It was like lightning. Celia’s movements were on the verge of Dallion’s perception level. He would get a notion of what the woman was about to do, then it would follow almost simultaneously. In a matter of seconds, Dallion had already been wounded several times, reducing his health to eighty percent. The only way to cope was by using as much combat splitting as he could muster. Thankfully, his opponent wasn’t anywhere as good in that area.

Based on her actions so far, Dallion assumed she could handle two or three instances, but not more. That was a relief. At least he knew he could defend against her.

“You’ve fought furies before?” the woman asked as she paused her attacks. Being the constant attacker, she could afford as much. The unnerving part was that she was doing it in an annoyingly wholesome sort of way. There was no malice, no hidden motives, just casual conversation between people on the street.

“A few times,” Dallion replied. There was no need to clarify the results of those fights. “I didn’t know there were…” he paused, uncertain what word to use.

“Mongrels?” Celia asked with a laugh. “We’re rare. Some say we’re the best in both worlds. Not that my mother approves of anything said in the city. According to her, I’m wasting my life away, instead of—"

Dallion grasped his chance. Taking advantage of the fact that she was talking, he rushed forward as fast as his body would take him. Splitting into five instances, he attacked the woman from both flanks, above and head on. To his major disappointment, all attacks were evaded. It seemed that despite her lack of splitting potential, his opponent didn’t have any blind spots.

The attack failed, Dallion quickly retreated a dozen feet away.

“You’re quite good.” Celia smiled. “Much better than Gola. I thought he would be the one to beat. Guess I’m mistaken.”

“You know each other?”

“Oh, he’s well known in the tournament circles. Even the officials have heard of him.”

The officials? Dallion asked.

I assume some slang referring to participants who received proper invitations, Nil replied. That’s the thing with the festival. It’s such a major event that even trivial activities create their own ecosystem.

The echo was a hundred percent correct—the “wannabe” tournament wasn’t supposed to be glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. By definition, the applicants were those who were considered too weak or unorthodox to receive an official invitation. That was what the rounds were for—to weed out the complete weaklings from those with potential. However, all those applying saw it differently. Dallion had fought with a handful so far, but thanks to his music skills, he had a feeling he knew them. For some, this was a means to challenge themselves, for others it was a tournament in itself—the chance to prove their worth to the world. In a way, it was like the original idea of the Olympics back on Earth—a competition in which everyone could participate, not only the professionals with decades of training.

“Who would have expected for someone like you to appear this year.” Now it was Celia’s turn to attack without warning.

The attack was executed flawlessly. If it wasn’t for the emotional change a split second before her charge, Dallion might have been in some serious trouble. Having music skills really was cheating, and not in the way he originally thought. Being able to manipulate enemies, freeze them, and even affect their condition was all good and well, but the real advantage of the skill was allowing Dallion to know what someone’s intentions were.

Splitting into four instances, Dallion leapt away from his current spot, performing a defensive circular slash as he did. In two of the cases, he succeeded in avoiding a hit. In the other two, things didn’t turn out so well.

“Why isn’t he fighting seriously?” Constanza was heard asking.

“Because he’s smart,” Lady Marigold replied. “Both of them are. Only fools attack without having a plan of action.”

Dallion cringed, thinking back to the days in which he would just blindly charge at enemies, relying on his, at the time, incredible level of reflexes. Thank the Moons he was lucky to awaken in a small village. If he had made the same mistakes in a place like Nerosal things would have gone down much different.

You can’t win if you’re constantly on the defensive, dear boy, Nil said. You’ll face a lot faster opponents in the arena.

I know, Dallion replied.

So far, the only thing he could do against Celia was split and retreat. Ranged attacks proved useless; even at point blank range, the woman was able to change the trajectory of a bolt. Close range weapons weren’t much of an improvement. Harp had offered to navigate through the layers of air currents—which remained invisible to Dallion, much to his annoyance. However, that too required that Dallion be close enough to perform the attack, and that was something Celia had no intention of allowing.

Fine, Dallion sighed. He was going to break one of his self-imposed rules—he was going to use music.

Avoiding her attacks, Dallion played a chord on the harpsisword. His initial goal was just to sync with his target. That was quickly achieved. Three chords were enough to link to her focus and determination. Then the manipulation began.

Initially, Dallion attempted to use the tried-and-true method by inflicting weight, sluggishness, and dizziness to the woman. At first, it seemed that Dallion’s plan was successful. Celina’s attacks slowed to the point that he managed to evade her normally, and even land a few successful counterattacks. Half a minute in, though, the string markers connecting the harpsisword to its target suddenly snapped.

“Good attempt,” the woman said in her usual cheer. “It’s no secret that you’re using music, so I came prepared.”

