Fighting Without Mana

The three roots point toward me, Hino, and Myla. The two get ready, raising their training weapons and entering their stances. I do the same and Liz waits for a moment. She launches the roots at us without any warning. I dodge to my left and turn to face the girls. Hino jumped to the side, still in the air. Myla used a wood and leather shield to block the root. My root abruptly stops its thrust and starts swinging toward me. I jump over it and it stops again. It shoots up and my first thought is to Blink away. I swing my wooden sword at it and knock it away. I land and smile before dodging another thrust. Liz is holding back quite a bit. I know her roots wouldn't get knocked away by this sword. Not even the Minotaurs in the Ruins could cut or break her roots. I think while dodging a few more attacks. I notice that the roots start moving faster after a while. They're stronger too, putting up more resistance when I knock it away. I hear Hino start coughing and turn to look. She got hit square in her chest, knocking the wind out of her. I turn back and see the root coming down on me. I don't have time to dodge and try to lift my sword up to block. I get hit in the face before my sword can get there. I hear Liz laugh and sigh while stepping back.

"That's why you don't turn away in battle Eric." She says and I nod. I watch Myla block the roots. The two were on me and Hino are fighting her. However, they don't all attack at once. They all wait until the others have finished attacking before going in. Myla managed to last for a few more minutes before one hits her side. It doesn't knock her down, but she does stop.

"You've gotten better at staying aware of your surroundings Myla." I hear Kallen say from behind. I turn and see him and Kagiyama behind me. They don't seem to have broken a sweat and I wonder why they even ran. Myla nods before she, Liz, and Hino walk over to us. Sugano has already joined us.

"So what's the next training?" I ask them.

"Next is practice fights. It's also our last one on the agenda, but we normally spend another hour or two working with the girls." Kallen says and I nod. "Sugano and Liz spar against each other, since they're both spellcasters. Hino and Myla spar with one another and I normally spar against Kagiyama. But today we both wanted to spar against you." He continues and I nod. I see the others walk off to different sides of the arena.

"Eric, are you good to continue now or do you need a minute?" Kagiyama asks.

"I'm good, being Gaia's Champion makes my body recover quicker." I reply and he nods.

"Speaking of, I wanted to ask if you knew when Gaia would be able to reform her body?"

"I'm not too sure. She once said it would take a few years to finish gathering her mana. But I didn't ask for specifics." I reply, kinda telling the truth. Gaia did say it would take that long, before I used my Mana-Fusion skill. He nods before Kallen points his sword behind him.

"Eric, let's move over here. Just so we're out of the way if some of the other members join us." Kallen says and I nod. I follow him over and get ready. Kagiyama walks over to the wall and sits down. He counts down for us and we start the fight. Kallen stands in place with his shield ready to defend. I rush him, running as fast as I can. I'm a little surprised at how fast I move with 225 Agility. I'm not the only one, as Kallen's face twists a little with shock. He quickly shakes it off and get's his shield ready. I swing my sword with both hands and hit his shield. I feel him slowly buckle under my strength before jumping back. I chase after him and swing my sword again. He uses his shield to parry my blade and knock it away. He trusts his sword toward my chest and my body moves without thinking. I do the splits and swing my sword at his legs. He gets caught off guard and doesn't dodge. I connect with his leg and he sighs.

"I've lost. That would've taken my leg." He says and I awkwardly get up. "I didn't know you were this flexible Eric." He continues and I chuckle. That makes you and me both. I didn't know I could do a perfect split like that. I think while Kagiyama walks over. He takes Kallen's place and Kallen counts us down. As soon as the fight starts, he takes off. He runs straight at me and I do the same. We meet in the middle and I swing, aiming for his chest. He slides along the ground and I see him throw a punch for my legs. I quickly step back, out of his range. I turn and swing as he gets up. He parries it with his leather gauntlet. I raise my sword and swing again. He keeps parrying my attacks, while not attacking himself. It worries me how passive he's being. After he parries me for the ninth time I take a few steps back. I see him smile before rushing me again. I wait and block his attack with my blade. He raises his foot to kick and I step to my side. I swing for his exposed side and jumps back, using only one leg. He only moves a foot or two, but I'm still impressed. I rush him and we start blocking or parrying each other's attacks. occasionally we manage to almost land a hit on the other, but we always manage to dodge it by putting some distance between us. For a few minutes, it seems like an even match, but I notice Kagiyama starting to push me back. He starts attacking faster and faster. I notice he's not actually moving faster though, he's just adapting to me. I try to figure out a way to beat him, but can't come up with any without using magic. He throws a kick at my feet and sweeps them out from under me. I fall on my ass and by the time I start getting up, his fist is in my face. I sigh before dropping my weapon.

"I lost." I say, not surprised. He helps me up and I feel someone pat my back.

"That was a good show." I hear Liz say from behind me. I turn and see Hino nodding.

"That was, Kagiyama's tough to beat. When he fights his mind focuses only on his opponent, if he's alone that is. He's also good at reading people, he'll see the way you move and predict your attacks. It's honestly a little freaky with how good he is at that." Kallen says and Kagiyama laughs.

"Is that why you were just parrying me at the beginning?" I ask and he nods.

"I needed to see the way your body moves. I hadn't seen you fight up close yet, so I didn't know your signs." He says and I nod.

"Anyway Eric, do you want to stay and spar some more?" I hear Sugano ask and shake my head no.

"Not right now, I should get back to see how the others are doing. I also need to get ready, we might be getting our Guild Hall today." I say and she nods. I tell them all bye before leaving for my Domain.