Captain: Alright guys, that was a great battle, might even be our record time for a mission of this size. I know we are all a bit tired but we have one thing left before we get to the booze, the graduation fight for Ed!

Now the mission was just a quick fight so I can’t imagine you being too exhausted from that fight. Are you ready?

Ed: Of course, I’m not old like you.

Captain: Great spirit! Let's set up the field then. Tech will referee and Boar will lead the other members to make a perimeter in case a random manny wants to join our fight.

Tech: Everyone ready and artifacts ready?

After the emergence, artifacts were found which can be used to fight against the manifestations. They started out as dense, black orbs but would transform according to the will and aura injected into it. The artifact would then take the shape of a weapon that would be suitable for the user.

Captain readied his giant club while Ed brought out both of his hand cannons. Ed only used one of his hand cannons against the snake but he knew he couldn’t take it easy against someone of Captain’s skill and strength.

Tech: 3...2...1...Fight!

Captain immediately dashed forward with a strong blast of aura from his feet. Being in the mercenary business for almost a decade, Captain had several techniques he could perform with his aura to maximize his combat effectiveness. The Aura Burst being one of them, he was able to clear the distance between him and Ed which was about 10 yards in only two seconds.

Ed wasn’t just standing around when the fight started. He also used his aura to accelerate away from Captain. Who would stand still when a guy with a massive club is charging at you?

Ed didn’t have as much aura as Captain as he did spend less time accumulating aura which can be increased from hunting manifestations and absorbing energy from their dead bodies or slowly meditating.

With less aura, Ed developed his own unique aura burst technique where he would accelerate with smaller but consecutive bursts. This means his initial speed would be slower than the Captain but he would have a higher speed with each successive burst and the ability to change directions slightly.

This gave Ed more maneuverability so he was able to dodge Captain’s initials charge. He had named his technique the 7 Star Steps teps which represented his ability to change directions or accelerate 7 times consecutively. His max speed would just be slightly lower than Captain's Aura Burst.

After working with Ed for so many years, Captain wasn’t surprised so he didn’t stop moving after Ed evaded his charge. He immediately smashed at the earth to create a shower of debris shooting at Ed.

Ed quickly used his 7 Star Steps to dodge again while also shooting normal bullets at the debris that would collide with his path. While Ed was able to negate this attack, it gave Captain a chance to get close to his right side.

Ed was surprised but he quickly recovered and started shooting bullets at Captain. He would’ve preferred to use his pikes shots which had more destructive power but they were slower than bullets which Captain can degree react to the spikes making them a waste of energy to create and shoot.

Unfortunately, Captain’s defensive aura was able to tank the bullets with only small scratches on his armor or skin. Ed had already used several bursts of his 7 Star Steps to evade the debris attack and was also running out of bursts. Ed will not be able to evade Captain a second time for a counter offensive at his preferred range.

However, Ed did not panic. Captain was not the only one to develop an understanding of the other’s combat capabilities after two years. Ed knew he was not skilled enough or had enough aura to waste to dodge Captain effectively. He was ready for close combat.

Ed knew that when he left today he would have to fight Captain so he prepared some hidden tricks for the Captain. He had asked Boar to train him in close combat. While he did not intend to master close combat he didn’t want to have such a glaring weakness such as close combat as a marksman.

However, Ed’s build did not suit the large 50 inch scimitars Boar used so he opted for a pair of kodachi blades which were 24inches in length. They were like katanas but shorter and did not have a hilt. They were suited for quick attacks which matched Ed’s agility.

Ed immediately injected aura into his artifact, his dual hand cannons, so that they could shift into blades for the imminent close combat.

Artifacts are usually locked into the initial form that a hunter had created but with enough aura the weapon can change. The speed and efficiency of the morphing would change based on the synergy between the artifact and the user. With 5 years of using his artifact, Ed’s synergy with his artifact can match any average mercenary so the morphing was quick and didn’t cost too much aura.

As Captain approached, only 5ft away, Ed’s weapon finished changing and he charged at the Captain. Ed’s charge which legitimately surprised him since he always knew Ed as a long distance fighter.

Even if Ed was more confident with close combat, he was not dumb enough to match the 6 foot club with his pair of 2 foot kodachi. Ed was using the last of his current run of 7 Star Steps to maneuver around Captain while aiming for weak points like his knees or armpit. With three bursts left, he dodged the Captain’s initial swing as he bursted to the right and made a swing at his armpit that was exposed from his swing.

Captain was still surprised but he was a seasoned warrior so he didn’t panic. He didn’t have time to dodge but he was still able to move minutely so that Ed’s slash would hit his armor rather than his armpit.

As Captain began a horizontal swing to try to force Ed out of the extreme close combat, Ed used his last two bursts to circle around Captain, dodging his swing and approached Captain’s back. Once in position he swung at the back of the knees.

Surprised by Ed’s combination of speed and precision, Captain did an aura burst with his whole body to force Ed back to regain the mid range that a weapon like his works best at. Just as Ed was forced back and Captain was taking a breath to regain his positioning he saw Ed smirk which raised his danger alarms.

A sudden sound emerged from the ground as trip wires and bolts shot out at him. Captain was in a temporarily weakened state from his defensive full body Aura Burst so he couldn’t defend properly against the hidden trap.

When Ed was shooting and evading the earthen onslaught from Captain’s initial attack, Ed was only shooting at the debri with one of his hand cannons. He had used his other hand cannon to shoot his bolts where he was moving in order to set up an attack for this very moment. He had kept some tricks up his sleeve during his two year stay with the Wolves.

His spikes can do more than explode, they can open and shoot on their own after being embedded in a spot. The spikes can launch wires and smaller bolts. Ed didn’t keep these a secret on purpose as these were not very effective against the stronger mannies.

If the mannies were weak then he could just shoot them directly without wasting the time or effort. As a result, he ended shelving these for the future in PvP fights at the College.

Captain was caught in an elaborate plan. Ed was able to set this up because it wasn’t only Ed who had his vision blocked by the attack, it prevented Captain from seeing Ed set up his trap. Captain was immobilized to some degree by the wires and injured by the smaller bolts.

In a normal duel the fight would’ve ended with Ed’s victory but Captain couldn’t let this be how it ends for a graduation fight so he activated his unique ability, Berserk.

Just like how manifestations can develop abilities at C-Class, hunters can also develop abilities unique to them. Captain’s ability was one of those that matched them extremely well since he always liked charging in with his oversized weapon.

Despite being in a weakened state, Captain was able to charge with a speed more than twice his initial charge and he was able to catch up to Ed and swung at him with a frightening speed. Before Ed could react with another 7 Star Steps or surprise bolts, Captain stopped his club a few inches away from Ed’s torso.

Tech: And the winner is Captain!

Ed: Guess even my surprises weren’t enough to beat you just yet. At least I was able to force out all your trump cards.

With the announcement of Captain’s victory, his aura began to subside as his Berserk ability ended. As the name of the ability suggested, Captain was able to, more or less, double his physical stats, at the cost of being weakened after using it.

Captain: You did a great job. I would say you are at most a year away from beating even me soundly. Now let's finally go get some booze!