Chapter 146: More than a Match (1/2)

Inside one of the large training halls of the magic institute, two figures stood at the center of the hall while several more cheering figures were stationed at the side with a single person standing at the opposite end of the hall.

Nadine and Kal stood about 10 meters away from each other to begin the match in the center of the training hall. Since they were both mid-range fighters as well as short-ranged, this seemed to be the most appropriate distance and neither of them had voiced any objections.

While there had originally been about 10 or 11 spectators in the hall, to begin with. It seems as though the duel had attracted more as there were now more than twenty mages and Hunters spectating the fight that was just about to start.

The magic institute staff didn't seem to know what to do with themselves as they just wet along with their vice guild leader's whim and organized the hall for the duel.

”Begin.”

Even after they had heard the sound from their chosen mediator of the match, the two had not taken a single step. For some reason, they had chosen to remain standing as they keenly stare at each other, weapon at hand.

This had gone on for a while now and murmurs began to arise amongst the spectators. It was understandable that they would be confused about what was going on. From their point of view, Kal had no reason to study his opponent's actions unless he was just giving himself and handicap and allowing his opponent the first strike.

His opponent was only a child, and also the one who was clearly weaker than him. Even though most would consider her a genius for being able to use the third tier of magic at such a young age.

Even for nobles with high potentials, such a feat was rare and noteworthy. However, Tyler had a different view of the situation at hand. He had his eyes closed although, with the aid of his hood, no one would be able to tell otherwise.

The reason for this was because he had wanted to use 100% of his magic sense skill and could observe the hall in an all-encompassing manner. Not only was he able to pick up on everything that was happening in the hall, but he was also even able to notice and distinguish every single slight and minute movements that the vice guild leader made.

Just by reading his slight fluctuations in his aura and his stance, he was able to tell that the one who was at a disadvantage was the vice guild leader and not Nadine. While Nadine may have been young, she had been a member of the red ogre settlement hunting party and had faced quite a lot of dangerous monsters since she was a child.

Combined with her high potential, her battle instinct was more than the average hunter. And while the vice guild leader was not an average hunter or magician, he had ended up placing himself at the disadvantage by setting those restrictions on his abilities.

Unable to use the full extent of his powers, he now found it hard to launch an attack on the girl that seemingly had no openings in her stance. It would have been one thing if he was so much more stronger than her, but he had never expected the young beast girl it already be so adept.

However, in this battle, he held the absolute advantage when it came to experience and if anyone could turn such a disadvantageous situation into a win, it would be the person with the most experience in battle.

So, why had Tyler chosen Nadine to take his place in a duel against a superior opponent? The answer was a simple, experience. He simply had no more confidence in himself when faced with an experienced opponent of a sufficiently high rank.

Of course, this was not because he was afraid he would lose to the vice guild leader. No, he could not feel threatened by the towering figure of Kal, nor did he feel intimidated by his murderous intent earlier. This was because to someone like Tyler, the man's aura would not and could not compare to the ones that had actually threatened him.

Since his awakening in his continent he had only felt fear twice and one of those times was from the cold and distant aura of Snow, Liz's alternate personality, and of cause, from Rain's phantom kill technique albeit barely.

Even the overwhelming presence of the five Lesser Basilisks and the horde of Night Terrors had not fazed him so naturally, the meager presence of a basic tier 4 magic swordsman would not be a problem. No, the reason he was afraid was that he had barely been able to control his fireball spell earlier and would probably end up destroying this entire building if Kal was to ever make the mistake of taunting him in battle which he could surely expect the man to do given the fact that he was probably sent here to expose him for some reason.

Boom!

Back to the battle,

Someone had finally made a move and it had been Madine who had obviously grown bored of waiting. She was the type that was eager for a fight and didn't mind taunting her opponent. She also tends to look down on any opponent that happens to be weaker than her and naturally wouldn't have the patience of a veteran fighter like Kal.

Her superiority complex was mostly born out of her slight resentment for lesser demons and her small physical status. However, she seems to be able to keep herself under control in front of Tyler which was a good thing.

However, right now was a slightly different case as she dash at Kal, having already pulled out her bo staff. Closing the gap in an instant, she swung her weapon.

Kal who had a superior physique reacted quickly and raised his sword to meet the attack. His two-handed long sword met Nadine's attack and naturally, the one with the greater strength won.

Nadine was pushed back and slightly stumbled. Not missing the opportunity, Kal stepped forward and swung his sword in a vertical slash. The speed of the attack was almost too fast for the spectators to see, but Nadine could still react to it.

Using the superhuman physical abilities of a beastkin, she hastily balanced herself and jumped back. Without any delays in her motion, she immediately cast a spell before Kal could return his blade from that forceful swing.

”Ray of Enfeeblement.”

Stretching a finger out to Kal, a beam of black energy shot out of her finger towards him. Caught a little unaware, Kal quickly raised his sword in an attempt to block the spell as his weapon was a magic weapon that could negate most of the damage of the attack.

However, that was a mistake as he would soon learn. The beam of dark energy struck him and before he could even think about blocking the spell, the attack had already encompassed his entire body rapidly draining his strength.

This was a weakening spell, and Tyler based his head in approval. It was obvious that their physical abilities could not be compared so using a weakening spell was the most logical step to take. However, one could not just use such an obvious move as the enemy would not just stand there and receive the attack.

She had aimed to lure Kal into an unbalanced stance where he would be unable to dodge the attack. With her plan being a success and Kal's abilities lowered for a while, she would now be able to match her opponent blow for blow, still.

”Lightning ”

Not missing a beat, Nadine followed up her first spell with a second one as a silvery-white bolt of lightning streaked at Kal at amazing speed.