At dawn, in the streets of Aurelius, a person was running. The wind was howling at the time, and slipstreams were made as he ran with all he got. The man was known as The First Hero.
TAP TAP TAP TAP
He ran and ran, his body enhanced by mana, but controlled.
As he saw a lamp post, he slowed down until finally.
-SST!
He stopped exactly at the lamp post.
But the force suddenly disappearing meant that he needed to deal with a recoil.
Body Enhancement!
Raymed gritted his teeth as he held his position.
The force was strong, but he eventually managed to stabilise himself.
"Phew. That was better than the attempts I made earlier this morning."
Then a blonde-haired woman walked by and said, "I think you still need to do it a few more times." She said with a hint of happiness.
"Are you sure, Kourin?" Raymed asked with a confused expression. "I think that one was so much better than before!" He looked at her.
"Come on, trust me," Kourin said with a playful smile.
Raymed's cheeks suddenly grew redder before saying, "Well, alright." He positioned himself for a starting lunge.
"Ready? Set." Kourin raised her arm. Raymed focused the mana into his body as he looked to the front.
"GO!"
With a lunge, Raymed started his starting spurt. Red mana sparks appeared around his body as he started running once again, creating a slipstream in the process.
A woman with blue hair appeared and asked, "You too are still here?"
Kourin smiled, looking at the woman who had just come, "Yes. We're doing it all over again, Suiko."
"Why? Did he fail to do it?" Suiko asked, confused.
"Nope. He did very well!" Kourin said with a gleeful smile.
It took one second of silence before Suiko understood. "Hahaha. So that's how it is. You like seeing him running? Because he looked cool?"
"Shush!" Kourin sounded like she was putting her index finger in front of her mouth. "Don't be so loud, what if he hears me?"
"Kourin, you're his girlfriend," Suiko said with a playful smile.
"Yes. But I still wanted to admire him in secret."
As Suiko raised an eyebrow, Kourin continued. "For now."
"Hahaha. I feel like I should be in outer space at this point. The Earth feels only for both of you." Suiko sighed before turning away from Kourin. "Make sure he gets back before 9 AM. We need to start his training program." She said, waving goodbye to Kourin.
"Copy that!" Kourin smiled with a thumbs-up.
***
Exactly at 8.50 AM, Raymed arrived at the Psytelier HQ in Aurelius, drenched in sweat but properly warmed up to do the training program. He walked into the basement area, revealing a control room. There was also a white-boxed room that looked like the place to do combat practice. Suiko and Recca were waiting inside the control room.
"I see, so this was the place Thalamik used to train with you," Raymed asked Suiko.
"It is actually. He mastered Alterity quite fast as well." Suiko responded with pride.
"He spams Alterity in everyway he can by the way. Especially in the battle against Raum."
"Did he now? Hahaha. I guess with his control and creativity, he will always find crazy ways to utilise it." She said.
"From the record, he managed to encapsulate the Raum, 50.000 merfolks, and 500 Leviathans. While also... sizing it up to as small as hmm maybe an orb with a diameter of 24 meters."
"What?" Suiko asked with concern. "He's still alive to tell the tale, right?" Her face was serious.
"Of course, I heard it also from Momoka, his new student."
"Thalamik having a student? I can't imagine that." Kourin joined in.
"Right! Right! I was so surprised as well." Raymed said, widening his eyes in sincerity.
"Well, we should continue this another time. She has arrived."
Then they all feel it, the strong, raw mana.
A person who wasn't there before suddenly appeared.
"It would appear you have arrived on time." A woman's voice rang out as her figure appeared in the white room.
Raymed's eyes widened as he asked, "Your Highness?"
"Let's start, Hero Raymed," Morgwynevere said, taking out her black spear, waiting inside the white room. Blue mana began appearing around her as her cape began fluttering.
Raymed nodded before quickly entering the white room. Upon entry, his untied hair began fluttering due to the raw mana inside the room. He grabbed something from his pocket, revealing a black hair tie. With that, he tied his hair before putting a hand towards Morgwynevere.
"BLASTURRR!!!!!!" He called, and in a flash of light, Blastur appeared in his hands, along with the white armour suddenly enveloping his body. "I am ready. Queen Morgwynevere."
