Chapter 62: Competition with Serie
Before anyone knew, it was the second year of them adventuring together.
"Tsk! What a handful."
Under the hot sun, Kurtz and Serie stood across from each other, sweat on their faces as they circled each other like hunters, while the other three sat on a nearby rock, watching the spar which have become quite frequent recently.
The large and small craters around them proved that the battle between the two had been going on for a while. Burned earth and broken stone showed their growing rivalry.
This wasn't Kurtz and Serie fighting for real; it was just a normal practice match.
This was Serie's idea; she wanted to test Kurtz's strength every so often, though her competitive nature made these sessions more and more intense.
"I bet tonight's dinner that Kurtz won't be able to beat Serie," Eric said confidently, chewing on dried meat while sitting against the warm stone.
Somo shook his head again and again, "I'm not betting with you; the odds aren't fair at all. There's no chance of winning."
Even Somo felt that the chance of Kurtz winning was too low.
After all, Serie was an elf who had lived for hundreds of years, and Kurtz had only been learning magic for a year and a half at most. Their magical power was simply not on the same level, though the gap seemed to get smaller with each month.
Norn, meanwhile, focused on the battle between the two and didn't speak. He really wanted to know how powerful Kurtz had become, especially after seeing his rapid growth back in the village.
At this moment, the battle between Kurtz and Serie began again.
Serie lightly raised her fingertips, and three Light Arrows instantly formed, their glow brighter than usual.
When fighting Kurtz, she could no longer use Arrow Rain because both of them had magical items and protective magic, and ordinary Arrow Rain couldn't break through their defences at all.
She could only follow Eric's example and take the simple route, making fewer Light Arrows and making each one stronger.
This way, she wouldn't waste magical power and could still be dangerous to Kurtz. The change annoyed her; she preferred using overwhelming force over careful planning.
"Come on, let's start the second round."
Before she finished speaking, the arrows had already shot through the air with deadly aim.
Kurtz, calmly, opened his improved double-layered Light Shield.
The first layer of the shield broke in response, pieces of light scattering like glass, but the second layer successfully blocked the remaining power.
At the same time, a magic circle appeared in his left hand, and several vines suddenly shot out from beneath Serie's feet.
In response, Serie cast the same defensive magic, blocking the first wave of attacks, but these vines immediately changed direction and attacked the corners that the Light Shield couldn't cover.
Meanwhile, the magic circle in Kurtz's hand, not far away, was working, clearly showing that he was controlling the vines with disturbing skill.
Seeing this, Serie made light wheels in her hand, their edges sharp like razors, and these spinning discs instantly cut up the thick vines. At the same time, she threw the light wheels back with deadly intent.
Kurtz's reaction was to release Light Arrows, shooting down all the light wheels in a display of aim that impressed even Serie.
Both of them were using the same magic, so neither could break the other's moves through raw power alone.
So Kurtz prepared to change his attack method. He stuck his Holy Sword into the ground, filled it with ice magic and released it. With the Holy Sword's boost, the entire ground was quickly covered in frost, the temperature dropping noticeably.
As soon as Serie lifted her foot, she found it frozen to the ground.
"Interesting."
She raised an eyebrow slightly, truly interested in his tactical thinking. In her sight, Kurtz, taking advantage of her limited movement, had already released several Light Arrows towards her.
"Crack!"
An ice wall rose in front of her, perfectly blocking the light spears shot by Kurtz.
The broken ice crystals reflected bright light under the harsh sun, temporarily blinding the watchers.
When they finally opened their eyes, they found that Serie had already broken free from the frost, and a long spear of light had formed in her hand. The moment the ice wall disappeared, the light spear shot out with devastating force.
Kurtz didn't hesitate either, releasing the same move.
For a moment, the intensity of the battle made the entire ground shake, small stones dancing from the magical pressure.
Both of them were using the same moves: Light Arrow, light spear, vines, and ice walls, all magic they had taught each other over their months of travel.
"How about it? Can you do this much?" Norn leaned closer to Eric and whispered, his voice filled with awe.
Eric glared at him in annoyance, "How could I!? I haven't even learned all light magic yet. Look at these two; they switch between ice magic and plant magic like it's nothing. There's no comparison, alright!"
Serie's frustration was obvious, though mixed with admiration rather than jealousy.
"You're right."
Norn knew his friend's abilities and mostly agreed with him.
"I never thought Kurtz would be so powerful. I'm really curious how he managed to do it," Norn said from the heart, watching another exchange of powerful spells.
"You can only say that there are differences among humans. Kurtz has good talent, what can you do?"
Eric shrugged, though his tone held no bitterness. At first, he might have thought about catching up to Kurtz's pace and becoming a companion who fought alongside him.
But now he had given up on that impossible dream.
There was nothing wrong with hiding behind Kurtz; someone had to watch his back.
"Kurtz's magical talent is indeed amazing. I'm afraid even the elves who are most skilled in using magic would find few who could compare to him."
Somo, carrying his battle-axe, also shared his feelings, his usual rough manner softened by genuine respect.
"That guy isn't human, is he? Perhaps an elf who looks like a human? Or even a god!"
The more Eric thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. Otherwise, how could a human with such monstrous talent appear out of nowhere?
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Norn quickly interrupted Eric's wild guessing, though his voice carried more worry than anger.
In his opinion, every action Kurtz took now was to help humanity, and he and the others should not doubt his identity at all.
At this moment, the battle between the two finally came to an end.
Facing Kurtz's increasingly fierce attacks, Serie had to move frequently to dodge, but unexpectedly, at some point, Kurtz released a small vine on her inevitable path.
She wasn't paying attention and tripped over the vine, her entire body falling backwards in an unusual moment of clumsiness.
Taking advantage of the elf's momentary loss of balance, Kurtz backed away to create distance, pointing his Holy Sword's gleaming point directly at the sky: "EXCA, "
"Enough," Serie interrupted coldly, her pride hurt by the near-defeat.
She was now floating in mid-air, her body surging with magical power that made the air shimmer.
Clearly, the previous battle hadn't used much of her magic. "Do you want to blow up the entire forest?"
As the one who had spent the most time with Kurtz, she naturally knew how much magical power he had put into the Holy Sword during this time.
Once fully released, its power would be even more terrifying than during their initial test, possibly levelling the mountainside.
Kurtz chuckled awkwardly as he put away his stance: "Cough, cough, I got a little too into it."
The three gathered around, Eric eagerly shouting, "That was amazing! But Kurtz, were you really going to use the Holy Sword at the end!?"
His excitement was contagious, though mixed with a healthy fear of the weapon's potential.
"No, I was planning to see if I could use it with minimal power," Kurtz stretched his arms, working out the tension from the intense fight.
"Speaking of which, Serie, why haven't I seen you use this floating spell?"
This was a good thing!
If Serie had taught him earlier, he might have been able to create flying magic.
"I just created it," Serie puffed out her small chest, floating a few feet off the ground with evident pride. She wanted to make this human understand that he wasn't the only one who could create magic.
"Amazing, amazing!" Kurtz quickly clapped his hands in praise, genuinely impressed by her innovation.
He really hadn't expected that Serie was also trying to create new magic. This was right! This was how the great grandmaster of later generations should be, constantly pushing boundaries.
Facing Kurtz's praise, Serie proudly tilted her small face, looking very pleased despite her attempts to maintain her usual aloof manner.
__________________
Check out more than 30+ chapters right now! 🔥
👉 patreon.com/Mr UmU
https://www.patreon.com/Mr_UmU
__________________