This time, I attacked General Nova. My attacks didn’t have any flair. I didn’t know flair to give them. All of my techniques were self-taught, which gave my attacks a more abrupt and violent feel to them. I wasn’t precise man, and I’d never had a rhythmic fluid dance like Lydia. All I could do was attack with all I had, and try to survive. If my attacks were similar to any of the girls, it’d be Raissa with whom I shared the most familiarity.
She seemed to catch that as she watched me fight, and she’d occasional cry out in excitement when she saw something I used that she recognized. While Eliana and Faeyna were purely worried, Raissa who had been a gladiator herself and had often fought for her life found some appeal to watching her master fight.
Our attacks went back and forth, dancing around the ring. He launched several skills at me. A few I was able to block, especially the ones he had used redundantly. My learning and mimicry allowed me to quickly gain a grasp of his skills, as well as figure out their weaknesses and strength. Just like the time I had fought Alysia, my attacks grew more confident and certain as I learned from the battle.
Alysia seemed to notice this as well, and her posture had changed. She was no longer slouching with her head down, but had straightened and was leaning forward, her eyes watching the match intently. Most people saw me as continually taking the disadvantage, but those with discerning eyes could see that General Nova was only managing to keep up through a steady use of skills, and those skills were quickly dragging down his stamina. Meanwhile, I still hadn’t used a single skill, and my stamina had been increased many times over to the point where I wasn’t even sweating yet.
General Nova was keenly aware of this more than anyone else. His cocky smile had disappeared, and his brow had begun to furrow. He had stopped making jeers and speaking high and mighty. He had managed to hide it well, but his concern was finally starting to show.
I activated Haste for the first time since the beginning of the battle. Having it as a dungeon skill didn’t give me the ability of Haste infinitely, regrettably. Haste consumed mana when it was active. When someone casts Haste on you, they were using their mana to speed you up. When you activate Haste on yourself, it is ultimately your mana that is used up.
My speed suddenly shot up as I used a spell unexpectedly. General Nova’s eyes bulged, but when I used a skill, I was very familiar with, Quick Attack, my body reached a state that seemed like instantaneous movement to the crowd. I blurred. General Nova activated a skill that formed a defensive shield around him. My sword struck the shield and shattered. For the first time, General Nova was thrown back.
“I need a better weapon,” I said bitterly, pulling my last spare sword from the Inventory.
The whispering crowd had become extremely quiet. For the first time, a realization started to dawn on everyone. I was stronger than General Nova, a lot stronger.