She shook her head, saying, "No need for formalities. Here, I am Morgwynevere." She lifts her spear as light shines from it. The light from the spear enveloped it as it turned into a different shape. Now it looks more like a war-axe spear shaper with a luminous glow in the hilt.
The mana flow changed.
Suddenly, Raymed can feel the atmospheric pressure getting higher.
***
I clicked the button as the white room began its simulation.
The alterity had shaped it into a grassland.
The White Room is designed as a pocket Alterity, allowing combatants to fight freely while still under the watch of the outside world. In this case, Raymed and Queen Morgwyn may release their full power without destroying Psytelier HQ.
However, if Queen Morgwyn does intend to go all out, she could bypass the artificial alterity and destroy us all.
As the Queen's spear took on a luminous form, I began analysing.
Sun.
Queen Morgwyn has chosen Sun Style as her first mode to begin the lesson. This is basically her offense mode. Attacking without giving the opponent rest with many projectiles or even her own weapon in both close combat and long-distance combat. A merciless battle style that focuses solely on attacking until the opponent messes up and dies.
The Absolute Offense.
"Suiko, that form," Kourin asked me.
"Yes. That's the Sun." I nodded, waiting for what the queen would do soon.
Just then, Hundreds of Identical spears began appearing in the air and instantly launching straight at Raymed. With a quick reaction, Raymed grabbed a fragment of something and crashed it. The pieces flutter into the air.
"Avalon!" Raymed shouted as the fragments in the air began to shape into a full-fledged black katana, levitating in the air. With a flick of his finger, the black katana flew towards the ongoing weapons directed at him.
Raymed charged at Morgwyn with Blastur raised.
Then.
BRUAK! BRUAK! BRUAK!
Upon impact, the black katanas began to break one another.
In that split second, a spear breached through Raymed's defenses.
CRUANGK!!!!!!!!!
Raymed's left chestplate was broken as he was pushed backwards.
One of the weapons Morgwyn launched had managed to hit him.
Though it is to be expected.
Her Majesty's Weapons is not to be taken lightly. In a sense, the weapons she created are as strong as the artifact. Avalon, which is a pseudo-artefact, can never match their strengths.
Upon gaining his stability, Raymed began evading the spears altogether, but he sustained a few cuts here and there. But it doesn't seem like he is doing this without a plan. He suddenly grabs a piece of Avalon, then positions it in an 'X' stance.
"PERFECT GUARD!" Raymed said as a magical shield appeared before him.
The launched spear crashed onto his shield as sparks of mana appeared.
Before finally,
Coming to a full stop.
But just as he had finished, the other spears arrived, and he was hit with multiple spears.
"PERFECT GUARD!"
"PERFECT GUARD!"
"PERFECT GUARD!"
None of the spears got to him.
But because he had been focusing on the spears, he failed to notice Morgwyn was already behind him. Her majesty pointed her spear, launching an energy wave straight at his unprotected backside.
Upon his realization, Raymed was left to choose.
Protect the front or the back?
Ultimately, he chooses to protect his back from Morgwyn's straight attack.
Raymed readied himself and stood tall, "PERFECT GUARD!"
Just as the energy wave arrived, it had passed through Raymed's technique.
Why was that?
It was because that energy wave was just pure mana, it was a feint but also a debilitating move.
BZZRTT!!
Raymed was suddenly electrocuted.
His whole body was tingling after getting hit.
Then, everything else arrived, and Morgwyn's spears had finally hit Raymed's backside. Without any protection, Raymed's torso armour was obliterated. Reacting quickly, Raymed raised his magical energy.
But for what?
CRUANGK!!!!
The spears suddenly flew upwards in different directions.
"RAGING WALL!" Raymed chanted.
It appears he had created a protective barrier around his body using Mana.
"He is quite creative."
"He is. But that technique wasn't his. I am pretty sure he said that he picked it up from Thalamik." Kourin explained to Suiko. "However, since he can't control magical energy like Thalamik. His barrier looks more like uneven walls, like that of a cliffside. Using this technique, he disrupts the spear's trajectory. Using their own energy against them."
"Hahaha. Then it is even more brilliant." I said with a giggle.
