Chapter 206: End of Duel

Lexi had also noticed that Rufus and Diether's battle ended in a draw.

It wasn't part of their plan but she realized that Diether is definitely stronger than Calliope. After all, Rufus didn't have to struggle when fighting against Nika while the dual swordsman in front of them had taken several damages and used multiple Magic Items to defend against her bullets.

She's clearly unable to block Nika's bullet with her sword like how Rufus did it before.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

However, her Ice and Fire Sword is very troublesome as its effects greatly limit their movements.

Lexi had also noticed one of the most annoying properties of these two blades…

"Nika… My battle-axe's durability is getting low… Perhaps 10 or more clashes and it would destroy my Arcana."

"What?! Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes… It's her sword's properties, so we have to end it now…"

"I-I'll do my best…"

Nika was actually waiting for Rufus to arrive her so they can execute their finishing move. However, they have to adjust now that he is unconscious and injured.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Nika shot three more bullets…

Although her reloading time increased due to her injury, Lexi's assistance would always buy her some time to manifest her bullets…

Calliope, gritted her teeth as she activated an Ice Shield from her sword as soon as she noticed that Nika was pointing the gun at her.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

However, to her surprise, the bullets don't have penetrative force as they instead exploded after making a contact with her shield.

The first and second bullets created a small explosion while the last bullet was a smokescreen…

This is supposedly perfect for Rufus to sneak attack and defeat their opponents. 

Hmph! 

Since the young man is not present, they just have to see what they can do and give their best shot.

Lexi stepped forward and left Nika's side to approach Calliope inside the smokescreen. On the other hand, Nika noticed that Terrence was also approaching and decided to fire a bullet at him…

All of their spiritual energies are running low so everyone in the crowd can see that this battle is about to end.

Bam! Bam!

Sounds of clashing metals resounded from the smokescreen as Lexi started fighting with Calliope…

***

"Yui, who do you think is going to win?"

Odette asked after noticing that Terrence is slowly accumulating strange energy within his palm…

"I'm not so sure… Nika's ability is very unpredictable. If she managed to land a clear shot even once, the battle can end easily." Yui answered truthfully.

Perhaps, if Rufus fought with Calliope or Terrence instead, the former could easily win. But with Lexi alone dealing with the close combat specialists, it would be extremely difficult especially with their Hazy Flash Steps that can be used whenever they least expected.

On the other hand, Calliope's unusual Arcana may also prove to be very dangerous if they did not properly defend against it.

Boom!

Suddenly, the central part of the arena was covered with smoke as Nika's smokescreen spread everywhere.

It will be quite difficult to watch the match with their eyes. However, Terrence continuously lurked around the smokescreen and threw something on it.

He then approached Nika who has lost her bodyguard…

It is his chance to end this fight…

Bang!

A single shot from Nika to see how he would respond to it.

Clang!

It was blocked!

It is unexpected but Terrence somehow managed to block the bullet without using a Magic Item… He just raised his clawed gauntlet on his chest where he was shot… It was a close call!

Perhaps he's lucky but what's more important is that he is getting closer to Nika!

Puff!

Terrence vanished as he used his Hazy Flash Steps and appeared behind Nika…

Bang!

It happened so fast but they saw that Terrence managed to land a punch on Nika before being shot by her bullet.

Luckily, Nika was punched by Terrence's hands without the gauntlet… So she was not heavily injured…

However, as her physical body is weak, it was still too much for her. At the very least, she managed to shoot Terrence's head with one of her Energy Bullets…

The shot wasn't that powerful since she hastily manifested that bullet and she doesn't want to inflict critical injury to this young knight as well…

'It's up to you… Lexi…'

Nika said in her mind before she lost consciousness.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The crowd then heard the sound of weapons being dropped on the ground… It came from the smokescreen that has covered Calliope and Lexi…

'What's going on this time?'

As much as they want to know, they can only try to use their senses to detect the movements inside the smoke.

