There was still two weeks until the competition would be held. Before then, he needed to learn and master how to use the spider sling surge.
He spent the remainder of the day reciting the different hand signs, slowly increasing the total number of them he could successfully recite within the cast window.
A few of the signs were quite troublesome because he had to curve his fingers in ever stranger ways, and he would always stumble at this part.
At the dinner hall that night, Blight told his small group that they should practice sparring against each other so that they could prepare for the competition.
"I agree, it would be good to gain some real battle experience," Marsuu nodded.
Bernault nudged with his head towards two different directions sitting on other tables.
"It's not just us, others are sparring too. Eldrich's and Ray's groups have been sparring with each other all day since this afternoon."
"That Eldrich is a real monster, beating everybody without using a single ability, only pure skill."
'No doubt that kid scion would have plenty of training before he joined the barracks.'
"I saw that too, but it's not just him. Ray and Yone can definitely be considered some of the strongest in the regiment. Those two can even compete with Marsuu," Shazbot added.
Marsuu laughed.
"They can try if they dare."
Shazbot scratched the back of his head. "Hehe, don't get upset, I'm just saying they are strong. How can anybody compare to you?"
"What kind of weapons do they use?" Blight asked.
"They all use different variations of the sword except for Yone, who uses the halberd. You should have seen the spars, it was really hard for anybody to close in on him—only Eldrich could."
Blight wondered how much difference a different weapon could really make.
He felt it only mattered because they were only barely above mortals.
What did it matter whether you used a sword or the spear when you are struck by a powerful ability like a thunderbolt, or Marsuu's swinging chains, or Eldrich's enormous hammer?
He lacked the experience to make a determination. He only really understood fighting on the level of mortals.
"What kind of weapons do you guys use then?"
He'd never seen anybody except Marsuu and Bernault take one-handed swordsmanship, and it turned out that he was right.
The others, Avil, Leyhart, Shazbot, Raol, and Devin, all used specialty weapons.
Only Ezekiel used a crossbow, he would have a massive disadvantage in this competition in that he could only load his crossbow after the fight began.
The instructors wanted a test that purely relied on skill and the fighting power of your abilities.
The next morning, after training and his classes, Blight met up with his group of acquaintances to spar. It was time to learn how to fight.
A makeshift fighting area was made by lining the ground with rope. If you went outside of this area, you would automatically lose, and the first to land a strike would win.
Blight stood opposite Shazbot, each with their weapon in hand, while the others spectated from outside the fighting area.
However, in order to prevent any serious injury, the weapons were only wooden, on their bodies, which were reborn with ether and actively reinforced with it, they would not be hurt.
The nearby groups who were sparring, including Eldrich's and Ray's, were a little intrigued because they found Marsuu to be among the new group spectating, thus, they paid attention to the fight as well.
The groups nearby who were also sparring, including Eldrich's and Ray's, paid attention to the fight as well when they found Marsuu amongst the newcomers.
Blight looked blankly at Shazbot and activated [Gaze into the Abyss]. Immediately, a second field of view appeared in his peripheral.
Shazbot smiled lightly and lifted his wooden mace into the air.
"Ready?"
"Ready," Blight replied
Marsuu raised his arm into the air and swooped downwards. "Go!"
Before Shazbot even moved, Blight saw it through [Gaze into the Abyss].
Blight prepared to lunge, and the vision changed slightly, shifting Shazbot's directory slightly to the left.
He'd long thought and hard about the best way he could leverage his lineage ability in such fights, and he concluded the best way was to force a conclusion, quickly and unexpectedly.
Unlike many others who had strong combat abilities, Blight had no such thing. In a test of pure power or an extended fight, there was no way he could win.
How could he compare to someone like Marsuu, who could constantly throw battle chains, or Eldrich, who could summon a ginormous hammer, or Flonecia with her battle will?
The simple answer is that he couldn't, at least not directly.
He needed to avoid direct confrontation with their powerful abilities and deliver one sneaky, underhanded strike.
Blight rushed directly at Shazbot while not projecting any movement in his short sword.
When he saw Shazbot raise his right shoulder in a manner which showed that he was going to strike in his ability, Blight altered his course slightly, diving towards the left.
The view from [Gaze into the Abyss] was constantly being updated after each change Blight and Shazbot made.
Blight constantly adjusted his footing while rushing at him while processing the current information and the constant change in prediction made by [Gaze into the Abyss].
In the final moments between their contact and confrontation, his ability showed Shazbot was leaning slightly to his left while his right hand was striking down.
He initiated a faint, mimicking the posture of being committed to that attack.
[Gaze into the Abyss] revealed that in the final moments, Shazbot didn't swing but actually stepped in, deflecting his arm, then grabbing his shoulder and flipping him onto the ground.
For a moment, Blight couldn't help but be stunned at how meticulous his fighting ability was, it was all a bait.
Without his future vision, he would have hopelessly fallen for this trap.
He copied the exact movements the future showed, rushing low with his sword ready to strike.
Shazbot reacted exactly how it predicted, stepping in and preparing to grapple him.
Blight's eyes narrowed. This was the moment of truth.
In a split second, he changed his trajectory entirely, diving into a tight roll behind Shazbot's right side, just beneath his line of attack.
[Gaze into the Abyss] showed Shazbot turning mid-move, adjusting to Blight's sudden movement, and swinging down with his mace.
Blight didn't wait.
At the end of his roll, he struck towards Shazbot's knee, stopping him mid-air.
"You… how did you—?"
"Hit!" Marsuu yelled out.
A few murmurs and gasps were heard.
Many of the spectators were baffled, just like Shazbot.
Who was this guy?
What an incredible display of fighting skill from the both of them!
Eldrich and Ray both observed silently. During the awakening ceremony, they had made note of everybody's ranks and abilities, considering who to pull to their side and who would be their competition.
They'd thought that, among this group, only Marsuu could compete with them, while the rest appeared unassuming.
Now it seemed as though they were thoroughly underestimating them.
Blight coughed lightly and chuckled, still resting on the floor and catching his breath.
His heart was beating incredibly quickly at this moment, and he felt a rush of adrenaline surging through his body, in addition to the ether he was reinforcing himself with.
This was his first fight against another person, and while it was only a spar, this didn't make a difference to him.
This was the feeling. He'd never felt so alive. It was truly exhilarating.