"Hmph..." It seemed even Ophelia was having a hard time with the two mana-boosted students, I guess those boosters were good at the moment besides the negative effects that would follow.
Bael was currently trying to block and dodge everything Faelar threw at him, using "Kinetic Dispersion". He seemed to be a close-combat-oriented mage much like the masked student, the other one seemed to be a mage, which wasn't noticed before since he got beat up so fast...
His hands even had flames on them! This reduced the power of his defensive magecraft by leaps and bounds, it was pushing his mana to the edge. Not even including how horrible Bael fought against someone who was actually trained extremely well.
You see, Bael over-relyed on his [Analyzer] skill, never taking any formal training from a teacher and only taught himself how to fight in his past time. Analyzing other fighting styles only goes so far without practical use...
And so does his magecraft.
'Looks like we might lose this one, just forfeit. Either way, the instructor may come soon. It seems they monitor you from those things called "cameras" in each room.' Astram notified Bael of his time running out, but due to this school being known for pushing students to their limits, Bael gave himself a max of ten minutes before they come to help him, so they could either see his limit or see him break his limit somehow.
Being put into disadvantaged situations are good in a world like this one. Ever since the "Dimensional Collapse". When this phenomenon occurred it opened up to the "Dungeons" of another world. You see, dungeons that appeared from the dimensional collapse had one difference from the ones in most novels, they weren't pocket dimensions only filled with monsters. They were connected to other worlds, and the dungeon was simply a place in the world that had a lot of monsters surrounding it.
It's said that most monsters are attracted by the portal's mana and follow it as quickly as they can. At least for less intelligent species.
The system would close the portal after certain tasks were finished, and the first-ever hunters would do them. The tasks currently for all open portals... were lengthy, or hopeless.
This was the main reason behind the academy's actions and decisions.
So Bael thought, why not lower his EGO factor a bit more? Why not... do the one thing he didn't want to do, just in joy of his newfound way to remove his numbness!
"Hey... Hophorous, I know you're there." Bale said aloud, without shame in saying something like that at such a random moment.
[Evil God Hophorous smiles greatly at your words, asking, "Is it time?"]
"Huh? Did this human go crazy after a school competition??? BUAHAHAHAHAH! Ophelia, this is your partner?!" Besides the grin he had on his face when Ophelia heard Bael's words, she seemed intrigued, but serious.
"Give me a sword, a good one." Bael smiles, while in the back of his mind, Astram was appalled at his decision.
'I don't know much about you and this "Evil God", but I know it says EVIL in their name! Nothing good will come from trusting someone with EVIL in their name you dumb kid!' Astram quickly scolds, much like an old man.
"Pfft, it's fine, we went over this a long time ago... The deal was made when I was in elementary. You know my skill, I already analyzed that this isn't a bad thing to do. I don't have a reason to keep fighting, except to find my reason! In something that isn't even a real fight, I want to keep this feeling that I gained!" Bael said his speech out loud, something he would soon come to regret... well if he ever got the time to regret it afterwards.
[The Demon laughs in mockery at your desire for a sword. He provides you with a weapon fitting your nature, and your relationship.]
[Demonic energy seeps into your body, as per the contract.]
Bael puts his hand out to the side and grabs onto thin air, an excruciating pain suddenly starts growing throughout his hand. A blade had appeared in his hand, shocking everyone in the room, as the inventory was not an aspect of the system unless you became one of the [Followers] of the system or a high god. Bael was not a [Follower] at least to their knowledge, and they were right.
He was a rare "Equal-Terms" [Contractor], a contractor is someone who follows a god in exchange for something, the equal-terms referring to them having fair terms unlike the usual contractor being compared to followers. As said they are both similar but usually, followers are counted as [Followers] when they show devotion akin to religion, or follow a being with nothing in return, except when the one they followed decided to reward them as such. For followers, so they didn't leave whoever they were following usually had follower shops... all of that information was for another day.
Currently, Bael was holding a curved sword similar to a scimitar, the only probably was... the hilt was filled to the brim with spikes, places where your hand could be grated if gripped wrong, and so much more, just to deter the user in his own battle. This is the part of the sword that probably had to do with their "Relationship".
"Keuk.." Bael couldn't hold it and let out a low groan, making the arrogant Faelar laugh even more.
Puahahaha! A blade that hurts the user's hand?! Really? That's what you had in store for me, really?! A pure, white blade that has never been put into battle because of how bad it is-" He suddenly stopped speaking, looking at the blade change color, gaining a red and black luster.
"Ah, I see... He really picked out a specific weapon, was he planning for this exact moment? Astram, give me more of your mana." Bael once again inwardly looked at Astram, time seemed to slow down as Faelar also took out a weapon from thin air.
'... I don't think it's a good idea, I wanted to save the explanation for later but-' Astram was cut off by Bael.
"I've never felt like this before, please, just this once, we'll think about the consequences later. I know I'll probably be numb again for a few days after this but... I'm not numb right now you know?" Bael smiled, even with the mental turmoil his mind was going through.
'Hahhh... You remind me of a certain someone, except he was allowed to be bright, and he wasn't smart at all. That dumb kid hero, tsk. Fine, go crazy and win!'
