"RAAAAAAAAA!!!" The ogre shouted into the sky loudly; I felt like my body would shatter into a million pieces. The ogre inhaled, then exhaled sharply; steam comes out of its huge nostrils. A bright orange aura radiated off the ogre and whipped out strong winds at me. I skid back, and the atmosphere feels heavy. I flashback to the time when Eliza got upset and unleashed a similar kind of heavy vibe. However, it felt cold and evil. I take a step back and gulped, "Oh god, can I really do this?" I still doubted myself, even after defeating all the monsters prior to this huge guy.
"Can you feel it Kima…? …His Aura? Does it make you feel uneasy and hopeless?" Arial questioned me in a very odd voice. It sounded like she enjoyed watching me and wanted to see more about what I can do.
"Yes…Yes it does. But this isn't the first time I have felt something as heavy as this," I didn't want to admit it, but I feel like if I'm honest with her, she could help me out.
"Very good. Do not be afraid. Aura—not only can it protect you from extreme injuries. It serves as an indicator of how much Magic Energy an individual possesses and has increased within themselves. This can cause the enemy to feel overwhelmed and intimidated. Your body instinctively wants to avoid danger and that is why you feel the way you do now."
I tightened my grip on my sword, "Easier said than done, but thanks for the advice."
The ogre-initiated combat and swung at me with both clubs above me. I ran to the side and leaped away, but it came at me with unexpected speed and rammed into me. Hitting my shoulder, "Argh!" I flew back rolling on the ground until I finally came to a stop. My sword fell out of my hand and landed a few feet away; the ogre laughed, and I tried getting up as fast as possible and reach for my sword. How do I defeat such a strong enemy? How can I contest with strength, speed, and magic prowess…when I have none? I can feel my body wanting to give up, due to exhaustion and my will, deteriorating.
I can hear the ogres laugh echoing as my mind gets filled with thoughts and numbs its voice out. I can feel its footsteps walking towards me…I start to faint and suddenly, I close my eyes shut.
What's wrong with me? Why can't I ever stay consistent with my actions? Why am I so useless in times like these?! It's as if every time I finally overcome an obstacle…a bigger one comes to reign on me!
I take a moment from berating myself and Eliza pops up in my head. "Eliza?" I say as she starts to walk away…sobbing. "Wait!" I shouted, she suddenly disappeared into the darkness of my unconscious mind. I get a feeling of defeat and how I badly I failed her.
What does she expect me to do?! She doesn't know how it feels to be weak! It's so much pressure to bear on my own. Out of nowhere, I reminisce my time back on earth with Misaki and Tetsuya, helping me out during the worst of times to keep pushing forward whenever I felt this way.
"They're not here with me this time. But…," I feel my body move and I open my eyes. I see the ogre and its almost near me. "I can't keep relying on them…and for Eliza's sake and for my own life…so," The ogre finally reaches me, and I grabbed my sword in time; the ogre saw how pathetic I was and decided to end it by crushing me with his huge foot.
"…I cannot lose!" A sudden burst of energy runs through me once again and the ogre slams its foot down, but I pierced my sword into his foot, "HAAA!" I tried pushing deeper into his foot and it yelled loudly in pain. Blood dripped off its foot and it quickly pulled away. I held on to my sword, so it wouldn't get dragged along with it. I stand up and watch the ogre hold its foot in discomfort; I then realize that my body is glowing white, "What's going on?" I'm exhilarating with energy but this time, it didn't feel overwhelming like adrenaline. I could feel it flowing throughout my body smoothly, like water going down a creek. "The sword…" I said as I see the red half of the blade overpowering the blue side and it increased in width too. It looked heavier, but the weight felt the same. I feel through my arm that my body is being drained by the sword a bit.
I stood confused for a second, but then I realized that the only explanation was magic. "Is this…how Magic feels like…?" I can't believe this, how am I able to possess Magic if I wasn't even taught the basics—let alone wield it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back at the Facility~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Splendid!" I shout into the air, filled with excitement. "He's done it! Witness the power of Pure Magic, everyone!" I pointed at the monitor that's displaying Kima's battle. "Great Goddess Nuvia…How is this even possible?" James said in a truly shocked manner. "While everyone wasn't looking, I deliberately sent out a stronger ogre to battle. It was a risk, however, all he needed was a push, I didn't understand it at first, but carefully watching him throughout this trial, his inner potential spiked so much during dire moments like these. This is exactly what he needed."
"YOU WHAT?!" James shouted, and everyone looked at me, appalled. "Have you gone nuts, Arial?! What if he can't take that beast down? Then what? The Headmaster specifically said to be careful with him, he is still a mere Earthling."
"Don't take me for a fool!" James flinched at my tone towards him, "I know what I am doing, and I am willing to risk my job for this. I'm not an idiot to forget the risks…if he dies then it will be over, and I will take the blame for all of this. On the other hand, that possibility is a mere 5%. His strength and determination are fueled mostly by his newfound powers. Knowing Kima, it must be heartening for him to have discovered that he can wield Magic. Yet, if he starts to doubt himself again, he could be in trouble. In other words, if he doesn't waver, then his Pure Magic will amplify, giving him the edge in this battle."
"Magic that is fueled by the users' will…it's unheard of. Makes you think about our creator, Nuvia. Her will and love for our planet must've been infinite," James let out a small smile.
"Indeed," I replied.
