บท 11: A Child's Strength
'T-This little kid!' Ira Ignus thought, ignoring the fact she's only one year older.
''He received no training' my ass, he certainly knows how to wield a weapon!'
Just holding a weapon properly required training, much less swinging it around, but this kid did it so perfectly!
To be honest, the agenda today was just to hit him over and over again until he's tired. Then do it again. It would build his muscles, make him learn to take hits, and defend using his weapon by instinct. But the plan was over before it started.
'I was merely caught of guard, let's see what you do now.'
Ira Ignus lunged forward, using the same attack as she did before. In response, Regalus did the same same as before as well.
''A single thrust to pierce all defenses,' he's using the staff as one would a spear!'
Ira Ignus didn't back down this time. She was trained against all kinds of weapons and fighting styles, spear is definitely included. She used both of her hands to forcefully change the swing of her sword down, causing the staff to go down with it. She stepped on the end of the staff and swung from the top once more, aiming at the Young Master's body this time.
However, he didn't retreat as Ira Ignus had anticipated, instead he moved forward. Seeing that he couldn't even budge the staff with his strength, he abandoned the staff and instead moved to the side, which would successfully dodge her strike, and aimed a fist to her side instead. In reality, he only moved very slightly and fast at that.
'A fist! Crap, I'm left open.'
However, the Young Master's fist never left his side. Instead, he abandoned his advantageous strike and instead crossed his arms and blocked her strike from above. Though Ira Ignus didn't use her cultivation strength, just her body strength was enough to overpower a mortal adult. She wasn't actually supposed to but she got caught in the moment. The Young Master's body flew for a few meters.
----
Regalus felt pain swelling in his arms, the spear move he did was very taxing to his body but the maid's strike was something else, beyond normal humans. His arms were purple and Regalus was sure that he had broken an arm or at least a fracture. He nearly blacked out from the pain.
Regalus regretted his action of holding back. If he had continued on, not only would Ira had been struck, he would've also dodged the strike. However, he didn't as he didn't want to show off too much, it takes tens of years of experience in life and death combat to be able to brave against an incoming strike, much less striking back, ignoring the immediate threat to take care of a greater future danger. Not to mention, how would he know that his mere 10 year old opponent would have greater strength than a full grown adult!
Regalus then felt a soft impact behind him, like pillows suddenly hitting him from the back. He looked up and saw his mother's worried and curious face.
All the while, he felt a sudden energy piercing through his skin. It was quite light and soothing. It traveled throughout his body, blood and bones. It was quite a unique experience, much different from his potions back in the world of Aether. It was more even and natural instead of the sudden, and even painful, growth gained from Health Potions.
Natural doesn't mean slow, he felt his blood flow increase, his bones soothingly move back in place and the purple in his arms vanish in a visible rate. It stopped swelling and became nearly healed, as for the rest, only time could fix that.
Aria Arendale landed safely and shot a look at the red-headed maid, the maid looked down in shame.
"Stay here for a while, my son," she needed a talking to this maid that doesn't know the meaning of 'hold back.'
"No mother, no need."
He felt an odd sensation in his heart. Regalus did indeed plan to lose, but planning it and actually losing are two different things. He felt a prick in his heart. Of his 3,000 year win streak, it ended just like that. The one where he dies doesn't count of course, that was done on purpose to forward his research, so it was a win by his definition; not because he was actually overpowered by some loser that got ran over by a self propelled carriage in his previous life.
But this was the first time he lost in thousands of years, in front of his mother at that. Even if he planned to do so, he felt rather incensed.
Regalus stood up and picked up his staff. Before he could say anything, his mother suddenly disappeared. In the seconds he found her, she was already tens of meters high on the platforms.
"Amazing..." Regalus said, not even grand knights in his world could do such a thing without using skills.
"Ira Ignus! Don't you dare use as much strength again!" Aria shouted. Ira immediately nodded.
"But otherwise, go full on! Son, I want to see how much further you can go!"
'To think I already failed lying low, what a failure I had been... but at least I can finally get some exercise!'