It took quite some time but the smoke still dissipated as they found the two powerful ladies sprawled on the floor… sleeping.

The female referee overlooking the fight scratched her head and announced the end of the battle.  A draw!

Everyone in both teams fell unconscious!

In the end, they have to send the medic to heal them as quickly as possible.

The battle between the six young Arcanists has been a huge eye-opener to the Knights and other members of the Tower.

The existence of the gun with its extremely fast bullets would surely spread throughout the whole kingdom. 

As for Rufus's amazing swordsmanship skills, the Knights were even thinking of recruiting the young man right here.

After all, they can tell that he really has a talent with a sword. It would greatly benefit him if he can always practice together with his fellow swordsman like Diether, instead of staying here within the Tower.

About his carelessness at the end of the fight, they wouldn't blame him for getting kicked like that… Since that technique was quite unconventional in a fight between swordsmen.

Some of them even felt embarrassed when Diether decided to kick him a while ago as they were too engrossed in watching their sword techniques… Doing a sudden kick like that disrupted their breathtaking sword fight.

As for why Lexi and Calliope fell asleep… The knights know that it was Terrence's doing when he threw something within the smokescreen. They can guess that it is something like a paralyzing or sleeping powder.

Nevertheless, the battle ended with a draw and none of them would complain about that. 

***

Rufus woke up after about half an hour… His Spiritual Energy was still not replenished but he still felt refreshed after having a rest.

'Are you alright?' Reiji asked after noticing that his student has woken up.

The young man was brought to the infirmary together with his teammates. However, it appears that he's the first one to wake up.

'Master… I'm fine. What happened to the match?'

'It's a draw… All of you went unconscious. Though I heard that Sir Kael is willing to grant a favor for the impressive performance you guys have shown in front of the Knights… So you have to think carefully about it.'

'A favor? From a Second-Class Arcanist? Mhmm… I don't have anything in my mind. What do you think, Master?'

Rufus asked as he sits on the bed… He also stretched his arms a bit to get a feel of his body. It seems that he wasn't that injured at all. Even the pain in his stomach is already gone.

"How about a method to rank up quickly to a higher class? You're already a certified 4th-Class, right?"

"Ahh… Yes, Master… However, I'm only sixteen… About to turn seventeen. I heard that the young 3rd-Class Arcanist was at the age of 25..."

Rufus replied…

"Twenty-five? Why is there an age limit?" Reiji asked in confusion. 

"Well… It should be about the Arcanist's Spiritual Energy…"

Reiji then recalled something when he asked him about the possibility of him summoning another Arcana. Rufus answered that only a 2nd-Class can do something like that because of the changes or perhaps evolution to their Spiritual Energy.

"Is it similar to the changes in the Energy of the 2nd-Class?" Reiji wanted to confirm his guess.

"Yes, Master… I must advance my Spiritual Energy first before I can be considered a 3rd-Class Arcanist. If I didn't do that, summoning another Arcana would just be a waste of precious resources… Unless there is a Summoning Circle that can guarantee success… Haha…"

Rufus chuckled as he only read about it in some legends written in the history book. There was no way that there's something that could guarantee that an Arcana would be summoned.

"However… You're right, Master… I should try asking Sir Kael if there is a method for me to advance quickly. It's not easy to gain favor from such a man."

"That's good…" Reiji replied as he encouraged the young man…

***

At the Sun Fire Knight's branch, the young Knights have returned as they readied themselves to return to Saalstein City.

"Diether… You look satisfied even though you failed to defeat that guy."

Calliope teased the young man after seeing him grinning from ear to ear. They performed really well in that fight so she wasn't feeling bad about it.

"Hehe… I think I discovered a new method on how to use my Kendo Skills, Lippe…"

The young man answered as he held his broken blade… He has to buy a new one and he already has a plan on what kind of sword he'll get…

'Master… We'll meet again in the future… In that time, I'll be stronger than ever…'

He uttered in his mind as he clenched his fist in determination.