novelxo Chapter 1369 1369 Pre-Fight Worries
--- Blue --- (Directly following the events of chapter 1368. No time has elapsed)
Blue and March stared each other down for a few seconds. Neither was inclined to make the first move, largely because both of them wanted to stall for time. For March, she was still low on mana and had no idea what her cobbled together outfit could actually do. Mana was always useful, and any hints as to what her attire was capable of would be great.
On Blue's side of things, she still didn't know how to guarantee a win against March. The easiest way on land would be sharpened water spears, or perhaps a water bubble around the large woman's head. Even then, Blue wasn't certain that would take out her opponent. March's steam might be enough to get some oxygen into her lungs, or just blow apart the spell. As for the spears? March was strong, and with that strength came a good deal of speed. Actually hitting the woman would've been a challenge.
Now though? When they were both underwater and March had a likely indestructible collar that allowed her to breath underwater? Blue was left with her least effective options. She'd noticed what Lily had earlier, in that the collars helped with some of the pressure down at this depth. How that would effect the crushing force Blue could exert was unknown for the moment. Worse, March was naturally resistant to that kind of attack simply by being built like a tank.
Sure Blue knew how to spin up some attacks that would do damage that wasn't simply blunt force… but it was hard, mana inefficient most of the time, and very obvious. If she turned a section of the ocean into a miniature whirlpool it would either start slowing down as it brought in the surroundings, or it would cost her more and more mana to keep the speed up. Perhaps if Blue was better at separating 'her water' and 'other water' this wouldn't be a problem… but so many mages were trained in the opposite. To make as much use out of existing elements. Not everyone could be a crazy example of humanity like March. Claiming steam not just as an element to use against others, but within herself. Sure Blue was a fae, a species more connected to magic… but even she wouldn't go around pumping herself full of magical water in attempt to get stronger.
Heck, it was arguable just how 'human' March still was. She'd pushed herself with her steam body further then anyone had a right to at Rank 2. In Blue's mind, it was entirely possible that dropping a real mountain on March wouldn't be enough to take her out. An immense amount of water pressure was certainly something that she could break through.
Really the best option would be to find a weapon in the mass of treasure behind her… but Blue knew very well that in a melee battle she was going to lose. March was a highly trained frontline fighter, while Blue was a mage with some basic practice with a dagger and a staff. Heck, even with a treasure sword or something of that nature it was entirely possible that March could just break it.
As shown by March outpacing Kat in the race the other day. Upper limit of Rank 2 strength and speed had been demolished by March. Taking any 'normal' ideas of what was possible, especially in a straight up fight was liable to be her loss.
*So what am I meant to do? All of my go to spells are weaker underwater and weaker against March. I need something to break past that. Should I… should I actually consider just hurling random weapons at her as fast as I can manage? Pointy end go here? It's… not the worst idea I can come up with… and it might actually work unlike a lot of the others. It's going to be a big hit to my points at the end… but stealing the treasure that March has here will probably make up for any loses. Plus, these are weapons so there is no guarantee it will actually damage them.*
--- March --- (Same time as the start of Blue's section)
March could already feel her pulse starting to pound in her ears, adrenaline spiking as she prepared for a fight. And what a fight it promised to be. Sure March had no idea how to defeat the metaphorical mountain before her, but that just made it more exciting. A tough battle with a generous safety net? What could be a better challenge.
March wasn't a battle junky. Not really. Sure pushed herself to prove her strength, and real combat didn't simply come down to who was stronger. No, there were so many other factors that March wasn't anywhere near as interested in. She was good at combat, but even that only went so far. It wasn't her passion, and hurting people for no reason had never sat well with her.contemporary romance
Strength itself was both a means, and a goal. The idea that she'd use her strength for something so pitiful as bullying the weak was a ridiculous notion. So of course, going around and proving herself against random animals had never been a source of joy for March. Duty certainly. Most of these animals were a danger, and needed to be dealt with. March had no regrets in that area, but no love for it either.
This however, this was different. She was facing seemingly impossible odds, with a bunch of items she didn't know how to use… and it was all safe. Thyme would keep them both alive, and to March, a little pain was hardly worth mentioning. The idea that Blue might not share the sentiment was completely lost on her. The question was… how to win the fight?
It was obvious to her that fighting a water mage in the ocean was a recipe for disaster. It'd probably be worse if she couldn't breathe underwater but once again, thanks to Thyme that was a non-issue. Sure approaching Blue would still be a problem… but with some straightforward use of her steam it should only be a minor one. Really, the main issue was one of mana. March was sure she had a smaller mana capacity then Blue… and a less efficient way of using it… and of course there was the mana she was still missing.
If Blue was smart about things, she could simply play keep-
away with March while throwing out the occasional attack to ensure March couldn't blast forward in a straight line without risking at least some damage. Eventually March would be the one to run out of mana and from there it would be an easy victory for Blue. She'd just need to back up faster then March could swim. Which was still quite fast… but nothing compared to a water mage in the ocean.
*Which is what this keeps coming back to. She's a water mage. In. The. Ocean. I need to really think outside the box… or work out what these things do. I don't want to trigger any of them right now because that might get Blue to start attacking me sooner then I'd like. Well, that and I don't know what they do. Letting that info slip to Blue would be bad… and potentially worse, they could put me in a bad spot. Imagine if one of these items froze the water around me or something like that. I'd be a sitting duck for whatever Blue wanted to do to me.*
"Do we really have to fight?" asked Blue. March's wondering mind snapped to attention, focus returning completely to the here and now, eyes locked onto Blue's with more clarity than before. Too much worrying would just get in the way after all.
"What? Are you suggesting we both just walk away?" asked March as she pretended to dust down her coat.
"Would that be so bad?" asked Blue with no intention of running in the slightest. As bad a matchup as this seemed to be for her, Blue knew that this might still be her best chance to take March out. The items she had on were clearly new. She had no practice with them, and there didn't seem to be anyone else around.
"I can't say I'm too fond of the idea myself," said March firmly. "It's already quite clear that neither of us is walking away from here. Well, I suppose you might just run away after I've proved how strong I am… but you'd probably have to leave behind a chunk of treasure to do it,"
March didn't know if that was true or not… but it was a good sounding taunt, and hopefully one that was closer to the truth then a lie. If it was true enough… well that might just put Blue off balance.
Of course Blue didn't let any of that worry show on her face. "Bold of you to assume I'd even need to run," Blue said with far more confidence then she felt.
"Well, I'll say it now. I'm not retreating. I'll either win, or go down in a blaze of glory! Thyme can patch me up afterwards so it doesn't really matter. It's just a bit of pain," stated March, not noticing the slight twitching of Blue's face at the ridiculous, and undoubtedly true statement.
done.co