A Long Duel

I was still at a lower angle and was prone to attacks from above. No way... I was going to get defeated this soon?! Hell no! I begrudgingly chose to abandon my blade to change tactics and used my physical strength instead.

I say 'begrudgingly' because losing my primary weapon usually meant surrendering. I knew I would've switched to my Elemental Powers once I'd hit a corner, but this was a different scenario. But this was a fight to see who would win based on fighting instinct alone.

As predicted, Bryan aimed for the top of my head. However, I was still looking downwards and released my dominant hand to grip the Slayer's attacking wrist. When I did so, he got the shock of his life but quickly recovered by using his other hand to strike at my side.

What I was going to do was the most dangerous thing I've ever done, but it was the only choice I had. I released Verna's wrist and used my arms to ram into his abdomen, causing him to fly for a distance and slamming him into a tree. Once he was stunned, I quickly disengaged and backed away from the dizzy Slayer.

I quickly grabbed my sword once more and took the chance to catch my breath. This duel may be long, but the attacks are lightning-fast. One wrong move, and I'll get screwed over.

"Man... That hurt. I didn't expect a slim lady like you to be able to push me that far with that amount of strength. I was so sure I had you in a tight corner. Also, I didn't expect you to release your blade that early in the fight. But, it looks like you weren't messing around," praised Bryan.

No way... I used all of my strength to push him towards that tree. Hell, even the tree broke! And he can still get up merely a second later?! Was this what he was talking about? The fact that he had the power to boast of being in the First Seat Slayer? His recovery was on another level.

"What's with the look? You'd think that ram could stop me for more than a minute? Sure, that hurt for the moment you did it but made no mistake," asked Bryan, tilting his head to the side.

"If I was done in so quickly by that small move, would I still hold my rank as a First Seat Slayer? Hah! Not a chance!"

Whoa, this guy's Aura took a turn for the crazy! I can't help but feel chills running down my spine. I backed up a few steps as he spun one of his scythes around by the chain. He kicked up some winds as he did so.

"The Slayer Pillar, out of all five Pillars, is known as the most well-rounded Mage out of the entire Barren Pillars. I've been trained in all types of combat, even long-ranged ones. And I am a jack of all trades, meaning I can use long-ranged weapons."

"Though not my forte, I still possess the counterattack for it. I don't like guns that much. You are lucky I'm not using my Element yet. Or else you'd be dead. I am not one to be pushed around," said Bryan, darkly as bloodlust coated his words.

"You're a talkative one in battle. Don't boast too much when we haven't even gotten serious yet!" I yelled, launching myself towards the Slayer.

My foot managed to create a crater on the ground as I jumped towards Bryan. He took out both of his scythes to meet my blade, creating another large shockwave that took off the dirt we stood on. None of us was backing down from that move.

Hang on... I'm not in my previous world anymore. The humans back there are weak at specific points of their bodies. So I'm battling against a Mage, someone with a human body but the endurance of a hundred strong men! But, of course, he's going to recover that quickly.

I have to go all out with this guy. And he is weaker than Mavislin. If I can't even get the upper hand on him, I can only dream of fighting Mavislin! So I took another step forward. This time, I managed to push Bryan away from the clash by just using my blade and arms.

He flew backward and landed by a tree's roots. I started panting heavily as the single push was quite straining to my form. After all, he still has the frame to crush me if he'd wanted to. I am still relatively small despite the fact I can swing a longsword around with just one hand.

I gritted my teeth and had to rely on my tactics to eliminate my opponent. I gripped onto my weapon and prepared to clash once more.