Chapter 31: Chapter 31 : A Friendly Spar

[[Hey, rein it in.]]

[[Ah, yes.]]

At Ralf's words, Rei quickly turned down the dial on his mental signal, allowing Jeff to breathe easy once again.

“You...want to spar?” Jeff asked after collecting himself.

Rei nodded. “Yes. You mentioned that you offer this service. I wish to make use of it, or are you busy?”

"Not at all." Jeff punched his palm. "I'm all cylinders, let's spar."

Jeff had no reason to refuse. He had been mesmerized by the earlier performance and was eager to see more of the young man. Anticipation surged in his heart.

On the other end, Re-Ra-Re-Ra-

[[Hey, can you stop doing that. You had your turn, let me have mine. Didn’t you mention something about equal lefts or something?]]

With these words spoken, Ralf could only plop himself on the couch with a dissatisfied face.

[[Argh, fine. Break a leg.]]

At his victory, Rei showed a momentary smirk before returning to normal. He focused on Jeff. “Good. Then, I’ll explain the conditions of the spar. It will be special,” Rei drifted to the weapon’s rack as he spoke.

“Special?” Intrigue fell on Jeff’s face as he asked.

“Yes, special. Beyond whatever your usual fee is, we’ll have a bet of sorts.” Rei raised one finger. "A gold will be on the line. The sparring session will last three minutes. If you can remain unscathed in that time frame, you’ll get the money.”

“You just have to scratch me and I fail? Wait, am I allowed to use my psionic powers?”

“Yes, but no Psi weapons or regular weapons, you have to fight bare-handed. And no direct telekinesis either.”

“So I can use Psi Scan, Psi Armour, and Psi Steps?”

“Yeah, those are okay.” Rei stopped, then picked up two identical knives. After tossing it in his hands for a few seconds, he said, “I’ll just be using these, my physical body and the passive psionic powers I have right now. Sound fair enough?”

Jeff’s face had bafflement written all over it. ‘Is he just trying to give money away? Or does he really think he can scratch me? No, before that, does he even have any gold to give away?''

As if reading the other's mind, Rei added, “Oh, I can’t pay the gold right away. But I can do so by 1 pm.”

‘By 1 pm? What’s happening at one?’ Jeff’s mind was scrambled even further.

Where had he learned his skills?

What was the cold sensation he felt- was feeling?

Why was he so different from before?

What was he thinking offering such a one-sided bet?

Who was he that he could afford to toss out a gold coin?

Was he a real Fawkes?

What was happening at 1 pm?

The youth before him drove his curiosity wild, and an endless stream of questions began filling his head.

He sought answers, and badly. 'Calm down Jeff, the questions can come later. For now, focus on the be- wait!'

Suddenly struck by a brilliant idea, Jeff was quick to voice it. "Hey, Ralf, instead of a gold coin, how about this: If you lose, you'll have to answer a few of my questions, honestly. What do you say?"

Rei shrugged. "Sure, we can do that."

Jeff's aura spiked at the answer. He was raring to go. He walked over to one side of the room, turned to Rei then slammed his fist into his palm. "I'm ready whenever you are, give the signal." A frenzied smile adorned the C-Rank Adventurer’s face.

Leaving the weapon rack, Rei walked to the opposite end of the training hall, then turned to face Jeff.

Rei didn't immediately give the go-ahead. Instead, he examined his opponent. Jeff's Psi was losing its wildness and began wrapping tightly around his figure. It hardened and formed a sleek blue armour that encased Jeff entirely. On the surface of the armour, a thin membrane of watery Psi flowed across it. In the small gaps between armour segments, this watery Psi gathered to form larger pools that were in constant motion. Donning various forms of Psi, Jeff entered a combat stance and mentally shifted into battle mode.

[[So cool.]]

Rei didn’t - couldn't deny his other self’s words. It was indeed aesthetically pleasing, too aesthetically pleasing. ‘The grooves and patterns on the armour look nice, but it's wasteful. At such a low level, can he really be trying to look pretty, especially when the only people who can see it are psionics?’

Rei shook his head. He was all for aesthetics, but never at the cost of practicality.

Putting these criticisms aside, Rei retrieved a silver coin from his pouch. Playing with it in his hand, he explained, “When this coin hits the floor or ceiling, the match will begin. Instead of being exactly three minutes, let's end the match at 10:10. If you can remain unscathed till then, you win, and I'll answer exactly three questions of yours completely honestly. Do you understand the rules?"

