Chapter 233

“ATTA BOY BENNY!” Cynrik and Brance clapped loudly while shouting like proud dads, alongside the roar of cheers from the other students.

“DON’T LET UP, PUSH PUSH PUSH!” Selene hollered, adding to the chorus of chants and cheering.

However, instead of rushing off to finish his opponent, Benny stayed calm and dashed back, putting a few meters distance between himself and the downed Instructor Garrison.

It was a smart move because the instant he did so, hundreds of thin, needle-like spikes shot up from the ground where he previously stood.

“Not bad; your foresight is pretty intimidating, Benjamin.” Pounding his fist on the ground and manifesting a small rock pillar under his body, Instructor Garrison bounced up and landed on his feet, gripping his longsword with both hands.

“That was a pretty fancy move back there; I assume whoever taught it to you is a DPS, though; I would restrain yourself from using it too frequently; that’s how you get yourself killed as a tank.” Sliding his foot on the dirt, Garrison channeled Terra Mana into his legs and shot forward as if skating across the terrain.

Selene, Brance, and Gabby all turned and looked at Cynrik smugly at the mention of a DPS training Benny that move.

“Oh fuck off; I didn’t teach it to him; his ass picked it up from watching my fights.” Cynrik’s defense fell on deaf ears as the three shook their heads and turned back to Benny’s fight.

CLANG CLANG FOOWSH CLANG

Garrison’s attack speed increased significantly without his shield weighing him down as he danced around Benny, hacking and slashing, barely giving the boy time to breathe, let alone react.

“You are overthinking, Benjamin; this is a dog fight now, not a sport; your party leader gave you some good advice earlier, NOW USE IT!”

BOOOOOMMMM

Speaking passively as he attacked from all over, Instructor Garrison’s final hit was deflected perfectly off Benny’s Aspis, opening his stance and allowing an opportunity for Benny, who delivered an elbow to the man’s chin and began fighting back.

“”Instinct, it’s something all living creatures have, be it something as insignificant as an Ant or something as complex as a person; everything has the Instinct to survive. I will be teaching you how to tap into that inherent feeling.””

Benny’s eyes lost focus as his body took control from his mind and whipped his sword around after coating it in Water Mana. As he attacked, he seemed to fall into the past when Cynrik taught him and Gabby to fight.

“”No, you idiot, don’t think, ACT! Turn off your brain, and let your body move on its own. THAT is INSTINCT!””

Time and time again, the 9-year-old Cynrik would kick Benny and Gabby to the ground during his hellacious training camp.

Next, his mind left that flashback, and it was replaced by a mental replay of Cynrik flitting around in the Egress as he fought Osarseph. He remembered watching the older boy out of the corner of his eye as he moved fluidly around, dodging every attack thrown his way. To his right, Brance would take on any and every attack he could to reduce the pressure on his older brother.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

“Holy shit,” Cynrik said, pushing away from the bleachers and stepping closer to the battlefield.

“Did you know he could fight like that?” He asked Brance, who walked up beside him just as stunned by the show Benny was putting on.

“I’d be lying if I said yes; I knew he had it in him, but Benny always acted so mellowly and passive that I believed our teachings didn’t get through.” Brance watched Benny’s every move carefully and noticed something.

[Cyn…is he?] Brance asked with wide eyes.

[Yeah, he’s copying our styles and trying to fuse them into his own.] Replied Cynrik as he pulled his shaky hands from his pockets and crossed his arms.

Ducking under a horizontal slash, Benny dropped to one knee and used a pressurized blast of water to slide across the dirt, kicking up a cloud by dragging his Aspis on the ground beside him.

Then, standing up mid-slide, he bounced off the ground, slipped the strap of his shield off, and spun it around his arm before grasping it by the edge and throwing it like a disk.

BOOOOMMM

When it collided against Garrison’s sword and showered him in sparks, Benny flicked his index finger on his right hand, shooting out a thin [Water Whip] like a spider web, which attached itself to the shield.

Next, it returned to him with a pull and slid back on his forearm just as he landed and dashed forward, swinging his Estoc at Garrison’s neck.

However, just when he got in close, the ground trembled, and Instructor Garrison lit up in a tan, silver, and yellowish-purple aura.

“GOOD, VERY GOOD, BENJAMIN, YOUR MOVEMENTS ARE NEARLY FLAWLESS! UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S TIME TO END THIS! [VECTOR SPIKE]!”

Thousands of electrified metal rods moved like liquid from the ground shot up, all targeting Benny, who stared up at them calculatedly.

“Not yet,” Speaking calmly, Benny crouched low to the ground and blinked slowly while tilting his head downward and to the side, making the bones of his vertebrae pop loudly.

“You seem to have forgotten something, Instructor; WATER CONDUCTS ELECTRICITY!” Stabbing his Estoc and Aspis into the ground, the dirt shifted as an uncountable number of tiny water droplets rose a 2-meters into the air, surrounding the man in a misty liquid fog.

