"Well, do you agree?" Vivienne asked with more hope.
"Of course, Miss Vivienne, it's rare that you get the chance to show off your worth to a mage of your level." Dylan said, not really thinking that. All the flattery was just to buy him time and not ruin her mood.
Vivienne smiled widely and spoke quickly. "That's great! Wait for me for a few minutes." After saying this, she began to hurriedly walk around the room, putting various papers and books into her spatial ring, either by hand or thelikinesis.
Meanwhile, Dylan leaned back slightly in his chair, thinking. When Vivienne suggested sparring. In the first second of her question, he had hoped for victory. He could easily catch her off guard, with speed, or a delayed spell with will. But thinking about it further, Dylan realized that this was just self-deception.
Thinking about it, he realized that he had to get rid of an old bad habit. All his life he liked to go all the way, even if he didn't believe in victory. This was caused by idiocy, most often he understood perfectly well that he was losing and he needed to change something. At such moments, he didn't know what could be done differently, so he stuck to the old strategy. Which slowly and surely led him to defeat. Of course, sometimes he threw out some unexpected and illogical gambit, but most often it didn't change anything. And this was only out of desperation.
The current situation was very similar, he had no chance to beat Vivienne. There was little point in sparring in the first place, other than except for her entertainment. In fact, that was precisely why he couldn't refuse her. Yes, looking at it now, one could say that this was the purpose of their conversation. Deciding to forget about it, Dylan hoped that Vivien wouldn’t use her power without giving him something in return.
Watching Vivienne read and sort the papers on her desk at lightning speed, with a very happy smile, Dylan thought about the sparring match and couldn't help but wince, anticipating the punishment.
He didn't know how Vivienne planned to limit her stats and skills, but he didn't believe in that limitation. Or rather, he didn't think it would be accurate.
Most likely, her skills will reflect specialized development in one or more areas, tailored specifically for me.
Imagining a situation where he only learns certain spells his whole life and does not develop an understanding of magic, Dylan saw a picture of a person with very complex spells who has a low [Schools of Magic] skill level.
And choosing a few more complex spells, but which are specially created to fight me, will also easily fill the [School of Magic] skill. It will just be a low [Rare] level, but not at all.
The same will be true for martial arts and other skills. If Vivienne copies the number and level of my skills, it will not be difficult for her to assemble something that will be ideal in the fight against me, in four different classes in both knowledge and level.
Stats are also a pain in the ass. Vivienne may have the total number of my stats, but she can easily take stats from luck, charisma, and other attributes that she doesn't need, distributing them in a more appropriate way.
...
To sum it up, other than [Nascent Maple Spirit Sword], Will, and [Reincarnator's Madness], I have no advantages.
Having finished his internal monologue, Dylan turned his full attention to Vivienne. She was standing almost next to him, her eyes shining with joy and anticipation.
For a woman who is over 400 years old, she looks too childish. Oh, and I even downplayed that.
"I'm ready, Dylan. Come on, I'm going to show you one of my training grounds today, I bet you haven't seen anything like it at the academy yet." Waving her hand at Dylan to quickly follow her, Vivienne practically flew out of the classroom.
Dylan used most of his agility to catch up with her. On the way, he clarified other rules, and got himself better conditions for sparring. He achieved this mainly through pity and favor. He simply couldn't think of anything more effective in the circumstances than pity. He was a nice enough boy, enough to tell how difficult it would be for him, with a pained face and clutching his heart. It was enough to soften Vivienne. Of course, she wasn't fooled by his dramatics. Dylan actually thought she found it funny, so she played along. But he wouldn't complain about that.
A few minutes later, Dylan and Vivienne walked out of the elevator. Opposite him was a normal forest, with familiar trees, green grass, a light wind and a fairly warm sun. At first glance, nothing stood out from the rhythm of life.
Everything would be fine, but they were deep underground. Dylan couldn't calculate exactly how deep, but he thought it was at least 50 meters. Focusing on the clouds and the sun, he shook his head in disappointment, since he couldn't see through the illusion at all. It was so good that he could even feel the warmth of the light.
"Oh, well, that's a rather disappointing reaction. Doesn't the forest underground surprise you at all?" Vivienne asked, having been quietly watching him.
Dylan shook his head in response. "Miss Vivienne, don't get me wrong, but after you created a homunculus and a golem before my eyes, it's not that impressive."
