"No! Actually, he's a little tired. It's quite light, mansele, and I'm breathing deeper, so I think I'll have time to think of a strategy before we start again." I thought, watching the captain take a slightly deeper breath.
With that in mind, I looked around us.
The area we're in must be about 5 meters in a fragile square/circle. There are also some rocks along the path that I have no idea how they got up here.
I made a few quick commands to my status and allocated attribute points to strength, speed, and magic. I don't know if Captain Kobolt noticed or understood the gestures, but he just kept looking at me, occasionally sticking his tongue out like a snake or sniffing the air.
At the moment, we were facing each other, with the street I came from behind me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see some small flashes of light coming from Lumi and Impeto's fight, and a very faint sound of explosions and occasional screeches.
I hadn't noticed the sounds before because I was concentrating on avoiding the captain's spear. But now, besides focusing on dodging and attacking, I'll also have to be careful not to let him see the state of his subordinates.
Who knows what I'd do if I did, but the worst-case scenario would be him calling for more reinforcements. If there's even a single possibility of him knowing, I have to prevent it from happening.
'In other words, now, besides the stress of dodging certain death with every shot and trying to land my own, I'll also have to be careful not to let him turn left, realize the situation, and call for reinforcements. And to top it all off, I'll have to do all this while monitoring my MP now that I'm going to use spells.'
I thought, reviewing the half-baked strategy I'd come up with in a few seconds, and endlessly cursing myself for not having brought some other form of attack or someone else along.
'Yeah, I think tonight, regardless of how things end, I'm going to have a reeeeeally deep sleep.'
Humor is the weapon that should never be lacking in an unfortunate or desperate situation; this is something Brazilians understand well.
Exhaling slightly and re-firming my position, I look at the kobolt captain, who is also staring at me, and I lunge at him again. This time, he responds by maintaining his position and making quick thrusts forward.
The more you fight someone, the more you get used to their way of fighting and become better at responding. It's usually a slow process that can take weeks, months, or years to happen.
I've heard that when you're in a real fight, this ability to get used to your opponent can happen instantly, depending on your talent, your opponent's talent, and luck.
I never really believed in this. Partly because I was never very good in training matches (I was never bad either; I was a 5 to 6 out of 10 in numbers).
But now, having to risk my life with a new body (which I will never stop emphasizing and being grateful for), I could literally feel something deep inside me that took over my body. It wasn't instinct like before; it was something between conscious thought, instinct, and an extra sense that I can't explain.
Whatever it was, this feeling proved to be real and important in mere seconds at the beginning of our second round.
Unlike before, where I'd only managed to dodge by luck or desperate attempts to avoid a full (and fatal) blow, now I could almost see where the blow was coming. And my body, even a little tired and with shallow wounds, was able to follow through much more easily than before.
This second part could have been caused by the additional points in agility and strength I'd added, but I still felt there was something more to it.
And I wasn't the only one to notice this change.
While he wasn't treating me as lightly as before, the kobolt captain certainly didn't consider me a real threat, just a nuisance he'd have to treat with a little more seriousness. But within moments, that confidence began to fade from his bulging, serpentine eyes.
The faster, stronger, and more deadly blows that had previously not only failed to hurt me, but I even managed to land some of my own.
Because I was using a Sai I couldn't make cuts, and the impact blows weren't fatal at all. But I still managed to land several quick, sharp hits on the forecourts and sometimes on the claws holding the spear.
In humans, these blows would, at the very least, make someone loosen their grip on the spear. But on the kobolt, these blows seemed like nothing more than a nuisance, almost like flicks on the fingers.
However, the fact that I was managing to hit him and he wasn't hitting me seemed to hit the kobolt hard.
He soon left his position and tried to circle me, probably wanting to hit me from a more difficult angle for me to defend. Obviously, I wasn't going to let that happen.
When he tried to move to the right, which would let him see Lumi and Impeto's little battle, I cast one of the new spells I'd just acquired.
"[Condensation]"
With a quick hand movement, I sent a small ball of freezing air to the ground, causing the little moisture on it to freeze instantly. One of the three spells of my new ability [Ice Magic].
[Name: Fernando Martins
Level: 7
Race: Dhampir (half-vampire)
Job: Fighter Lv. 4
SP: 0
AP: 3
HP: 59/75
MP: 33/60
Condition: Slightly tired, light/moderate bleeding (...)
Str: 14
Def: 11
Act: 17
Int: 10
Mag: 9
Ans: 7
• Unique Ability: Resistance
• Skills: Antisocial 1, Unarmed Combat 3, Dodge 0, Item Box 0, Hide 1, Silent 1, Read 1, Clean 1, Herbalist 0, Dark Magic 2, Laziness 1, Swordsmanship 2, Archery 2, Stable Step 2, Thrown Weapon Proficiency 0. Acid Resistance 0, Poison Resistance 0, Dodge 1, Ice Magic 1.
Racial Abilities: Blood Magic 0, Night Vision 1, Body Enhancement 2, Advanced Senses 2, Obsidian Claws 3, [Bloodsucker 2, Weakness to Light 2, Vulnerability to Heat 2.]
Why did my skill points (AP) decrease so much?. Because I had to spend 5 points to acquire the initial ice spell and another 5 to raise it straight to level 1.
I don't like spending so much at once, but this time I couldn't avoid it. The ice spell only gave me one initial spell, condensation, with a ridiculous range of 1 meter from me.
For what I wanted and needed to do, I needed to create a control area larger than that, and the [shadow cord] couldn't do that.
But at least the result was what I wanted. A spell that effectively hinders the opponent and activates quickly, despite not having much attack power.
Now it's all a matter of practice, getting used to the new magic. And eventually, making it as malleable as shadow magic is.
The frozen ground served as a distraction, just as I wanted. As soon as the kobolt captain stepped on it, his clawed foot slipped, and he momentarily lost his balance. However, thanks to his tail, he managed to steady himself quickly.
But not quickly enough. With his imbalance, I found a perfect opportunity to inflict real damage.
As soon as he slightly opened his arms to steady himself, I lunged, and stretching my arms almost to the point of detaching them, I managed to hit the unprotected area of the kobolt captain's bicep.