Chapter 82: Knocked back

Obek smiled when he saw his short sword come toward Atlan's chest. Even though Atlan's reaction speeds were impressive, he couldn't react to the point-blank blade that 'teleported' directly to his body.

This was one of the secret abilities of his LifeSkill powers. As a direct descendant of the Orioness family, he had the honor to be bestowed upon one of the powers of the Genesis God himself. As long as he was blessed by God, then his paladin powers would allow him to create passageways that could teleport his blade from one place to another.

Since he was only in the 2nd stage Student realm, he could only create passageways that were extremely near his body. Fortunately for him, he didn't have any trouble approaching Atlan.

With his short sword piercing through Atlan's chest, Obek was sure that he would finally beat the porter. Surely, he could finally prove their uselessness.

However, he felt an insurmountable resistance before he could even pierce through Atlan's battle suit.

TINGGG

"WHAT?!"

His short sword simply couldn't penetrate through Atlan's simple armor. That was unbelievable. His weapon was supposed to have a quality that couldn't be compared! It was made by a 2nd removed Masamune blacksmith!

Both Atlan and Obek were supposed to be in the 2nd student Stage. This meant that the weapons and armor that they could get were made for their power level only. Unless Atlan had a chest plate even better than a 2nd removed Masamune Original, then there was no way it could have repelled his short sword!

Unfortunately for Obek, Atlan did have something better than that. He would probably jump away from his chariot if he knew that Atlan had a semi-sentient armor.

"That's not possible!" Obek shouted.

He retrieved his sword and attacked Atlan again. But this time, Atlan skillfully dodged away from his stab, just barely letting it skid against his chestplate.

This made Obek even more confused. Just a few seconds earlier, Atlan couldn't even move properly from his attacks. He had to contort his body in inefficient ways that were full of holes and vulnerabilities. This showed Atlan's inexperience in martial arts.

However, his dodge showcased something completely polished. He didn't move much of his body from the attack and he made sure to cover any vulnerabilities in his stance. This dodge was taught to Obek as a perfect counter to the Orioness swordsmanship. And somehow, Atlan learned it.

"I learned a lot from your moves," Atlan muttered.

What? Obek couldn't understand anything anymore.

If he had been paying attention to Atlan's eyes, then he would have seen how the 'useless' porter observed his every movement with an intense gaze.

Atlan wasn't just dodging. He was analyzing all of Obek's sword moves. Atlan observed how he carried it with his hands, how he positioned his legs to attack, and even how he breathed in tandem with the sword. His observant eyes caught all of those and quickly found a way to perfectly dodge his attacks.

Atlan found it quite easy since Obek only used the most basic of moves, partially because he thought that he was dealing with an inexperienced guy like Atlan and because he was fighting inside a bumping chariot.

Of course, Obek didn't know any of that. So, he tried to go back to his foundation and performed a simple sword art that consisted of a combination of sweeping the sword towards the ribs and then ending with a chop from the head down to the torso.

But with just the first slash, Atlan twisted his body to the side and immediately lunged towards Obek. with one swift move, Atlan punched him in the face.

THWACK

Obek's head felt his whole world turn as the punch stunned him into near unconsciousness. His SoulTime immediately lost an entire month! Even a huge gash on his chest would only cost about 15 days at most.

He couldn't believe how heavy that punch was. And if he knew Atlan was still holding back, then he would have vomited out blood.

Why? Well, Obek was about to find out.

Atlan raised his right hand and stretched it out. If Obek was fully conscious right now, then he would recognize that Atlan was trying to copy his sword stance! And instead of using a short sword, he was using his hands!

Atlan wanted a practice buddy to play with! That's why he didn't knock him out.

With his eyes closed, Atlan remembered in perfect detail how Obek positioned his body. And in his imagination, he was able to put himself in Obek's body as he tried to attack Atlan. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

When he was finally ready to attack, he did the simplest of moves. Atlan slashed his hand towards Obek's ribs. Yet Obek only saw a blur in his vision before he felt his ribs break. He lost 10 days of SoulTime from that.

The pain made Obek conscious for a second as he tried to protect himself. His training proved its worth as he was able to raise his sword, trying to parry Atlan's attack.

However, a bump in the road caused the chariot to jump in the air and land back down, disorienting Obek even more. He couldn't keep his defensive stance as he stumbled back.

The disturbance should have disrupted both fighters. But instead, Atlan was able to land awkwardly on the chariot, with one leg on the ledge and one leg on the seat. He was able to keep his balance!

Atlan didn't waste any more time as he used his hand and stabbed Obek right in his shoulders, effectively crippling his arm and forcing him to let go of his precious short sword. 8 days of SoulTime lost.

And with one last move, Atlan kicked Obek right in the chest, caving it in and crushing his ribs into his lungs. He lost 20% of his SoulTime because of this internal injury.

The force launched Obek out and right back into his own chariot. Not only that, the momentum from his crash finally separated the two chariots.

Obek thought that he finally got a second of reprieve.

But instead, Atlan took out a pellet and aimed his slingshot at the chariot. He pre-aimed his shot forward, expecting it to curve back.

After taking a breath, Atlan let go of the pellet as it shot out towards the Fly-Horse Canzer carrying Obek's chariot. Find joy at m-vl_em|p,yr

Surprisingly, it hit the Canzer's large body, causing it to whip its head to the right.

And due to the force, the blinders were knocked off its head.