Aila vs. Midir

Afterward, at Aila’s suggestion, the four of them headed to the main hall of the Adventurers Guild, intending to rent a practice field.

After all, if the two of them were going to get serious about determining a winner, Rosal’s small courtyard wouldn't be able to withstand the destruction.

The one who received them was still the beautiful young lady, Yas. Facing such a group, a hint of surprise couldn't help but flicker in her eyes.

“Sister Yas, long time no see! Is it possible for us to rent a practice field?” Rosal stepped forward and greeted her warmly.

“Let me see... Training Ground No. 2 is currently empty and available for immediate use. However, the rent is ten gold coins. Is that alright?” Yas checked her Intelligence Book and provided an answer almost instantly.

“No problem. Here are the ten gold coins.”

Before Aila could even speak, Blake quite conscientiously pulled out his coin pouch, counted out ten gold coins, and placed them on the desk.

“Little Rosal, who is going to be practicing? You and him?” Yas asked gently as she took the coins from Blake.

“No, it’s Mr. Midir and Sister Aila!”

“This Midir... how do I remember his registration information saying he’s a mage? Why would he come here to spar with Miss Aila?” Harboring doubts in her heart, Yas put the money away and led the four of them to Training Ground No. 2.

Training Ground No. 2 was located deep within the basement of the Adventurers Guild. It was a standard 100x100 meter square with a ceiling ten meters high. The walls were made of hard granite and inscribed with numerous magic circles designed to absorb impact and dampen vibrations.

The two of them walked to the center of the field. Aila stretched lazily, and after loosening her joints slightly, she looked at Midir and asked,

“Alright, this size should be enough. How do you want to do this?”

“Hmm... let me think. No restrictions on weapon usage. Battle Qi is allowed, but Battle Skills are not. However, I won't use any wide-range magic either. How does that sound?” Midir looked around and proposed his conditions.

“I say, Midir, you’re looking down on me a bit too much, aren't you?”

Hearing these conditions, which were almost entirely in her favor, Aila appeared somewhat annoyed, feeling underestimated.

“If you can still beat me like this, this lady will eat while standing on her head today!”

“Heh, then let our skills do the talking! Please, show me what you've got!”

Midir chuckled, and his entire aura underwent a sudden transformation. With a light flick of his right hand, the azure Starflame manifested from the air and landed in his grip as he settled into a starting stance.

“Fine! I’ll show you exactly how capable I am!”

Aila didn't say anything more. She casually tied her long golden hair behind her head and drew her customary short sword from the Arms Crafter at her waist.

Since the agreed-upon rules didn't restrict the use of Battle Qi, Aila clearly had no intention of holding back.

Surging fire-red Battle Qi enveloped her body and the short sword in her hand. After lowering her center of gravity, she lunged forward like a cheetah.

For Aila, who excelled in agility, a training ground only a hundred meters long was no distance at all. In the blink of an eye, she reached Midir. Her short sword swung upward with a fierce force, and fire-attribute Battle Qi swept out along the blade.

Facing the imminent fiery blade, Midir appeared completely unperturbed. He took a calm step back, Starflame trailing a blue glow as it met the attack, neutralizing the shockwave of fire-red Battle Qi into scattered blue light.

Aila intended to use the momentum to press down on Starflame’s blade, only to find that Midir’s body was as immovable as a giant boulder. She immediately adjusted her stance and darted to the side, delivering a sudden thrust before Midir could reposition himself.

Confronted with Aila’s sudden change of move, Midir swiftly extended his left hand. Violent fire elements gathered in his palm, and a massive burst of flame instantly obscured Aila’s vision. By the time she broke through the fire, Midir’s figure had already vanished from the spot like a phantom.

Sensing a sharp aura coming from above, Aila clicked her tongue and threw her short sword toward the airborne Midir like a throwing knife.

Meanwhile, she pulled out two T-shaped metal batons. With a wave of her hands, she used the batons to knock aside Starflame, which had been redirected by the short sword.

Following that, her lithe figure twisted nimbly in mid-air, delivering a high kick aimed directly at Midir, who was still suspended in the air.

Seeing the slender leg striking from his right, Midir had no choice but to abandon his offensive. He raised his right arm to defend. Borrowing the heavy force from the impact on his arm, he flipped twice in the air and landed more than ten meters away.

Before he could even steady his stance, he saw that Aila had already raised a small crossbow. Amidst a burst of sparks, several Battle Qi arrows shot toward him like falling stars.

Instantly, a wall of ice, woven from blue and white, rose from the ground between the two. The arrows condensed from Battle Qi should have had immense piercing power, but they could only leave shallow marks on the ice wall before dissolving into nothingness.

“You can even block that? Your reactions are fast enough!” Although Aila was surprised by Midir’s reaction speed, her movements didn't stop.

