Seeing the orb stop in place Ayden felt like another change had occurred, but he wouldn't back down one bit. Not while he was still conscious at least. With a controlled landing Ayden tapped the top of the orb, starting whatever was to come.
'Dodge'
The orb burst forward by trying to smash Aydens face in. Not a light tap to test the waters, oh no it was a full on heavy strike meant to cause damage.
As it shot towards his face Ayden had already figured out what might be up, and moved his head to the side allowing the orb to fly by his ear.
'Keep moving'
Aydens gut told him to keep moving or else,...it was right as he continued on with the movement diving farther to the side; the orb passing right where he would of been seconds before once again.
Each time he moved, the orb wasn't far behind, not giving him a chance to catch his breath. As he pushed himself harder he felt something solid nudge his shoulder as he tried to turn his body, the corner of a crate knocking him off balance.
Without hesitation the orb attacked again towards his head, but at the last second Ayden was able to jump sideways with the force only taking a light scratch on his check.
All of a sudden the system began to speak
[-5 HP]
[new mission available]
[TRIAL: finish trial with passing grade]
[reward: 200 exp]
[HP stat now available - HP: 45/50]
[stamina has reached critical levels]
Dodging wouldn't be a problem had he been in top condition, but the fact was he hadn't actually let himself heal from the constant training which was causing him to slow the longer this went on.
Ayden felt that the longer this continued the harder it would become, so he made the choice to fight back with everything he had while he still could.
With a heavy push off the ground Ayden launched himself over a crate to create some distance, but the orb was close behind. As his body flipped through the air he grab his shield off his back.
With one fluid motion the shield was strapped to his arm and 3 knives could be seen flying back at this glowing red opponent. The movement quick and precise as if Ayden was born to be a combat role.
As the throwing knives struck the orb it slowed to a stop, giving Ayden enough time to land getting his balance back and draw his blade from his hip.
Resting the flat of the blade on the top of the shield, eyes just above the rim, feet planted into the ground Ayden was ready. Leaving little room for an opening, his body was relaxed yet prepared.
"μολὼν λαβέ" (molon labe, 'come and take them')
Ayden whispered something his mother always said before a battle to his opponent, ready to fight till the end. His brown eyes beginning to glow a fierce gold from deep within, succeed or fail he was giving it his all regardless of the outcome.
As if on some unheard que they both made their move, Ayden raising his shield and the orb shooting back off at top speed.
[-2 HP: 43/50]
As the orb made contact with the shield Ayden was pushed back while pains was felt shooting through his arm, but he held strong.
As his foot hit the wall behind him finally, Ayden pushed back. Directing all his force through his shield into the orb, to force it away.
With the support of the wall Ayden was able to force it to fly back,... then the melee began again in full. Each one trying to break the other.
The orb continued flying in trying to cause damage but only met his shield, while Ayden began to counter attack. The system voice continuously updating his status in his mind.
Each time the orb got past Aydens shield he tried to get out of the way, and when he took glancing blows he took a decent bit of damage. With each hit to his shield, he took a small amount of damage. With each dodge he was able to get a swing in with his sword. With each second his breathing got heavier. With each attack there was a counterattack. With each direct hit to Ayden body he was knocked back with a big damage number.
[-5 HP: 38/50]
[-2 HP: 36/50]
[DAMAGE DELT: 10]
[stamina has began effecting physical body]
[MISSED]
[- 5 HP: 31/50]
[-15 HP: 16/50]
As the battle went on, Aydens body was taking a beating but he was able to deal out quite a bit as well. The orb was noticeably chipped and slower than before, the once contained red light seeping out.
"Is that all you got!" Ayden yelled as he knew the battle was soon to be over, his victory still uncertain.
Aydens body felt heavy, his movements slow and unsteady. The orbs shell chipped and leaking red light. Each still pushing forward in order to claim the win, continuously pushing forward.
Why would someone fight so hard when this test wasn't a life or death situation. Why would someone keep pushing forward when ultimately this is just a test. Why would Ayden keep lifting his heavy shield to block when his arms felt full of lead.
