Chapter 16: A Test Of Strength

The moment the battle started, my opponent reacted. With a burst of speed, the bat launched an overhead strike at me. Time seemed to slow down as his glistening claws approached my face. Ducking as quickly as I could, I gave him an electric jab directly in the chest. As my opponent’s face morphed into shock, I got a considerable amount of distance from him. The reason for this was simple. I sincerely doubted that this bat had any long range attacks. Therefore if I kept on launching long range attacks, I would be virtually untouchable.

The reason I was able to get a hit off in our little exchange was because the sinister bat had underestimated me. He probably didn’t want to use his full strength against a weakling like me. Little did he know that I wasn’t as weak as I seemed. He also left himself open when he tried to hit me. Maybe next time he would be more careful.

Although it rarely happened, my electric shock had managed to paralyze the bat. I was thankful for this because without it, I would have been unable to create a distance between me and my opponent. As the paralysis of my attack wore off, I could see the bat’s eyes take on a more sinister look. I guess he was no longer playing around. Good, because neither was I. If he wanted to fight, he needed to be prepared to give it his all.

Before my opponent could move, I launched four earthen spikes. The reason I didn’t launch more was because I wanted to see how the sinister bat would react. And If I kept on launching four of them, he would probably think that I could only launch four of them at one time. Two earthen spikes came at him from the bottom while the other two came from each side. How would he evade this attack?

With a powerful leap, the sinister bat jumped into the air. With a flap of his wings, he came surging down toward me. Tch, that was what I was afraid of. I concentrated on where he was going to attack as I thought of how to retaliate. Slamming my hands into the ground, I created an earthen wall. Would it be powerful enough to hold out? My question was answered as a dent appeared on my earthen wall. Huh, I guess my opponent wasn’t strong enough to break through my wall. I could definitely use this to my advantage.

Hiding behind my wall, I began to formulate a plan. My wall looked as if it could hold off two more flying attacks. However, I wanted it to be used for more than defense. I concentrated on coming up with ideas as I waited for my wall to be attacked again. It was while I was thinking that I realized my mistake. My wall only blocked off one direction, not all of them. With a sickening dread, I turned around only to be met with the bat’s claws.

My head snapped backed painfully as the bat’s clawed hand grasped my neck. Before I could conjure a wind blade, I was swept up into the air. Shit, I needed it to drop me quickly. Humans were not meant to be in the air. I was also receiving damage thanks to hit hand crushing my windpipe. As we flew I began forming a wind blade as fast as I could. Once it was formed, I slashed at my opponent’s chest.

-8

Heh, that was what you got for getting this close to me. Did he really expect me not to retaliate? With a twist of his body, my opponent swung me around and threw me at the ground. Whoops, I think I made him mad. The moment my face turned towards the ground, I realized just how much I was screwed.

How fucking high could this bat even fly? Right now I was a considerable distance away from the ground. If I didn’t soften my landing, I would have broken bones. Shit, I might even die. Was this a fight to the death? Fuck, I didn’t even know. Well since this attack looked like my opponent was trying to kill me, I was going to treat it like a death match. But first, I needed to deal with my current problem. How to survive this fall without being flattened like a pancake?

As the wind rushed around me, I glanced at my opponent. Right now he was just watching me fall as he flew in the air. What an utter fool. If it was me, I would attack while my opponent was defenseless since there was no guarantee that the fall would kill me. Yeah, there was definitely no way I was losing to an opponent like this.

The ground was coming closer and closer to me as I struggled to come up with a plan. Shit, I needed to come up with something quick. Creating a wind blade on either hand, I began to manipulate them. Instead of a sword, I formed them into the shape of a small tornado. Or at least tried. The first attempt failed while the second attempt was partially successful. As I did this, the ground came ever closer.

Pushing a considerable amount of mana into my new technique, I forced a blast of wind to come from each of my hands. Although this little technique didn’t stop my descent, it slowed me down considerably. The only problem with it was that a considerable amount of my mana had been drained in the process. I did not want to attempt this technique again until the end of the battle. If I did, my mana would run out before the fight finished. And that was something I did not want to happen.

Skill Gained!

It seems that my last second maneuvers had made me gained a skill. With a nod of my head, I moved the blue box away. I would have to look at the skill once the battle was completed. I couldn’t afford to be distracted now.

