Wrock raised his arms, "You sure you want to do this?"
Akiol twirled Stars and took up a stance, "Oh please, if you've recovered from that then you surely reached a new level."
"That's why I'm asking."
"I won't be left behind Wrock."
"Haha! I suppose this is a great way of adjusting then!"
"Then I'll be impolite and take the first move!"
Wrock lifted his hand and blocked a blow. A metallic ring sounded, "You pack a punch!"
"You can take one!"
Dang-dang~!
Akiol delivered two swift strikes, but they were deflected. Shifting his body Akiol lifted Stars and blocked an incoming blow. Not willing to remain on the defensive Wrock was prepared to switch roles. He swiftly threw a punch forward that was aimed for Akiol's face.
Dodging to the side Akiol retaliated with a slash directed towards Wrock's chest. This blow was dodged by leaning back, and a roundhouse kick was sent in retaliation. With a crouch Akiol evaded the kick and returned with a sweep kick. Wrock jumped with his one leg to dodge and flipped forward slightly. The flip provided momentum for his next attack!
Lifting Stars Akiol placed his hand against the flat side of the sword. Then a powerful kick slammed into him, making his arms bend from the effort of blocking the attack.
With a push he threw Wrock off of him and stood back into a stance, "Is that talent of yours not working?"
"It interferes with {Hyperfocused Battle Intensity}."
"Ah, any progress on integrating the two?"
"Somewhat, just need a foothold and it should be smooth progress. However I did gain something else."
A light blue light flashed in Wrock's eyes, Akiol suddenly felt like he saw a blue Phoenix with spread wings hovering behind Wrock. With a grin Akiol congratulated, "It seems like you're back!"
"Yeah, shall we take things up a notch?"
Wrock swung his arm horizontally, a blue flame following his palm like a trail. The blue flame hovered in front of him for a moment before shooting forward! Now that he had Spirit he no longer needed to use a substitute for the proper techniques!
{Spirit of the Phoenix: Gliding Across The Valley}!
The flame turned into the rough shape of a Phoenix's wings. They shot forward towards Akiol, embers of a blue flame falling behind it.
For the first part of the fight Akiol had suppressed his Form of Growth Aura. For while it's effects weren't as exaggerated as Form of Fortification's buffing properties, the Form of Growth still provided Akiol with a strength boost.
The Aura he had formed began to empower him. Unlike Form of Fortification, Form of Growth wasn't only used for strengthening himself!
The silver aura with deep blue and purple 'spots' surrounded Stars. Wrock was quite intrigued, for he expected Akiol to respond with Mana.
Swinging with an upwards slash a rising current of Aura shot forth. It clashed with Wrock's Spirit and the two moves struggled against each other. Then they both exploded into small fragments, for the small strength competition ended in a draw.
Wrock was pleasantly surprised at what had occurred, "You leveled up my man!"
"Yeah, had no choice."
"Is it this 'Aura' you've been referring to?"
"A correct guess."
"Looks different from what I've saw before."
"Turns out I was using it improperly, had to correct that."
"I see! Well, let's see this then. Spirit versus Aura!"
Wrock shot forward, as he began to let Spirit empower him. It was worth noting that the warriors of his clan all learned the art of {Phoenix Path}. This art used Mana instead of Spirit, and thus was weaker than actual Spirit. This was for the warriors who were not as lucky or prominent to be chosen to inherit a flame.
This "{Phoenix Path}" style was what Wrock was using before. Additionally since his control over his inner mana was terrible, he was forced to use the ambient mana. This was the substitute he used, and as such the fighting prowess of the {Phoenix Path} art was heavily reduced.
Now that he had Spirit, he regained access to the art he was used to. The same art he used with most of his journey with Akiol. This art was used among the elites of his clan, though Wrock took it a step farther. This art was {Spirit of the Phoenix}.
The two began exchanging blows once again. The empowerment given by Aura and Spirit was roughly the same, meaning their strength was equal.
Swift blows were exchanged, and slowly they continued to raise the tempo. Wrock attacked with several punches, and Akiol blocked with swings of his sword. Then with a powerful strike Akiol temporarily stopped Wrock's pattern and took the initiative. Now it was Wrock who was blocking several strikes from Akiol.
This pattern was exchanged several times as the two became more immersed in their battle. As Wrock faced another blow he couldn't help but smile in reminiscence.
-<>-
"Did you hear? The Hero is visiting us!"
Wrock turned and rose an eyebrow, "Really? Why would they want to come here?"
"We don't know, they're staying silent on the matter. You should come though, I'm gonna go take a peek to see who they are."
Wrock bit the inside of his cheek slightly, his curiosity growing, "Lead the way then!"
The two descended down the cliff they were on. While Wrock was an Elite warrior, his friend was not as lucky. Despite this their friendship hadn't been injured, and the two often chatted and sparred.
Soon they spotted a group of people surrounding an area. Wrock felt like it was no doubt that this was where the Hero was.
Gently pushing through the crowd he managed to catch a glimpse of the Hero. A figure of silver hair stood calmly, a sword placed at their hip. Despite the crowd slowly closing in on him, he remained unperturbed.
Wrock couldn't see anything special about the figure besides their hair. They lacked that feeling of danger and skill that many of the Elites in the clan had. It was a bit disappointing, he had expected a powerful warrior that could suffocate people with just their presence.
The crowd suddenly quieted and began to open a path. An Elder walked up to the Hero and began to speak, "Great Hero! What brings you to our humble clan?"
The Hero spoke in a casual tone, one lacking respect, but not one that looked down on anyone. As if it was a normal conversation, as if he was speaking with an equal, "I have come looking for strength."
The Elder hesitated for a moment, "I am terribly sorry Hero. . . I understand you are the Hero, but I cannot allow you to inherit Spirit."
"You misunderstand, I'm not in search of Spirit. That is exclusive to your clan is it not?"
"Then, what are you searching for exactly?"
"What I meant about strength wasn't Spirit. What I am here for is to recruit a new Ally."
This silenced the entire crowd at once, stunning everyone.