torrential
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Jharr felt each blow in his arms. They cam fast and heavy, and he had to avoid most of them. But his opponent was not letting up for a moment. The huge man swung the great sword with far too much speed and precision. It should be a slow weapon, even for a man that big. But the attacks were coming with the speed of a dagger.
And the worst part was that Jharr had no idea how his opponent was doing it. The man was using his weapon like he was under the effects of a physical reinforcement spell. But magic was forbidden in this tournament. And if he was cheating, the enforcer would spot the spell use immediately.
That is, unless they were being paid off. He risked a glance at the enforcer through the torrential rain of sword strikes. The man had the glowing eyes of one using an identification spell, but they were looking at Jharr, and only at Jharr. The man was completely ignoring the obvious magic use. But the moment Jharr tried to counter with his own magical power, he would no doubt be called out immediately.
But that did not mean he was helpless. He could still move his mana around, and make use of it in minor ways. He could not reinforce his body, but he could still sense the flow of magic in another. And maybe even do something about it. Sure enough, the man’s entire body was wrapped with the dense, flowing mana of a reinforcement spell. Jharr grinned.
“So, how much did you pay?” He said, just loud enough for the large man to hear. For the first time, the rain of attacks faltered.
“Wh-what?” The big man asked. His eyes darted around the arena, checking to see if anyone had heard anything. “I…I didn’t pay anyone anything.”
“Then explain why you haven’t been called out for that boost spell you’re using.”
Jharr finally had the chance to counter. He swung his blade with everything he could, pressing his opponent’s momentary distraction. The big man growled, and used his magically enhanced abilities to launch into a series of rapid strikes. But it was too late. Jharr knew how to win, and he had an opening.
He ducked an attack and moved in close. His knee shot up and into the big man’s chest. The man grunted, more from surprise than pain. Jharr took the time to inject a tiny amount of mana into his opponent, setting it moving in the opposite direction as his.
It would not do much, but it was a start. Jharr darted in and out, landing bare handed blows laced with small amounts of mana. None of them did much damage, but that was hardly the point. A real mage would have been able to deal with such mana infusions, but this man was no mage. The two torrents of blows went back and forth. The big man’s magically enhanced great sword cuttgreat arcs through the air at rapid pace, but none of them landing. Jharr’s light, weak unarmed attacks fell like raindrops, and doing about as much damage.
And soon, it was done. The two opposing mana currents in the large man’s body weakened, and ultimately disbanded the spell. His eyes opened in shock and confusion.
“What…what did you do? You…you can’t use magic.”
“Not magic. Just a little raw mana. Perfectly legal by tournament rules. Let’s see how well you do now, shall we?”
Without the magic enhancing him, the man’s attacks were slow. They still had a great amount of force behind each one, but when the attacks seemed like they were made underwater, they were easy to avoid. Jharr had no such difficulty. Once again wielding his sword, He easily ducked each attack and unleashed a flurry of quick blows that cut through skin with ease. No one attack dealt significant damage, but they added up.
When the man finally fell, Jharr was taking deep breaths and he was covered with sweat, but he had won. He raised his blade to the air, letting the cheers of the crowd wash over him. He just hoped his next opponent would fight properly from the start. That always made these tournaments more interesting.
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Not sure what to say right now. I guess just enjoy the story, okay?