Right before I would’ve hit the ground, I attempted to change the ground below me into an earth swamp. The results…. I survived. My left arm was currently unusable. I assumed it was broken with the amount of pain I was feeling. I was also sporting a variety of bruises on the left side of my body. Fuck, I would need to end this battle quickly, or else I would lose.

Thanks to the fall I received, my health had gone down to fifty points. Yes you heard that right. Fifty points was all I had left. That drop I suffered had dealt an insane amount of damage to me. I could feel it too. I needed to make sure I never took an attack like that again. Glancing up toward the sky in pain, I surveyed my opponent’s status.

Sinister Adult Bat - Lv.8

Hp: 30/45

You have got to be kidding me. I had only managed to reduce his health by fifteen points. Tch. He was also staying airborne so it would be harder to attack him. I needed to think. Concentrate! Ignoring the pain on the left side of my body, I crouched on the ground. Grasping the earth with my right hand, I poured my mana into the ground. I would make him regret ever fighting me.

Once my opponent saw that I wasn’t moving, he initiated his attack. Similar to his last attack, he charged through the air with considerable speed. Although the attack was deadly when it hit, it had a couple of weaknesses. One of them was that he was going too fast to dodge any of the attacks I threw at him. The moment he was in my attack range, I launched seven earth spikes at him. Not only were these earthen spikes more durable, I also made several spikes jut out of each of him. He only had himself to blame for letting me prepare.

The sinister bat’s force allowed him to go through three of my earthen spikes. However I still had four left. Two earthen spikes pierced each of his wings, taking away his advantage in the fight. I watched as his body tumbled to the ground in a tumble of earth and blood. At least now he was feeling the pain I was feeling. I ignored the dark spots that were beginning to cover my vision. I needed to make sure he was down for the count. I wasn’t about to make the same mistake he did.

Dragging myself towards my opponent I hissed in pain. Fuck, I had never felt this much pain in my life! But I had to persevere! As I stumbled on a piece of jutted out earth, I noticed that my opponent was getting up himself, albeit slowly. My face crunched in despair as he got onto his knees. Shit, I barely had any mana left. My last attack had drained almost all of it. I only had enough for two electric shocks or one wind blade. Spitting out a glob of blood, I watched my opponent carefully. The next successful strike would decide the battle.

The sinister bat I was fight crawled up to his feet with determination. I was expecting him to look at me with anger, but instead respect filled his eyes. I guess he finally acknowledged me as a worthy opponent. His wings were torn in several places and blood gushed out of his wounds like a broken faucet. How long would he be able to last before he finished?

Silence filled the battlefield as my opponent and I stood face to face. I looked at him with surprise as he began to speak.

“What is your name?”

“Colm. Yours?”

“Vasik. Let us end this battle gloriously.”

After we finished talking, I began to notice mana gathering towards Vasik’s claws. Was he about to use some sort of skill? I was surprised since I hadn’t seen any of the other bats using one on the battlefield. I just assumed that they didn’t have any. But those were thoughts for later. It was time to finish this battle.

As Vasik gather mana toward his claws, I cleared my mind. Closing my eyes, I began to concentrate mana towards my hand. Once I had gathered my mana, I converted it into wind. A few seconds later, a wind blade thrummed joyfully across my arm. Opening my eyes in determination, I glared at my opponent. A blue box appeared in my vision but I nudged it away. I couldn’t afford any distractions in these final moments of the battle.

Ignored the pain in my foot, I charged towards Vasik that same time he did. Time seemed to slow down as I watched his now crimson claws. Ducking beneath his left claw, I aimed my right hand towards his chest. As I did this, I added lightning to my wind blade attack. I had to time it perfectly or I would run out mana before my attack hit. As I reached out my hand, I was forced to twist my body as his right claw struck the side of my throat.

Gugah!

Blood flowed out of my throat as my electrified wind blade pierced my opponent’s chest. After our little exchange I fell to the ground with my hand covering my throat. Fuck, I couldn’t breathe. Black spots completely filled my vision, leaving me virtually blind. As I held my throat, I heard a loud thump behind me. Did I win? As my consciousness faded out, I allowed a small smile to appear on my face. Now the bats couldn’t say anything about me or the undead. As I lay on the ground, I felt my barat appear by my side. After that…nothing.