[EGO factor greatly lowered... The system has decided that pushing it too low will ruin the current favorable storyline... Cumulative recoil will occur after the battle has ended. Mana rank raised above current limits...]
[Mana Rank: E+]
'It seems even the system has to abide by the god's tastes of enjoyable stories... it seems gods don't change no matter where I go.' Faelar was already in front of Bael, getting ready to hack Bael into pieces.
"That disgusting demonic energy! Why do you have a sword like that!" Faelar looked flustered, but more importantly, enranged. It seemed he had some sort of past with demons.
Bael did not answer and analyzed the direction of his sword in seconds. Although the recoil would occur for the lowering of his EGO factor would happen later, it seemed some of the effects happened now. His [Analyzer] skill was pushed to the limits the fewer emotions hindered his way.
He parried the blow, and quickly maneuvered the blades to slide off each other while Faelar was distracted by his emotions and movement. Bael quickly slashed his sword up, just for the wind spirits to help Faelar move away.
'It seems that the demonic energy has stopped the passive skill from working... He has his spirit magic back at full capacity.' Astram wished he could click his tongue at the situation but silently watched, knowing that Bael's movement analysis would only go so far.
The more Faelar and Bael exchanged blows, the more Faelar gained the advantage. Although Bael had a skill that could analyze his movements, someone with no trained stance, a form of attack or defense, and low physical stats, couldn't compete with someone talented even with a good weapon and a good system skill. There was also the fact that Faelar's weapon didn't seem to be ordinary either, as up until this point it wasn't known that Faelar had access to an inventory either.
They kept clashing, his analysis only going so far to make up for his lackluster ability in fighting and physical capability. Astram got tired of watching such a spectacle.
'Bael! I know you're not in your right mind but... listen to this if you want to win!' Astram yelled as Bael nodded, still focused on his current battle, with only one objective in mind.
To win. All he knew was that he didn't feel the feeling he did when he made this decision anymore, but it was his decision and so he would do it. That's how his skill rationalized and was kept in control, it was by feeding it directives like a robot fulfilling a task.
'When you swing your sword you have to use your whole body, although you know this you still seem to be lacking the exact places to use. Obviously, the hips are a must, but your footwork must be excellent as well! Currently, it might be your only way to win with your almost zero odds...' Astram explained as Bael kept getting pushed around the room with each resounding blow, instructors watched from the shadows, while Ophelia breathed a sigh while watching the battle in awe as Bael pulled something out of Faelar she had never seen, even with his horrible stats.
She knew this because she herself could analyze people well, especially clumsy people like Bael when he could be more of himself... as he wasn't used to hiding his emotions, and so couldn't hide his intent.
... She also had super hearing so she heard what he had been saying for most of the trip, talking to someone.
'Each step of your movement doesn't need to align with your sword, it needs to align with your intent! Your sword needs to follow your feet, at least at this level it'll not only throw off your opponent but also give you the advantage with you your analyzer ability. Your intent should be to pressure Faelar since we don't have much time, we both know that sword is sucking your blood to power itself.' Astram explained the theory behind the footwork he needed to use, before explaining it, he needed Bael to be completely ready.
Bael listened to this explanation, not entirely understanding it as details were left out. He did notice it was easier said than done, as a novice in the sword usually thinks about the path of their sword before their feet. Like Faelar... he could use that.
'Now with that in mind, if you want to attack, how will you attack? Usually, sword experts do all this by experience and instinct, but with your rare ability, you can do it by thinking! This is the cheat bestowed upon you, you lucky damn kid. There's also the fact that you don't have to rely on your sword, and that's half the reason i want you to focus on your footwork.' Bael was slowly understanding the plan, a simple fake-out. But he had to push Faelar back with the sword first, as this could be considered his first lesson on sword fighting.
Bael nearly got hit by one of Faelar's blows this time, time was running out.
'Now, your footwork has to follow what you want to do, do you want to advance? How will you do it? What we currently have to do, is get really close, and drop that sword! We have to catch him in the middle of his strike. I believe you can understand the rest since I can't keep explaining this to you in the middle of a fight. Now hurry up and make this old man proud!' If Astram had a body you'd see him genuinely smile, it seemed fun to create a hero, and shape someone up, seeing them grow in the middle of a battle was quite the sight.
Bael quickly closed the distance, momentarily surprising Faelar, who in response went for a wide strike that he would have to block with his sword... But that extra mana he got wasn't for nothing!
[Adrenaline]! Bael used the rest of his mana to boost his body to the limit, and suddenly let go of his sword while holding back Faelar's blow! This would have been bad for Bael, but the power of his [Analyzation] and [Adrenaline] skill combined could make him see everything in slow motion, creating the best path to dodge the swing... all while getting a good punch in Faelar's gut!
The sword fell out of Faelar's hand, and he plopped to the ground after getting punched. He quickly stood up, looking at the fatigued Bael. Smiling.
"You're good... you disgusting demon contractor! But you were too weak for me of course! Now how about we end th-" Faelar got mercilessly kicked in the jaw, landing him on the wall with a bang.
"That was quite an inspirational fight, Bael. Fufu!" Ophelia decided to step in... and Bael felt stupid.
Why didn't he ask for help before? He knew she could beat the other two...