Chapter 342: Rodentia and Lagomorpha

———Karra———

<11: 17 am>

“This is an interesting one.” Orrel remarked, seeing the rabbitgirl standing there with composure.

“Finally, something actually worth paying attention to.” Kenni said, not being considerate of the other challengers.

“Another physically-oriented fighter. As if we don’t have enough of those.” Meanwhile Gregori chose to be a contrarian in this case.

“Hey, at least she’s leagues above the rest. The speed of this fight is gonna be a lot faster.” Kenni said in response. “The other fights were pretty darn slow, this one we need to pay attention a bit.”

Luik held her blade at her waist while Rico did her usual yapping. Both of them are waiting for the fight to start.

“<And… Begin!>” Rico announced.

**Dash** *Clash*

Unlike with the previous matches where one side initiates the battle, this time both parties run at each other the second the fight officially begins. Both of them are clearly eager to get this fight started.

*Clash* *Clang* *Parry*

In no time at all they began swinging their weapons around wildly at the fastest pace seen in this event yet. The smoother movement and quicker reaction would no doubt make it hard to follow for those not used to this pace even with visual aid.

*Clang* *Block* *Parry*

Neither side uses any magic and relies on physical force, while bolstered by mana, it’s simply an exaggerated version of what a normal human can do.

“A shame she can’t use that super sharpness enchantment or whatever it’s called. That’s one thing she has going for her.” Kenni remarked as the fight rages on.

“At least she’s aware of it.” Gregori pointed out. Luik is indeed not using any fancy techniques she has at the moment, just using the bare basics to face Emmie blow-for-blow.

There is an underlying condition or gimmick to the battle that isn’t really hinted at. Emmie using that bamboo sword isn’t just a simple matter of restricting her strength to a feasible level to struggle against.

However, it is still a bamboo sword. It’s not something meant to go up against real weapons that the challengers can use while she can’t. Even with her innate strength it is still very likely to be destroyed when faced against a real sword wielded by a competent opponent.

What happens when it’s destroyed? Not a victory, obviously. Otherwise she wouldn’t have thrown it around. It’s clear that she can keep going even when unarmed. She has a lot of things she can do even without a weapon.

And when that bamboo sword is broken, then what is the next step? She can’t just continue to fight with the same level of intensity at that point, and she most likely won’t feel the obligation to keep herself repressed without such a weak weapon in her hand as a sign of that.

While it’s obviously ridiculous to assume something about Emmie, within the context of how this event works, it’s clear that if something that tips the balance of the battle like that happens, she is supposed to do something that would feel dramatic. A phase two of a battle, a sign of a much more desperate struggle with much more to worry about. They want intense fights, they want people to be at the edge of their seats. They would want Emmie to do something to capture attention.

Trying to look inside her head is a difficult matter, but the logic of the event organizers are a different matter.

Luik’s usage of that deadly sharpening technique would have led to the bamboo sword being cut down unceremoniously within the first few seconds of the fight, which would be so sudden and anticlimactic that it might take away some enjoyment of the spectators. When that happens, compensation needs to be made, creating a dramatic situation that would take attention away from the predicament. The obvious answer to that is for Emmie to quickly spiral out of her self-imposed restriction. While in other scenarios where the bamboo sword is broken could lead to maybe Emmie start using magic or more elaborate movements, with Luik and the hypothetical scenario, Emmie would’ve been a lot more brutal for the sake of that compensation.

That is to say, Luik’s technique would’ve speedran phase one, which by the ‘rules’ of dramatic storytelling would skip the fight straight to phase three since clearly she is overqualified for phase two at that point if she’s ending phase one so quickly, ignoring how that only happened because said technique is only useful for phase one.

Considering that she is not using said technique, it’s clear she’s fully aware of that hypothetical scenario and held herself back. Even without that train of thought, the fact of the matter is that they seem to focus more on the entertainment value than the strength of the challenger, so that powerful if risky technique that is also not the most flashy wouldn’t be of much use right now. It’d be risk without much reward in this very specific situation.

“I don’t think most could even tell that she’s holding that back.” Orrel said. The speed and intensity is already heavily increased compared to the last most impressive battle, it’s going to be very difficult for everyone to notice that Luik is also restricted in her game plan.

*Evade* *Swing* *Leap*

Both of them are running around the arena and covering a lot more ground than in other matches. The smoothness in their movement came from faster reaction time and their limbs moving with a burst of speed that covers a larger amount of space than what could be done normally. Even with the enhanced physical capabilities that came with training and becoming attuned to mana, people still usually subconsciously limit themselves to their previous limited state. They might realize they can run fast or swing their sword faster, but they tend to not use their full capabilities because of that.

Luik fighting without being restricted by that helps widen the gap between her and other challengers, all that strength she has cultivated wouldn’t matter if she doesn’t understand how to use it.

*Clash* *Clang* *Parry*

The sounds of their weapons connecting is sharp and loud, neither seems to buckle despite one not being fit for this type of combat.

