Melanor grabbed Reiki's right forearm with an iron grip, he tried to move his hand and noticed he couldn't even make a fist. He thought. Nice grip. Melanor was looking down on him while observing his every move, Reiki looked up as he flashed her a smile and raised his right foot. In a single movement, he aimed his kick at Melanor's face. When his foot was the same level as his stomach Reiki suddenly stopped in the middle of his kick as he felt his right hip was overcome with pain.

[System: User has received 604 Damage.]

[System: User's right hip is sprained.]

Reiki crouched over in the sudden pain as he placed his left hand on his right hip. Enrel and Elora looked at each other with an odd look all over their faces as both of them knew what just happened to him. He thought. Now I know what I forgot to add to my regimen… Melanor tried to keep an indifferent expression and coughed to try and remove the awkward atmosphere, she said. "Y-You okay?..." Reiki slowly straightened his posture and nodded at Melanor and said. "I'll live." 

He took a deep breath and thought. Fine, don't let go of me. Reiki tensed his right arm as much as possible and hopped, he winded up his left hand and aimed at Melanor's face. Melanor easily stopped his fist with the palm of her left hand, she said. "Aiming for a woman's face? Didn't your father teach you some manners?" 

She kept Reiki off the ground just from holding his forearm. Reiki let out a chuckle and said. "Unfortunately, my father was never a good role model, let alone one.." Melanor was caught off guard by his response, Reiki took advantage of this small opportunity and used his left foot to try to knee Melanor's stomach.

Melanor raised her knee to prevent him from hitting her stomach, both of their knees collided as the impact for him felt like he hit iron. Melanor raised Reiki higher as they were staring eye to eye. Melanor said. "That is indeed unfortunate." She effortlessly turned him around making him expose his back to her as she placed him back on the ground slouched over and held his hand behind him. Melanor said. "Your move." Reiki let out a laugh, he said. "You don't think of me very highly, do you Melanor-san?" 

Enrel and Elora were watching the fight as both of them held an untouched glass of wine. Enrel was enjoying his misery as she smiled and took her first sip of wine since the fight started, Elora narrowed her eyes as she felt something was amiss. 

Melanor kept a serious look and made sure to minimize his movements as she placed some pressure on his right shoulder, she said. "I do." Reiki shook his head, Elora passed her glass of wine to Enrel as the pupils of her eyes began to glow. He said. "That's my fault for not making it clear. You don't think highly of me in a fight, do you Melanor-san?" Melanor narrowed her eyes, before she could say anything Reiki continued. "The fact that you're giving me chances to make a move and the fact that you're talking."

Melanor felt uneasy all of a sudden as she subconsciously tightened her grip on his arm, he let out a chuckle. Reiki said. "It's fine, but I recommend you take me seriously. Because this fight will be anything but easy." Reiki deeply inhaled, in one quick motion he spun around like a spinning top.

[System: User's right shoulder is dislocated.]

Using the momentum from spinning, Reiki managed to knee the right side of Melanor's jaw.

[System: User has dealt 236 Damage.]

Melanor let go of his right hand from the unexpected pain inside her mouth, she spat a small amount of blood on the ground as she stared at Reiki who was frighteningly calm while staring at his dislocated shoulder. He used his left arm to level his dislocated arm to his shoulder socket as Reiki's left hand blurred.

[System: User has harmed himself for 195 Damage.]

[System: The user's right shoulder has been lodged back in the socket.]

The sounds of his bones being relocated stunned Enrel, Elora was observing with a serious expression while Melanor was still surprised by his move. Reiki rubbed the spot where he hit his shoulder to place his arm back in its socket, he looked at Melanor, and while slowly moving his right shoulder in circles he said. "You didn't clench your teeth when my knee hit the side of your jaw. You're tougher than I imagined, that had enough force to dislocate a person's jaw if not shatter it." 

Reiki raised his right hand half clenched into a fist and on the same level on his chin covering it, he had his body sideways so Melanor would have a harder time hitting his chest, and with an open palm, his left hand was on the same height as his stomach. Reiki flashed her a smile and said. "Your move." There was a small line of blood coming from the corner of Melanor's lips, she wiped it off using her thumb and said. "Fine." Her pupils began to faintly glow as she observed him with scrutiny.

