[Chapter 21 Comment]
[Adam_Balch_7324: It's never that simple with you when even the timing of a smile plays a part. That's what makes things interesting]
[Zynxavier: I feel the concept of this story is a first, but the story in the academic part is a bit Dejavu in my opinion]
Theo merely smiled in response to the first comment, but internally, he replied to the second comment. "I can't say for certain. If you consider this concept to be incredibly fresh, then the author must still be exploring new ideas. As for the academy part, yes, it might be a bit cliché, but it serves its purpose. It provides me with some cover as well. When things become unbearable, readers like you can pressure the author for change. If enough people complain about something, the author might reconsider their choices. Besides, having some clichés can be advantageous since they create predictability, which is something I can use."
As Theo responded to the comments, Gareth raised his hand and shouted, "Start!"
Avalon knew that he couldn't afford to lose, as Gareth would undoubtedly make things more difficult if he did. After all, Gareth and Avalon hailed from the same realm, and Gareth's status was equal to that of Avalon's father, a marquis. If Avalon lost, Gareth would undoubtedly use his status to address the matter with Avalon's father.
However, Avalon's first move after the match began was to create distance by jumping backward.
"Huh?" Maya was puzzled. Avalon was a knight who specialized in close combat, so it seemed odd for him to create distance.
But Maya took advantage of the situation and activated her armor. Her limbs were covered in an exoskeleton, doubling her size. She also had protective armor and a blue generator on her chest.
Meanwhile, Avalon took a deep breath and focused his energy.
"Knight Link."
His heart began pounding intensely, and lines emerged all over his body. Each limb had two lines, while his head had three—one connected to each eye and one encircling his neck.
"This is..." Maya finally understood why Avalon had created distance. "Knight Link... I've heard about this. By stimulating their essence, fighters in the Knight Realm can enhance their physical abilities to superhuman levels. There are a total of ninety-nine lines, and Avalon has managed to manifest eleven lines, whereas his peers can usually only create four or five."
Maya finally grasped why Avalon was known as a genius.
"Blade!" Maya extended her right hand, and the nanomaterial expanded to form a long blade. "Come!"
Avalon glanced at her for a moment before disappearing, leaving behind only dust.
It wasn't teleportation. Avalon simply moved at an incredibly fast speed.
"Four times the speed of a normal human?" Maya's helmet provided her with a screen that analyzed Avalon's physical abilities. At the same time, she swung her blade to the side.
Clink!
It turned out that Avalon had reached her position and almost struck her. Fortunately, his speed wasn't beyond what her eyes could track.
Simultaneously, Maya's robotic arm allowed her to exceed normal human strength.
"Ha!" Maya roared as she pushed Avalon back.
"Kh." Avalon gritted his teeth. Even with this enhanced ability, he hadn't reached the level of a machine.
But he knew that machines had a significant weakness—their lack of flexibility.
Avalon spun his body, sliding his blade to slip past Maya's defense.
Unfortunately for him, Maya had another card up her sleeve. Just as Avalon was about to reach her, he suddenly encountered an invisible wall that emitted blue light upon contact.
"!!!" Avalon was startled, and Maya used this opportunity to kick him. He quickly struck her foot to lessen the impact, but it still sent him flying back.
"A transparent shield, a blade, and a powerful machine..." Avalon muttered. His sword gradually emitted a blue light as he approached Maya once again.
Their blades clashed several times, but to Avalon's surprise, Maya's strength couldn't push him back once his sword emitted the blue light. The emitted light seemed to disperse a portion of her blade's momentum and strength, allowing him to repel it.
Moreover, with each clash, Avalon grew more accustomed to the fight, refining his movements and adapting to Maya's style.
It didn't take long for Avalon to slip past her defense once again.
"Not good!" Maya hurriedly swung her blade to stop him, but Avalon ducked down, evading it. Then, with a swift motion, he sliced through the transparent barrier with his sword.
The clash created a spark, and due to the interaction between his sword's blue light and the barrier, a small distortion appeared.
In that moment, Maya jumped back, creating some distance. She examined the barrier's condition.
Barrier Energy: 2900/3500
"Are you serious?" Maya let out a hollow laugh. It seemed that Avalon's sword could chip away four hundred points from her barrier with just a single slash. If this continued, her barrier would undoubtedly break, and she would be defeated.
Their intense battle continued as Avalon relentlessly pursued Maya. Despite her efforts to repel him with her blade, Avalon's relentless attacks with Lancelot were overwhelming. Clang! Clang! Maya could only manage to stop six out of seven strikes, with the seventh landing on her barrier.
As expected, Avalon's strength was his advantage. Being from the Knight Realm and embodying the essence of a pure-hearted knight, he overwhelmed his opponents with sheer power. Even a machine like Maya found it difficult to hold him back.
However, Maya had a cunning plan to exploit Avalon's weakness.
"You are simply too straightforward!" Maya suddenly dropped her blade as if she had given up on the battle.
This action startled Avalon, leaving him momentarily puzzled. But before he could react, Maya swiftly pointed her robotic palm at him, revealing a hole in the arm.
"!!!" Avalon quickly leaped to the side, evading a barrage of bullets that rained down on his original position.
Maya showed no intention of stopping as her palm continued to chase Avalon, firing relentless shots. The field was filled with gunshots, leaving Avalon with no opportunity to counterattack.