~~~~~Back at the Monster Fields~~~~
"I see. My Magic must've amplified my sword as well," I made an educated guess.
"That is correct, Mr. Kima. Your sword has two forms: Power and Speed; Red being Power and Blue for Speed. Power widens your sword and gives you more damage output, but it is easier to dodge due to its size, and Speed reverts to its original size, and grants you speed and allows you to make quick work of your opponent. However, it isn't as powerful as its counterpart. These two can be amplified by your Magic. Focusing and pouring your Magic into the sword will unlock those skills," Arial said.
I smirked, "Perfect. Thanks again, Arial." I start to do mini hops in the air and swing my sword around. I feel so much lighter.
Then, the ogre charged at me and swung its club again, but instead of dodging, I parry. A shockwave was released and the ground underneath me sank a bit from the pressure of the ogre. It was a battle of strength at this point and the ogre yelled, "RAAAAA," giving it the power it needed to squash me. "Not on my watch! HAA!" I focus my thoughts on the swords power to increase and the sword got wider and glowed. It pushed back the ogre and the ground broke a bit more, which brought forth another shockwave.
Suddenly, I hear a crack and it was the clubs breaking from the exchange. That's it! I said in my head. I focus even harder into my sword and it increased a bit more, giving it the strength to slice right through the ogre's weapons. "Now's my chance!" With another focus on my weapon, I shouted, "Speed!" The blade turned blue and reverted to the same thin beam. I cut off two spikes from the broken part of the club and carried it as I ran towards the beast. I jumped into the air and threw them straight towards its head, but it blocked.
"It's been fun but it's over," I landed and used the other half of the club's as a footstool that was in his hand, and I jumped on its shoulder and crawled on his back to prepare for the next strike. It kept wailing around and it was difficult to stay balanced. I went for an attack to the back of its neck, but it blocked with its hand. Blood gushed out, "What the hell? If it's going this far to protect itself then it's a weak point. I guess I'll have to use even more force." I felt even more energy coursing through my body and veins. I pierced it harder through its hand, but it took advantage of how deep I got, and my sword was stuck. It lifted its hand and threw me off its neck, leaving my sword in the back of its hand. "Whoa," I backflipped and landed. It sharply exhaled when it took my sword out of its hand and threw it back to me. I noticed the once green grass was stained from its blood.
Does it want a fair fight? It could've just thrown my weapon away or have broken it. "Fair enough," I grab my sword and let it go back to its original state, then I get into my fighters' stance, and it runs towards me with half of its clubs. It let out a battle cry and I also charged at it with my own battle cry. I jump and aim for its neck, "What?" It grabbed me in midair and slammed me to the ground and dragged me across the ground. All the grass, dirt, and rocks, I could feel them brushing all over my face and body. Then it threw me away like some trash. I recovered while in the air and landed on my feet. "Ow…" I rubbed my neck and it felt stiff, but it didn't hurt as much as I thought. Aura sure is useful.
I run at him with the speed skill, "How about this?" This time, I go for a horizontal slash to its belly, but it lifted its foot to tank the attack and kicked me away. I skidded back a few feet and sucked my teeth in frustration, "Tch, I can't get a good blow on it." The ogre doesn't stop there and it comes at me with a hard swing from my left. I block it with my power skill and he backs off immediately, so I don't ruin the rest of its weapon. It then attacks from my right with the other club; I jump over it and go for a slash across its body as I did to the Kobold during the first wave. It blocked and repelled me back, "Ugh..."
Me and the Ogre kept fighting for a good 2 minutes, with no results. The ogre was cut up and bruised, and I was starting to bruise as well, the aura was doing its best to keep me safe. "What do I do…it either blocks, tanks the hit, grabs me, or repels my attacks," then suddenly I start to visualize all of my exchanges with the ogre and get a clear picture on what I was doing wrong. How could I be so stupid!? My attacks were too predictable and linear, I'm not shifting any momentum or mixing up my attacks. I need to get in, but smartly. "Here we go again…" I smirk at the ogre and it isn't amused, rather it's pissed and wants to get this over with.
I agree.
I activate my speed skill and start zigzagging across the plains. I could feel the wind hitting my face and I'm squinting my eyes because of it. I'm not used to this yet, but I need to bear with it. The ogre starts swinging recklessly, hoping to hit me. "It can barely track my movement, this is good," after dodging a few more times. I get behind it and cut off both of its ankle tendons. It shouldn't be able to stand now. It starts losing its balance, yet it tries to stand but it's in too much pain to do so. Then, it collapsed on its knees; I start hacking and slashing at it while running and jumping around it, as much as I can. It was leaking of blood from small quick attacks I did, and the ogre seemed a bit sluggish now. I finally jumped on its back and quickly stabbed its neck, but I forget that I was using the speed skill. "Shit, not enough power," it grabs me by my legs. "NO NOT YET!" I forced all the Magic Energy I could into the sword and yelled, "JUST DIE!"
The sword grew inside of its neck and it hit bone. Blood spewed again and this time on me—I pulled my sword out and tried to jump off, but I felt an instant pain in my chest. "Wha-," I fell off its back and landed on my own back; my body was so sore, and my chest hurt a lot. I coughed and coughed, and spat out blood. "That's…not good," I said in a sarcastic tone. The ogre died kneeling, and I stared at the sky, "Why is it getting so dark...?"
I black out.