Keiko
Now that Keiko had found her first proper victory against the Zayama Mage, the question was simple.
How do I do it again? She asked herself, watching her teacher fight the Mage. By now, Haruna was having no trouble in beating the enemy. Keiko watched her teacher work with her legs crossed and her hands clasped together.
Haruna was faster than Keiko, there was no denying that and, of course, it was to be expected. However, it showed up in her footwork in a beautiful way. The way Haruna moved was decisive but still elegant. There was a certain grace to every step she took that Keiko felt she was missing.
Is this even something I can fix through leveling, or do I simply need to train more? She thought as Haruna leaped back while the Zayama Mage was teleporting. Her teacher landed behind the spot where the mage manifested and with one slash, this fight Keiko had been watching was over.
Outside, Keiko looked and saw rose-colored petals falling, cloaked in sunlight as the day was starting to come to a close. The sunlight shone through small square holes in the wall, landing on her crossed legs as she looked down at her hands.
Trained hands. Hands that knew how to do battle, despite very little real experience compared to others. And yet, she was still far away from where she needed to be.
Haruna sat next to Keiko. A bead of sweat, evidence of the effort she was putting in, rolled down her cheeks, falling from her jaw.
Keiko wondered if this was how Haruna looked whenever the two of them would train before Keiko gained her eyesight. She wondered if she ever managed to push Haruna that far. The answer was most likely "no", but she could dream.
"Try not to think quite that hard," Haruna suddenly said. "Your mind is a muscle, one that can be exhausted and one that needs rest just like every other part of your body. This is, in part, why we meditate."
"Right," Keiko nodded.
"So, will you be giving it another try?"
"Yes, in a second. I was... well, as you said, I was just thinking a little."
"About?" Haruna asked.
"Our time training," Keiko replied. "I was wondering how much you were holding back. I don't think I could ever get to where you are."
"Hahaha," Haruna chuckled. "Quite a bit. You were, after all, an amateur. Still," Haruna held a nostalgic glint in her eyes. "The effort you put in was truly endearing, Keiko. And, in truth, if you keep walking this path, I have no doubt you will surpass me one day."
Will I? Keiko asked in her mind. I can't really imagine what that would look like.
"Well, the sun is going down," Haruna said. "If you don't want to fight in the dark, now would be a good time to start."
"Right."
So, Keiko stood up and went to grab her sword, which had been resting on the wall next to her. She took a few steps towards the lifeless armor in the middle of the room, and of course, words appeared above it.
Begin?
[Yes] [No]
Keiko unsheathed her blade and tapped the "Yes" option in her mind, and the Zayama Mage quickly began taking shape.
Now that she'd fought a few times, and was rested, she felt that a new strategy could be made. As she'd watched her teacher face the creature, she had begun calculating a new approach to the fight, based off of what happened last time.
The mage was close to running out of mana, Keiko remembered. It hadn't come to her because she had tunneled into the mentality that she needed to defeat the warrior through brute force and speed, but having seen her enemy's moves, she realized something. As a matter of fact, the creature did not have a means of attacking Keiko, safely, at least, without expending mana to do so.
Whether it was by teleportation, a bolt of lightning, or its wind-made weapon, every time that the creature tried to attack her was an investment. One that usually paid off because Keiko played into its hands, but, a new idea came to her.
Defense wins fights, she thought. Do I truly believe that? She wondered. Is that really true? Well, it's time to test it.
She would wait. She would allow the creature to attack her, over and over again, without a single answer from her, until it was forced to come to her to continue its offense.
So, as the armor pieced together a warrior that Keiko was sure had to be great in their time, the Zayama held her sword by her waist, its tip pointed down.
Her back straightened, her eyes fixed on her opponent, she waited for it to fully manifest.
Level 25
MP: 200/200
And, once it did, she got ready.
"Iridos." She muttered, activating her Spirit Eye.
The Zayama Mage raised a hand and Keiko prepared to move.
"Shiron."
With her Spirit Eye, she dodged a bolt of lightning sent her way.
And thus, the dance began.
Keiko waited. The Zayama Mage, unaware of her idea, continued to launch one bolt after another, but Keiko would either sidestep or roll away, without charging in to retaliate. It cast a few spells, and then, it stopped.
The mage put its hands behind its back and simply watched her. It knows. Keiko understood, nodding. If it sees that I'm not trying to attack it, it'll just stand there until I do something. Well, if it just kept casting spells until its mana ran out, this would be too easy. Keiko took a deep breath and raised her blade. The Zayama Mage unclasped its hands, bringing them to its sides.