'I want to WIN!' The singular thought of achieving victory filled Aydens mind. He had trained from the age of 10, never taking a break. He spent his free time training for a dream that brought him closer to his memory of his mother.
Ayden was not afraid to lose this match, only losing because he didn't give it his all. Why would a person attempt something without giving everything they had, just don't do it in the first place. If you try your hardest and fail you still did your best but to fail without trying was always a disgrace.
[DAMAGE DELT: 10]
[DAMAGE DELT: 3]
Although each movement felt weak Ayden swung his sword, he pushed back at it with his shield. He observed everything about the orb with his golden eyes, right down to the odd yellow piece in the center.
'Wait why is that yellow,... is that its' power core'
[DAMAGE DELT: 10]
[DAMAGE DELT: 10]
[DAMAGE DELT: 20 critical hit]
Aydens sword began to focus on that one spot, without power their is no test. But the computer controlling the orb wasn't going to make it that easy for him, it began to shift the opening to the back.
[-2 HP: 14/50]
[-2 HP: 12/50]
Each time the orb made a solid strike on his shield that he was unable to redirect he took damage. The fact that he couldn't follow its movements completely after all this time was starting to get in his head, his anger at being unable to finish the orb off was beginning to show. As his anger grew as did his speed and strength.
[DAMAGE DELT: 10]
[-2 HP: 10/50]
[Emotional imbalance has been detected. Beast man variant is now in effect: Descendent ability active]
A deep growl was felt in Aydens chest trying to escape, his body felt as if it had grown in size, as well as his hope of passing.
As the growl traveled up his throat to escape the orb pushed in hard. Being unable to stop the feeling it was causing, he decided to use it! The growl turned into a battle roar at the same moment the orb made contact with his shield.
[Battle Cry (entry lvl): calls to families ancestral bond, increasing stats by 25% ; condition last for 1 minute]
With the extra strength in his chest from the roar, Ayden threw his shield out pushing the orb a distance away. He felt better, but he noticed that his shield was crumpled and the straps had snapped making it useless.
[DAMAGE DELT: 2]
While this was a let down for Ayden he still felt invigorated and more connected with the world around him. Tossing his shield to the side and drawing his second blade in a reverse grip, Ayden was ready to begin again.
[Battle Cry: 58 sec ]
With his new power the orb was unable to touch Ayden, with each pass he dodged and/or countered with his blades; drawing out more of the orbs yellow core. Then with one strong swing his primary sword trying for the finish, shattered.
[DAMAGE DELT: 10]
[DAMAGE DELT: 5]
[Battle Cry: 30 sec]
[-5 HP: 5/50]
The orb didn't care about his gear failing, only that it could continue moving forward catching Ayden in the shoulder while he was off balance. Still able to move with the blow thanks to his footwork stopping it from dealing a killing blow, but Ayden still took the hit.
At a lose of what to do Ayden focused on dodging, not know what would happen if his hp hit zero.
[stamina has reached below 5%, overall stats are weakening]
[Battle Cry: 10 sec]
Coming up with nothing else to win, Ayden decided to risk everything on one final stunt. Giving it to the hands of the Gods of luck.
His resolve set Ayden continued to dodge till the orb came from a directly in front of him. The entire time setting his feet to preform his Hail Mary. Finally the orb reversed and shot straight at him from the front, but Ayden was ready.
"Bring it, i like it a little rough"
Ayden while on the brink of collapse loved being able to test his limits like never before was ready to end it. Right before the orb was within range Ayden took his step forward into the orb, followed by a sharp spin as the orb hit his chest.
The orb flew right by as if passing through a Mirage, but Ayden wasn't don't with his last dance.
His blade used the force of the spin to move into a downward slash, connecting a the force into his blade as it struck the core of the orb.
[Battle Cry: 0 sec]
[-5 HP: 0/50]
[DAMAGW DELT: 20 critical]
As he felt his blade connect, Aydens body felt his body collapse followed quickly by his surroundings going black.
'Duh fu*k, ....' was his final thought as Ayden lost consciousness once again.