"Yes. Let's start."

"Okay..."

Getting confirmation, Rei did the honours. After adjusting himself, he flicked the coin to the sky. It ascended slowly. As it did, his White Asura's muscles began flexing with power, transforming Rei into a humanoid spring. His toss was far from careless. The speed, the area it went to, everything was purposeful.

The coin flew towards the glass section. Jeff's gaze tracked the coin's trajectory all the way. But this would cost him. As it neared the ceiling, the sun rays reflected off the silver coin and momentarily blinded the C-Rank Adventurer who was staring directly at it. The sound of the coin colliding against the ceiling rang a moment later, causing Rei to immediately make his move. Already wound up, he fired his right dagger out like a propeller.

*Crack*

‘Ah?!'

Rei’s eyes widened as he took in the result. He had done next to no damage with his full-powered knife throw. Just before it hit, he witnessed Jeff raise his guard in the nick of time. The arm's upward shift combined with the thickening of his Psi armour at the point of the collision caused the knife to, to Rei's bafflement, bounce off.

Rei didn't linger in this state though. Recoiling, he lowered himself and darted forward. Using a curved route, he swiped up the airborne knife and put his whole body into a stabbing attack...which hit nothing but air.

Quickly catching himself, Rei’s gaze moved rightward and found Jeff, now seven meters away.

'So that's Psi Step or Blinking, quite niffy. I'd reckon he moved somewhere around 20 m/s just now. This body won't be able to compete with that type of speed...at least not outright. That knife throw wasn't the best. The angle the blade struck really hurt its power. A knife throw is still an option, I just need to execute it better.'

While Rei’s mind was calmly working to find a solution to unravel his opponent’s defences, Jeff's was in a state of turmoil.

‘What was that…holy shit. That speed, that power…what type of inheritance potion is swimming through his veins?! No, more than physical attributes, this kid’s a monster.’

Jeff recognized the purposeful acts Rei had taken to secure victory, and it made his hair stand on end. The seriousness he regarded this 'friendly spar' jumped up several levels once.

'I knew this wasn’t going to be as simple as it seemed but this is crazy. I’ll have to stay on my toes. I have questions I need answering after all.’

With this reminder, his attitude adjusted and his mind sharpened.

He watched Rei walk his way. When Rei reached the centre, Jeff made his move. An aura spike later and he was off. Instead of toward his opponent, Jeff circled Rei’s figure at high speed. The successive Psi Steps caused a swirl to form in the room. The weapon rack was made to rattle as the items jiggled at the gust.

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In the eye of the tornado, Rei remained calm. While normal people would be helpless at Jeff’s showing of speed, he was not. His senses were sharp, and not just his physical senses.

Psi Sense, the ability to perceive and sense Psi energy was the most basic psionic ability. This passive ability had allowed Ralf to capture the Psi monster's movements without having to turn his back. It was now being used to track Jeff’s speedy movements.

Blades held in a reverse grip, Rei’s figure constantly shifted about, ready to counter any angle his opponent chose to strike from.

Swoosh!

Three seconds later, Jeff made his decision. Choosing Rei’s six o’clock, he dove in.

Rei’s reaction was sharp. At the slight surge proceeding the Psi Step, his figure was already rotating clockwise. His right knife swung around with him, ready to pierce his foe's armour, but this cross stab was quickly abandoned as he took in Jeff’s next actions.

Instead of lunging in, Jeff, with another Psi emission, killed his momentum around two meters away and readied a left straight. Rei didn’t panic and calmly transitioned into his next attack. Using the swinging motion, he weaved right and downward, allowing Jeff’s fist to pass by his left shoulder. At the same time, his left knife charged forward. With a punching motion, it raced towards its target, Jeff’s unarmoured left armpit. But again, he hit nothing as Jeff once again zoomed away.

After Psi Stepping, the C-Rank Adventurer resumed his circling.

This time, however, Rei wasn’t having it.

‘Slow!’

With this thought, his perception slowed even further. Time seemed frozen in his vision and his mental cogs raced at dozens of times their usual speed. His head instantly rose in temperature at this ability's activation. Knowing not to linger in this state, his mind quickly performed the necessary calculations. Then, with a flip of his right knife, he drew back and launched it.

Unlike the propeller motion from before, his knife now flew like an arrow - one shot from Apollo’s bow.

