"If you refuse, I'll just keep challenging you until I drain you dry of Merit points." Rina flashed an award-winning smile that made Ray's eye twitch.
"Will you get the deducted Merits?" he grumbled.
"Yep!" She bounced on her heels, her aqua-blue training robes fluttering.
Ray sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Fine, let's go. About time I show you how a real non-elementalist fights."
"That's the spirit!"
"And if I win," he added with a smirk, "you'll stop bothering me for the rest of my time here."
"Sure." Rina twirled a lock of her brown hair around her finger.
"But if I win... we will go on a date!"
"... Deal." Ray took sometime before answering as he thought it through.
'So this was your intention this whole time.' He thought as they shook hands sealing the deal.
~At the training grounds~
They stood on one of the academy's many raised circular stone podiums, each twenty meters wide.
Around them, were other students who clashed in their own sparring matches—spells fizzling, blades clacking—while a handful of spectators lounged on the grassy sidelines.
Some watched intently while others just had casual talks.
A sharp whistle cut through the noise.
"Rules!" announced a black-haired girl standing at the podium's edge—Mei, Rina's self-appointed referee and closest friend.
Her voice carried the authority of a seasoned duelist.
"One: No fatalities allowed. Two: Victory by surrender or being thrown off the ring. Three: I have the power to stop the match if someone is injured, at death's door or being stupidly reckless. Understood?" She shouted out.
Both nodded.
"Very well, you may begin!"
Rina struck first, her fingers flicking in subtle patterns as she channeled her power.
With a determined look in her eyes, she launched towards Ray.
'Is she desperate to win? And what did we agree on, as her reward if she wins?' Ray thought as he prepared to defend himself.
A coiled stream of water snapped from her palm, lashing toward Ray's legs. He sidestepped, but the whip reversed mid-air—
'Got you!' She thought as she tried to hook his leg in a second attempt, using the Water Whip in her hands.
Crack!
The whip and a wooden sword clashed.
Ray barely raised his wooden sword in time. The impact sent him skidding back, his boots scraping the stone.
'2.5 meters max range,' he noted. 'But terrifyingly flexible.'
Rina's free hand swirled. Three glistening orbs shot from her palm in rapid succession—
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Ray twisted, somersaulting over the first, parrying the second with his sword, while the third slightly grazed his sleeve...
"Damn! Those water-bullets were faster than I expected!" Ray rasped silently as he gasped for breath.
On the other hand, their fight immediately gained a crowd of spectators.
"Why isn't he using any spells? Does he think he can win with mere agility?"
"Maybe he is not an Elementalist, but a pure Martial artist. I mean, you can easily tell from his movements that he knows what he is doing!"
Murmurs erupted from the spectators as they analyzed the match.
'After that assault, she'll need time to recuperate. Unleashing so many spells at once puts a heavy toll on the body of a low-rank Elementalists. This is my chance to counter!' Ray thought as he shot towards her.
Seeing Ray charge, Rina stomped a foot. A shimmering blue barrier erupted before her—2 meters high, half a meter thick and 3 meters long. Ray pivoted, but not fast enough.
Splash!
He plunged into the wall made of water. The viscous water clung to his limbs like syrup, slowing his advance. Worse—
Thwip! Thwip!
Two more water bullets phased through the wall, aimed at his knees. Ray barely rolled aside, dodging them with great effort.
"Clever," he admitted, shaking off the residual water.
He felt as if his bones almost broke due to how forcefully he twisted in the Water Wall.
"How did he get out of there!" Someone from the spectating crowd gasped in amazement.
Rina grinned, though her breath came faster. Maintaining three spells at once strained her core—especially the whip, which flickered unsteadily.
While Ray locked his eyes on her like a predator poised to strike.
He moved!
With clenched teeth, Rina lashed her whip, aiming to land a hit and slow him down.
At the same time, she unleashed a flurry of Water Bullets—small, fast-moving orbs, a condensed form of the larger Water Balls—toward him.
She was an Elementalist. Despite having greater power advantage, she couldn't let him close the gap. If he got too close, it would be game over.
Martial artists were infamous for their dominance in close combat. Unlike Elementalists, who relied on distance and mana manipulation, Ray would gain the upper hand the moment he breached her defenses!
But to her dismay.
Ray fought like a wind spirit with deadly precision and calculated motion.
When Rina's Water Whip lashed high, he ducked, then sprang forward with a sweeping kick that forced her to cancel the spell and leap back.
He also used his wooden sword not to block, but to deflect incoming water bullets away with minimal force.
His signature move: a backflip over a low whip strike, landing right at the podium's edge before cartwheeling to safety.
The spectators murmured, impressed. Even Mei's expression was filled with awe.
'So this is the true might of a serious Martial artist.' She thought approvingly of Ray's expertise.
By the fourth-minute mark since Ray launched his counterattack, sweat glistened on Rina's brow.
Her whip sputtered. She had reached her limit of using it, and had to dispel it.
She dismissed it with a wince, focusing on bullets and wall.
Ray saw his opening.
He ran left, baiting Rina's wall. As it rose, he changed direction, sprinting right!
Slosh!
And leapt, clearing the wall entirely. Rina gasped, scrambling to summon bullets, but Ray was already inside her guard.
His wooden sword tapped her throat.
"Yield," he panted.
Rina's lips pursed. Then, a sly smile. "Make me."
She jerked her hands up—not for a spell, but to grab his wrist.
Ray blinked. 'Since when does she grapple?'
She tried to yank his hand away but failed, he was just to strong!
"That's enough Rina, you underestimated him and lost!" Mei shouted from the side.
"Come on Mei... but Ray cheated! I didn't know he was this strong!" Rina replied with a pout.
"Yeah, yeah. Now about our deal—?" Ray began talking but Rina quickly cut her off.
"What deal? I never agreed to anything!" she shot back, shameless and defiant.
Ray's eyes narrowed, frustration flickering across his face.
"Did you just turn on me?" he asked, his tone edged with disbelief.
"We didn't have a witness, so the deal is null and void!" She added while avoiding eye contact with him.
'I should've just thrown her off the ring,' he thought, clearly displeased with how things had turned out...
"I don't know the deal the two of you had, but I want to see for myself how strong my brother has got!" A familiar voice spoke up... as a figure approached them.