Crap! Dallion cursed. Of course, this would happen. Sound required air to reach its target. Dallion wasn’t even sure that the people of this world realized the actual principles that went into the process. Even so, they had clearly devised the means to counter the effect. In this instance, Celia had wrapped herself in an invisible shield or air, effectively jamming Dallion’s efforts. She didn’t know how to remove the “damage” Dallion had already inflicted—thank the Moons—but even in her present state, she remained faster.

“You’ve seen nothing yet,” Dallion replied with a forced laugh. The truth was that he didn’t want to show the tight spot she had put him in. However, hearing his own words gave him an interesting idea. While it was true that he would have difficulty affecting her with his music skills, the same was not true for anything else—more specifically, the ground.

Changing his target, Dallion played a few quick chords in sequence. This was the first time he had attempted to affect an entire area. As the markers suggested, the process was different from affecting a person or object. Being part of the realm itself, the ground was too vast for Dallion to affect outright. A series of giant blue circle markers emerged, illustrating the permissible target area. The epicenter was marked in deep blue, becoming paler further away it went. The greatest issue was that, unlike standard music attacks, there was no targeted synching. The area most affected was always the one around Dallion. That meant that whatever he did would affect him as well.

Okay, let’s go with this. Dallion played a chord, adding softness to the area. One of the things he remembered hearing as a child was that quicksand pulled those that struggled faster than those that remained still. He would have given a lot to have access to the internet now to check the truth behind that notion. Given the present circumstances, he had to risk it.

The result was surprisingly fast. One moment everything seemed normal, the next Dallion and Celia sank to their ankles in the ground as if it had suddenly transformed into pudding cream.

“Wha?” Celia tried to speed out of the quicksand pit, but that only made her lose balance. For a moment it seemed as if she would fall in, granting Dallion the victory by defeat. However, her body froze a few inches from the ground. Having the ability to manipulate had its advantages as well.

Solidify, Dallion thought, hectically playing a few tunes. The ground became firm once more, locking both of them in place.

STRATEGIC THINKING

(Mind +2)

Seeing the big picture and thinking out of the box work well together. Just be prepared for the consequences.

You have a stat improved beyond its level cap. The bonus will remain inactive until you pass the next gate.

That was a surprising achievement. Dallion would have very much preferred if his reactions were boosted, instead of his mind. At least, he wasn’t going to lose anything unlike what had happened to his skills recently.

Without losing a moment, Dallion summoned his dartbow and shot at his opponent. Even at a disadvantage, Celia managed to react fast enough, causing the blow to miss her by several inches.

“That’s really something,” she said. “I don’t need to see you to defend against bolts, though.”

“I see.”

“So, it’s a draw?”

“There are no draws,” Lady Marigold said loudly. The old woman seemed to be enjoying herself. “If the fight can’t continue this’ll be considered a double loss, since neither of you can win.”

Cold, the armadil shield said. I see the logic, though. Won’t be much of a spectacle if draws are allowed.

“I guess that’s it, then?” Celia asked. “Unless you want to get back to our previous way of fighting.”

“How about neither?” Dallion played a chord. His goal was to soften the ground, as before. However, this time, he targeted a far smaller area. With him as the epicenter of the effect, he had the power to free himself, while keeping Celia stuck. That way he could calmly approach and defeat her with his harpsisword. It wasn’t going to be a fair victory, but still a victory nonetheless.

The ground around Dallion’s feel became soft once more. This time the pit was the size of a small muddy puddle, allowing Dallion to just step out. The moment he did, though, the ground started shaking.

What’s going on? Dallion asked. Can furies do this?

It’s not furies you have to worry about, Nil said. Do you think you’re the first to discover this use of music? The reason people tend to not use skills to affect an area is because of the consequences.

Damn it!

Dallion already knew he had messed up. It was an understandable mistake, which was possibly why Nil hadn’t warned him about it. Realms—like everything else—were beings. When Dallion had targeted the ground, he had also targeted the guardian of the realm.

In Dallion’s mind, time froze. Reciting the names of the seven Moons, he tried to concentrate on the possible outcomes. He could defeat Celia, then try to come with an agreement with the guardian. The amount of disdain visible throughout the ground indicated that option to be highly unlikely. Dallion could also attempt to take the guardian on his own. That also seemed less than optimal, and would require that Dallion reveal all his cards; and even then, it was uncertain whether he’d succeed.

How much trouble am I in? Dallion asked, rushing towards Celia.

I’d say the guardian is twice stronger than the one in your stiletto, Nil said. Of course, you’re free to wait for it to appear to be certain.

No thanks! Dallion played a chord. The ground around Celia’s feet loosened up.

“Temporary peace,” Dallion said, offering a hand.

“You think?” The woman grabbed his hand, getting out of the mud. “What did you do?”

“Got the realm annoyed at us,” Dallion replied. “Very, very annoyed.”

TRAINING SPHERE GUARDIAN

Species: Metalin

Class: Iron

Statistics: 100% HP

Skills: ???

Weak spots: ???