BXBX NOVEL Chapter 319 318: Casual Spar
Both Eyoli and Valaka frowned as I approached them, their eyes glued to my now tattooed upper left arm with annoyance and desire filling their gazes.
Deciding to be slightly petty, when I reached them I made sure to keep my left side exposed to them, looking off towards the right as I asked "Priestess Liana suggested I spar to get used to the tattoo, so..?"
Holding back a smirk, I saw the two women stiffen as they half glared at me, before they huffed and walked towards the open field.
Following behind them, I stopped when they stopped and turned around, Eyoli asking "Who\'d you want to spar with first?"
Looking between them, I decided that, if I was to test the application of this new tattoo of mine, Eyoli would certainly be the one to try it on.
Besides, for spars I was used to fighting against those larger then myself, what with Jahi and the Marquess having been the two I sparred against the most.
"Eyoli, if you don\'t mind... then I\'ll spar Valaka afterwards. But... what are we using to spar? Weapons or..?"
Nodding, Eyoli glanced at Valaka briefly, prompting the lithe huntress to bound off quickly before returning with a bundle in her arms.
Unfurling it, she revealed blunted bone weapons, from daggers to swords, clubs, and even axes.
Reaching for one, Eyoli retrieved a heavy looking club, giving it a few practice swings as she stepped away.
Looking over the various weapons, I decided to try something relatively new, grabbing both a normal dagger and a sword.
Placing the sword in my right hand, I inspected the length of the blade, familiarizing myself with the weight and balance of the long, thin sword.
The swooshing sound it made as I \'sliced\' through the air was soothing, and I nodded to myself as I glanced down at the dagger in my off hand, the shortened spike of bone held loosely in my hand.
Taking a few steps away from Eyoli, I watched as she moved to stand opposite me, lowering her large posture into a compact stance, almost like a sprinter.
Raising a brow, I glanced at Valaka, who wrapped the weapons up before moving back a few steps, her eyes alternating between us.
"Ready?"
Eyoli and I nodded, prompting Valaka to shout "Then begin!"
The larger Arese shot forwards like an arrow from a bow, her feet digging into the ground and propelling her forwards as she charged at me, her shoulder lowered and aimed at my chest.
Activating the tattoo, I waited for her to arrive in front of me before pivoting away, stabbing the spike towards her side.
Instead of impacting her muscle bound obliques, my bone dagger stabbed empty air as Eyoli launched herself into a roll, dodging the attack.
Getting up quickly, she swung her club horizontally, the rounded edge aimed at my side.
Stepping away from it, I widened my eyes as she utilized the moment of her missed swing to spin herself around, before raising the club over her head and letting it fall towards my skull.
Snaking my sword upwards, I slammed the bone against her clubs \'handle\' and forced it to the side, only to duck as her fist came crashing towards my cheek.
Positioned under her arm, I slipped my sword off her club and elbowed her stomach, forcing her back a step.
Narrowing her eyes, Eyoli retreated a few paces as I took note of the pain free elbow I had used against her; the smack of flesh on flesh still sounded out, but the all too familiar sting and discomfort of using such a bony part of my body was gone.
Of course, a seasoned warrior like Eyoli wasn\'t going to just let me to idly make observations in the middle of a spar, so she rushed forwards once more, her club aimed at my left arm.
Ducking under it, I stabbed forwards with the sword, barely grazing her side as she twisted out of the way, before I needed to do the same as her club came back down towards me.
This dance of constant dodging continued to go on as we both displayed our nimble footwork, but it all came to an end when Eyoli used her club to stab forwards.
She had gotten me used to her swinging the heavy bone weapon around freely that I didn\'t anticipate the sudden switch to her jabbing the rounded head towards my stomach.
Sadly I had already begun to swing my sword towards her legs, while my dagger was heading towards her chest; I had no option to block or blunt the attack heading towards my stomach at all, resulting in Eyoli slamming her club directly into my abdomen.
I could feel the rounded edge of the club knocking against my skin and pushing into my flesh, but...
Frowning, I allowed the momentum to carry me backwards before readying my blades once more, my mind focusing momentarily on the fact that there was no pain after such a heavy hit.
Sending my attention inwards for a moment, I took in the fractured rib and slightly torn muscles, marveling at the potency of the tattoo I had just received.
It was both a blessing and a curse, this tattoo; with it, I could fight well past any wounds that would put me out of the fight, but that in and of itself was a problem.
I mean, if I didn\'t even notice that I took a stab or blow to a vital area and continued to fight, I could do more damage to myself then I could possibly heal.
On the other hand, when I do end up injured terribly again, this tattoo would allow me to heal with a cold, focused mind, not feeling anything from whatever I was healing.
If I had this just a week ago, I wouldn\'t be in this mess in the first place; the pain from both my slashed achilles tendon and the rope cutting into my fingers worsened my thinking and made me stop attempting to break the rope binding me.
I might have been able to escape being captured then...
Shaking my head slightly, I looked up towards Eyoli\'s shocked face as I stood upright, her eyes apologetic as she stuttered out "I- W-Wait, I didn\'t-! W-What?! I d-didn\'t mean to hit that hard!"
Chuckling, I held up my hand and began to trace some runes into the air again, shrouding my body in a cold blue glow.
Feeling the bones and flesh reknit together, I nodded to myself when I returned to being 100% again, before I stopped funneling mana into the tattoo.
I was greeted by a brief wave of dull aching before my body returned to normal, no pains coming from my stomach whatsoever.
Pursing my lips, I glanced over at my arm and nodded, rather happy with its performance.
"Eyoli, it\'s fine; I\'m fine. But damn was that tattoo rather powerful huh? I didn\'t even feel a thing!"
Grinning at the two Arese, I bounced up and down for a moment, wondering why such a potent tattoo was given away so easily.
Valaka was staring at me weirdly, her brow furrowed as she said "You should still feel pain, Katherine. The tattoo Priestess Liana gave you was a flesh enhancement tattoo, which means your skin should have hardened and made you more resistant to being pierced or bludgeoned... not made impervious to pain."
Freezing, I blinked a few times as I stared at the women before me; Eyoli was confused, while Valaka shocked.
"She... did say it was a flesh based spell... so why..?"
Muttering to myself, I frowned as I looked down to the white lines on my arm, wondering why it had worked the way it had.
Maybe it had to do with the race difference?
Or just the fact that I was capable of using mana on my own?
Hmm...
It was intriguing, and an entirely unexpected boon that I had just received; it was like I rolled for a legendary item in a rare loot box or something.
I got something way better then what was advertised...
Reaching up, I stroked my arm for a moment, my thoughts still spinning around in my head, before I just shrugged.
"Well, it seems that I got a tattoo that reacts better to a larger influx of mana maybe? Since the Arese don\'t have good mana capabilities, maybe the tattoo\'s that you are all used to are actually something completely different on people with incredible mana control?"
Valaka shrugged, while Eyoli still stared blankly at me, her club held loosely in her hands.
Sighing, I approached the larger woman and gently pat her arm, getting her attention.
"Eyoli, it\'s alright! I\'m still alive and well, so don\'t beat yourself up over it, okay? Just take that as a reminder to better control your strength or to make better decisions in combat."
Patting her arm once more, I smiled warmly at the woman as she half heartedly smiled at me, still obviously shaken up from the spar itself.
Turning towards Valaka, I maintained that smile as I beckoned her over, saying "Well, how about it? Do you want to spar as well?"