Yet, Avalon, ever adaptable, began learning the pattern of Maya's movements and adjusted his own. With a well-timed stomp, he executed the Split Step technique, cracking the ground as he propelled himself to the side.
"Tsk." Maya clicked her tongue, attempting to catch up to him but failing to do so.
Taking advantage of the distance created, Avalon employed the Split Step two more times, skillfully maneuvering and eventually reaching Maya's back. This was where her weakness lay. While the exoskeleton granted her strength, it lacked the flexibility and agility to match Avalon's speed.
Raising his sword, Avalon prepared to strike Maya. However, unbeknownst to him, Maya had anticipated this moment. She knew that Avalon would approach her when she appeared distressed, mistaking it as an opportunity.
As Avalon closed in, Maya controlled her other robotic arm to swiftly turn around and shoot at him.
"!!!" Avalon realized he had been lured into a trap. In a split-second decision, he pointed his hand at the arm and released his essence. "Shield."
A translucent barrier materialized in front of his palm, successfully halting the bullets. However, the sheer volume of gunfire overwhelmed the shield, gradually wearing it down. Despite his best efforts, two bullets pierced through the shield, with one hitting the ground and the other penetrating his right arm.
"Aaaahhhh!" Avalon screamed in pain as he desperately tried to distance himself from Maya.
Seizing the opportunity, Maya swiftly turned around and delivered a powerful punch to Avalon.
Avalon hastily intercepted the blow with his sword, but the force behind it sent him flying. He tumbled and rolled across the ground, struggling to regain his footing.
Just as Maya intended to capitalize on the situation and attack him further, she received a warning.
Barrier Energy: 1000/3500
"Huh? When did he—?" Maya fell silent, raising her hand to find a lingering blue light that had slashed her arm. The strike had penetrated deeply, reaching one of the cables that powered her arm.
The rapid decrease in barrier energy was now clear. The energy was leaking from that damaged cable.
Silently, Maya stared at Avalon. Because she hadn't taken immediate action as she should have, Avalon had been waiting for her, bound by his code of conduct. This was why Theo had been concerned about Avalon, as the line between his conduct and foolishness was thin.
"It seems I can't defeat you with my machine..." Maya let out a sigh and suddenly retracted her exoskeleton.
"Aval—" Gareth attempted to intervene, taking the matter seriously.
However, Maya glared at him and quickly rebuked him out loud. "I haven't given up!"
Avalon furrowed his eyebrows, struggling to comprehend Maya's intentions.
"What are you doing? The exoskeleton grants you strength comparable to mine. Without it, your speed and strength won't be enough to stand against me," Avalon frowned, feeling insulted.
"Indeed, my speed and strength are nothing compared to yours. However... I have been experimenting with something. My body and mind can keep up, but the exoskeleton can't. If I want to fight you with my exoskeleton, I need to upgrade it. Since I can't, I have decided to face you this way," Maya explained calmly.
"Are you insulting me?"
"This is why I despise straightforward knights like you... Your way of thinking is so rigid that you'd cut down mountains and split seas just to cross them," Maya sighed, expressing her disdain for his uncompromising nature. With a cold tone, she continued, seemingly looking down on him. "To converse with someone so straightforward, I suppose I need to make it simpler. I'm telling you that I can defeat you without my exoskeleton. That's all, you trash."
"Trash?!" Avalon was taken aback, never expecting Maya, who was supposed to be among the weakest in the class, to act so arrogantly. "In that case, you have only yourself to blame."
Gritting his teeth, Avalon reluctantly acknowledged that Maya had recognized her own limitations and chose to continue the battle on her own terms. Therefore, he had no choice but to cut her down.
With determination, he lunged forward, brandishing his blade.
Meanwhile, Maya retrieved two knives and closed her eyes. Yes, she shut her eyes.
Her mind drifted back to a few days ago, after returning from Theo's lecture. She had been cooking in her room, but a change in perspective had compelled her to examine the fire and the hot pan.
"What I sense is the danger itself..." Maya furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought. "This hot pan, the fire... they can harm me, right?"
She pondered on it, but the sensation remained unchanged. Curious, she cautiously moved her finger toward the hot pan. In that instant, a jolt of electricity seemed to surge through her entire body, originating from the pan.
Maya instinctively pulled her finger back, but she soon noticed a shift in her perception. Now that she had become aware of the feeling of danger, she could differentiate it from her surroundings. Moreover, she could faintly sense a subtle danger emanating from the fire itself.
Although the sensation grew weaker with distance, she could still perceive it.
"Don't tell me... I can actually sense danger from afar? And this feeling... it allows me to anticipate the subtle changes in fire and predict where it will strike when it flares up... In other words, my ability enables me to predict the trajectory of imminent danger? This..." Maya's realization washed over her.
As the sword approached her, the sensation grew stronger, allowing her to perceive its trajectory. With a graceful twist of her body, she effortlessly slipped past Avalon's attack.
"Huh?" Avalon was taken aback. Maya didn't move with exceptional speed. She moved at a normal person's pace, yet it felt as if she could predict his movements, positioning herself where he couldn't react. And just as she was about to evade him, she struck him with her knives, grazing his waist and right arm. She did all that while avoiding his sword with minimal movement.
Maya smiled, recalling the sensation. "I see. It seems Teacher has seen through my ability. This sense of danger that manifests as prediction... No, it's more like glimpsing a few seconds into the future."