My class [Death Knight] is just barely legal… - Chapter 209: Sparring.

After spending some more time regaling each other with tales and tribulations we’d undergone, Cerion and I got to discussing current events.

“So what’s this I hear about your dad, my uncle and Cerithal all being in the city at the moment?”

Cerion sighed, briefly looking away. “That’s the thing, man. They’re not telling me a thing! I’ve heard them arguing and bickering when I pass by their chambers, but I don’t know about what. After hearing you describe what happened in Alterian, however, I can only imagine that it involves this ‘continental meet’ that the papers have been raving about.”

“The meet? How would that involve your dad and Cerithal, though? I mean, I thought that was supposed to be a playground for the tier 7s of the continent.”

At this, Cerion scoffed and shook his head. “It’s never that simple, you know. Could be they’re trying to come to an agreement or something, but it’s difficult to say for sure…”

At that moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

“That’ll be Emeri…” I said, moving to get up but interrupted by the door opening. Cerion’s father stepped inside, followed by uncle Robard. I hurriedly sat back down, caught off guard by their unannounced arrival.

Both men greeted me, uncle Robert’s being the more enthusiastic of the two, though it still felt a little underwhelming compared to Cerion’s. They didn’t bother sitting down, instead telling us to follow them.

“Father, what’s this about? Why barge in here all of a sudden? Does this involve the business you’ve been discussing the past couple of days?”

“You are about to find out, son. Follow.” Hearing his father’s cold tone, Cerion grimaced.

Even uncle Robard and I didn’t dare refuse, following the two after uncle gave me a shallow nod.

The trip turned out to take a lot longer than anticipated, as we were led outside the inn and guided to a carriage that was being pulled by two horse-like creatures with scales.

The carriage was more than large enough to carry the four of us, I noticed. That was also when I remembered that I had forgotten to notify Emeri of our departure. At this point, it was too late. She would simply have to continue exploring the gardens well into the night.

After a few minutes, I realised that the carriage was taking us outside of the city gates.

“Where are we going and why?” I eventually asked, tired of being led by the nose.

“We are heading to a nearby lake. With night surely having fallen by the time of our arrival, both of you will be in your respective elements. It is our intent to see the two of you face off, to see each other’s growth.

I nodded, growing excited at the prospect. Cerion was less enthused, however. “I have to fight my friend? Why?!”

Robard grimaced, before shooting a quick glance at Duke Rass, who gave a stoic nod.

“Well, I suppose it’s time to tell you two. The various countries on the continent, big and small, have agreed to temporarily set aside their differences to organise the ‘continental meet’. As the barrier has fallen, certain conflicts need to be ended and agreements need to be reached.”

“Unfortunately,” the duke continued, “This won’t stop most nations from trying to posture themselves as more powerful than the others. To that end, the continental meet will host several ‘events’ where people of different ages, classes and tiers will face off, not dissimilar to the Royal tournament from a few months ago.”

“We’re getting another tournament?!” Cerion asked excitedly, unable to contain himself.

“Not quite… Expect the events at the meet to be more… self-contained and specific. No qualifiers or rounds, nations decided for themselves whom to enter in each event. Controversially, battles and competitions are going to be quite dangerous. Outsiders won’t be allowed to intervene if things become deadly. A small concession to the empire, you see. Wouldn’t participate at all, otherwise…”

“But doesn’t that go against the spirit of cooperation?” I pointed out.

“Just so.” Rass replied. “Which is what brings us here. Nations are scrambling to find people to fill in the slots. They must either be powerful enough not to face danger or… expendable. You two are being considered for several different events, so long as you agree.”

“Of course we do!” Cerion proclaimed proudly, before looking at me in question. “Right?”

“Naturally. Facing off against other warriors fills me with excitement.”

“All well and good,” my uncle intervened, “But we aren’t letting either of you participate until we know exactly how far you’ve come. Which brings us to why we’re here.” He pointed out, as the carriage stopped exactly at that moment.

We stepped out gingerly, taking a good look at our surroundings. We were indeed standing at the banks of a lake, albeit a small one. The moon had risen and the sun had disappeared on the horizon, filling the lake with an ethereal glow.

There was enough light for Cerion to see clearly, which made this a fairer battle than anticipated.

There was little foliage surrounding the lake, leaving us with plenty of space to fight. It seemed that Cerion approved of the location as well, because he took a position across from me in the distance.

Before Uncle Robard and Duke Rass could even set some rules, Cerion and I had drawn our swords.

“What happened to your great sword? Broke it by accident?” Cerion taunted.

“By necessity.” I shot back. “Considering your hard-headedness, I feel that I’m about to repeat my actions.”

“…Sound like you lack skill.”

I grinned.

“Now, boys, before you-” my uncle began, but he was too late, as I was already dashing through the sky to get to my opponent.

Cerion hadn’t expected my noiseless approach, being used to my explosive [Aura step], but still reacted quickly enough to block my initial blow. While he reacted too late to parry, his strength still surprised me. Cerion had a dex build, so his firm stance didn’t make any sense, unless…

“You’re tier 4.”

“Noticed, have you? Guilty!” he teased back, before turning into a shimmering image of himself made of water.

The image glided as it zigzagged towards me, creating another water image each time it zigged or zagged. By the time it got to me, two dozen water-Cerions had surrounded me and were attacking me from different directions.

In response to his new trick, I turned a big glob of overloaded mana into chains, which I sent whirling around and above me. Most of the figures paused as they were shredded by the quickly spinning chains, before dispelling and unceremoniously dropping to the ground as a puddle.

One of the images, however, was only momentarily held back as it struggled against the chains. It looked like it, too, was about to fall apart, but the water itself surged forward and through my makeshift defences. Then, the water reformed into a full-sized Cerion, which regained its original colour and form and struck at me.

I brought my bastard sword forward just in time to block the strike, but had trouble as Cerion continued his assault.

Cerion was the better swordsman. I knew that. I had known that.

So why did it still sting to be so far behind, even after all this time? If anything, he had widened the gap even further…

I was quickly put on the back foot, forced to make small sacrifices and watch as cuts appeared on my flesh, before quickly being sealed.

I had several options here. Unfortunately, breaking swipe was the best one. Issue was, using it would leave a guaranteed cure mark on Cerion. One that neither of us could heal anymore. As a result, I simply couldn’t bring myself to use the skill.

That left plan B.

Plan B involved using my essence to blind Cerion whenever he got too close to me. Unfortunately, for Cerion, that is, this plan turned out to be ridiculously effective…