16
1018 Words
After all, she had needed to put every mana stone that she’d pulled out of her rifts into buying more delving slots and essence stones to complete Tier 11 in such a short time. And he had two other people to share essence with. They would’ve been incredibly lucky to find an extra Tier 20 skill on their own, let alone one that they could trade for Bulwark instead of selling it for rifts or essence stones.
She had been fortunate beyond anything she’d hoped for to get a second Tier 20 skill that perfectly fit her. It would be absurd for them to be so lucky as well.
Quill stepped forward, and the shield of mana moved with him, brightening as more mana flooded the skill. As the skill was becoming opaque thanks to the sheer amount of mana, he slashed his longsword, and a [Mana s***h] cut out at her through the shield.
Susanne cut it in half, but while her return [Mana Thrust] made the shield dim a little, it quickly restored itself and grew even brighter.
She’d been eyeing [Bulwark] for herself eventually, so she knew that it needed a set amount of mana to cast, which was what dictated the size and strength of the shield. But it needed mana channeled into it to work as anything more than a temporary block. Every attack that landed on it drained some of the stored mana, and battering through it was normally a perfectly viable option.
But when Quill used the skill, that weakness was completely covered, thanks to whatever crazy cracked effect it possessed to make it even better for him.
Still, she had to try.
It wasn’t in her nature to not batter through any obstacle in her way.
Using her own new skill, Susanne sent mana into [Hypersonic Edge] before linking it with [Wind Cutter], then doubling it to cast with both her main and secondary blade.
Unleashing both empowered [Wind Cutter]s, her mana dipped noticeably, but she rushed forward to capitalize on the destruction of [Bulwark].
[Hypersonic Edge] increased the cutting power of any weapon or skill that it was cast with, but if cast with another skill, it acted as a multiplier of the mana cost, which made it difficult to use too often.
Still, its negative effect was well warranted as she saw [Bulwark] explode, and the skills continued onward to hit Matt.
Susanne expected him to be heavily wounded, but exactly where the attacks landed, his armor instantly grew ornamentation.
When the metaphorical dust settled, the ornamentation was gone, along with her attacks, but she had closed the distance, and started battering away at him with her sword skills.
A small part of her was grateful that she was still better than him in blade skills, and she kept on him to press that advantage.
He was stronger than her, yes, but she fought opponents even stronger than him on a regular basis. His attacks were heavy, but they were still less than a Tier 15 wyvern’s or giant’s would be. Skill could close that gap.
So many people only relied on magical skills but neglected the mundane. She wanted both.
Matt was better than most, and as they exchanged blows, she found herself enjoying the fight, but it was only his superior physical cultivation that allowed him to keep up with her.
At one point in their fight, his entire style changed. He stopped smothering her with his heavy attacks and moved to a faster, more fluid style, but she was more than used to fighting faster opponents. A single, powerful blow countered Matt’s new tactic, pushing him back far enough for her to pick up her offensive. He seemed to give up on speed after that, returning to his normal, heavy attack style.
He tried to gain distance between them more than once to presumably use more spells, but with her Concept’s ability to warp space and careful applications of her mobility skills, she was more than able to keep up with him and force him into a melee, where she had the advantage. When she used her second sword, he always blocked it with [Sword Doppelganger], and as they settled into a stalemate, she decided to show some more of what her Concept could do.
Instead of just creating a sword and arms, she created a full second version of herself.
The other Susanne kicked at Matt’s knee while she pressed the attack.
She could only get about a few feet away from her Concept self, but it was still on track to be her greatest trump card, though it was one she had only just started to get a handle on.
Carol had said that Susanne was one of the few warriors she knew of who had been able to use that ability before Tier 15, especially without a Concept outright dedicated to the ability. It was truly an amazing achievement, worthy of a true Ascender. Her manager had splashed cold water on her exuberance when she told her that Duke Waters had managed the equivalent with a Water Concept, and in less than a year of her tutelage. He was even able to make three doubles at the same time within five years. He was the benchmark they were striving for, after all.
It was a fair rebuke, as Susanne had been getting a large head, but it stung a little to hear how far ahead of everyone the legend was, including her. At least it wasn’t quite the same—the copies were apparently harder to manifest with a weapon Concept than with a magical one—but it was hardly three times as easy.
Carol had promised her a meeting with the legendary Ascender when he was off the frontlines, but apparently, he was sent there as a punishment, and he just hadn’t left once his time was over.
Still, the ability was able to send Matt back with first blood drawn in the fight.
Her blade had punched through his magical and physical armor and came back red.
She smiled.
- Writer
