Chapter 10: Combat Mages (2)
Moments before the spar began
Caleb pondered on what Bani had mentioned earlier about them having similar strengths. 'If what he says is true, doesn't that mean I outclass him in physical strength and speed'? Bani also made mention of attributes. Understanding what he meant, he also got ready for the fight.
His mind wandered to the stats he had before he manipulated his genes.
[Stats]
[Strength: 72/100]
[Speed: 88/100]
[Perception: 45/50]
[Mana: 500/500]
Currently, his stats look overpowered. Although he had no idea how to use magic, he believed his physicals would compensate for the gap.
[Stats]
[Strength: 123/500]
[Speed: 98/120]
[Perception: 50/60]
[Mana: 302/500]
"Okay… Caleb, here I come!"
~WHOOSH~
Bani disappeared from where he stood and appeared before Caleb mid-air with a punch heading straight to his face.
To the students, the majority of them only saw a blur with a few barely keeping up with his speed. Kathleen could follow Bani's speed as well just not as vividly as she was not a combat mage.
Caleb on the receiving end, however, had a different assessment. 'He is so slow. Is it just me or something else?' His perception and speed values were higher than before, so Caleb easily kept up with Bani's movements. Raising his left forearm, he blocked the attack with no trouble.
~BOOM ~
The surrounding air was dispersed, generating a gust of wind that reached the students. In what felt like a split second to the others, Caleb delivered a light punch to the gut of Bani. He decided to hold back to not accidentally hurt him…too much.
To Bani, the punch moved towards him too fast to respond. 'Shit! I can only tank it!' He thought as he received the blow that sent him flying a couple dozen metres. Before he could get his bearings right, Caleb was already before him with a punch coming from above.
This time, however, Bani quickly evaded to the side to gain some distance.
~BOOM~
Caleb's punch connected with the ground, shattering it and sending debris everywhere. Not relenting in his assault, he stayed on Bani's trail. Caleb was feeling his excitement bubbling as he chased after Bani. As the adrenaline coursed through his veins, he gradually got used to his strength and speed. However, all his punches were missing his target.
Reason?
Bani now had to rely on mana to enhance his strength, speed, and perception to their utmost limits. Around his body was a blue aura that had traces of lightning.
~Crackle~ Crackle~
~WHOOSH~ WHOOSH~
As lightning danced around Bani, he continued to evade the flood of punches and kicks coming his way. The audience however was in awe. They could barely keep up with their movements. All they could see were blurred movements, whoshing sounds and mini explosions all over the field.
"Tch, don't get ahead of yourself Caleb! Two can play this game." Bani was starting to get irritated and after creating some distance between him and Caleb, he went on the offensive again.
~Crackle~ Crackle~
With his lightning attribute that boosted his speed, he closed the distance in the blink of an eye and delivered a high kick, attempting to go for Caleb's head. This time around, their speed was equalled.
Caleb evaded the kick by bending his torso backwards and distancing himself from Bani.
"Huu…haa.." Caleb took a deep breath to readjust his stance.
"Seems like you still have your touch, but I have to say those punches of yours are more powerful than I remember." Bani pointed out, getting ready for the second round.
"What can I say? I'm strong." Responded Caleb with a wide grin on his face.
Bani chuckled and acknowledged his confidence. "Let's continue. This time I ain't holding back!"
~WHOOSH~
~WHOOSH~
Almost at the same time, they dashed towards each other. Both men delivered a straight punch at each other with their fists connecting with a bang!
~BOOM!, ~ BOOM!~, BOOM!~
Within a second, both men had exchanged multiple blows and kicks at each other with Caleb having the upper hand the more he familiarized himself with his newfound strength. 'Bani was right! The battle instincts ingrained in my body persist even without consciously making an effort!' Caleb was on cloud nine as he reached this conclusion. Bani though was of a different thought process.
'Dammit! Since when did he get this strong? Was losing his memory a blessing in disguise or something? At this rate, I'm gonna lose!' Bani finally saw an opening he could exploit and went in for a punch to Caleb's face.
Too bad for him, it was a ruse Caleb created to draw him in. 'I always wanted to try this. Let's see how he handles it.' With a smug smile on his face, he went low by bending his knees slightly evading the blow and quickly slipping right behind Bani!
Clasping both arms around Bani's lower torso, Caleb delivered a German Suplex, slamming Bani into the ground.
~BOOM!~
Bani did not know how he ended up the way he did. He had never experienced a move like that before.
"Urgh… what the hell?" Bani was baffled by how the fight spar had ended. At this point, their audience could see the outcome of their spar. Bani was still in the grip of Prof. Caleb with his feet twitching in the air.
"Yield?" Caleb asked waiting for Bani to acknowledge his loss. "Yeah… I yield. Now let go of me, students are still watching." Bani mustered to him.
Realizing where they were, Caleb quickly let go of him and helped him get back on his feet. "What the hell was that move you pulled on me?" Bani was curious about where he picked that skill from.
"Oh… I just thought about it just now." Caleb actually said while averting his eyes. The students, with Kathleen, were making their way towards them by this point.
"Woah… Prof. Caleb! That was awesome. We could barely follow your movements. And the fight barely lasted 2 minutes!"
"Yeah. And what was that move you pulled at the end? It was awesome!" Some of the students said with the rest nodding in agreement and muttering some of the highlights of their fight; at least what they saw.
Kathleen was quiet throughout. She was glad Caleb was smiling and looked like he enjoyed the spar quite a bit. "Just 2 minutes? It kind of felt longer though…" muttered Caleb with a pondering look.
"Don't stress about that. Combat mages of our calibre perceive things faster when we fight, and this gives us the illusion of time passing quicckly." Bani explained and Caleb nodded in understanding.
"I have some questions though… You made mention of combat mages and attributes. What exactly do they mean?" Caleb finally wanted answers to some of the terms he had heard today.
"Ah…allow me to explain."