A moment passed by as both of them stood in place doing nothing, Reiki casted. Flash.

『Flash Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 500.』

Reiki appeared behind Melanor before he could attack, he heard something from the right that was softly whistling. He jumped backward as the ground beneath him was hit with a wind blade that made a deep cut on the ground. Melanor turned her head sideways as she stared at him with an indifferent expression, Reiki heard the same soft whistle again and took a step back. 

The ground in front of his feet had a cut while he heard multiple whistling sounds from different directions and started dodging in every way he could. Enrel's eyes were narrowed while Elora's eyes were glued onto Reiki, Enrel said. "Did he just?" Elora nodded, with a firm tone she said. "He did, Reiki somehow managed to hear the wind blade…" Enrel crossed her arms as the two of them watched Reiki dodging three wind blades that were leaving deeper marks on the ground. Enrel said. "I thought it was a fairytale… Can't we assume he used a spell we don't know of?"

Reiki leaped into the air as he managed to jump above Melanor's head and made minimal movements to avoid more wind blades that were being cast in rapid succession, he landed on the ground by rolling and quickly stood up as he stared at Melanor. The two of them watched each other waiting for someone to make a move. 

Elora shook her head sideways, she said. "David and Goliath, King Arthur, and the so-called hunter from Little Red Riding Hood… Don't you find it weird, Enrel?" Reiki sprinted towards Melanor as he managed to close the distance but was all of a sudden was pushed back by a strong gust of wine by at least a few meters. Enrel and Elora kept their gaze on the two while holding both of their glasses filled with wine Enrel said. "What is?" Reiki landed on the ground by his back making an audible thud sound.

[System: User has received 403 Damage.]

He quickly got up and saw that Melanor was gone from where she was previously standing, he looked around as he kept his guard up. Elora placed a hand on her hip, she said. "For generations, these stories were passed on, can you explain?" Reiki looked around and tried to find something off, he felt something sharp pass through his left forearm.

[System: User has received 832 Damage.]

[System: User has a debuff tier-II bleeding. User will bleed 411 Damage every five seconds.]

Reiki stared at the rip at his sleeve and placed a hand on his wound and applied pressure to try and help the bleeding, he looked at his wound to see what direction he was shot by the wind blade. Enrel shook her head when she saw him getting wounded, she said. "Everyone likes a good story." Elora let out a chuckle, she said. "Who doesn't? But the one thing I found strange in one of the many versions of King Arthur was this, some people say he could hear magic. Which is impossible for humans because their ears can't process that kind of frequency." 

Reiki stared at his wound and thought. She's aiming from above me. He was able to deduce from the clean-cut that was almost horizontal but was a couple of degrees slanted. Reiki looked up to the clear blue skies with not a single cloud in sight, he also noticed there wasn't a sun here. He thought. How is this place so illuminated without a source of light?... 

Elora nodded in approval, she said. "Impressive, he managed to notice Melanor was flying in the air and controlled the trajectory of the wind blade… Back on the topic at hand, why do humans occupy, let's say, forty-five percent of the land? Most of them can't even cast a spell properly and all of them are so fragile without tempering their body. Yet here we are, other races sharing the rest amongst ourselves, fighting or negotiating for more land we can get our hands on." Reiki tapped a few nerves around the wound.

[System: User has pinched four nerves.]

[System: Debuff tier-II bleeding is temporarily stopped.]

Reiki looked around at the sky as he made sure to slowly walk to try and increase his chances of dodging. He closed his eyes and focused on his hearing as the world around him turned pitch black, a couple of seconds passed by to what felt like an eternity to him when he heard something faintly humming in the wind. Reiki instantly turned around in the direction of the sound as he took one step to the left and pulled his right arm back as if he was throwing a baseball. He thought. Imagine it… A spinning fireball… Now control the mana in the surroundings… 

In the palm of his hand, a small ember former was visible growing by sucking all the oxygen near it. Enrel frowned, she let go of the two glasses in her hands as they floated in the air. Enrel said. "A fireball? Is he dumber than he looks?" Elora's eyes narrowed, with her glowing pupils she saw the difference. Elora said. "That's not a-!" Reiki casted. Heads up.

[System: User has made adjustments to the spell fireball.]

『Adjusted spell Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 1,250.』

[System: Due to an interference User is unable to keep the adjusted spell.]

