One single mistake almost cost me my life, just one small wrong movement nearly ended my existence in this world. The pressure at every moment is suffocating. I make mistakes no matter how perfect I try to be; it’s in my nature.
A mistake against someone two ranks above me is even more fatal than it should be. His slash almost separated my head completely from my body. I had microseconds to react, and the cut only passed through half of my neck.
Luck was on my side because my movements were meant to move away. I have time to heal myself while I reposition.
I touch my neck softly. It’s a strange sensation to feel your ability to breathe disappear for a few seconds. It’s quite bizarre to see a jet of blood shoot several meters away when several important veins in your neck are cut.
Life magic once again proves to me why those months of suffering with Sus were absolutely worth it. And it’s not just that—my Law is more useful than I expected. It doesn’t fall behind when compared to the Dragon’s Law.
I’m not the only one who has made mistakes. This bastard has made many more whenever I’ve managed to close the distance for close combat. My swordsmanship is several levels above his control of the halberd. They can’t even be compared.
The only things that have kept him from suffering truly serious injuries have been his superior speed and his ability to shape mana quickly.
His Jurisdiction already gives him a window over this space, and on top of that the vast majority of the mana around us is mana without any added affinity. That makes things much easier for him whenever he tries to shape any kind of construct.
That doesn’t mean he’s gotten away unscathed for making those mistakes. He has a cut beneath the place where he lost an eye and a large slash on the arm where he lost his wrist. I couldn’t let him go unpunished when he exposed himself so badly.
I need to move away from where I’m standing as fast as possible. I don’t want to get trapped by that ability again. More than an ability, it’s something like a function of his Jurisdiction. He tries to trap me by concentrating all the pressure and weight on the place where I’m standing.
A moment ago I was already trapped once. I didn’t expect something like that. He held me in place long enough to teleport and slit my throat. I couldn’t move, my mana-based constructs slowed down, and an enormous weight was crushing me from every direction.
He became overconfident after trapping me and began laughing like a madman, giving me enough time to use a technique taught by Lucio. I gather Imra together with my Laws outside, and also a large amount inside my cube.
The external Imra serves as a small sharp cocoon meant to cut and fracture the opponent’s Jurisdiction. The Imra inside my cube is the important one. I make it explode, and it serves as a powerful impulse that fractures the opponent’s Jurisdiction, and with my willpower I finish widening all the cracks.
This has an enormous drawback. Exploding Imra inside my cube brings damage with it. Lucio only taught me that technique for emergencies. He was very clear when he taught it to me: only in life-or-death situations, when there’s no escape left. He warned me not to abuse it.
Now I understand why. Glia suddenly jumps up inside my cube because of the damage to the walls and columns. “What the hell is happening? I thought today was the next stage of the tournament.” she shouts at me telepathically.
“I thought the same. We’re being attacked and we’re not in a good position.” I try to bring her up to speed as quickly as possible. Yesterday she obtained more cores and entered a state of hibernation. We thought it would be a calm day. We were wrong.
“Shit.” she growls. “Your cube has taken serious damage with that madness you just pulled.” she scolds me.
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“It was that or being decapitated. I didn’t have many options.” My response is somewhat sad. I’m a bit disappointed in myself.
“Two more times—that’s the number of times you can do the same thing. I can help you keep most of the cracks in your cube under control.” She understands my situation.
“What happens if I do it more than twice?” I ask with curiosity and a bit of fear.
Glia stays silent for a moment while I dodge constructs and respond with my own. She finally finishes thinking. “You could fracture it just as badly or even worse than the last times. I don’t know how long it would take us to repair it without help.” She looks worried and somewhat sad.
I’m worried as well. I’ll do everything possible to escape his multiple attempts to trap me. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to evade them every time. It’s not simple at all. He can use his Jurisdiction like this without any problem, and it’s almost instantaneous.
A slight headache torments me, but I can’t give up right now. I must be ready to take risks if I want to win. Almost four minutes have passed since we started fighting, and I’ve only been trapped once. I need to keep that pace.
I manage to break through his defenses and push forward. Before I can close the remaining distance I feel the spatial mana around him stir violently, and he disappears from my sight. I raise my gaze toward the sky. He has teleported into the air.
I had already suspected it from the mana around him earlier. I don’t know if his affinity with spatial mana is better than mine, but one thing is certain: his mastery over that affinity and his ability far surpass mine.
For a moment the idea crosses my mind to start analyzing the differences between his ability and mine. The thought disappears as quickly as a shooting star. I don’t have time to be that careless. I can’t allow it in a battle where the lives of many people depend on me.
I’m attacked by several constructs for the next minute, far more than before. I have to move from side to side, searching for the best positions to dodge again and again. I cannot allow another mistake.
“Are you going to stay in the air the whole time?” I shout at him while lowering my head a few centimeters to dodge a construct. I tilt my body slightly to the side and use gravity to pull my leg back so I won’t lose it.
He doesn’t answer. I can see the desperation in his eyes. The constructs never stop coming. Only ten minutes must have passed since the trial began… are we already close to the time limit?
The Empire, together with the kingdoms and other great independent cities, won’t remain idle while we’re under attack. I estimated about fifteen or twenty minutes before they acted to free us. It seems we’re closer to the lower end of that time.
The constructs become more intense and powerful. He isn’t holding back in the slightest. Even without making mistakes I’m being forced to choose the lesser damage possible. My body is suffering cuts constantly.
I teleport the next time I see it impossible to dodge the next group of constructs from the Diamond rank. I have to move as soon as I appear. Now that he’s fully focused, he can easily predict the place where I move. I suspected it from the previous times, and now it’s confirmed.
Damn it. One of my favorite cards is useless right now. I’ll have to find a way to improve it for the next rank. I have no choice but to rise into the sky, and the weight of the Jurisdiction crashes against me with force.
It’s not just a weight related to gravity or mass. It’s also an internal pressure on my constructs. Flying consumes more mana than it should. His Jurisdiction presses down on me constantly. The only good thing is that now I have more space to dodge.
I grit my teeth as I dodge as much as possible. In less than a minute I’m being injured ten times faster than I was in the previous five minutes. The constructs come from every direction, of every size, and filled with powerful death mana all the time.
My body is no longer capable of recovering and erasing the aftereffects of every strike. I can feel the pressure heavily. Blood runs from multiple cuts all across my body.
I’m not the only one in this situation. He’s neglecting his defense to focus on the offensive. I’m slowly closing the distance toward him. I’m no longer being held back by annoying or difficult constructs.
Finally I manage to get close enough to apply some pressure. I need to force him to defend himself or I’ll die soon.
My body is covered in cuts and holes. It’s time to return all the shit I’ve received. My swords swing as fast as I can. The bastard teleports, but I follow him immediately with my own teleportation. I don’t care about the mana consumption.
I see him frown. His constructs appear instantly to try to pierce through me. Before that happens my swords are already in motion, aiming to cut his head and stomach. The bastard is forced to defend himself, and part of his constructs are diverted to defense.
I manage to counter some others thanks to my Joyeuse. My ice swords arrive just in time to protect me in the most important places.
He doesn’t escape unscathed either. Although he managed to stop the decapitation, the cut to his stomach does leave him wounded, and my swords move faster than his constructs can form. A smile appears on my face when I notice the fury and hatred in his eyes.