Chapter 602 (2/2)

Slash, stab, advance. She pushed and pushed, her spear skidding off Randidly’s armor with a reassuring regularity. It was even better because the extra inch of force clearly was giving him some trouble. He was frowning at her, those emeralds all scrunched up as they considered her.

What did he see? She wondered.

She swept his legs but he didn’t fall like she had planned. Instead, thin vines came out of the ground the seized his legs and pulled them back to the ground. She was caught so much by surprise that when he counter-attacked, she didn’t dodge in time.

The force of the blow dislocated her shoulder.

Hissing, Helen leaped backward and popped the shoulder back into place. It was her right, the non-dominant hand, so it wouldn’t affect her overmuch. But that power of his…

“Why aren’t you using spells?” Helen asked sharply, feeling the heat rising in her chest. “You are a Spell Spear, aren’t you? Act like one.”

Randidly gave her a somewhat helpless look. “I… this is a contest of spear-”

“Fuck you,” Helen spat out, and the heat was truly on her now. Her Berserker’s Blood was beginning to activate, which was not what she would have wanted five minutes ago when the fight started. But it had become obvious that he was taking it easy on her as if this was a game. The spear was a tool to live and die by. When you fought, you gave it your all.

Those who didn’t were a disgrace to the weapon, and deserved what was coming to them.

“Sir, I really think,” Leyalta began, his jowls quivering, but Helen had already moved. This time, when she used the First Bend to advance towards Randidly, she didn’t bother to conserve Stamina. While her Berserker’s Blood was active, her regeneration was almost tripled, which would cover for any overuse.

Plus, with the Strength boost she obtained from that Skill, she could fight against his superior Strength more directly. She wouldn’t ever meet his clashes directly, but now she could deflect them while advancing.

Two thrusts whistled past her torso. She barely even swayed to avoid them, and one of the attacks left a large gash. The pain was a bright crimson encouragement, and Helen let loose with every bit of pent-up aggression she had held in her chest after he had left without even saying anything to her.

Her spear blurred and bent under the force of her attacks. She battered his defense, forcing him to retreat to avoid her stabs. When he prepared a counter-attack, she used the Third Bend to avoid it completely and appear in his blind spot. Her attacks then were short and powerful. Generally, it left him off balance and frustrated, which made the fury in Helen’s chest gleeful.

All the while, more and more drag lines were emerging on his body, holding him back, slowing him down. And yet…

Yet he was getting faster.

His counter-attacks were much, much sharper than they had been at the beginning of the spar. Abruptly, the part of Helen’s brain that wasn’t overcome with the heat of the Berserker’s Rage realized that it wasn’t that he hadn’t practiced with the spear in a long time… it was just that he hadn’t practiced fighting against other spear users much. Even without relying on her sharpest images, it was her method of attacking that had given him pause.

His attacks weren’t rusty, his sense of tempo against a spear user was just nonexistent. In a way, Helen related. A lot of fighters she had faced qualifying for this version of the under Level 25 tourney were fresh off the frontline and had similar handicaps. They had simply fought so many Wights that they had lost touch with clashing against fellow spear users.

And as she thought that, the fight fell out of Helen. Randidly sensed it almost immediately, and his spear halted midair in its path to cut into her midsection.

“I missed you,” Helen said with a sigh.

After a pause, Randidly nodded. “I… missed you too. How was… the war?”

Helen opened her mouth to say something smart but then paused. She looked at him again. She lowered her spear further. “...you… you really don’t know?”

Randidly shook his head.

Helen’s face collapsed into a grimace. She made a sharp gesture, and Leyalta began to break the camp they had made in the forest by the teleportation Village near Qtal. “We’ve lost. Our Spearsource was captured by the Wights through treachery. If our heroes don’t recapture it…”

She trailed off. She didn’t want to say it. That they would lose their Paths and Classes. They would become monsters, without a true path forward, even with a spear in hand.

Randidly just blinked at her.