Chapter 97: Give up (1)
"Both fighters, ready your stance!"
The moment the knight’s voice resounded through the arena, Elias tensed his muscles and got into a stance, completely prepared to jump back and create distance between him and his brother.
’I have to maintain as much distance as I can.’
Elias knew that he couldn’t hope to survive against the second level of his brother’s infusion art, so he had to avoid it at all costs by maintaining a safe distance. He could attack using the first level that he had worked so hard to learn during the last month.
’I am sure Brother will lunge at me the... moment...’
Elias furrowed his brow.
Even though the knight had told them to ready their stance, his brother was standing still the same way he had been. His face was still expressionless, and not even a hint of tension could be felt from him.
Seeing this, Elias sharpened his focus even further and raised his sword high while gripping it with both hands.
’Brother looks too confident... Change of plans, I will attack the moment the match starts.’
The knight’s loud voice resounded through the arena once again.
"The match will end when either one of you surrenders or when I judge that one of you can no longer continue the duel. Now..."
Elias’s heart began to beat wildly.
"Begin!"
The moment the judge’s voice thundered through the arena, many of the people watching opened their mouths to cheer, but they all froze before their voices could come out.
The sound of something hitting the ground echoed through the arena right after the knight’s voice.
Everyone’s eyes were on the sword that was lying on the edge of the fighting square. The moment the knight had announced the start of the duel, his brother had casually tossed his wooden sword away as though it were trash.
Everyone’s attention, including Elias’, was focused on him, who was still casually standing in the same spot he had been in from the beginning.
At this moment, everyone was equally confused.
The knight was the first one to break the silence, asking in confusion.
"Young Master Adrian, what is the meaning of your actions? Are you trying to forfeit?"
His brother lightly shook his head.
The knight raised his voice a bit.
"Then why did you throw away your weapon as soon as the duel started?"
His brother met the knight’s gaze and replied in his usual dull tone.
"Because I don’t really need it."
Saying that, his brother turned to him.
"Elias, the duel has begun. Aren’t you going to attack?"
Elias had been standing still, looking ahead blankly, but those words brought him back from his reverie. He instantly jumped back to create distance between them.
His brother finally moved, casually taking a step towards him.
’Just like I learned!’
Elias raised his wooden sword and brought it down in a vertical slash. The slash created a blade of mana that shot toward his brother at incredible speed, cutting through the air.
But moments before the energy blade could hit him, his brother casually tilted his body just enough to dodge it, causing the energy blade to miss its target and dissipate into wisps of mana a few meters after.
His brother, meanwhile, continued to walk leisurely toward him.
Elias gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his sword’s hilt. Then he swung the blade horizontally as another blade of mana shot toward his brother.
’He won’t be able to dodge this like the previous one.’
But the moment Elias finished that thought, his brother suddenly dashed forward at incredible speed, ducked down to dodge the mana blade, and stopped right in front of Elias before he could even react.
’Ah-?!’
Looking into his eyes, his brother spoke in his usual dull tone.
"Elias, surely this isn’t the best you can do, right? You should start giving it your all while I am giving you the opportunity."
Elias jumped back instinctively, creating distance between them.
"Huff... huff..."
’J-just what is this-?’
What was going on? His brother had tossed his sword away, was walking toward him casually instead of rushing to finish him off, and didn’t attack him even after suddenly closing the distance.
But more than that, his brother hadn’t used any mana until now. But why? Why was his brother not attacking seriously?
’No... I already know the answer.’
Just as he had done, his brother could’ve instantly closed the distance and finished him off before Elias could have reacted. But he didn’t.
Elias tensed his muscles and looked at his brother, who stood a few meters away.
"Brother, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I will give it my everything now."
The moment he finished his words, Elias sprinted forward with everything he had. He began circling around his brother, who stood in the center of the fighting square.
’Faster! Faster! Faster!’
His speed continued to accelerate more and more as he continued circling around his brother. Still sprinting, he began performing slashes with his sword, shooting mana blades toward his opponent.
This time, the mana blades came from multiple directions since Elias was shooting them while circling around, but his brother still casually dodged them all with minimal movement.
Elias gritted his teeth.
’This isn’t enough! I need to be even faster!’
The frequency of the swings increased, and so did the number of energy blades flying towards his brother.
Yet the ease with which his brother continued dodging those attacks remained the same.
But suddenly, Elias accidentally tripped over his own leg while running, causing him to fall face-first on the floor. The floor’s surface was hard, and the impact caused by falling was quite significant because of his speed.
Elias would’ve received serious head injuries if not for the physical reinforcement boon brought about by reaching Phase One.
"Ugh... Huff... Huff..."
His world was spinning as he struggled to get up. He was extremely exhausted, and his mana reserves had significantly dwindled due to all the attacks he performed. He wouldn’t be able to last much longer at this rate.
Just then, his brother slowly walked toward him and stopped just a step away. He asked flatly.
"Are you done?"
Elias gritted his teeth.
’Just one scratch!’
He finally got up and instantly lunged at his brother as he lashed out with his wooden sword. But his brother nimbly dodged all the attacks.
’If I run out of mana, then I will just attack without it!’
But just as he finished that thought, his brother dodged to the side and lightly kicked his legs, causing Elias to lose his balance and fall face-first once again.
His brother’s voice entered his ears.
"I think that’s enough. How about you give up now, Elias?"