The ember in Reiki's hand grew twice the size of a baseball as it floated just above the palm of his hand.

[System: User has received 998 Fire Damage.]

[System: User has 1st-degree burns on the right palm.]

The wind blade that was aimed at Reiki's chest was absorbed by the fireball in his hands, with one fluid motion he threw it towards where Melanor shot the wind blade. The fireball spun which gave it even more speed as it became faster, Melanor revealed herself as she was standing in the air as if she was on solid ground. With a wave of her hand, three walls of wind solidified a few good meters in front of her. The fireball broke all three of the wind walls and got even faster, Melanor's eyes widened as she immediately decided to redirect its trajectory. 

Melanor placed her hand in front of her as the air around her started to resonate when the fireball was near enough close enough she forced the wind to change its trajectory but to her surprise, it only got faster the more wind it came across. Melanor vanished as she appeared back on the ground with a long enough distance so she could react to Reiki's moves.

Melanor stared at him with narrowed eyes, she said. "That wasn't a regular fireball." The fireball lost all of its speed as it reached the highest part of the arch and started falling towards the ground. Reiki slowly moved his right hand, he thought. It's still functional. Reiki started to rip both of his long sleeves off his tunic and used them to bandage his burned palm. 

The fireball hit the ground as it made a sound as loud as a single stick of dynamite, Melanor kept his gaze on him as she crossed her arms. Elora and Enrel appeared at the spot where the fireball landed and saw the ground was scorched while some pieces of rock were glowing a bright red, the explosion wasn't great but the heat of the flames was long-lasting. Reiki used his left hand and teeth to finish the knot as he looked at his palm, he thought. Three shots… Imagine the molecular structure of water and…

[System: User has turned the surrounding mana into water.]

『Moisture Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 950.』

[System: Due to an interference User is unable to keep the spell.]

Above the palm of his hand was a floating ball of water, Reiki moved his palm below it as the bandages absorbed the water. He moved his gaze onto Melanor and gave her an innocent smile and said. "Sorry for the wait." Melanor didn't reply, a couple of seconds of silence passed as the two of them stared at each other while Elora's pupils were glowing while she stared at the destruction of the fireball. 

Enrel was beside her taking notes on her notebook using a quill while writing at inhumane speeds. Melanor said. "What is your goal for this fight?" Reiki did the same fighting stance as last time, he said. "To make you use lightning and put all three of your worries away." He slowly inhaled and exhaled to his nose as a serious expression appeared on Reiki's face. Melanor let out an amused chuckle, she said. "Then you're going to have to surprise me." Reiki casted. Flash.

『Flash Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 500.』

…

Reiki appeared within arm's length of Melanor, he pretended to wind up a punch that made her put up her guard. He smiled and casted. Flash. 

『Flash Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 500.』

…

Elora was finished observing the destruction from the fireball as she went back to watching the fight and vanished next to Enrel. Enrel who was still in the middle of writing said. "W-Wait! Give me a few more seconds!" She also vanished as both of them continued watching. The two of them saw Reiki vanish in front of Melanor and appeared behind her, he disappeared again and reappeared on Melanor's left and then on her right. 

All of a sudden he sped up as there were a total of four after images of him around Melanor in the same previous locations. Reiki stopped right in front of Melanor as her eyes widened with bewilderment, he said. "Let's play." Reiki started spamming left and right.

『Flash Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 500.』

『Flash Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 500.』

…...

The number of after images went up to a total number of twelve, Melanor was surrounded by eight on the ground while four of them were in the air. Enrel lost her grip on the quill she was holding as it slowly fell to the ground, she managed to get a grip on herself and caught the quill mid-air. Enrel softly bumped Elora's left forearm, Enrel said. "So you're saying he's supposed to be one of them..." 

Elora was frozen and lost concentration as the glow in her pupils dissipated, Elora let out a chuckle and said. "Long story short, yes. What I always found weird is that others often treat these stories as mere glorification of how humans fought against other races, but…" Elora's eyes started to glow again.

Melanor was looking around making sure to keep an eye on all twelve after images, Reiki raised his right arm as all of the after images did the same. A small familiar ember appeared at the palm of his hands.

[System: User has made adjustments to the spell fireball.]