Giving him a dispassionate look, Vivienne began to speak as if she had not heard Dylan, looking around the garden and enjoying its scent. "I put a lot of effort into creating this training ground back in the day. I was only on the verge of becoming a Great Mage back then, and even after many years, this work still makes me happy today." No longer dreaming about the past, Vivienne's gaze focused on Dylan, and a slight smile graced her lips.
"As we agreed, I eave you here for 20 minutes and please don't break the rules!" She said, starting to walk towards the trees. "I'll wait for you in a small clearing further on!" She added, waving her hand and disappearing behind the trees.
After watching Vivienne leave, Dylan immediately opened a portal, starting to take out various items and throw them directly onto the ground. He quickly pulled out a black leather armor with several metal inserts, more throwing knives, several blood bags, several blood mana crystals, and a book called "Blood Magic - Vampire Magic."
Dylan left the blood mana crystals and the book in his hands, opened it, and began to read quickly, trying to understand the essence of a certain spell. Thanks to [Great Mage's Insight], it wasn't that difficult. At the same time, he tried to understand which [Blood Mana Crystals] were [Uncommon] and which were [Rare]. After all, according to the agreement, he wasn't allowed to use [Rare], but he didn't have the appraisal skill. Thinking about it now, it was a big mistake on his mother's part, since she still hadn't found one she liked. Forgetting about that, Dylan manually selected the worst and dullest crystals while for the spell.
Five minutes of walking back and forth and the muttering of a madman. That was enough for Dylan to decide on his first blood magic ritual, even though he had been studying it for a long time. He chose it to fight Vivienne because the only thing they hadn't discussed in terms of resources was his life force. Everything else, including the 10,000 MP in his sword, 3,000 MP in his core, 1,000 MP in his body, and his stamina pool were taken into account. But life force? Nope. Apparently Vivienne had underestimated how much of it was in the sword, which he was planning to use.
Taking one of the throwing knives in his hands, Dylan quickly began to draw a strange ritual circle, copying it from the book. First he cut out the base, many intersecting lines on the ground, then he began to carefully carve the runes in the right places. Quickly finished, Dylan looked down and realized that this was what he had created...
Like shit, to be honest. Well, it'll do.
With a wave of his hand, Dylan took the blood bags, his blood. He cut them open and began to simply pour the blood onto the ritual circle, without any caution. Then he carefully laid out the blood mana crystals following the instructions and looking at the ritual again. Dylan winced and hoped that everything would work out like this.
Clearing his throat, Dylan ran his eyes over the book once more and unsheathed the Spirit Sword. With one part of his mind, he began to rapidly weave the Blood Mana into a spell shape, gradually adding the life force inside the sword to it. And with the other part of his mind, he read the text.
"Hmm, hmm.
Retribution is carved into the flesh, transmitted through the blood, to leave a mark on the soul itself."
As Dylan continued to read the spell, he had only one question: why was almost everything in this world so pretentious?
***
After finishing the ritual, Dylan created several spells, storing them in his body and sword. Then, he changed into new armor, after all, his appearance completely stained with blood prompts certain thoughts. He still hoped that the smell alone would not be enough for Vivienne to understand what he had in mind.
Running his hands over the black leather armor and the throwing knives that were neatly folded in his pockets, Dylan slowly walked forward. Now he estimated that he was well prepared for the fight, primarily due to the accumulated spells. There were 3 spells in his body and 2 in his sword. The only unpleasant thing was the large amount of will that he put into them and the loss of 4500 MP to create them.
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But he wasn't too worried about it. Passing by several densely planted trees, Dylan came to a clearing where Vivienne stood dressed in monastic robes. Dylan happily waved his hand and casually began to pour a bunch of will and mana into the earth under his feet.
Vivienne was dressed in a nun's robe, a gray-blue color that covered her entire body, but still somehow emphasized her curves, not in a sexual way, but in an aesthetic way. Raising her hand, she also waved happily in response, while her blonde hair gently swayed in the wind. Vivienne looked peaceful, which deceived Dylan very well. But he was a very cunning and somewhat vile person by nature.
Imagining some sort of bald humanoid rat in the sewers, rubbing his hands together disgustingly, with a disgusting, sly smile, Dylan smiled softly and began casting a spell in one of his legs, slowly walking towards Vivienne, assessing her at the same time.
Monk
That's all that appeared above her head, which of course surprised Dylan greatly. After all, his identification should specialize in breaking through shrouds. Which she couldn't do now.
