Martim didn’t draw his sword and instead observed me. With no prior data on him, I was cautious about making the first move. Like Shan said before, I didn’t want to reveal too much right away. For now, I would just use Mirror’s Rend and not switch weapons until I knew what the mouse was capable of. I blinked once and then Martim vanished from my line of sight. Damn, I wasn’t vigilant enough! I spun around and parried his sword strike. Our blades clashed and it was obvious the mouse was an experienced sword user. Despite his small stature, his attacks were able to shift me backwards. I channeled fire magic into my blade, setting it ablaze, and unleashed five lines of flames at the mouse. He reached behind his back and blocked my attack with a sturdy shield. An insignia of a red brick wall and a capital cursive “R” imposed over it was located on the center.
“Very impressive for someone of your age. It is a pleasure to fight you,” Martim said, raising his shield to block my sword.
He swung for my legs before striking my left kneecap with his shield. The mouse followed up with a quick stab at my right leg and leaped upward. His weapon narrowly missed my chest as I teleported away with a portal. I unleashed a blast of lightning at the mouse but he leaped over it. Pretty annoying to deal with such a dexterous enemy. He accelerated towards my head but I repelled him with an electric sphere. His shield blocked magical attacks but was he capable of using it himself? My grimoire analysis showed below average levels of magic, but if he was given Stellar Foundation equipment, then that didn’t matter.
Martim sheathed his sword and switched over to a bow and arrow. He notched an arrow and aimed at my head. I swung my sword to deflect the projectile but a burst of light exploded out of it. Damn, he got me! I heard the mouse approach me but couldn’t pinpoint the direction. A sharp object pierced my ankles multiple times. When my vision returned, Martim held a spear, blood dripping off the tip of it. I didn’t expect to fight a combination of Kisai and Shan today.
I swapped out Mirror’s Rend for a baton and teleported behind the mouse. Gathering electricity around the weapon tip, I swung at his head. Martim threw his cloak upwards and dispelled my magic before defending with his shield. I swung again with increased strength, attempting to break his shield. When that failed, I encased the shield in ice and rammed my baton into it. The ice shattered but the shield remained unscratched. Alright, time for a different approach.
Surrounding myself with a protective barrier, I lowered the temperature to below freezing. Next, it was time for some winter magic. Light snow descended from above before transitioning into an intense blizzard. The entire ground turned white and visibility was reduced to zero. I kept this going for two minutes and then checked the aftermath.
“Should have known he wouldn’t go down so easily,” I muttered as Martim’s shield glowed with a golden light.
His body temperature returned to normal as the mouse escaped from the ice. I converted the snowy ground around him into an icy surface and Martim slipped. As he fell, I transformed the ice underneath him into a large icicle that pierced the mouse’s stomach. He clutched it in pain, spitting out blood, but remained standing. I hoped my attack would end the battle but the mouse’s wound was already healing. He raised his sword into the air as a golden light surrounded his blade. That didn’t look good. Martim sped towards me, slicing through all my ice walls, and slashed my right shoulder. A large gash appeared as blood spilled out from it. F***, I hadn’t sustained so much damage in awhile. I applied En’s blue flames, closing up my wound, but Martim was already on the offensive again. Five beams of light struck me, slowing down my movement, and took away my eyesight.
“If you can escape this, you are truly a worthy opponent!” Martim shouted as his footsteps grew closer to me.
I turned toward the sound of his footsteps but an attack struck me from the opposite side. I really should talk to Kyoi about training me up for these types of situations. I dodged his next attack, only to fall into his follow-up one, a crushing blow to my right hand. Damn, the timing was really difficult to get down. After multiple blows to my stomach and hands, I finally started figuring things out. On Martim’s next attack, I disarmed him of his weapon and my vision finally returned. I looked downward and saw a heavy wooden staff in my hand. Seriously, who was this mouse?
“That staff means a lot to me. An old friend gave it to me as a keepsake when he returned to his homeland. I hope that you treat it with the same respect as I do,” Martim revealed.
There were numerous deep scratches on the staff. Whoever wielded this before him went through a lot of battles with this weapon. I took a deep breath and swung the weapon at the mouse. He parried with his sword, having no intent of retrieving the weapon from me. Man, I really didn’t have any experience using something like this. Still, it felt disrespectful to change weapons after Martim’s words. Although, winning this battle was pretty important. S***, why was I even thinking about stuff like that right now?
“Don’t think too much about it, Yuki. Just swing it and you’ll be fine,” Shan encouraged me.
“Fine but you’re teaching me how to use this when we’re done with all of this!” I thrust the staff toward Martim.
