–THUD!
The moment Sylvie’s focus turned to the combat that she was in, a body swift was slightly leaned to the side, and a quick punch instantly landed on her liver.
‘That place!’
As Sylvie staggered back from the blow, she felt a surge of frustration and determination coursing through her veins.
She knew she had to focus, to anticipate Astron’s next move before he could land another hit. She had already seen his tricks a lot of times.
‘Come on, Sylvie, remember how he does it!’
Her already toned body moved instinctively, the combat movements engrained into her cells. Even while Astron was teaching Sylvie mainly how to defend herself, he also taught her that in times when the opportunity arises, the best defense is offense.
–SWOOSH!
With his retreating figure, Sylvie instantly moved forward, attempting to target his balance.
But Astron was already several steps ahead, his movements fluid and graceful as he seamlessly transitioned from defense to offense.
With each strike, he seemed to be teaching her a lesson, guiding her with his actions and his words.
‘That.’
“Keep your guard up, Sylvie,” he instructed, his voice calm but firm. “You can’t afford to let your focus waver, not even for a moment.”
The words that she had heard countless times while training. And at the repetition of those words, they somehow became annoying to her, even if they were true. It was like a trigger.
“I know.” Sylvie nodded curtly, her muscles tensing as she prepared to counter.
She knew she had to be faster and more decisive if she wanted to stand a chance against him. She couldn’t hesitate.
With renewed determination, she launched herself forward, her movements precise and calculated. She focused on reading Astron’s subtle cues, anticipating his next move before it even happened.
Slowly but surely, she began to hold her own against him, blocking his strikes and delivering counterattacks of her own.
With each exchange, she felt herself growing stronger and more confident.
She was getting momentum, and that was how it needed to be. She was able to defend herself from his strikes.
She could see when he would attack.
‘He is coming.’
As Sylvie focused intently on Astron’s movements, her muscles tensed, ready to respond to his next attack. She was prepared for his swift motions, or so she thought.
But just as she braced herself for his next strike, Astron’s speed increased suddenly, catching Sylvie off guard.
‘Hu-‘
Despite her anticipation, the sudden burst of velocity was beyond what she had prepared for. Even her thoughts were interrupted.
SWOOSH!
Before she could fully react, Astron’s fist connected with her chest, the impact sending shockwaves through her body. The force of the blow knocked the air out of her lungs, leaving her gasping for breath.
THUD!
Sylvie stumbled backward, her chest burning with pain as she struggled to regain her footing. She clutched at her chest, feeling the throbbing ache radiating from the point of impact.
For a moment, everything seemed to blur as Sylvie fought to regain her composure. She hadn’t expected Astron to increase his speed so suddenly, and the unexpectedness of the attack left her reeling.
As she tried to shake off the pain and refocus her attention, she could hear Astron’s voice cutting through the haze.
“Didn’t I tell you before?” He said, his purple eyes looking into her eyes. “Never get your confidence above your rationality. Blind confidence will get you killed, especially for a healer like you. Never forget who you are and what your position is.”
Because of his attack, there were tears in her eyes. It was not because of the pain since she had already become accustomed to it from all these spars.
‘He once again attacked a weak spot.’
“Urghk-! Sorry.” Sylvie nodded weakly, her breaths coming in short, ragged gasps. She knew she had to push through the pain and stay focused if she wanted to continue the fight.
With a determined grit, she forced herself to stand tall, pushing aside the pain and fatigue. She locked eyes with Astron, a steely determination burning in her gaze.
“Again.”
“Yes.”
There was a weird feeling slowly rising deep into her heart. A small sense of emptiness, maybe? She couldn’t quite name it.
“Good.”
Whether it was because she was accustomed to his harsh evaluations, his cold face, or not, she was somehow entangled with that word ‘last.’
But he didn’t give her the time to contemplate those things.
–SWOOSH!
As Astron advanced once more, Sylvie felt a sense of trepidation creeping in. She knew she had to be prepared for anything, especially after his previous unexpected attack. As his movements quickened, Sylvie braced herself, ready to defend against whatever came her way.
But despite her best efforts to anticipate his next move, Astron’s speed was beyond anything she had faced before. Before she could react, his fist was upon her again, striking with precision and force.
THUD!
