Kai didn’t move when Ivark finished settling in front of him in the clearing. The orc had slightly spread his feet, adjusting the weight of his body as if he were already inside the fight even though it hadn’t started yet.
Katherine and Sira remained behind, far enough not to interfere. The air was still. Too still. Kai shifted his weight onto his front leg and allowed the system to unfold in his vision.
Kai was Level 15 and Ivark was Level 8. The difference shouldn’t be merely numerical.
Skill: Combat Step. The change was immediate. It was a strange sensation in his legs, as if the ground weighed less than it should or as if his feet found support before fully touching the surface. Ivark advanced first without attacking yet, measuring distance with small movements that barely stirred dust.
Kai took a teral step and the movement was faster than he expected. Cleaner. More stable. He felt light.
“Good,” he thought while flexing his fingers around the club. With this power I’ll be able to react if necessary.
Ivark attacked with a downward strike and Kai activated the skill Body Fortitude the instant the orc entered range, more out of habit than necessity, deflecting the impact with the shaft of the club without his posture shifting before responding with a short strike to the side, seeking more information than damage.
Sira smiled behind.
Katherine took an involuntary step forward as if she wanted to intervene while Kai inhaled deeply.
Skill: Crushing Charge.
He entered with his full body weight, shoulder against chest, pushing Ivark until he lost his bance, but this time he wasn’t just trying to destabilize him but to chain the next movement before the orc could readjust his stance.
Skill: Controlled Fury.
The change was immediate, not in the form of overflowing rage but a contained aggression that sharpened his perception of Ivark’s movement while his muscles reacted with greater precision and his speed increased slightly as his defense adjusted in compatibility with the other active bonuses.
Ivark tried to pnt his rear foot to recover stability but Kai had already taken the next step.
Skill: Attack Boost.
He felt the weight of the club change in his hands as if the impact he was about to execute carried more inertia than his own body should generate and he twisted his torso at the precise instant.
Skill: Impact Cut.
The transmitted force pierced through Ivark’s guard, forcing him to retreat several meters without being able to properly stop as his heels dragged across the dirt and his posture opened for an instant while attempting to recover bance before falling onto one knee.
Kai did not advance immediately but watched as Ivark tried to stand, supporting himself with one hand against the ground while his breathing grew heavier from the impact. Even using his full weight he had felt no real resistance. It had been too easy.
Kai slightly turned his head over his shoulder. Katherine was leaning forward without realizing it, her ears tense although her expression had rexed slightly upon seeing that Ivark could still move.
Sira wasn’t smiling this time, her eyes fixed on the point where the blow had nded, her breathing slightly heavier and her expression tinged with a contained emotion that bordered on excitement at the difference in power she had just witnessed. They had noticed the difference in power.
He lowered the weapon slightly without looking away. “Ivark, use all your skills,” he said firmly.
The orc looked up in confusion for a second before activating Body Fortitude, causing his muscles to tense immediately, stabilizing his breathing while the tension of his body compacted around the received impact reducing the damage that still ran through his side.
Then Attack Boost, tightening his fingers around the weapon as his back straightened.
Combat Step shifted his center of gravity, making him lighter on his feet.
Controlled Fury caused his eyes to focus as his breathing reguted and his movements ceased being reactive and became offensive.
Kai shifted his weight onto his front leg while observing the complete change in his subordinate.
“With your full potential, do not hold back.” Ivark nodded once while finishing standing up, adjusting his grip on his weapon and remained still for barely a second more as if his own body needed to adapt to the sum of effects now running through his muscles.
This time he advanced faster. But not fast enough. Kai twisted his torso instinctively as Ivark’s weapon descended diagonally toward his left shoulder, forcing him to activate Body Fortitude again to absorb part of the impact when he deflected the blow with the shaft of the club.
Even so, the shock traveled up his arm to his shoulder, but failed to move his posture more than a few centimeters, the earth beneath his feet yielding before his own bance.
Ivark didn’t stop and readjusted his grip on his weapon, twisting his torso in search of Kai’s exposed side at the same instant Kai attempted to recover the lost distance.
Kai took a teral step, but this time to enter. This time he didn’t need to measure distance. Ivark’s movement pattern had already been recorded in his mind since the first exchange. The orc was faster now, yes, but he was still reacting. He still needed to confirm his bance after each change of direction.
That small dey was enough to occupy the space before Ivark could close it.
He turned his body, using the angle of the impact and allowing the inertia of the csh to guide his next movement, stepping forward and lowering his center of gravity while Ivark’s torso remained exposed after the extension of his strike.
That was his window.
The orc fell onto one knee, supporting himself with one hand against the ground to avoid tipping over. Kai didn’t stop. He twisted the club and brought it down against his side. The impact was dry. Ivark expelled the air from his lungs in a single burst. Kai stepped back immediately. That had been too strong.
Ivark tried to stand. He couldn’t completely. His breathing became faster. Heavier. “Shit,” Kai thought as he lowered the weapon. I have no healing.
