'Something fundamental just changed.'
Roland's instincts were screaming at him to not rush in blindly despite Alex's seemingly open stance.
Alex smiled and kept approaching. "What's the matter, Rolo?"
Sweat started to form on Roland's brow as he scrutinized Alex's body, wracking his mind on what exactly shifted.
'Stance? No, there IS no stance. Emotional state? No, Alex was always in control of that, so that did not change. What did-'
Roland suddenly realized the difference.
It was in plain sight, after all: Alex was relaxed.
It wasn't carefree. It was condescension. It wasn't looking down on Roland either.
No, this was relaxed readiness. A state where the body was at complete ease and ready to shift into any position, action, or reaction required.
Roland recognized it because his body was the same when he wielded a sword. [Sword Saint] removed any resistance his body had to his intentions, allowing him to move freely in his swordsmanship. Even if his body should logically resist it, like a self-damaging strike that shredded the muscles as he swung. Like a self-geass, it allowed him to direct his body to follow his thoughts instantaneously.
But it was a state that required either years of training, a unique Talent, or magic.
Alex had neither of the first two. And he currently wasn't using magic, so it wasn't the last either.
That meant that, just now, he had awakened. Either to a new Talent, or his talent itself had just reached a new level.
Realizing that, a prideful smile crossed Roland's face and he laughed. "I am the one who should be flattered this time, I suppose? To think that you evolved before my very eyes... Brilliant. Well then."
Roland wiped the smile off his face and then laced his body with healing magic. At the same time, a crimson haze started to form around him. The blood from deliberately overclocking his body to a higher rank, vaporized by the sheer mana coursing through every cell in his body. "...Show me, Friend. Just how much further you intend to go chasing that objective of yours."
===
Evelyn watched Alex spar against Roland.
It was incredible. Objectively, she had to admit it.
Right now, both of them had reached her. Both of them were a match for her in combat now.
And considering she was a Rank 6 dual physical and magic user now after clearing that ridiculous trial, it was an incredible feat.
'In a straightforward clash...'
Evelyn was sure she could still win against Roland, but it would be close. She currently had the edge on experience, power, and speed. She also had magic, which could wear him out and prevent him from utilizing that crimson haze empowering technique.
'But against my love...'
Evelyn's silver eyes quietly stared at Alex's back, watching how he moved.
'Impossible.'
An immediate assessment.
And the reason for that wasn't because she was in love with him. Nor was it because she knew he had plenty of hidden tricks up his sleeves.
No, it was because of the reason that he was standing his own against Roland.
'Pure combat analysis and unwavering execution.'
Having either would make you a respected combatant.
If you had the mind to assess, plan, and make tactical measures in an instant, you could win at least 7 out of 10 clashes.
If you had the instincts to react immediately and precisely to threats while capitalizing on openings, you could also win at least 7 out of 10 clashes.
But having both... being able to instantly determine the path to victory and then being able to walk it without flinching in the face of death... to be able grab the gossamer thread of victory against an opponent that far outmatched you every single time by deliberately exposing weaknesses while simultaneously reducing the actions your opponent took due to pruning their decisionmaking...
Evelyn let out a soft smile and murmured, "Of course. Of course you would awaken to a fighting style like this."
It was how Alex had lived since he lost Betty. It was how he had lived since joining the academy.
Death had come for him each time. And each time he had not just avoided the blade, but he had jumped over it and gained a little more ground. The young man who should have died hundreds of times over had claimed years of life back from death himself.
Beside Evelyn, Marisa narrowed her emerald-hued eyes and murmured, "He's letting Death graze his neck while he grabs life with every moment. That isn't a fighting style. It's a story written in stone."
Evelyn could only nod in agreement.
Because it was true.
Alex was no longer fighting Roland.
While Roland was doing his best to fight Alex, Roland's opponent had already moved beyond him.
Roland was still moving towards a perceived victory.
But Alex had already arrived there, read the winning moves and wrote them on a journal.
Like a chess match long concluded with the moves of either player written upon the page.
Although the battle itself ebbed and flowed in which side was 'winning' at a particular moment... the ending was already set.
And the same was true for this spar.
The reason for that...
Marisa pursed her lips and whispered, "Stop playing with him, Alex."
...Was exactly what Marisa said.
Evelyn could see it too. And likely a lot of the other people watching Alex.
To the untrained eye, it looked like luck. To the prejudiced fool, it looked like mercy from Roland's part.
But to everyone else, it was clear.
Roland's blade swept out with a crimson haze. Every blow was either lethal or designed to end the clash in an instant. No room or quarter provided. No delays or mercy either.
And yet, Alex evaded each and every blow by a hair's width. Not only that, but he accounted for the destructive force of the displaced air, heat haze, and mana burst. Then, even more unbelievably, every evasion was paired with a counterattack.
Offense and defense entwined in a way to make both the same action by utilizing every limb on his body.
A parry with his elbow that shifted into an advancing step for a devastating straight punch. An evading backstep that moved him to his previously discarded blade. A backstep that immediately pivoted into a back spinkick at precisely Roland's wrist the moment Roland advanced to slash at Alex's exposed torso.
It was incredible- No, MIRACULOUS progress.
And yet...
Evelyn moved her hand over her heart, calming the anguished anxiety she was starting to feel from watching Alex.
'...What are you preparing to fight, my love? Who are you clashing against in your mind?'