Oh well.
Dylan got even closer and tried to sense the mana and estimate it with [Reincarnator's Madness], but that was also unsuccessful. He didn't sense any mana at all, and the madness didn't seem to activate, which was strange.
Stopping 10 meters away, Dylan opened his aura and wrapped it around Vivienne, sensing what he should be wary of. The spirit, the aura, whatever, was incredibly strong. If Dylan's own spirit felt like fog, Vivienne's current spirit felt like a rock.
After waiting for Dylan to assess her, Vivienne spoke calmly. "Will is a very powerful weapon, as is the spirit. I decided to take the monk to demonstrate how unfair an advantage is will."
Dylan turned his head a little stupidly, trying to understand what Vivienne meant. Of course, he knew how unfair his will was. But comparing a talking parrot and a rhinoceros was somehow stupid.
Ignoring his thoughts, Vivienne continued, "You may begin."
As soon as the last word left her lips, Dylan threw the knife at her. Imagine his surprise when Vivienne caught it with two fingers, holding on to the blade.
Oh, that was powerful!
Looking at the knife in her hand, Vivienne smiled slightly, showing that it was not even close to a threat to her.
I could dodge my own knife, yes. But catch it with my hand, damn it, no!
Dylan thought and used [Ghost Flicker]. He quickly closed the distance and made a sword strike. Vivienne extended her hand forward, in a stance, and easily blocked Dylan's sword with the back of her hand.
Without stopping to think about what just happened, Dylan used [Ghost Touch], delivering several lightning-fast strikes, but each one was easily blocked by one of her palms. Taking a step back, Dylan continued barrage of strikes, using techniques one after another, trying to catch Vivienne in any mistake, but all to no avail. In the short 20 seconds, Vivienne learned to parry his strikes better and better and began to close the distance and already drive him into a corner.
Having successfully parried his blow, Vivienne smiled and began to take a step forward. If Dylan had a sense of danger, it would have exploded. He had seen this blow, this stance, a thousand times to know that his solar plexus would be crushed, and the momentum would somehow burst out of his back like a gust of wind.
Before Vivienne could bring her leg down to strike, Dylan swung his sword. He wasn't trying to hit her, or try to block the blow, no. As he swung, he activated the sword's ability, instantly covering himself in a cloud of green dust.
Out of sight, Dylan was able to dodge Vivienne's palm, which only slightly grazed his sword. Taking another step back, Dylan deactivated the sword's ability and increased the distance even further.
The pollen began to disperse, revealing Vivienne's silhouette. All this time, Dylan was frantically thinking about the fight. Of course, he knew about monks, that they have the ability to strengthen themselves with the spirit, all elites come to it sooner or later. But what he didn't know was that someone at his level would be able to catch his sword thrust without wincing, and would also be able to keep up with his speed.
The pollen had almost completely dispersed, revealing an unharmed Vivienne, with no trace of redness or allergy.
And apparently also with immunity to my poison, cool.
"Not a bad trade Dylan!" Vivienne said loudly, casually brushing the pollen off herself. When she finished, she added, "Now it's my turn!"
At that moment, Vivienne used her movement technique. Her simple step forward turned into an incredibly fast run, and then she stopped with no momentum at all, standing in a stance, right in front of Dylan.
Dylan barely had time to raise his sword to take Vivienne's blow. He was much stronger than he looked, just as he expected. His arms buckled under the force of the blow and the sword slammed into his chest, knocking him back. In flight, Dylan cursed the obvious injustice and threw a knife at Vivienne, which she just as easily deflected with her palm.
In flight, Dylan created mana barriers under his feet and pushed off to the right, changing his flight path. Landing on his feet, Dylan released the stored spell, starting to manipulate it inside the ground, in order to later turn it into a swamp. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Dylan raised his sword, holding it with both hands and stood in a stance.
Vivienne nodded in mild approval and used the movement technique again. This time, Dylan was able to see her movements better. Activating [Awakening of the Ghost], his perception, intelligence, agility, strength, and constitution increased by 25%.
Maybe this time I can keep up with her...
Oh no, I was wrong!
Dylan underestimated her, again. Even with close observation, the only thing he could do was block her blow with his sword.
Dylan's muscles tensed up and he realized he was being thrown back again. By activating the spell in the ground and the movement technique, Dylan managed to slightly shift his body and sword, missing most of the blow.
