"Hi, it's nice to meet you, Mr Wards," I greeted him politely.
"Hm? Yeah, sure, nice to meet you too...and just call me Rex," He muttered in a slow, lethargic tone, before adding as he gave me a glance-over, "Never seen a purple Aura before..."
Huh, he's certainly, uh...un-energetic, isn't he?
It seems like he's just spacing out with his head in the clouds, I feel like I'd get sleepy if I talk to him too much.
Are his vibes resonating with the slothful part of me or something?
"Sure, and you can call me Kai," I replied with a smile.
"Yeah, 'kay. That should be easy to remember," He nodded slowly.
"So, uh...," I trailed off as I glanced at Charlotte inquiringly.
"Right, let me explain why he's here...he'll be sparring against you. I figured having a sparring partner would make this training more effective than you just standing around.
But a lower-ranked Hunter would be in serious danger against you, so naturally, any training partner I picked would have to be an Ace.
He's quite skilled in close-combat and his Magic is pretty frustrating to go up against, so he's a good fit to spar against you.
And don't worry, he's signed a non-disclosure agreement in regards to you, same as the four you teamed up with in your last raid," She explained, as Rex stared off into space.
Okay, that makes sense.
The Hunters Union has a lot of influence over the Guilds, otherwise it'd be impossible to get an Ace Hunter to train someone who isn't in the same Guild like this.
If I remember right, he's a part of the Demonsbane Guild. Still, though, I'm not so sure this is the best idea...
"He is a lot stronger than I currently am, but I probably won't hold anything back once I use Enrage, so..."
"Oh, it'll be fine, he can handle it. Exactly how long does Enrage last, by the way?"
"Ten minutes, and then I can't use it again for an hour."
"Ah, then there's nothing to worry about, I'm certain he can survive without a problem for ten minutes. Just to be safe, leave your weapons up here, the both of you will use wooden weapons instead."
"Sure, that's fine," I nodded, taking Desecrator and my gun out of Treasury, before setting them down.
There was a crate filled with wooden training weapons, I walked over and picked out a short-sword, before glancing curiously as Rex dragged his feet over and peered in.
He then reached in and picked out a pair of short-swords, letting out a sigh. So, he's a dual wielder, huh?
That means he probably fights like an Assassin, which I assumed based on his stats and build.
"Alright, with that settled, why don't we get started?" She suggested with a smile.
"Well, if you're really sure...alright," I nodded, before heading down the stairs.
Rex followed after me, making his way down at a laid-back pace, the staircase retracting up with a humming whir as he stepped off it.
I headed over to the other side of the space, taking a deep breath and letting a slow exhale as I took my place a few meters ahead of him.
Okay, stay calm, keep a cool head...I know what to expect, if I brace myself for it, I might be able to stay in control, at least a little bit.
Yeah, sorry about that again.
Alright, then, here goes...
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F-Fuck...! S-Stay calm, stay calm, damn it, stay c-...grr, I don't like this, I feel like I'm a fucking lab rat or something-...! Damn it, STAY CALM!!!
I growled as the purple energy burst forth and swirled around me, gritting my teeth...c-come on, calm the fuck down...!
"Huh, never seen an Aura spike so drastically in intensity like that. Whenever you're ready, you can attack," Called out Rex, stretching his arms up as he stifled a yawn.
"Huh? D-Don't...DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!" I snapped furiously, as I sprinted across the space towards him, leaping forward with a roar as I closed in.
"Wow, you're fast," He remarked as his eyes widened slightly, before glancing back as I passed right through his body, a surge of rage swelling up inside me as I landed behind him, before tightening my grip on my blade and whipping it across as I spun around.
The wooden blade passed right through his head, before I leapt back as he unleashed a swift jab at my wrist with one of his blades, my right eyebrow twitching as I evaded it.
"Fuck this...!" I growled, tossing the wooden sword away before yelling as I raised my hand towards the balcony, "
Desecrator came flying down towards me with immense speed, before I grabbed the handle as it got within my reach and shot towards him, letting out a snarl as I drove my blade towards his throat as I closed in on him.
But once again, it passed right through him, before he swiftly backed away and got some distance, letting out a yawn.
"Guess there was no point switching to wooden weapons when you can summon that blade to you...well, whatever, it's not like you can hit me with it," He shrugged, as he scratched the side of his head with one of his wooden blades.
"You bastard...don't you fucking take me lightly!" I snapped, the energy swirling around me intensifying.
"Hm...yeah, okay," He responded, before he suddenly shot forward with immense speed, closing in on me in the blink of an eye before swinging his right blade across towards me.
I swiftly raised Desecrator up defensively, getting it in the way of his blade...my blade will cut right through his, and then I'll-...!
My train of thought was cut off as his wooden blade phased through Desecrator before slamming against the right side of my face, my head snapping across to the left upon impact, a trickle of blood running down the corner of my mouth before I quickly sprang back as he began to unfurl a rapid flurry of slashes and strikes with his blades.
I backed away as fast as I could while he chased after me, his stream of attacks unrelenting...damn it, I can't block them, he keeps phasing his blades past my defenses and then turning them tangible upon impact!
I wanna hit him, I wanna hit him, I wanna HIT HIM...NO, I NEED TO HIT HIM!!!
Think...think, think, think, THINK, THINK, THINK, THINK, THINK-...!!!
Oh.
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