"Strange fellow" one of the new entries commented as he dusted himself. The other who was just getting up agreed with his partner's assessment, "Yes". They could feel the energy of the young boy. It was only at the 6th level of the above-mortal realm; yet he had dealt with profound realmers and even killed them. Although they were mostly unharmed by the earth mines, they felt the power of the sneaky little trap. If they were a bit slower to protect themselves or even a few levels weaker, they would have been done in. "Don't underestimate him" one of the men warned. The other only nodded his head in response. There was no way he would underestimate someone who was so tricky.
There was no visible change around Abe after he activated his glow, but that was only on the outside. He could feel his connection to the earth elements grow stronger than it was before. They felt like family. It was almost as if he could pull them close and hug them. That was how great the connection was. Even more spectacular was that his scholar abilities heightened this sensation ever so slightly. Although Abe felt his connection to the earth grow stronger, he could also feel the edict leaving his body quite clearly.
"I have to do this quickly. I wouldn't be able to hold on for long.' Abe calmly analysed as the huge hammer in his hand disappeared. Once it did the young prince sprang into action.
He appeared in front of one of the men who was just as stunned as his partner to see the strange weapon disappear. Once he was in front on the man, Abe executed a beautiful spinning heel kick. But the man was quick to react. He caught Abe's foot, and span him towards his partner, intending to end things quickly. Abe flew in a ragged manner towards the other man who was waiting with his arms wide open; but it wasn't to give the young boy a hug. However, right before Abelard landed in front of the man, he was given the shock of his life.
The huge hammer that had disappeared reappeared in the hands of the young boy and came rushing towards his midsection. He hurriedly blocked the unexpected attack.
*Bang*
The man cut a sorry figure as he was flung a few meters away. However, he still managed to remain standing. He could feel the tingle in his arms. Although none of his arms were broken, the strike stung badly. His arms were sore, and he could feel them slowly swelling up. He hurriedly directed inner energy towards his arms to stabilize his condition. Unfortunately for him, Abelard wasn't going to wait for him. The young prince noticed his opening, and he wasn't going to let that opportunity slide. He could already feel the other man rushing to his partner's aid. He needed to act fast. After all, he was slower than both of them.
Abe had intentionally revealed the hammer the first time. It was to let the men register its presence. Then when they had seen it, and remembered it clearly (mostly because of its unusual size) he recalled the hammer. He bet on the fact that they wouldn't expect him to be able to freely call and recall it, and his bet was spot on. He was hoping to catch them by surprise and deal a good blow in. The first attack was merely a faint. Most people who fought with partners for a long time tended to rely on them, and sometimes over rely on them. Abe was bunking on this. But that would only work if the two men had been working together for a long time. Luckily for Abe, they had. So once his attack failed, his opponent would be more than eager to pass on the task to the other. Abe couldn't believe his luck when he was thrown towards the other man. For many people they would be disoriented by such a move. But Abe was a scholar now. Even when he was tossed like a ragdoll he still got his bearings right. He only had to time everything right.
"Hubris Fist" Abe screamed as his fist struck his opponent squarely on the jaw.
*Crunch*
The sound of the jaw bone breaking was like music to his ears. The hammer had disappeared once more when the opponent was expecting the huge weapon to descend on him. Because he was prepared to protect a greater area, Abe's punch rattled him. Abe didn't let his opening slide. He quickly sent in two more punches to the man's midsection, and a final punch to his temple. He was eager to continue, but his time was up.
*Boom*
The figure of the other man came crushing down furiously. Abe had already skipped to the side, so he avoided what would otherwise been a sure death sentence.
"He is abnormally strong" the unharmed man analysed. He guessed from the earth mines that Abe was an earth wielder, because the explosion wasn't fire based. Earth shrapnel were the means of attack. But even for earth wielders the boy was abnormally strong. What he didn't know was that Abe's strength came from his glow 'Earth's Darling Son'. People with the earth elemental ability were usually stronger than usual. So with Abe's heightened connection to the earth, he grew even stronger. Abe had spectacular conjuring abilities, but they wouldn't be so helpful against opponents who were able to easily shrug off his earth mines. And even with a full on assault all he had done was to break the jaw bone of one of his opponents. Sure it was always uncomfortable to have such a bone broken, but it wouldn't hinder his fighting ability much. But before he could consider any more options, man with the broken jaw appeared right in front of him. He looked furious, an understandable emotion for someone who had just been on the wrong end of the assault. He struck Abe quickly before he could even react.
*Bam*
*Bam*
*Bam*
Abe received three quick punches to his belly. It was only when he was sent flying back that he was able to understand what just happened. Even with his abilities as a scholar he was unable to sense the approach of the opponent. It wasn't because the man was able to cloak Abe's senses. It was because he so much faster than Abe's scholar abilities could record.
"He is a wind wielder" Abe realized. That was the only explanation for the insane speed. The boy fell to the ground with a thud. Although his abdomen was struck, the pain run through his entire body. He could feel blood filling his mouth, and he did nothing to hold it down. The furious man was comforted by the sight of Abe coughing up blood. If he could smile, he would have.
"I can't win with conventional methods" Abe realized. He had been too confident in the armor. Till now he couldn't even sense the level of his opponents! They were vastly stronger than he was. If he wanted to win, he had to use his brain. His eyes lit up after a split second. Although he was quickly losing inner energy, he would be able to pull it off. He ignored his aching body and began to spin. He slowly gathered momentum until he was nothing but a blur.
"What is he doing now" the unharmed man voiced out? He wasn't so concerned. To him Abe was just displaying some last ditch efforts at survival. It was impressive that one so young could become so strong. But the boy would fall here.
"Oh so this is his plan. But how would he see?" the man smirked when he saw what was happening. The entire dome was filled with dust, making it hard for any of them to see. Since the dome was a barrier, it fixed itself whenever it was dented. Although the fixing took time, it would still happen. This meant that the opening they had used was long sealed up. If Abe wanted to escape they would hear it. So although they couldn't see, they had their ears. Unfortunately Abe's ears were far better; his opponents just didn't know it.