Without waiting for Vivienne to swing again, Dylan retreated, activated [Ghost Touch] and attacked. He struck 5 times in quick succession, but it did absolutely nothing. Vivienne blocked each of his strikes with ease and quickly broke the comfortable distance of his sword.
After five hits, Vivienne was ready to attack herself, but Dylan activated the sword's ability again, releasing pollen into the air and disappearing. But unlike last time, Dylan pointed the sword at Vivienne and activated the shapeshifting and spells inside it.
Several wooden spikes shot out of the sword at high speed, straight at Vivienne. Without waiting to see what the attack would lead to, Dylan jumped to the side, creating a barrier of mana under his feet. The ground around him began to turn into a swamp, it was not very deep, but it was enough to slow him down significantly.
Dylan deactivated his sword and expanded his aura, trying to find Vivienne. He sensed her in her old place. He raised his sword, fired wooden spikes again and jumped to the side onto another platform. After a few more jumps on platforms, Dylan walked around Vivienne and emerged from the growing swamp.
Now he had a wide range of magic to choose from and about 30 seconds until Vivienne got out of the swamp. Deciding not to waste time on trifles, Dylan began to create the most effective spell he knew against humans.
Pulling out a bunch of mana from the sword, Dylan created a fire mana construct and quickly converted about 2000 MP. From this mana, he began to create a tier 4 spell "Flame Torrent" near the tip of the sword.
Taking the sword in both hands, Dylan transformed it into a staff, just as he finished the spell. In his aura sense, Vivienne was ten meters ahead, just leaving the fog. Pointing the staff at her, Dylan said.
"Stream of Flames"
The spell on the tip of the staff turned into a ball of compressed fire, a moment later a stream of very dense flame burst out of it directly at Vivienne. She heard the spell and tried to leave, but her feet sank deep into the ground, which is why she was unable to use the movement technique in time.
The jet of flame instantly ignited all the pollen, causing a small explosion, and quickly reached its target. Vivienne raised her hands in front of her, meeting the jet of flame.
The Flame Stream continued to flow for another 4 seconds from the compressed flame ball until it completely dried up. Dylan stopped maintaining the spell and focused on the aura again. He felt Vivienne's aura, but honestly didn't know what to feel. On the one hand, it didn't surprise him at all, on the other, she caught a strong 4th level spell point-blank. And she should still have its characteristics, how it didn't kill her he couldn't imagine.
The smoke slowly cleared and Dylan saw Vivienne walking towards him, naked, with a frown on her face. She had one hand covering her chest and the other between her legs. As far as he could tell, the flames hadn't hurt her at all, even her blonde hair was in perfect condition. But there was one thing, something that caught his eye right away. Four penetrating wounds, one in her left shoulder, one under her left collarbone, one just grazing her right breast and ribs, and one in her right thigh. There were a few more tangential cuts, but they didn't matter.
"Dylan, I didn't know you had such perverted tendencies! I never thought that my student would want to see me naked, much less do something like that! Is this what adolescence is?! Was I really like that too?!" Hee-hee!" Vivienne said, laughing at the situation.
"Eh, well, I guess I went overboard by making the monk so strong, I should have sacrificed some abilities and left good perception based on aura. Yeah, that was a big omission."
Despite Vivienne's easy and confident speech, Dylan could see the faint, uncontrollable contractions of her muscles. Something that happened every time after a strong effort. Looking more closely, Dylan began to notice one significant difference. Vivienne's Aura-Spirit had become much weaker, or maybe not as dense, but he could tell one thing for sure, Vivienne as a monk no longer posed a threat to him.
Smiling slightly, Dylan spoke up, taking stock of the situation. "Miss Vivienne, are you admitting defeat?"
Vivienne's smile grew wider and even more cheerful. "Don't get me wrong, I could still teach you a lesson. But I know that you're just waiting for this, to see my body. You won't get that pleasure!"
Taking on a slightly more serious look, but with a small smile, Vivienne continued. "But you're quite right, you won! Let's start the next round!"
"Transfiguration"
Vivienne's body began to emit a bright light, causing Dylan to close his eyes for a second and raise his hand in front of him. After two seconds, the light disappeared, revealing Vivienne in light armor coated in silver, holding two thin, short swords in her hands that looked more like long silver daggers. Casually tossing them into the air a few times, Vivienne said, "Round Two."
Swordsman of Mana
Well, this is going to hurt.
Dylan winced.