“I was planning to at our next training camp. Tess already talked to me about it,” Shan revealed.
Our weapons clashed once more and I finally discovered an opening. I tripped Martim and bashed his face. Pulling the staff back, I hooked the end of my weapon underneath his shield, and knocked it out of his grasp. Martim dove for it but I pulled the shield towards me instead with Shan’s gravitational powers. As I suspected, this shield was a Stellar Foundation creation. Powerful magic flowed within it, a hundred times greater than the readings from Martim. With this in my possession now, it should be easier to defeat the mouse.
“As I said before, very impressive. Tomo Yuki, let’s see if you can finish me off,” Martim said.
His movements became a blur as he barreled himself into me. My eyes couldn’t adjust as the mouse struck me from multiple angles with his sword. I tried slowing him down with gravity manipulation but there was no effect. This was just sheer willpower on his part at this point. Recalling Tess’ lessons, magical equipment placed a heavy strain on the user if they didn’t have natural aptitude for it. Despite that, his attacks were still powerful and hurt like hell. Eventually, I caught him and slammed Martim to the ground. His cloak was just a single piece of fabric, wrapped around the mouse’s neck. Martim’s breathing was heavy and his paws covered in blood.
“I appreciate the staff so might as well finish things off with it!” I pointed the weapon at him.
I hit his stomach and created a ring of fire around him. Charging up my staff with electricity, I injected the element into my flames. The flames crackled with purple lightning and surged towards Martim. As the electrified flames covered the mouse, I dealt the final blow, smashing my staff into his head. The artificial battle dimension collapsed and a magical circle appeared underneath the unconscious mouse. His body vanished two seconds later.
“No major injuries, that’s good,” Shan said.
“Let’s get to that control panel. F***, that wasn’t even a long fight and I’m already feeling tired,” I responded, walking ahead.
Five minutes later, we arrived at an unlocked door. We stepped in and saw a screen with a number pad underneath it. Shan contacted Kisai and Zhuyu before checking the number pad. They synced up their inputs and submitted their codes at the same time. A shimmering portal appeared near the screen. That must be the way to whatever was guarding Kisai’s seal.
“Champ, can you tell us anything about the portal?” Shan walked closer to it.
“It’s linked to a high altitude area and a lot of things are waiting for us on the other side,” he replied.
“Sounds fun. Yuki, want to go in first?” Shan glanced over at me.
“You’re doing this on purpose. Fine, I’ll head in,” I responded, stepping through the portal.
Ominous gray clouds filled the sky. Kisai and Zhuyu’s group already arrived , waiting near the center of the area. Cannons were positioned on each of the four towers located at the corners. Thick wiring ran from lightning rods to the cannons. Weird, no signs of any enemies yet.
“This definitely confirms that someone big in Za’ard was supplying them with the parts,” Shan commented, staring up at the cannons.
“Wait, these are the same cannons that ripped apart the dimension?” I stared at him in surprise.
“Look the same, don’t know if they carry the same firepower, but still dangerous even if they’re just cheap knockoffs,” Shan confirmed.
The cannons rotated and were now aimed at us. A green aura surrounded all the wiring, followed by a low humming sound. S***, that wasn’t a good start. Kisai grinned at this sudden development and pointed at one of the dangerous weapons.
“Must be scared if you’re hiding from me. Go ahead and fire,” Kisai dared them.
A powerful beam of magic erupted from the cannon. Kisai didn’t react, standing still, and the beam fizzled out when it struck his head. Another beam was fired immediately but with the same result. Almost no cooldown at all, huh?
“There’s a flaw in your blueprints. Well, more like Za’ard really didn’t want you to have the full power version,” Kisai revealed before leaping upward.
He arrived at the top and placed his left hand on one of the cannons. Ten beams were fired off, one after another, all striking the ground. I expected a cracked surface but only smoke wafted upward. So that’s why he was so confident.
“See? Your cannons are trash so come on out and I’ll kick all your asses,” Kisai demanded.
All the cannons activated and fired at the hero. He didn’t dodge and shrugged his shoulder. Like before, Kisai sustained no damage.
“It won’t work. You can try as many times as you want,” Kisai said, hopping back down to the ground.
“I told you that he wouldn’t be easy to take down. This piece of junk better work, unlike those dumb cannons,” a voice said.
A person, dressed in knight armor, appeared from a spinning magic circle. They removed their helmet, revealing an older man, two wide scars on both his cheeks. A dagger was strapped to his upper left shoulder. The symbol of the Knight’s Guild was located on the right breast side.
“Jin, I will be the first to take you on. Forgive me for using such underhanded tactics but protecting the seal is very important!” he shouted as thunder rumbled in the sky.
