"Start!"
The staff started our bout, but neither Zion or I moved.
The signal rang out clearly across the arena, echoing off the protective barrier pillars, yet both of us remained completely rooted to our spots.
We both stared and observed each other, wary about one another’s first move.
The air inside the ring grew tense, charged with a strange, heavy pressure as our eyes locked in a silent contest of focus.
’I can go all out... I can use Vael’s ice powers to its full potential.’
I thought to myself.
My hand tightened around the hilt of [Frost], feeling the cool, familiar hum of ice mana vibrating through the pristine blue blade.
I’m not bound by the game mechanics as well where I can only use preset skills—I can shape the ice whatever and however I want.
No cool-down timers, limited skill slots, and set spell patterns--in this real world, my imagination and mana control were the only actual boundaries.
Zion is the main character of this world, I know he would be able to handle me at full power—the artifact covering the arena will also prevent anything from the inside to go out, I don’t need to worry about accidentally harming anyone or destroying anything.
There’s also a staff overseeing this fight.
The grey-uniformed instructor was standing right outside the glowing blue barrier lines, his eyes sharp and attentive, ready to intervene the exact second things got out of hand.
Cindy’s words sank in my head again.
’You don’t need to hold back with your ice abilities.’
Her voice echoed clearly in my memory.
I looked toward Zion.
He was so excited earlier that I thought he will rush in as soon as the match started, but he’s quietly and carefully observing me. I guess he’s still level-headed.
Despite his cheerful, hyperactive personality when hanging out, the moment a weapon was in his hands, his combat instincts took over completely.
And so, instead of waiting for him—
"[Strength]"
I muttered that, buffing my physical capabilities.
BAM!
Then I made the first move and rushed toward Zion!
The ground cracked where I was standing before with the force I used for the lift off—my vision blurred a bit as I arrived in front of Zion in a fraction of second, and without hesitation—
FWISH!
I thrust my rapier forward, ripping through the air and targeting his throat!
The sharp, translucent tip of my weapon pierced through the distance with terrifying speed, leaving a faint trail of frosty air in its wake.
"...!"
Zion was surprised, but he avoided it easily by turning sideways; my pointed rapier barely missing his neck.
His reaction time was absurdly fast, his head tilting just enough for the cold edge of [Frost] to graze empty air right beside his collar.
BAM!
Then all of a sudden he suddenly disappear in front of me! He planted his back foot and vanished from my line of sight in an instant, leaving behind a sharp gust of wind where he had just been standing.
I frowned, in terms of physical prowess, Zion is leagues above me at every aspect. But at least, I know where he’s going.
SWOOSH!
With a single thought in my head, I summoned an ice pillar behind me.
I channelled a sharp burst of mana directly behind my heels, causing a dense, solid block of frozen ice to erupt violently from the stone floor.
BOOM!
And it exploded to bits as soon as it was erected! Zion appeared behind me and was planning to attack, but his sword was stopped by my ice pillar. His golden-runed blade slammed hard into the thick structure, shattering the ice into a shower of white sparks and frozen shrapnel.
BAM!
I immediately jumped away from him, not wasting that opportunity.
I kicked off the ground sideways, creating a safe gap of ten paces between us before he could re-orient his stance.
"...?"
I saw Zion standing all confused where he was.
He lowered [Excalibur] slightly, blinking twice as he looked at the shattered ice remnants on the floor before turning his gaze back to me.
"Did you read my mind? How did you know where I was going?"
He asked me.
He rubbed the side of his neck, a look of genuine perplexity written all over his face.
"Not telling."
I told him.
I let out a light smirk, resting the tip of [Frost] casually toward the ground.
But actually, it’s just because in the game, whenever he disappears—he reappears behind the enemy; it was like his favorite basic attack. Cindy was doing the same thing to me as well when we were sparring, so I was able to block it the first time.
’I don’t know why these two always try to attack from the back after they discover their enemies are slower than them.’
I wondered, thinking about Zion and Cindy’s weird habit.
It seemed to be a shared trait among high-agility fighters—always going for the blind spot the second they recognized a speed advantage, as if showing their superiority.
"Haha, then I guess I just need to go faster."
Zion said after hearing my response to him.
He let out a short, energetic laugh, shaking his head as his posture sank even lower into the concrete floor.
He crouched down, I felt mana gathering on his legs. And in the next moment—BOOM!
He kicked off!
The stone beneath his boots shattered under the sheer pressure of his sudden acceleration.
His figure became a blur, I literally can’t see him!
But in a split second—SWOOOOOOOSH!!!
I summoned an ice spike in front of me, I made it as big as a building’s pillar, and made it long enough to extend toward where Zion was before!
Instead of trying to react to where he was heading, I simply attacked the straight line path he was forced to take when moving at top speed.
And in doing so—THUNK!
I hit Zion.
The massive, jagged spike of ice slammed directly into his advancing path.
"Ugh?!"
Well, he blocked the ice spike with his sword, but at least I was able to stop his advance.
He was knocked back a few feet from the impact, his boots skidding across the floor as he used [Excalibur] to brace against the massive frozen pillar.
Knowing his character, I was sure Zion was going to do a frontal assault—he tried using his max speed just now after all; at this early of the story—he still can’t control it.
At his current level, he lacked the fine mana control needed to change directions mid-dash when moving at maximum speed, forcing him into a predictable straight path.
Anyway, I wasted no time after that.
Zion was faster than me and that will be trouble, so to fix that—
TAP!
I stomped on the ground—SWIIIISH~
Then the whole floor of the arena became covered with thick ice in just a few moments!
In less than two seconds, the entire concrete surface of Ring 14 was completely transformed into a smooth, slippery sheet of frozen terrain.
From now on—I plan to take control of the fight.
By altering the environment, I effectively negated his superior footwork and raw speed advantage.
BAM!
I rushed toward Zion once again. The ice seems to accept me, not hindering my movement or making me slip.
My mana resonated perfectly with the frozen floor, allowing my boots to glide smoothly across the slick surface like I was skating on flat ground.
I arrived to where Zion was, he was looking at me with a frown—but he was smiling as if finding our fight fun.
He was struggling to maintain his balance, his ankles wobbling slightly as he tried to adjust his stance on the frictionless terrain.
I know for sure he’s being careful with his movements, one wrong move and he can fall down—that can decide the outcome of the fight if that happens.
A single slip would leave him completely open to a direct hit, forcing him to play far more defensively than he originally intended.
FWISH— SWISH— WHISH!
I launched a barrage of thrusts, all aimed at his vital spots!
[Frost] transformed into a streak of translucent blue light as I executed a rapid series of straight strikes targeting his shoulder, chest, and sides.
TINK! TIING! SWOOSH~
He parried two quick jabs with the flat of his blade and avoided one, his feet sliding back an inch every time our weapons collided on the frozen ground.
Zion was forced to focus on blocking and avoiding my strikes. But as he was busy doing that—FWIP!
I lunged forward through his open guard, shooting my hand out to clamp my fingers tightly around his forearm.
I grabbed his left arm with my left hand, and before he could even react—SWAAAAHHHH!!!
His whole arm froze in an instant and was covered with thick ice!
A dense layer of frost expanded rapidly from my palm, encasing his sleeve and wrist in a heavy, solid block of deep blue ice that locked his arm completely.
"?!!"
Zion’s eyes widened in total shock as he looked down at his frozen, immobiized arm.