*Swing* *Leap* *Swing* *Leap*

Sometimes they fight without much repositioning, only for them to pivot to running and jumping around the map. Neither of them hits the other as the one being targeted would simply run away the moment the trajectory of the attack became clear.

“Still a lot of stuff we have already seen. I know it’s all more intense or whatever, but nothing new so far.” Gregori commented on the match with a tinge of disappointment.

“They’re just starting, you’re way too hasty.” Kenni said, clearly having more faith in Luik’s capability despite usually being the one to give out snide remarks.

*Clash* *Clang* *Parry*

She’s not wrong to say that. Luik hasn’t even gotten hit yet. That’s a far cry from how the other battles have unfolded. It’s not as if Emmie uses the same amount of power as she did against the others either, she’s fighting a harder battle than the rest of them.

*Leap* *Swing* *Spin* *Parry*

“Hey, that’s a cool trick she did.” Jeff remarked despite that being something all of us can also do. Obviously most people here can’t do that, but still…

The ability to move mid-air, even if it’s as simple as facing the other way in order to intercept the incoming attack, is an advanced ability. While there are ways to influence your trajectory or where you’re facing after takeoff, it’s not effective in a combat setting, and certainly not applicable to the inhumane leaps we’re all capable of.

Anything related to unnatural movement from flying to this is something many people would be envious of. Defying the effect of gravity and other natural laws on yourself and overcoming what would’ve been an impossible predicament. Any time you aren’t touching the ground is when you are the most vulnerable, and taking care of such a weakness increases your combat effectiveness many times over.

It’s not an ability that could be acquired through brute force, so this is another instance of skill instead of raw power talking.

Obviously there is still a sign of struggle. She barely managed to parry the incoming attack, struggling to turn around just enough for her sword to connect, and even then she didn’t land back down with the most grace, barely avoiding landing on her back and instead on her feet.

*Sizz* *Swing* *Blast* *Leap*

Suddenly, as the fight rages on and neither side is giving in, Luik covers her sword in flaming energy that she then shoots out as an explosive projectile that Emmie quickly jumps out of the way of. One of those sword beam techniques that has helped its user compensate them for usually being restricted to short range combat.

It’s quick to activate and the power behind it is no joke, but the tell is on the more obvious side. If there is mana enveloping the sword, then chances are you’re looking at an offensive magic.

*Swing* *Blast* *Swing* *Blast*

Still, this is certainly not the preferred method of attack for Luik. She is the type to go in for the kill the moment she finds the right opportunity. That projectile spam strategy was not her forte, but compared to her usual tactic it is at least a bit more flashy and easier to follow for the audience.

“She really doesn’t want to break that sword.” Orrel remarked. Such an unfocused set of attacks would naturally nearly be impossible to break that sword by accident, delaying what is about to happen. If she’s resorting to this tactic, that bamboo sword must be near its limit as well.

When it breaks, that’ll be the signal for the next phase, a new chapter in this event where the battle went from looking somewhat even to… I don’t really know, I don’t need to wait for long to find out anyway. Just a few minutes at most, and I’ll get my answer.

*Leap* *Swing* *Parry*

Emmie naturally wouldn’t let Luik stall out the inevitable like that. She jumps around avoiding all projectiles and going right towards her with the sword swung down, forcing Luik to confront it as her barrage of sword beams left her mentally unprepared for the sudden closing in from Emmie. She doesn’t have enough time to get out of the way.

*Clash* *Clack* *Clang* *Block* *Parry*

Emmie threw out a flurry of attacks that forced Luik to quickly react, bashing her blade against the sword on the verge of breaking.

*Swing* *Slide* *Sizz* *Swing* *Blast* *Boom*

After many swings later, she slid out of the way of the very aggressive Emmie and threw out an impromptu sword beam as she was still carried by the momentum, hitting her due to the short distance between them while still managing to not be in the blast radius due to being carried away.

*Dash* *Swing* *Jump*

Emmie ran out of the dust cloud with another sword swing ready to go, but Luik chose to jump up high into the air to make both an impressive display of leg strength and also to stall out the sword fight for even longer.

*Jump* *Swing* *Block*

Emmie jumped up towards her with another swing, but Luik managed to block it and the force behind Emmie’s attack caused both of them to be launched further apart with Luik being sent even higher up into the sky.

If it wasn’t for Emmie’s restriction she would’ve simply fly towards Luik and slams her back down to the arena ground. You really do not want to be in the air when you’re outclassed in the flying department.

Emmie after landing back down first looked up and seemed to be calculating on where Luik would land, casually walking towards her landing sight, ready to swing that bamboo sword and get her with a clean hit or let it break trying.

Luik is dropping down at that very location, and I can’t quite tell what she is intending to do as she falls down.

*Drop* **Swing** *CLASH*

I can’t quite make it out with how sudden the exchange was. It seems that the two blades connected once both were within each other’s striking distance. Luik was repelled back and still managed to land back down gracefully on her feet as Emmie stared at her.

*Crack*