"Hey, you up for a spar?" said Lumi.
It was a few days after the Club Recruitment Convention and my Magic Specialization Course.
"What?"
"I'm curious as to how you can come in third place in the Practice Hunt."
Murmurs began to voice in the classroom. There was who shouted 'he was stealing points from others' coming from their mouth, probably my victim on that day.
I did not know who that was because I was in an impossible position to search for them.
It had been a few weeks since the Practice Hunt, but I wonder why Lumi suddenly brought it up. Moreover, why must she do this in public? She could just send me a message via Nova Watch.
Oh right, I never gave her my contact.
"Well, you've probably heard how I did it."
"So all of that is true? About you stealing from the other group's hunts and getting yourself a nickname 'Points Rat'?"
I shrugged at her questions.
She observed me, not caring about the stares that came from our classmates.
Then she let out a sigh.
"It doesn't matter. I want to see it for myself."
"You are persistent."
"I am. Now, let's go, show me what you made of."
I smiled inwardly, knowing that I predicted this situation well.
Oh my, how could I so understand Lumi?
For other people, they said that she was unreadable and unpredictable. No one knew what she was thinking in that genius brain of hers.
But for me though, she was nothing but a book.
A character that I dedicated my life to creating—the same as Lux, fleshing out every bit of her characterization into life.
What she thought, what her motivations were, and how complex her mind was, I knew about that all.
Standing up, I grabbed and slung my bag around my shoulder.
"Sure, let's go."
Why not? I could make this a substitute for my daily solo exercise.
I was tired already of training alone. It would be good if I could find someone who could be my training spar to see how much I had improved in these past few weeks since the Practice Hunt.
Truly, I missed Shannon…
…
I stood inside the circle area, specifically set up using a tool that could create a dome barrier for a special occasion such as a serious spar or duel.
The area was wide enough for two people to run around while exchanging blows.
Stopping the swinging practice with the wooden sword, I caught up with my breath.
"[Status]"
I commanded.
A window panel popped up in my vision, showing me my abilities profile.
===
Name: Zio Varrez (♂)
Age: 17
Race: Human
► Stats:
Strength: E-
Agility: E-
Intelligence: C
Stamina: E-
Magic: F+
Charisma: D+
Luck: E+
► Talents:
[Dual Wielding Lv.3] (▼ Expand)
[Swordmanship Lv.2] (▼ Expand)
[Magic Control Lv.1] (▼ Expand)
► Skills:
[Clairvoyance Lv.2] (▼ Expand)
===
Great! My Dual Wielding talent had leveled up!
On top of that, I managed to raise all of my physical stats to rank
'Let's see what's new after it leveled up…'
[Dual Wielding Lv.3]
Users will be able to wield two weapons at once even if their proficiency in said weapons is low. Learning dual-wielding techniques will be much easier.
Available weapons for dual-wielding: Sword, Dagger, Shield.
'Shield?'
What was that even supposed to mean?
Maybe I could use the shields like gauntlets? You know, something like attacking with shields.
But rather than using a large shield, I thought a smaller, round shield was more appropriate.
If that was the case, the fighting style would be similar to martial art. That sounded cool.
Unfortunately, I had not any experience with unarmed combat… or maybe I had but rather than a proper technique, it was more like a streetfight fist combat, unprincipled and uncoordinated.
'Maybe I should learn a martial art or any unarmed combat technique…'
"Are you ready?"
Focusing my attention ahead, I nodded at Lumi.
"Yeah."
She was using holding the wooden staff with both her hands, the other end pointed forward, the angle was slightly facing the floor. Her right hand was delicately positioned at the rear grip while her left hand firmly grasped the middle, ready for any movement.
"Wait, I thought you are using dual daggers?"
"I am. But, I'm in the mood to use a sword today."
Lumi frowned.
"I see."
"Don't worry, it's not like this is my first time handling a sword."
She nodded calmly.
"Then…"
Taking a deep breath, I raised my wooden sword and got into a defensive stance.
"Let's start."
Suddenly, she lunged forward, thrusting the staff like a spear toward my chest.
I quickly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the attack.
"That's almost got me…"
I countered with a swift strike, but Lumi was able able to block it with the staff. If I was using a bladed sword, the staff would have been broken right there.
The two of us continued to exchange blows, moving around the circle with graceful movements.