“Huh?” Garrison’s pupils constricted as he tried to figure out when Benny had splashed so much water all over the ground.

“If I’ve learned anything from watching the Ragnarsson brothers fight, it’s that no matter how strong your opponent is, there is ALWAYS A PATH TO VICTORY!” Benny shouted as he released his grip on the sword and made a motion of drawing a bowstring, with his left hand representing the bow and his now empty right hand the arrow.

In response, every one of the numerous water droplets squirmed and transformed into mini versions of his skill [Water Spear.] Their target was every single point on Instructor Garrison’s body. Every weak point was accounted for, even the man’s groin; if he so much as coughed, the razor-sharp [Water Spears] would bite into his flesh, and all it took was a simple push for them to turn the man into a human-sized pincushion.

Looking around with eyes as large as saucers, Garrison knew he was beaten; his entire body was targeted by these seemingly endless spears, with too many to count just a hair away from his skin, making him break out in a cold sweat.

His attention had been too focused on buying time to activate his fusion skill, so he missed that every time Benny used one of his own Affinity Skills, he would allow it to splash the ground before having it soak in out of sight. Then, as he set the trap, all Benny had to do was keep the Instructor at bay long enough until the man was pressured into going for a large attack; at that point, he would strike.

The only factor that could nullify his trap was [Vector Spike’s] speed. Thus, in very Cynrik fashion, Benny went for the swarm effect, making it so that no matter how quickly the Instructor’s attack could move, it wouldn’t matter because there were simply too many spears to counter.

“That’s checkmate,” Cynrik said while wearing a shit-eating grin.

“That crazy kid actually pulled it off; he probably woulda gotten us with it if we didn’t use [Mana Sight] during the battle.

“YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, GOOOOOO BROTHER!!” Jumping up and down frantically, Gabby screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Hey, Ivar, why does this setup look like something you would come up with?” Selene asked curiously.

“That’s because it is, throughout the fight, Benny was trying to fuse the way I fight with Björn’s, to make his own variation. The perfect defense with a wild and crazy DPS’s movements, the icing on the cake is Benny’s expert strategies, which are only second to my own.” Cynrik uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands back into his pockets as he spoke.

“I yield,” heaving a sigh and realizing there was no way out of his current predicament; Instructor Garrison admitted defeat. Next, he released his control on his fusion skill and let the Electrified Metal spikes break down into particles.

“VICTOR, BENJAMIN SANFORD!”

Every student in the bleachers hopped to their feet and cheered loudly enough to make Cynrik flinch.

“Fuckin chill out assholes, god, are they trying to blow out my ear drums.” Cynrik shook his head a couple of times before glaring at the students filling the aluminum bleacher stands.

Benny quickly released his skill, allowing the water to drop back to the ground and fade away once the announcement was made. Then, he stood up straight before bowing at Instructor Alistar and walking to Instructor Garrison with his hand extended.

“Thank you for the battle, Instructor Garrison; your teaching will live on in my heart for all my days. I can’t wait for the day when I can attend your lessons.” Benny said politely with his hand extended to the man, who was staring down at it quietly.

“Hahhh, you really need to loosen up, kiddo; the way you speak makes you sound like an old man.” Chuckling, Instructor Garrison shook Benny’s hand before raising it into the air and turning him to face the students cheering for him not far away.

“You still have a lot to learn when it comes to using that Estoc Aspis combo, but I have no doubt you’ll be able to figure it out soon enough. Also, remember to work on your stance. Not to mention you underutilized the versatility of both, which makes sense since you’re on record as using a short sword, and medium buckler.”

“If you genuinely want to make the switch, then I recommend heading to the Gravity Training Hall so that you can simulate using a much heavier shield. Then, when you come out, you’ll be able to whip around your Aspis like it weighs nothing at all. As for the Estoc, a weapon meant for thrusting shouldn’t only rely on crushing, so try working that into your training program.” Releasing Benny’s hand and patting him on the shoulder.

“Thank you for your guidance, sir.” Benny stepped back, grabbed his Estoc and Aspis, and gave the Instructor another Knight’s salute before turning around and walking over to the members of his party, who had already stormed the field to meet him halfway.

“That kid is way too clever for his age Ali,” Turning to the left and looking at Instructor Alistar making his way over, Garrison stated loud enough for only his colleague and friend to hear.

“You probably didn’t notice, but he hammered out a new fighting style during your battle; if I didn’t know better, he took the movement style of Ivar and the defensive style of Björn and combined them into one. It takes a special kind of mind to develop that much over such a short timeframe.” Alistar explained once he arrived at Garrison’s side.

“That makes three little monsters; I wonder how good that girl is; you’ll have your hands full, Ali,” Garrison retorted, smacking his friend on the back hard enough to almost knock him over,

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