"I wish to see just how impressive this 'cultivation' is!"
"Hmph," Ira responded. This time she became more careful of her strength, but as for her speed, stamina, and the rest, all of it was free! Regardless, with Aria Arendale watching over the both of them, she was sure that even if there were ten of her, they wouldn't be able to touch a single hair of his anyway.
"Go!" a shout resounded from above.
----
Regalus saw Ira Ignus immediately disappear from his vision. However, though not as completely as her mother's was, he didn't expect her to have the same ability.
*Woosh!*
Regalus opened his eyes wide as he saw tiny traces of cloth moving towards him at incredible speed. He immediately swung his staff to his right, holding it with both of his hands vertically.
*Bang!*
Regalus skidded 2 meters to the right. His arm was numbed by the impact. If he had put his staff there a quarter of a second too late, his right arm would be in deep trouble.
'My instincts are still intact!'
Looking at the currently materialized Ira, he let go of the staff with his left hand and struck out with his right hand.
As the right hand still held on to the bottom of the staff, it extended his reach by 2 meters and struck against Ira deeply. However, she blocked it with her short sword and used its momentum to disengage, disappearing once more.
"The same trick again!," Regalus shouted. He swung his staff, causing dust and small rubble to fly out. It only affected a small radius but it was enough that Regalus could see a trace of her running circles around him.
Calculations went and gone through his head in a millisecond as he threw his staff at a certain location.
*Bang*
Regalus's staff recoiled into the air as Ira struck it. She was surprised to see Regalus could predict her movements and even manage to throw the staff so accurately that she had to actually stop to block it.
Regalus charged Ira Ignus, he caught the staff as if expecting it to be blocked in the first place.
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
Sounds of two wooden weapons clashing resounded from the mountaintop.
Ever since he charged, Regalus had not once given Ira Ignus the opportunity to disengage. Though Ira Ignus had an irrefutable advantage in speed, it was useless in this extreme close quarters combat, not to mention she had to restrain her strength. Regalus's staff was used to its fullest extent, it seemed as if it were ropes, preventing her from backing out.
Every time Ira Ignus attempted to back out, Regalus would shift positions to her side and attack bother her front and back sides. Each of his limbs moved as if they had a mind of their own, moving in tandem to their designated places.
Alas, his endurance couldn't match up as he had to supplement his weak body with techniques. As just 3 minutes ticked by, Regalus was already pale-faced and sucking in the air just to breathe.
Ira Ignus saw this as an opportunity.
"Everlasting Rainfall!"
She abandoned thoughts of disengaging and instead begun attacking. With her speed, she struck fast enough that 3 clear afterimages of her sword could be seen. But the difference is, these images themselves have substance!
*Tck*
*Tck*
*Tck*
Hits after hits rained down, Regalus twirled his staff as little as possible while making sure each hit is effectively blocked.
*Bang!*
The staff flew high in the sky as Regalus collapsed flat into the ground.
Ira bent over with her hands on her knees, taking deep breaths, her fingers slightly shivering.
"What... the hell... just what... are you..." Ira Ignus asked bewilderingly.
"Ehehehe..." Regalus responded. He was certainly much worse for wear than Ira.
His limbs were bluish while his fingers were purple. They had not once been hit, but instead, it was due to sheer over-exhaustion. He couldn't move a single muscle, the entirety of the fight was mainly just him on adrenaline. It took a while for him to realize something was odd.
'My body... it's simply just impossible. I should've never lasted that long... Hell, now that I think about it, my body is much stronger and better than those 7-year-olds from my world, and I've never exercised before these few days...'
'As for Ira... she is simply beyond my comprehension... This cultivation thing... it's a new field of research!'
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
Regalus
Regalus Bazzini - La Ronde des Lutins, Op. 25
Experimental Chapter, if you guys think its good, ill start on the next one. If not, I might redo it a bit.
Also some questions:
Am I switching perspectives too much?
Am I putting too much detail?
Is the characters more realistic or still 2d-ish?
Tips and suggestions in comments. :P
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