『Adjusted spell Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 1,250.』

[System: Due to an interference User is unable to keep the adjusted spell.]

Parts of Melanor's hair started to float as the glow in her pupils started to spread to more parts of her eye. All the after image instantly disappeared simultaneously as he appeared right in front of her, Reiki gave her a roundhouse kick right in the middle of her stomach.

[System: User has dealt 502 Damage.]

[System: User's left ankle is sprained.]

[System: User has received 499 Fire Damage.]

Melanor was pushed back by a few steps just when she was about to cast more spells Reiki threw the fireball at her. Melanor appeared a few meters at his left as he was already in motion to throw another one.

『Adjusted spell Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 1,250.』

[System: User has received 513 Fire Damage.]

Elora and Enrel watched everything, both fireballs missed, as both of them exploded simultaneously making the ground slightly shake. Elora said. "It's almost finished." Enrel nodded as she watched in silence as she forgot about where she placed the glasses of wine. Reiki saw Melanor appear farther away from him on the left side, the glow in her eyes was replaced with lightning that was rapidly traveling around her pupils. Reiki chucked the fireball like a rock and thought. That's right, I'm just throwing them… The next place you should appear would be… 

『Adjusted spell Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 1,250.』

[System: User has received 721 Fire Damage.]

[System: User's palm has 2nd-degree burn.]

He turned around and thought. Behind me. He took a deep breath and relaxed his entire body as Melanor teleported behind him as he was turning around, with her right hand she did a karate chop that was covered in strings of lightning and aimed for his ribs right below the heart. The ground beneath Reiki slightly crumbled as a large web of cracks quickly grew, his fist was four inches away from hitting Melanor's stomach. He thought. Damn it… I was so close…

[System: User has dealt 1,001 Damage.]

[System: User has received 1,203 Lightning Damage.]

Melanor managed to hit him first as Reiki flew to his right like a tin can and repeatedly hit the ground like a skipping stone on water.

[System: User has received 103 Damage.]

[System: User has received 200 Damage.]

[System: User has received 97 Damage.]

[System: User's wound has reopened.]

[System: User bleed 411 Damage.]

Before Reiki could stop he was caught by Elora as she shoved a large opened high-grade potion into his mouth and forced him to empty the entire thing.

[System: User health was restored for 6,000]

Reiki chugged the entire potion as he slowly stood up and saw all three elves in front of him, he let out a chuckle and said. "Melanor-san will also need one." Enrel rummaged through her pouch and took out another potion that looked the same, Melanor ignored it and kept her eyes on him. Melanor said. "That last punch… It wasn't as strong as it was supposed to be." 

Elora hid the empty potion away and started to listen, Enrel was surprised as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. Reiki nodded and said. "Correct, when I kicked you in the stomach I underestimated how tough you were and sprained my ankle. It resulted in my last punch losing more than two-thirds its power." Melanor suddenly vomited blood all over the floor, none of the three moved away while Elora and Enrel stared at Reiki with surprise in their eyes. Melanor said. "Minor internal bleeding and a small cut on my right lung… Although it's not as bad as it looks… For a split moment, I was surprised when you turned around and had already started to make your next move."

Melanor took the potion off Enrel's hands and emptied it in one go, Reiki lazily waved his hand and said. "No need to console the loser, a loss is still a loss, no matter how close." Melanor wiped her lips using her hand before she could say anything he said. "And besides, my goal wasn't to win in the first place, it was to make you use lightning." 

Reiki flashed her a smile, the sound of his stomach rumbling made all three elves look at him oddly. Enrel rubbed the bridge of her nose and said. "You almost died and you're still hungry?" Reiki shrugged his shoulders, he said. "Hey, I said I can fight. I didn't say I ate my fill." Elora laughed, making her chest jiggle, Melanor was subtly taking a peek from the corner of her eye while Reiki was stealing a couple of glances. 

Elora said. "I'll send some food to your room, just say when to the elves and they'll stop." Reiki looked at his tattered and dirty attire, he looked up and said. "I'm going to need new clothes." Melanor said. "I'll take care of that." Elora took out the same talisman as it started to glow brightly once again.

…

All three of them appeared in the dining room, Reiki completely froze when he saw Enora and Moranor's furious expressions. The other three elves' eyes were on him, Enrel said. "Reiki, what's wrong?"