She quickly put away the crossbow, which had exhausted its Battle Qi, and flicked a grappling hook from her wrist. It anchored into the granite of the ceiling, and she used the rope to pull herself into the air.

Looking back, the place where she had just been standing was now covered in blue ice crystals. Had she not jumped in time, she would have ended up frozen on the spot.

Having flown into the air, Aila used the ice wall Midir had created as a stepping stone. Releasing the rope, she scattered a large handful of freshly generated steel needles in the air.

Facing the downpour of steel needles, Midir had no choice but to interrupt his ice element casting. He retreated while swinging his sword to parry the needles.

“Haha! You fell for it!”

Accompanied by Aila’s crisp laughter, a long whip lashed out from behind Midir like a striking venomous snake, wrapping around the longsword in his hand.

Caught off guard, Starflame was wrenched from Midir’s hand. Aila used the momentum to hurl it toward the edge of the field, while her silhouette directly in front of him silently vanished into thin air.

“Now that you’re without a weapon, let’s see how you plan to win!”

Aila knew better than to engage Midir in a long-distance battle, given his status as a high-level mage. After tossing Starflame aside, she put away her whip and replaced her weapon with a pair of cold-glinting brass knuckles, closing in on him.

The battle instantly shifted to close-quarters combat. Midir, who knew almost nothing about grappling or fighting techniques, was immediately put on the defensive. He could only rely on his instincts and physical attributes to block and dodge.

Watching the two figures moving almost like phantoms within the arena, Rosal and Blake, who were watching from the side, were filled with awe. Although Aila had never explicitly stated her true strength, from the current situation, it had already completely exceeded their expectations.

What shocked them even more was that Midir, as a mage, was actually able to fight on par with Aila—who wasn't using Battle Skills—despite being unarmed and not using magic. Just how incredible were his physical attributes?

“I say, Rosal, is Mr. Midir really a mage?” Blake stared unblinkingly at the intertwined figures in the field, swallowing a nervous gulp of saliva as he spoke.

“I think... probably? I don't really understand what’s happening anymore, but Sister Aila probably isn't using her full strength either, right?”

Rosal shook her head and rubbed her aching eyes. Maintaining high levels of concentration for so long had started to make her vision blur.

A deafening boom suddenly rang out in the arena, followed by dust rising and spreading across the ground. The two tangled figures finally separated at that moment.

Midir found an opportunity to take one of Aila’s punches with his crossed arms. Using the force to retreat while simultaneously using his height advantage to kick Aila away, he finally escaped the passive state of being a punching bag.

He rubbed his slightly aching forearms, moving them a bit to confirm that the punch hadn't damaged his bones. In his mind, he was constantly thinking about how to break the current stalemate.

In Aila’s eyes, however, this scene was a different story. That punch of hers had been delivered with brass knuckles and augmented with a portion of Battle Qi. While its power might not have been enough to split mountains or part seas, it should have been more than enough to shatter the protected granite around them. Yet this guy in front of her only had slightly sore hands? And why did the Battle Qi attached to her brass knuckles have no effect?

“I really didn't expect your physical attributes to be so monstrous. Since I can't settle this quickly with weapons, I’ll just have to try another way.”

After saying that, Aila put away her brass knuckles under everyone’s watchful gaze and settled into an unarmed combat stance.

Concentrating her fire Battle Qi into her limbs, Aila’s speed increased once more. She turned into a blur and charged straight at Midir from the front.

Midir hadn't expected Aila to charge him head-on while unarmed. He hurriedly threw a punch to intercept her. However, Aila used a strange posture to strike the joint of his arm with her palm, causing the power he had just gathered to instantly dissipate by more than half.

Aila used the momentum to grab his extended fist and yanked it backward, causing Midir to lose his balance. He was then slammed heavily into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

Before Midir could stand back up, Aila’s long legs had already coiled around him like snakes, locking his right arm and neck, pinning him to the ground once again.

“So, do you surrender? You won't be able to escape once you’re locked like this.”

Feeling the incredible pressure coming from his neck and arm, Midir had no time for idle thoughts. He only felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen, yet he was completely pinned and unable to move.

“It’s not over yet!” Midir suddenly closed his eyes and merged himself into the surrounding space, mysteriously vanishing from beneath Aila’s legs in an instant.

When he reappeared, he was standing at the edge of the field, picking up Starflame. Thus, the two of them stood dozens of meters apart, falling into a stalemate once again.

Aila, who had jumped up with a kip-up, saw that Midir had regained his weapon and felt a bit of a headache coming on. In this way, the situation had returned to how it started.

“This could go on forever. It’s a bit tricky without using Battle Skills! It looks like I’ll have to use my trump card!” Aila silently plotted in her heart.