Chapter 71: The Grudge - Part 2
Lugh was sitting on a bench, his friends adding a breastplate above his chainmail. A rack of weapons was set beside him, and a moment later, a pair of cadets placed a barrel of weapons next to Kir. He was reaching for one handle to inspect what he had available when one of the cadets who’d just delivered the barrel kicked it over, the weapons hitting the ground with a clatter.
"Oops," he sneered, chuckling to himself as he walked away.
Kir sighed and looked down. All the weapons looked dull and some were even rusty. The dullness made sense. They were here to learn, not kill each other. The rust however...
Kir shrugged and picked up a dagger and a sword with a hand-and-a-half handle. A bastard sword. He held the sword in his left and the knife in his right as he checked the latter’s balance, before realizing balance didn’t matter as long as he could throw it.
He had one idea for how to end the fight quickly, courtesy of Rain.
With his selection done, he took three steps closer to the center of the circle, waiting for Lugh as the latter fixed the straps of a shield to his gauntlet and donned his helmet.
Kir hadn’t been offered any armor and he didn’t need it, aside from his helmet. He could circulate his mana internally and, as he’d discovered more of a feel for after sparring all day, would have some of it drain whenever he received a blow. It was never enough to overcome his generation rate, nor could it mitigate all the damage he received, but it was better than nothing and he wanted speed.
"Not going to beg someone to borrow some armor?" Lugh taunted as he stood off his bench. "It’s like you’re asking me to hurt you."
"This is pointless," Kir replied. "But if it’ll get you off my back, I’d like to return to my conversation with Ann," he looked down on Lugh, staring him down through the slit in the man’s helmet. Off on the side he noticed Ann sitting at a small bench with her tray looking miserable even as a few cadets paid for her potions. He felt a twinge of regret at making her situation worse, but there would be time for apologies later. He returned his gaze to Lugh.
At the mention of Ann, Lugh glared red hot daggers at Kir.
Kir had about a head of height on the human, which meant he was the bigger target. Lugh clearly had bulk and the weight of his armor on his side, but Kir knew he was faster. After all, he’d learned the most important thing for a melee fighter to have. After mastering mana circulation that is.