‘Whoa!’

Jeff’s heart jumped as he perceived the knife through his Psi Scan. The blade’s tip would surely pierce his armour. There was no doubt in the C-Rank’s Adventurer’s mind. Understanding the threat, he immediately hit the brakes. His quickness prevailed. The knife passed by a meter away from his chest, puncturing through the concrete wall and burying itself nearly up to the handle.

Rei didn’t give Jeff a second to recoil and rushed in. As he approached, dozens of realities played across his mind, all searching for victory. Jeff’s cocking of his right fist was noted, but Rei focused on the Psi shifting discreetly to his left hand. True to his expectations, a left jab came flying forward.

Before it could fully run its course, Rei moved to execute the sequence in mind. He had no means of instantly killing his momentum as Jeff did, and so had to get a little unconventional. ‘Falling’ forward, his body scrunched up like a spring, then focusing power to his legs, he did a front flip and flew right over Jeff's figure.

Twisting through the air, Rei slowed his perception again. Feet landing on the wall, his grip around his left knife tightened and his leg muscles flexed powerfully. Then, a moment later, he launched forth. Eyes on the opening at Jeff’s right shoulder, Rei slashed out.

Swoosh!

But he was denied again. A leftward flicker from his opponent caused Rei to miss completely. But he remained persistent. Landing, he used his hands to launch up and around. Rotating clockwise, he swung his left knife in a reverse grip. The wind whistled as the blade sliced through the air. It loomed with a menacing glint.

Perceiving its approach, Jeff was more than a little unnerved. He still hadn’t recovered from Rei’s shocking acrobatics. This state robbed him of the opportunity to Psi Step away. Still, Jeff’s experience didn’t allow him to play statue. Deciding to defend, his right arm rushed up to guard.

‘Slow!’

Seeing his opponent’s action, Rei slowed his perception again. Then…

Bam!

His thunderous punch smashed into Jeff’s armoured jaw, jolting the other.

' Perfect,' Rei thought.

The trick he used to slip through Jeff’s defences was a simple one and one that came cutesy of Ralf, who used it to ultimately win their first duel. Instead of gripping the knife's handle with his thumb underneath, as one would normally, Rei had his thumb positioned on the outside.

Just before the collision between the blade and Jeff’s guard occurred, Rei’s fingers jumped off the handle. Jeff’s guard stopped the blade but didn’t stop Rei’s hand from continuing forward. With this action prepared, his body worked to deliver a powerful punch and true to his intention, he landed one.

Seeing Jeff’s dazed expression and the wall in the background, Rei’s eyes lit up. Victory was at hand. His gaze honed in on Jeff's wayward arm and images began flashing through his head. Wanting to materialize these images into reality, Rei’s left and right hands moved like two lunging snakes.

But before he could execute the technique, Rei was beset by a sudden wave of sharp pain.

‘Argh!’

It was debilitating, jolting his body and perception.

Swoosh!

As he entered turmoil, Jeff made his recovery and immediately Psi Stepped away.

[[Rei?]]

Ralf’s concerned voice sounded in Rei’s head. Ignoring it for a moment, he focused on not toppling over.

*Drip*

‘Blood…I’m bleeding?’ Rei looked at his reddened hand with widened eyes.

‘Argh pain off pain off, dammit it's not working.’

Unlike other sensations, Rei couldn’t rid himself of the waves of brain-busting pain pouring in. Thankfully, he only had to suffer five seconds more before it receded.

[[Rei?]]

Ralf’s voice came again, softer than before.

[[Argh, used it too much.]]

[[Don’t use it again. From now on, Overclock will be a forbidden technique.]]

[[Yeah, damn.]]

“Ralf, are you okay?”

Just as Ralf did, Jeff showed his concern. After stopping, he noticed Rei’s unusual behaviour and exited combat mode.

Rei rubbed his nose with his white sleeve. Doing a quick wiggle in place, he assessed his current state. Feeling no obvious wrong, he picked up the fallen knife then approached the wall, gripped the other knife’s handle, and pulled. The knife snapped at his attempt, leaving him only a quarter of the blade to work with. Still, to Rei, this was sufficient. He held them in reverse grip and turned around.

“I’m fine, let's continue.”

"Very well."

Jeff's aura spiked at the words. Rei responded in kind, gripping his knives tighter and sharpening his mind to its limits.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

The sparring match continued.

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