Matthew raised a hand and said, "Ready, FIGHT!"
Orin moved first, charging with the grin of someone looking forward to a fight.
His greatsword came sweeping in to my right, a blur of steel and strength.
I shifted my stance, twisting my spear to meet it. The impact rippled up my arms, lessened by the enchantments.
'Is he really going all out for this? If the enchantments weren't in place, that could have broken bones on a normal person!' I thought, shocked by his strength.
I shifted the spear and let the sword slide off toward the ground, and swung at his neck.
His left hand released the sword and raised his arm to block, while using his right to swing at me while I was open.
I shifted my weight and fell sideways, dodging the swing.
Seeing I was off balance, he swung a leg and kicked me in the side.
Thinking fast, I used the momentum from the kick to spin around and swung again, this time hitting him in the chest with the shaft.
He staggered back a bit, surprised but still grinning.
"You're fast," he said.
"And you're strong. That first blow would have broken a bone or two if I were a normal person."
He shrugged. "What can I say? Orcs are strong."
He then launched himself at me, jumping into the air and swinging down hard.
I dodged to the side and reached for my dagger, but stopped. I would probably get disqualified since I didn't inform Matthew about it beforehand.
Leaving that plan, I looked back as Orin's swing hit the ground. I was a second ago.
*WHAM-CRACK*
I stared in shock as the ground cracked under the force of that attack.
'What the fuck! That strength puts him on par with B ranks at least, and they need to use enhancement magic!'
Quickly, I said to the books, ^Appraise Orin and find the source of his strength.^
^Appraisal already complete. It was passively done over the past few days,^ it replied.
^Thanks, but an answer to my question would be nice,^ I said back as I jumped back, dodging another swing from Orin and delegating this conversation to a second mind[1] while still focusing on the fight.
^Answer: Orin seems to be using a bloodline skill to enhance his strength. It appears to be consistent with a skill from a High-Orc bloodline known as [High-Orc Rage]; however, the mental effects, like increased anger, are not present.^
^That's not possible. High Orcs have red skin, not green... unless—oh shit, that's why.^
^Affirmative: The mark is likely the cause.^
^Does it seem like he is aware of the skill and did he activate it on his own?^
^Negative: It appears to be a skill that the holder activates subconsciously when fighting someone they believe to be stronger than themself. As for his own knowledge of it, I am unsure.^
^Ok. Please note that in Orin's file.^
^Updating data on Orin now.^
^Good. Continue to monitor how it affects him and notify me if his mental or physical state changes. A skill like that has to have some sort of cost, and I don't like how he isn't getting the anger like he should from the original skill.^
^Understood.^
Returning to the fight, I moved quickly. Orin swung down again.
I sidestepped it, letting it pass me, and used the shaft of my spear and the momentum from the swing to launch the sword with even more force straight into the ground.
Orin stared wide-eyed, realizing I just lodged his sword in the ground.
He tugged on the blade, trying to pull it out.
It gave slightly, but not enough in time.
I smiled and moved fast, swinging my spear around and attacking.
*Bam*
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Tink*
Twirling the spear around, I launched multiple attacks using different polearm techniques, hitting Orin with the shaft and blade from all sides, using the bounce off from one attack to launch the next.
"Ugh!" he growled as he tried to block. He managed to jump away, but not before getting hit a few times and having to abandon his sword.
I breathed slowly, letting my heart calm down a bit.
My body doesn't sweat anymore when exerting myself, thanks to the changes spirit magic has done over the years, but that isn't the case for Orin.
He is drenched in sweat and breathing hard and ragged.
Honestly, I feel bad. I might look fine, but I am exhausted.
But still, I laughed. "Haha! It's been a while since anyone has pushed me this hard. It seems I was relying so much on enhancement magic that I neglected to train my body."
He smiled back. "Honestly, I thought I would have lost already. Are you saying that your strength and speed from your previous fights were because of enhancement magic?"
I smirked. "Not normal magic, but yes. You already know I can use some special magic. Well, after using it for so long, I figured out how to enhance my body with it. I normally always have it active, but I decided to keep this match fair. But it seems we are both reaching our limit."
He grinned even larger. "You don't look so tired to me."
I smirked. "Why don't you come find out if I'm bluffing or not?"
I grabbed onto his great sword, pulled it out properly, absolutely shocked by its weight being over 40 pounds[2].
'That explains the force of some attacks, but how does he even move this around so fast?' I wondered before tossing it to him and taking a few steps back.
It landed on the ground with a loud *thud* and caused a slight tremor.
He nodded, bent down to pick it up while still watching me to make sure I didn't try anything.
Seeing I wasn't moving, he grabbed his sword and got into a stance.
We both nodded and, at the same moment, charged at each other.
"HAAA!" he shouted as he swung at me.
I used my spear to redirect the sword over my head before sending an attack at his side.
However, he caught me off guard by using the momentum to spin around and swing again.
I moved the spear to block, but got sent tumbling back a few dozen feet from the force.
I looked at the impact site on my spear and noticed an actual mark.
I paled slightly.
This spear was enchanted with so many reinforcement enchantments that an adolescent dragon would struggle to snap it in half.
^Does there seem to be a time limit on the skill?^ I asked the book.
^Unknown: The mark appears to have a [Rank-5: Anti-Divination] or similar spell woven into it. I cannot appraise anything more than what can be gathered from your observation. Once the books are upgraded to Rank 5, then I can give definitive answers.^
'Shit.'
I looked back at Orin, and he charged at me again, clearly tunnel-visioning on me.
This time, I decided to try something new.
I threw my spear at his head.
Fully gambling this last attack—if he dodged or blocked it, I would concede. If it hit, I would win.
I only had to watch.
Seeing it come fast at him, he swung his sword faster than I thought possible with how heavy his sword was and knocked my spear away.
And then he picked up speed and started a swing at my torso.
'Guess that's the match,' I thought with a smile. Though that didn't last long.
*Ktsss*
I heard a noise, just barely audible at that moment, and looked where I heard it.
That was when I noticed the charm on Orin's sword.
It was broken, and Orin was coming at me fast without realizing the protective charms were gone.
'SHIT!' My mind scrambled, trying to find a way to protect myself.
I raised my arms to try and block and closed my eyes, bracing for pain.
*Thud*
*Creeee*
"Whah!" I heard Orin shout.
*Thud*
Orin crashed into me, knocking both of us over.
But other than that, I was... ok?
I opened my eyes in shock, trying to figure out what just happened.
-
[1]: This is from Jack's [Dual Mind] skill. He uses it a lot more than said in the book; I just haven't touched it yet. Without spoilers, just think of it as Jack mentally multitasking to an insane degree.
[2]: On Earth, a normal great sword is 5–8 pounds; some have been up to 15.