"You're not bad," she said.
Sweat dripped down my face as I smiled.
"Thanks."
I focused all my attention on the fight.
Despite my best efforts, I seemed to not be able to land hits on Lumi.
She was blocking and countering all my attacks pretty easily. I guess it would need me a few more weeks until I could somehow be at the level of the main characters.
Considering the fact that Lumi was the weakest in combat prowess of the main characters, I thought maybe it was not weeks but months.
"You should focus on the fight."
Lumi thrust the staff onto my stomach.
"Guh!"
I staggered back, momentarily stunned by the force of the blow to my gut. But I quickly recovered, and the spar continued.
As the fight wore on, I could feel my muscles starting to ache, and my breath becoming more labored.
I was pushed back yet by another attack on my gut.
"Haa… Haa…"
My breath became ragged.
"Your swordsmanship is not bad, but your technique is lacking."
I looked at the wooden sword that supported me from falling.
"Heh. Truthfully, I had never learned any technique yet."
"Ah, that explained everything. But, you seemed to know what you are doing in the Neophyte Nexus, those sliding and spontaneous movements."
It was because I knew a few tricks by combining mana-coating with my movements, also Clairvoyance helped me back then.
This time though, I wanted to fight without relying too much on my skills but on my technique.
It was not because I wanted to throw my chance for having the advantage due to my skill, but if there was a situation where I couldn't use my Clairvoyance, I would still be able to handle the dire circumstances.
I stood up and threw the wooden sword to the floor.
Lumi raised her eyebrows and said, "You surrender?"
"No," I said while looking at the weapon shelf then looked back at Lumi. "Can I change my weapons?"
Though I said I did not want to rely on my Clairvoyance skill, I could not let the chance to impress her go away this easily.
If I did not show her what I was capable of, she would lost her interest in me and that could ruin my plan.
"So you finally getting serious? Sure, go ahead, change your weapons."
There was a soft smile plastered on her face as she said that.
Taking out two wooden daggers from the shelf, I smirked on my way back to the circle spar area.
"It won't be easy this time," I said.
Lumi just smiled as she assumed her stance.
***
The spar between the two resumed.
With his new weapon of choice in both of his hands, Zio could feel the difference immediately.
He felt more in control and comfortable, like they were an extension of his arms.
The effect was thanks to his Dual Wielding talent. Whenever he wielded weapons both in his hands, that would enhance or increase his stats.
The dual sword would increase his Strength, the dual dagger increased his Agility, and the dual shield increased his Stamina.
Zio realized the effect of his talent just recently, when he successfully raised his Magic to
'No wonder my body feels light as a feather whenever I used dual daggers,' he thought.
He moved forward, feinting a jab with his left dagger before launching an attack with his right.
Lumi blocked it easily, but Zio followed up with a quick spin, slashing at her from the side.
She dodged it and countered with a swift kick that Zio effortlessly blocked with his left dagger.
'He's becoming faster after changing his weapon…!' Lumi said inwardly, but her eyes displayed her shock at Zio's movement.
They continued to exchange blows, and Zio could feel his confidence growing with every successful attack and defense.
But as the fight wore on, Zio was waning, his movements becoming more sluggish.
Lumi seemed to sense this and increased the intensity of her attacks, forcing Zio to retreat.
"Don't lose focus," she said as she pressed her advantage.
Zio gritted his teeth and pushed back, trying to regain the upper hand.
It was no use.
His body was exhausted, and his mind was clouded.
But...
'An opening!'
Zio saw an opening in Lumi's movement and quickly took advantage of it, disarming Lumi with a swift strike to her wrist.
"Shi-!"
Lumi grunted, still holding onto her staff.
Though he couldn't make her release the staff, but he had managed to turn the tide of the fight.
However, Lumi was not one to back down easily either.
She made a swift low strike to Zio's feet.
"That's a bad move!"
Zio exclaimed as he launched his leg and struck Lumi's side.
"Kuh!"
Lumi staggered back, giving Zio the chance to push his advantage.
He lunged forward, pushing Lumi to the floor and quickly shifting his position to behind her.
Zio's lock was like that of a snake, trapping its prey. Lumi felt a shiver run down her spine as Zio's dagger brushed against her neck.
"I lost," Lumi admitted defeat.