly Thane Blacksteel.
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This person was levels ahead of her, yet he was the only one she sparred with; even then, he was the one who requested the spar, not her.
For her to ask him for a spar was complicated; he couldn’t really understand why.
"Yes, a brief one. I want to understand your depth… we will soon be going up against a mythic beast; at least the full extent of your capabilities should be preview to us," Victoria spoke with reason….
However, deep down she knew this was not the case. She wanted to know much more than his capabilities in battle—she wanted to know what made him tick, what was the driving force of his determination.
’The key to the heart of a swordsman is his sword.’
Her father said this all too often, and she couldn’t help but agree with it. There was no better way to understand a man than through a struggle between life and death.
"This is going to be an incredibly dangerous mission, so to get the true depth of your power please don’t hold back," Victoria smiled, and with a wave of her hand, sparks of light shone and her body was soon encompassed by a silver stainless armour.
This was the grand echo she received from a few days ago—the one that sparked the whole competition thing between the two cohorts.
’It is an armour time, quite impressive.’
Guilliman mused, but also he understood.
Fight to bring out his depth? Knowing his capabilities? All that was bullshit—Victoria just wanted to know if he could beat her in a fight!!
"Do well to summon your own grand echo and whatever you can," standing in front, fully clad in armour and with a red curved blade in her hand, Victoria smiled at Guilliman.
"I don’t want a member of my cohort dying by mistake," she added.
Though it sounded like a threat, Guilliman understood that it wasn’t. It just showed how serious she was about this. He could even feel a current of lightning coursing through her armour.
’She’s even using her aspect.’
Guilliman thought in his mind as the look on his face became grave; he felt a bit blindsided… he wasn’t planning to challenge her yet.
Oh yes, he was planning to spar with her in the not-so-distant future, but it seemed like she couldn’t hold herself back anymore….
"Okay," Guilliman nodded and summoned a gauntlet wrapped around his left hand. It wasn’t metallic, but it shone with a pristine glow; it was brown leathery material.
Who would have thought that killing that harrowing beast of a monster would grant him something like this? It looked so lackluster.
Beast echoes usually mimicked a part of the beast’s attributes. Guilliman had scouted the grand beast because of its blade for hands, but had ended up getting a non-attack type echo.
It wasn’t ideal, but Guilliman liked it nonetheless.
Summoning the swordhorn cleaver, Guilliman smiled at Victoria.
—wang
All of a sudden, a coat of energy consumed the gauntlet and stretched directly towards the sword.
[Echo: BladeSkin Gauntlet (Grand-Soldier)]
[Description: Ripped from the very skin of a harrowing beast of the Ravens Wood forest, the King of Souls fashioned a gauntlet that grants him a boon of power]
[Effect: Instantly increases the strength of any weapon held in the hands of the wielder, pushing it to the level of the gauntlet]
The gauntlet didn’t have its own personal attack power, but it did grant whomever wore it the power to enhance their weapon to the standards of the gauntlet as long as it was in his hands.
That meant that the swordhorn cleaver had been improved to grand stage.
"Interesting echo," from this distance Victoria could perceive the function of that gauntlet; Guilliman’s sacred sword seemed to have undergone a significant change just now.
"Shall we?" Dropping to a fighting position, Guilliman smirked, his sword facing Victoria directly.
"Ahh, yes, yes we shall." Victoria also broke into a smile, and in the next second she flashed forward.
Swinging her curved blade downwards, she slashed at Guilliman with incredible speed—her sword aiming to cut him in half.
Thankfully, Guilliman saw this immediately and dodged to the side, responding with an attack of his own.
His sword gleamed in the sun as it pierced directly towards her eye from the side.
Eyes widened, she suddenly pulled herself back and stabilized her movements.
All that happened in a brief moment not exceeding a second—it was a test of resolve; if she hadn’t pulled back just now, she might have just died.
Likewise, if Guilliman hadn’t dodged that attack, he might have been split in two like a piece of cake.
"Again!!" Victoria dashed forward and swung her sword forward.
This time, Guilliman met her headfirst, not backing down; soon a destructive force emitted in the middle of the forest as two grand echoes collided.
"Damn!!" Guilliman was sent back 15 steps, and Victoria 8.
The difference in power was apparent.
’If I was still at level 5 I’d be done for.’
Gritting his teeth, Guilliman thought to himself as he stared at his hand, which had gone numb from the lightning attribute attack. Killing that grand beast had pushed him to level 6, putting him at the same level as Victoria.
On a normal day, he could probably fight against people of higher tiers and levels, but this girl was something else.
Especially that aspect of hers—it was nasty!!
’That’s not the only type of strength that exists, though.’
Guilliman smirked, and with a wave of his hand, he summoned Ghost before grabbing his fur.
She was going to use her aspect ability? Why wouldn’t he do the same? It was a test of depth, wasn’t it? If she wanted to know what he was capable of, he would gladly show her!!