I'll have to keep it engaged.
Keiko ran forwards.
With her blade by her side, she got within two meters of the enemy before it teleported.
"Tiron."
Level 25
MP: 130/200
It's already almost half, Keiko noted. The creature ended up behind her and Keiko slashed, forcing it to step back before it launched another bolt at her. This one, which would have struck Keiko's head, was dodged with a single tilt, as Keiko saw it coming. The magic almost burned her hair, but Keiko remained focused.
Calm. She thought. Stay calm.
The Zayama Mage cast another bolt, and this one nearly struck Keiko's arms. She only barely managed to dodge it and then, she ran up. Don't overcommit! She reminded herself. You're only trying to keep it fighting!
She leaped forwards and slashed horizontally. The mage ducked, instead of teleporting. It's trying to conserve mana? Well, I'll force you to use it then!
Keiko landed behind it and quickly spun with an attack, her blade clashing with a shortsword made of wind.
Level 25
MP: 85/200
Their weapons clanged against each other, over and over again, letting metallic dings sound off, filling the air.
Keiko smirked confidently.
This is my territory, mage. She thought, as she parried a blow and leaned back to dodge a slash that the mage tried to give in response.
In a battle like this, I can match you!
The mage, perhaps realizing this, jumped backward.
"Shiron." It said, in midair, aiming a bolt of lightning down at Keiko's legs.
The Zayama rolled forwards to dodge, ending up crouched. The mage ran up to her while she was in this position and slashed at her legs again. This time, Keiko kicked her feet up into the air, briefly letting go of her sword.
Pulling off a handstand, she pushed herself off the ground and backflipped onto her feet, her blade still where she'd left it. She dodged another lightning bolt and quickly slid forwards, retrieving her weapon.
For a moment, both combatants remained still. Keiko was breathing heavily, but she was also trembling with excitement.
Over the course of this fight, something started to change within her. She slowly began to lose her fear of death. The more she fought this mage, the more fun it felt. The more she began to enjoy herself.
She nearly laughed, when she remembered her strategy. Then, she checked her opponent's mana.
Level 25
MP: 55/200
Almost down to 0. What are you going to do? She asked in her thoughts, holding her blade up.
Keiko didn't realize this was happening, but all around her, a golden aura began to come from her body. Haruna did see it, and her eyes widened as she continued watching the fight. She understood that something was happening, but was so shocked to see it that she almost didn't believe it.
It was common, but it usually required far more time than what she guessed Keiko had put in. And yet, it was happening to her student, right in front of her.
Keiko charged forwards, the Zayama Mage created its wind weapon.
"Caron."
Level 25
MP: 40/200
The mage went up to her, Keiko prepared herself to begin another exchange, but the creature stopped.
"Shiron."
Just a meter in front of her, it pulled a hand back and pushed it forwards.
Had it not been for Keiko's Spirit Eye, telling her this would happen, she would have been struck at point-blank range. Instead, she spun out of the way, the mage's hand going right past her.
Then, she saw an opening.
Keiko slashed straight through its neck. The cut would have cleanly decapitated any living, flesh and blood, creature that received it.
The mage remained frozen for a moment and Keiko waited.
Then, its armor fell to pieces and a message appeared over her head.
EXP Gained: 90
EXP: 210/250
Taking multiple deep breaths, Keiko stared at it.
Keiko looked down at herself, confused. Only then did she notice that her body had been radiating a golden aura this entire time.
"Good job!" Haruna was applauding her, as she stepped forwards. "That was beautiful to watch," she said, as the golden aura disappeared.
"What...?" Keiko looked down at her body. "What happened?"
"You were close to gaining a trait," Haruna explained. "I've seen it happen before, it's quite special."
"Huh?"
"There's no real, definitive answer regarding how traits work, luck is certainly involved to some extent, but, as far as I know, the more you do something, the higher your chance of gaining a trait pertaining to that action. It seems there's a trait you were going to gain at this moment, but it didn't quite happen."
"I see," Keiko replied. So, I nearly got an ability or something? Related to fighting? But... I haven't really fought that much. Well, not real fights anyway. Does training count?
"For now, come. It's time to see the next floor."
Nodding, Keiko followed her teacher upstairs, to floor #4.
It led them to a darker room, one with two more sets of armor laying on the ground.
Another fight with multiple enemies. Keiko thought. Well... based on those rules we discussed, it looks like we'll be heading up to the fifth floor sooner than I thought.
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