章 347: Patterns
Gerald stood in the arena with an emotionless face and a glaive in his hand. With a straight back and a stoic appearance, his whole demeanor was changed. Nobody could read his thoughts from that stone-cold look and deadpan eyes.
The sudden deviation in his action was extremely eye-catching and left many curious as to what was going to happen next.
Gerald released all his magical enhancements except defense. He slowly cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders in preparation for a fight.
And then he waited.
The two Sand Walkers looked at each other and with minimal changes in facial expressions, they decided on a course of action.
As they attacked, the expectation was that something would be different. However, as time went on, the results were clear. Gerald had no chance of blocking or deflecting their assault as they beat on him with their weapons and fists.
The only thing he did was to do his best to avoid or block despite being unable to do so. However, as seconds turned into minutes, the two Wind Walkers came to realize that despite still having the upper hand, it was getting more difficult to land a strike.
Some tricks they used to slip past his guard simply didn't work anymore. Or even if they didn't, much more effort was required to achieve the same result. Slowly but surely, Gerald was learning their patterns.
***
Over the course of millions of years, human brains have evolved greatly, distinguishing them from the rest of the animal kingdom. However, two things stood tall among the rest. Pattern recognition, and future prediction.
Of course, they weren't perfect, far from it. The former became, in fact, so good at finding patterns, that connections were made even when there weren't any.
And the other one, predicting the future with various simulations based on the limited knowledge and information we get of the world around us, allowed mankind to advance through the ages and think in abstractions that allowed him to ask the elusive question: "What if…?"
***
Patterns… Everything has a pattern. The entire universe moves according to the laws of nature, and those can be observed, measured, and understood.
However, back on a more familiar scale, patterns in a style of combat… When Gerald first clashed with the two Sand Walkers, he didn't understand them, their pattern. Their attacks seemed arbitrary, chaotic, random… No matter what word was used to describe them, it would probably fit.
But then, after tossing his emotions aside, his eyes were finally opened and he could see. The subtle differences in body posture, hand and leg movements, the way they would hold their breath just before a strike…
It all became clear to him. That didn't mean he could react to it, not at all. They have trained in this style of fighting for years, while he was just figuring it out. He had to consciously move his body while they used trained muscle memory. He was at a disadvantage. He had no chance.
But that didn't stop him from fighting back, even if it was futile.
What a clear mind did for him was the exact opposite of what he did to his opponents. Now they were the ones becoming increasingly frustrated and angry, the kind of anger that made them sloppy and uncoordinated.
Their mistakes increased and he made sure to punish them. Suddenly he went from the defensive onto the offensive. He would dodge the blades as if they weren't even there. He would block and deflect their kicks before they were even in full swing, almost as if he knew they were coming.
The difference was so extreme that some in the audience thought they were dreaming and had to pinch their neighbor to make sure it was real.
But the reality was simple. Gerald simply figured out their patterns and acted accordingly. Well, that and the fact that the two guys were becoming exhausted and out of breath after battling for so long.
They slowed down considerably since they began, but the change was slow so nobody even noticed.
"Just you wait, I'll get you now!"
Gerald was also becoming tired, so he quickly took a few Stamina potions and began drinking. But, oh no, two vials slipped his grasp when he failed to dodge a strike aimed at the hand holding them! What a tragedy!
And as if that wasn't enough, they didn't break as they fell into the soft soil and rolled over to his enemies' feet!
It was totally not planned, not at all!
The Sand Walkers quickly picked them up after noticing Gerald's panicked expression and anxiety.
"H- Hey! Give that back!" He demanded in a fluster, going so far as to lunge forward in an attempt to snatch them back.
Of course, his wishes weren't granted. The nomad fellas quickly drank the potion, one each.
Immediately after they did so, Gerald stopped his clowning around. He took a step back and finished his drink, before discarding the vial.
"Feeling better?" He teased, a thin smile forming on his lips. "You should be able to fight for real now."
His words confused many, the two Wind Walkers included, however, Dug and his company knew all too well what those potions were.
"Oh, shit! He just gave them Stamina Potions!"
"The same thing we had?"
"Yup…"
They could only speculate why he did what he did. Some onlookers wanted to interfere with the fight, but with a flick of a hand, they were pushed back by Gerald's Wind magic. A stern look from him and they obediently stepped back in line.
He didn't need help. He needed training. Harsh and stimulating training!
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