The impact sent shockwaves through Sylvie’s body, leaving her staggering once more.
“Again.”
She felt a surge of frustration and anger rising within her, seeing his nonchalant gaze, but she had already learned and knew she couldn’t let her emotions cloud her judgment.
SWOOSH! As he attacked once more, Sylvie’s mind raced with memories of their training sessions.
‘You are not an honorable duelist. You don’t need the stupid pride of beating your opponent solely in combat. Don’t let pride blind your judgment.’
It was one of the times when they were sparring. At that time, Astron had limited his whole body with weighted bracelets and made himself like any ordinary, non-awakened.
Thus, Sylvie thought she could easily win, but then Astron suddenly used his mana, this time in the fight, and then beat her up.
‘Pride will not save you in the face of death. Use your mana whenever you deem necessary.’
She recalled Astron’s stern voice echoing in her mind, reminding her of the importance of using her mana to defend herself when necessary. He strongly emphasized that the decision and judgment to make that call was important.
With determination coursing through her veins, Sylvie tapped into her mana reserves once again, surrounding her body with a protective barrier. She focused all her energy on strengthening the barrier, preparing herself for Astron’s next onslaught.
Since Astron’s speed increased, Sylvie knew it was the correct judgment.
THUD! This time, instead of his punch hitting her on her defenseless place, it hit her elbow in the defensive posture.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! She evaded his subsequent attacks as well. With mana entering her body and enhancing her, she could see his movements more clearly now.
“Good judgment.” Astron nodded with a curt compliment.
But that wasn’t the end. Even though Sylvie didn’t tell other people, she had been learning how to control her new powers and how to make use of her innate understanding. After the Phantom’s Land, she realized one thing. There was a strange energy in her body, a strange power that was different than mana itself.
It felt fundamentally different. A yellow energy that felt holy. Even though she felt cringe when she said this loudly, that was the feeling she got whenever she came in touch with that power.
However, because she didn’t know what this power did or how she could use it, she just used it like a mana. Thus, she experimented with this power as if it were mana, and there, she came across another usage of it.
[Eyes of Yellow.]
Whenever she imbued this power into her eyes, her world would undergo a change. She could see things differently, as if from a filter. She could discern living things from non-living, and most importantly, she could see something inside in every living thing.
An energy that was flowing in them like a river. That energy would spread through their bodies.
At first, she couldn’t understand what it was, and it was hard for her to even receive that much information. But then, as she looked more, she realized that she could see the insides of living beings even from far away and that flowing energy was their ‘vitality.’ And wherever there was a lack of vitality in people’s bodies, that would mean that that location was injured.
It was a very efficient way of finding out the injuries and symptoms for a healer, but that wasn’t the end.
She also found out that, whenever living beings were moving, their vitality would show some changes from a dormant state as if the muscles that are activated would be charged with vitality.
Basically, the vitality would flow through the body to those muscles. That made her develop a new sense.
By observing the vitality, she could see the movements that her opponent would make.
Just like she was doing now.
As Astron launched his attack, Sylvie braced herself, her enhanced senses allowing her to perceive his movements with heightened clarity. She watched as his fist came hurtling towards her, but this time, she was prepared.
THUD!
Instead of landing on a vulnerable spot, Astron’s punch collided with Sylvie’s defensive posture, the impact absorbed by the barrier of mana surrounding her.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
As Astron followed up with successive strikes, Sylvie evaded each one with ease, her ability to sense vitality guiding her movements.
She could see the flow of energy within Astron’s body, predicting his next move before he even made it.
Inside her mind, Sylvie analyzed Astron’s vitality, observing the subtle shifts and fluctuations that signaled his intentions. She anticipated his attacks, moving with precision to block or evade each strike.
‘He’s shifting his weight to the left,’ Sylvie thought inwardly as she sidestepped a punch aimed at her midsection. ‘And now he’s going for a low kick.’
With a swift movement, Sylvie blocked Astron’s kick, her mana-
infused limbs moving effortlessly to deflect the blow. As Astron recoiled from the failed attack, Sylvie saw her opening.
‘An opening.’
From the start, it was emphasized that she must never miss a chance in combat, especially if she was sure that she could land a huge blow.
But, now, as she looked into the opening, she hesitated.
“Why didn’t you attack?”
And someone was not happy with that.