Chapter 184: 2 vs. 2

Ned dashed. Iron sword behind him, trailing by his hand.

Swift followed, wrist bow ready to release six arrows in one shot.

"Something's off," Ned said. At ten meters across their contest, no movements were triggered by them. Ned stopped.

"Why'd you stop, Ned?" Swift said. Left wrists aiming at the yellow-haired girl after stopping.

"Something's off," Ned repeated.

Farmer-boy and Jerra stood as if guarding their spot, afraid to be taken away.

Twali and the rest of the onlookers inside the box remained quiet in the distance. But they knew, something was off about farmer-boy and Jerra.

At first, the crowd was cheering, but after the coin was tossed and signaled that the contest has started, they dropped the act and watch with careful eyes as to how the battle would proceed.

Like a pattern, the wind blew from the East, the sun was half-awake after dawn, and the air went stiff.

Ned assessed the situation. What's happening between the two? He focused, then the surrounding went quiet. A thump-thump sound coming out from farmer-boy, his mana flow was solid, unbreakable, and calm.

Then he focused on Jerra. Like a machine with unknown horsepower, the mana coming out from her was rapid, grinding, and wild. Like every wave would break the elevated stone pavement.

"Change of plan," Ned said over his shoulder, his eyes remained fixated at Jerra. "I'll take the girl, you still support me from behind."

"Something wrong?" Asked Swift.

"I hope none," Ned said and gritted his teeth. With an accumulated strength from his right foot, he dashed forward. But was stopped midway when a spear broke the air ahead of him, Ned jumped backward to evade the incoming attack.

Swift halted the moment he saw Ned canceled his attack. She jumped backward and positioned herself for a good aiming spot. With a click from her wrists, six arrows released aiming at farmer-boy.

Farmer-boy was towering even though he was already bending with the spear he held by both his hands, curly black hair, brown eyes, and deep jaws, the farm-boy looked striking added it with the bruises running his neck down to his arms. And just like Ned, the spear he held was no more than a simple iron spear for practice. But he was determined to stop Ned from approaching Jerra. He rotated the spear between his fingers, parrying six of the arrows Swift had released. The parry was clean and precise he did it with ease.

Swift hissed and shot another arrow. Yet again, all were parried.

Ned dashed again, also determined to approach Jerra. Experience told him that Jerra was off to something awful.

The yellow-haired girl stood with hands hanging on her sides, she closed her eyes, feeling confident that none could approach her by farmer boy's guarding. For a quick moment, Ned saw a flicker of light running her hair and was gone under the shimmering light of the sun.

Ned grunted and pushed forward, bending as the coming spear hovered above his head.

Farmer-boy growled, completely ignoring Swift. He spun around to reach for Ned—who passed the eight meters mark going to Jerra.

Ned smiled, he knew farmer-boy wouldn't reach him. He eyed Jerra, for some reason she was very calm.

Ned raised his sword, aiming at Jerra's weak spots. Then—

A wall of mud blocked Ned's approach, he jumped backward, almost stumbling, as the erosion kept on rushing toward him. Leaving a trail of brown and black mud on the stone stage.

"Terra Magic," Ned said. He then flipped midair to evade farmer boy's attack from behind, spear whistled. Ned landed beside Swift.

Farmer-boy breathes to compose himself after releasing a tier-1 Terra Magic. Spear resting with the butt on the ground.

"So you're name is Ned?" Farmer-boy said, eventually. His voice was guttural but strong.

"Yes," Ned replied. "And you are?"

"Why?" Farmer-boy said. "Gonna still it as well?"

He kicked the butt of the spear, rotating it and after a double spin, he thrust the tip of the spear to Ned. Their gap was almost seven meters, but the Terra Magic that follows the spear made the attack close to almost two meters in a split second.

"Ned," Swift said, completely overwhelmed by the farmer boy's show of magic. She then raised her free hand, ready to conjure her spell then a boom sparked ahead of them.

Dust and dirt flew in random, mud hardened almost like a stone as they dropped over the stone pavement with a loud thump.

Ned's left hand sparked with fire and fumes. Smoke vanished, revealing the surprised farmer-boy with awe.

I don't have enough mana, but this will do, Ned thought. And jumped forward, leaving the stunned Swift.

Ned and farmer-boy blurred as they fought at the center of the arena.

The Hunter's gasped, revealing what seemed to be astonishments over their faces.

"They're hunters right?" One of the hunters asked.

"No, the two were Companions." People cheered hearing the answer. Companions against hunters, the gap was too broad but Ned made it thin as paper.

On the other side of the circle arena, Horn was tapping the edge of the stone pavement with his metal knuckles. Recognition was lost the movement he challenged Ned. He saw Ned one-shot Bud, but the thought never occurred to him to test Ned's full potential.