"Of course he is. He is my boyfriend after all." Kourin proudly said, her cheeks turning red.
"Big Sis Kourin is so goody goody with Raymed! Hahahaa!"
But then the unexpected happened.
The barrage of spears finally stops.
Morgwyn sauntered closer to Raymed. "Without your armour to protect you, what can you possibly do?" She said with a flat expression. "This barrier of yours isn't just sloppy, but childsplay." Morgwyn touched Raymed's barrier before a crack sounded.
CRACKNG!!!!
With that, Raymed kneeled to the ground.
It was as if a great deal of his mana was just disrupted.
"You are pathetic if only that made you kneel to the ground."
***
My breathing became uncontrolled.
"Haaah... Haah..."
I am never gonna catch my breath.
With a kick, Morgwyn launched me into the air.
Calm down, Raymed.
Calm down.
I landed safely on all fours.
My eyes pinpoint Morgwyn's spear.
She raised her spear as the magical energy enveloped it.
***
The battle rages on as Psytelier continues to observe the Queen of High Humans fighting the Hero Raymed.
Morgwyn's spear becomes pitch black with blue linings.
Once again, Morgwyn has changed her fighting style.
Moon.
In that instant, copies of Morgwyn suddenly appeared on the battlefield. Raymed, seeing this, held Blastur and Avalon high, preparing for an attack. Then suddenly, a stream of mana began flowing into Raymed's body.
She's gonna force-feed me once more!
Raymed began to look around, but he didn't seem to be able to find a solution.
The copies of Morgwyn smiled as more and more mana was poured into Raymed's body.
Stream after stream after stream.
His Chronic Eater was forced to eat her mana.
Until finally he kneeled to the ground.
One may see his actions signifying that he has lost once more.
.
.
.
.
But don't be mistaken.
.
This is Raymed.
He always learn from his mistakes.
Magical energy began enveloping.
Red aura sparks around him.
His eyes were burning fiery red.
Blastur and Avalon were thrust into the ground. His hands moved to the front of his torso. One hand was forming a fist, while the other rested on it. It was like he was saluting in kungfu martial arts.
Once again, Morgwyn smiled at the scene.
Then, he said the one thing Psytelier didn't think possible.
"Imperfect Alterity: Cosmopolis."
"HUH?" Suiko said in surprise.
"WOWOWOWO!" Recca was hyping.
"As expected of him." Kourin nodded approvingly.
Then the entire room began to shake.
"This is bad!" Suiko said. "The room was designed to create Alterity artificially. One shouldn't open another Alterity inside it!"
The alarm began sounding loudly.
If an Alterity is cast inside another Alterity, then what will happen is that both Alterities will clash with each other. The strongest one will overlay the other. However, in the case where both are equally strong, the dimensional field will shift into something entirely new and random.
Then energy spread like a shockwave across the grassland.
ZZWUNGGG!
"This is not good!" Suiko said as a sudden flash of light blinded her.
Once the flash cleared, nothing had happened.
CLASH!
Raymed was clashing weapons with Morgwyn.
A sight unimaginable because Morgwyn should still be undetected.
However, Raymed detected her.
"I see so that illusions won't work on you. But I am not yet impressed. You're still are not fit." Morgwyn pushed Raymed away with a swipe of her spear. Morgwyn's eye turned fiery blue as she cast a field around herself.
Raymed charged his body once more, trying to attack her, but suddenly the blade sweep made by Blastur was deflected by an unseen barrier around Morgwyn.
Not only that, it seemed the impact was doubled as he was launched into the sky.
That was the moment Raymed realized.
This time, her battle style is Absolute Defense.
Morgwyn suddenly moved at high speed, grabbing Raymed's head. "If you can't stand that you can never hope to see my Third style. You lose."
"GRAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!" Raymed screamed painfully as Morgwyn finished him by force-feeding his Chronic Eater with mana. Both of them safely landed on the ground before Morgwyn threw him away from her sight.
"Battle is over. Please clean all this up and make sure he learns something from our fight." Morgwyn said before dissolving into the air.
The battle was over.
Raymed had lost.
He was unconscious as the Psytelier stopped the Alterity in the white room, hurriedly going to Raymed's unconscious body.