Two figures, one clad in silver-blue lightning, the other in gray Flux mana, zig-zagged throughout the forest, clashing countless times.
Mainly, Ken was on the back foot, defending, while Elizabeth, taking advantage of her lightning-fast speed, kept attacking aggressively.
Lightning bolts kept trying to catch Ken from above, but flawed null crystals kept intercepting them, exploding from time to time in brilliant rainbow-flashing explosions.
The forest caught fire in many places.
“So you’re a swordsman too?” Joshua asked, looking at the fight.
“Nah.” Ken shook his head.
“So is she a bad swordswoman?” Joshua asked, pointing at Elizabeth, a little confused.
“No, not really.”
“Huh?”
“In fact, she’s above average in her skills, plus her speed gives her a big advantage!”
“Really?” Joshua asked in a suspicious and bewildered tone.
“Then why hasn’t she landed any attacks on you?
Like, you do look like you’re in a pinch, but you haven’t been hit even once.
That’s odd.”
“Good observation.” Ken nodded.
“It’s because I’m playing defensive.”
“Is that it?” Joshua tilted his head.
“I feel like there’s something more.”
“Something more?
Well, I do know some tricks.”
“Some tricks?”
“Yeah.
When you’re in a party with the greatest swordsman in history, you tend to pick up some tricks.”
Joshua blinked.
“Huh?
What did you just say?”
“Hey, wait a minute.” Ken gestured, and the hologram paused.
“Why are you asking so many questions?”
“You’re my teacher!
Aren’t I supposed to ask questions to my teacher?”
“Aaa…” Ken pointed his index finger up, about to object, but nothing came out.
“Ok, correction.
Why are you asking so many unrelated questions?”
“It’s not unrelated.” Joshua pointed at the paused hologram where Ken and Elizabeth were about to clash.
“See, that’s you with a sword, and I asked about swords, so tell me.”
“Ok.” Ken sighed, rolling his eyes.
“You saw me doing all kinds of matter manipulation just a moment ago using my—no, wait, our—unique mana type, and you ask me about swords?”
“What can I say?
Swords are cool.
I mean, you look cool.” He pointed at the hologram.
“Yeah, but I look cool even if I just stand there, so that doesn’t count.”
Joshua rolled his eyes.
“Anyways, can you teach me swordsmanship too?” His eyes lit up a little.
“I told you, I only picked up some tricks.”
“Tricks from the greatest swordsman in history.
That sounds cool.
Better yet, why don’t you ask your friend?
Wait, you guys are friends, right?
Wait, who is this greatest swordsman anyways?
Tell me.”
Joshua kept advancing.
“Ok, ok, stop and shut up.” Ken put both his palms out.
“First, yes, we were friends.
In fact, he was my best friend.”
Joshua saw the ghost of a smile on Ken’s face, yet it wasn’t a happy one.
“He was?”
“Yeah, he’s dead, and I don’t want to talk about it.” Ken had a solemn expression.
“Uuu…
I’m sorry about that.”
It was a little awkward.
Ken sighed.
“Ok, if you want to know about it, you can read about it in the academy.”
“Yes, yes.
Ok, let’s focus on the fight.”
Ken sighed, and the hologram resumed.
Ken and Elizabeth crashed together.
Their swords met each other.
Ken smirked.
“You’re very aggressive, Cookies.
I like it.
For someone who doesn’t have much experience, you’re really good.
Were you practicing on your own so you wouldn’t lose to me when we finally did it again?”
“Shut up,” Elizabeth hissed.
“Make me.
You remember how to, no?”
Joshua tilted his head, looking at Ken.
“I feel like what you said and what you meant are two different things.”
“Yeah.” Ken smirked the same devious smirk as hologram Ken.
About another thousand clashes later, more of the forest was burning, and more trees were destroyed.
The lightning bolts from the sky had stopped as Elizabeth’s staff used up all its mana.
Elizabeth herself was panting softly, looking at Ken, who looked just as relaxed as before, his hands in his pockets.
“So, we done?”
“That’s it?” Joshua asked.
“I feel it’s a little…”
“Anticlimactic?
Yeah, but it’s not over.” Ken smiled.
“Sigh.” Ken sighed.
“No, we’re pretty much done.
I think that’s enough.
The kid can learn enough from what was recorded so far, so let’s wrap it up.”
Suddenly gray Flux mana spread around Ken.
He took his hands out as he ran incredibly fast, on the way picking up a branch and a rock, both of which turned into chains.
Elizabeth had trouble following his sudden movement, yet she swung her sword forward, a massive silver-blue lightning bolt heading towards Ken.
He sidestepped, swinging the chain towards her.
She tried to block it, only to find it wrapped around her sword.
He pulled.
She didn’t want to let go, though, and poured a large amount of lightning into it, trying to break the chain.
Yet just then the wrapped chain turned into flawed null crystals.
As soon as her mana flowed into them, the crystals lit up.
Boom.
She was thrown back by the rainbow-flashing explosion.
Her armor had taken most of the damage, yet she still felt everything shake.
Panting softly, she opened her eyes only to find Ken looking down at her.
“Hmm…
hey, you’re ok.
So, ready to go back?”
She didn’t answer, lying there for a moment.
Many thoughts flashed through her mind: how the fight had gone so far, how much mana she had left, and how weak she still was.
The man in front of her, the one she wanted to defeat even though she knew it was impossible.
Was she going to give up?
No.
Resolve flashed in her eyes, and so did lightning as she transformed into a silver-blue bolt, flying up.
“Oh, come on.
You already showed me all you had.
Also, you only have one-third of your mana left.
Any less and you’ll start losing control.”
Not answering, Elizabeth grabbed her staff with both hands.
Then she opened her eyes.
“I’ll show you what I can really do.”
A silver-blue lightning aura spread around her, this time covering 100 meters all around her.
In that space, lightning seemed to be everywhere, dominating everything.
“Look at this carefully,” Ken said to Joshua.
“This is one of the most important things you need to learn.
Very few can master it.”
“What is it?” Joshua asked, a bit surprised and curious.
“It’s what separates normal mages and a unique mana type holder.
Something that, if mastered, makes you unstoppable.”
“It’s called Unique Dominance.”