Ned smiled. Slashing, and stabbing, and slicing, and cutting with his iron sword. The latter fared as well, as he defends, and attack trying to break Ned's momentum.

But Ned knew, farmer-boy was buying time. Behind him, Jerra took off her thin spectacles and put it inside the front pocket of her pants while unbuttoning the hunter's uniform. Leaving the crowd red and cheering as they saw Jerra with only a thin white undergarment. Revealing her smooth skin, and blushing cheeks. Yet, she went back to close her eyes, as if the four minutes they've been fighting wasn't enough.

"What are you up to," Ned said, parrying the spear. He then spun around, leaving the surprise farmer-boy once again as Ned stopped behind him. Ned then kicked the back of farmer boy's knees, throwing him off the ground while gaining a cheer from the crowd.

But farmer-boy won't give up, he forced himself to stand, and forced himself to follow Ned.

Swift supported Ned from behind as she shot arrows at the trailing farmer-boy. Making him jumped backward with not enough time to parry the flying arrows. Still, he ignored Swift and proceed to follow Ned.

Swift shot arrows. This time, aiming for Jerra which made farmer-boy changed his direction. He jumped to his left, approaching the arrows head-on. But not him. He stomped his foot, revealing spikes of Terra Magic crystallizing off the ground that broke arrows in half. The spikes gleamed under the hot sun, it also block Swift's view of Jerra. Farmer-boy went to trail Ned.

Swift hissed and moved forward. Following the two.

Ned knew that farmer boy's speed wasn't enough to approach him. So farmer-boy gambled and threw his spear toward Ned.

Ned twisted around, he lunged like a bullet, escaping the spear's path. But the spear wasn't alone. Terra Magic in a form of boulders flying toward Ned, sizes was enough for Ned to break an arm upon contact.

Ned tsked. He dropped sliding with his back, almost reaching Jerra. He raised his hand, mana flowed to his attacking hand and with a grunt, he threw the strongest spell he could conjure. Which leaves the crowd to complete silence.

The circular arena burned red, and orange and yellow as Egnious dissolved the three boulders to dust.

For a moment, Ned heard Horn—close to his left, under the arena—and Farmer-boy with "Maker's Tounge" leaving their mouth.

Ned twisted his feet, propelling him upward. His Head's Up Display shone bright red as if excited of what Ned had become. He then tossed fireball after landing, forcing farmer-boy to use his mana to conjure a wall of Terra Magic. But the wall wasn't enough to completely block the fire spell.

Farmer-boy was thrown meters away, with his backsliding the even ground. Ned nodded toward Swift.

She knew that she needed to accompany farmer-boy. This was their chance, Ned's chance to stop whatever Jerra was doing.

Ned wielded his sword the same as to how he wielded his courage. It was a contest, and Ned doesn't care if his rival was of the feminine side or masculine side. But Ned knew how to treat a lady, he threw fireball instead of Egnious.

The fireball howled midair as it gains speed going toward Jerra.

Yet, Jerra the yellow-haired hunter stood with no difference as if she was meditating. The fireball glows red approaching her, making her yellow hair turned orange.

The fireball hit the ground. Sparks, fumes, and smokes littered the stage and perhaps littered Jerra.

Ned stopped almost five meters away from Jerra. They were on the East side of the arena, making the sun shone head-on.

Amidst the smoke, and rubbles was a crackle resounding the entire arena, perhaps the entire training ground.

Sparks of yellow light exited the smoke, sometimes they hit the ground, sometimes they hit nothing in the air.

After the smoke has faded, the crowd, even the big-shots in the box stood with great astonishments.

Jerra the recruit, yellow-haired, yellow like the lighting cracking the arena, stood with a web of lighting running her feet. Or paws.

Jerra was covered with thick yellow fur, lined with brown, like that of a tiger, from her face down to her feet. Her eyes turned sharp, ears like that of a cat appeared above her head. A lonely canine tooth appeared from the bottom of her jaw. Her hunter's clothing torn apart leaving her with fur covering her chest, arms, and legs. Luckily her pants turned shorts.

She licked her left hand—left paw, removing a speck of smoke and dust. She must have used her paw to black the fireball. A fireball conjured with pure mana. She grinned, completely different from the timid Jerra.

"Meow turn," she said, smiling. Her cheeks with fur formed like that of a cute chubby cat. But the cat wasn't domesticated, the cat was born in the wild. She raised her paws, waving at Ned. He then jumped, like that of a boxer, once, twice, thrice she blurred.

And Ned was thrown back to where he started, at the far end of the arena, at the edge he was hanging.

Gaining a thunderous cheer from the crowd.

Now the gap wasn't thin as paper.