Chapter 12: Orientation (Part 4)

"Sure, show me what you’ve got. And your name is...?" He prompted me, looking a bit relieved.Guess he was nervous that no one else would want to spar against him after that brutal knee strike he unfurled on Ariella.

But that only got me more pumped up, my main goal here is to test out my current abilities, so I’m fully prepared to take a hit or two.

I mean, I got hit a whole bunch by the training bots when I first started at that gym, and I was beaten pretty often, and quite brutally, in my previous life by that syndicate’s debt collectors, so if nothing else, I can certainly take a hit.

<I do not think that is something worth bragging about>

<It is quite sad, actually>

Yeah, yeah, I know, my previous life sucked. Just let me look on the bright side, why don’tcha?

"My name’s Kaivel Intrix, sir. But, please, just call me Kai," I introduced myself politely.

"Kaivel Intrix...ah, you’re the one who failed the Tabulization process, right?"

I mean, I didn’t fail, the process did. Well, same difference, I suppose.

"Yeah, I-..."

"What? Hahaha, seriously?! You mean he’s a J-Ranked Potential Awakened with no Class?! What’s someone like that even doing here?!" Trey burst out laughing incredulously, as I heard several of the other students murmuring amongst themselves.

Tch, what an arrogant dick. I’d like to beat the everliving shit out of-...okay, chill, he’s just a stupid kid.

I need to calm down. Everything’s fine, I’m an adult.

The surprised reactions are to be expected, though.

Since failed Tabulization means that your powers are unstable, Hunters who don’t have a successful Tabulization aren’t able to properly cast Skills or Spells.

That’s especially serious for Mage-type Hunters, since their physical potential is a lot lower than Combatant-type Hunters. They can still somewhat cast Spells, but the output tends to be highly unstable and Mana-ineffecient.

It’s less serious of an issue for Combatants, since they mostly rely on physical strength. But without a successful Tabulization, they can’t use any Skills, at least not with any stability, and they also don’t get a passive weapon or combat affinity Skill, or any resistance or immunity Skills either.

By affinity Skills, I mean the passive Skills that tie to the specific Class of Combatant Hunters. For example, all Saber Class Hunters have a passive Skill called Sword-Wielding Affinity.

Quick side note, the main difference between Skills and Spells is that Skills are usually activated at close-range. Like the Flame Strike Skill that Ariella Velle used.

And Spells are a lot more versatile, they can be used at any range, though most Mages prefer to use them at mid to long-range. Trey’s Water Arrow and Water Slash Spells are examples of that.

The fact that Mages are physically weaker than Combatants isn’t the only reason why most Mages avoid close-range combat though.

Combatants have passive resistance or immunity Skills that weaken or nullify status effects and elemental attacks, but Mages don’t have those Skills.

As a result, they’re a lot more vulnerable to debuffs, status effects and elemental attacks than Combatants are.

Anyway, I’ve gone off on a tangent, let’s get back to the current situation...

"Quiet down, that’s enough!" Called out Glenn with a frown, before adding as he glanced at me, "Sorry about that, pay no mind to it. Whenever you’re ready, begin."

Hm, should I use any of my Skills?

No, I should keep my cards close to my chest, at least for now. But...maybe using just one Skill won’t hurt. I’ve been wanting to test out my Pride Skill, in particular.

It doesn’t cost much MP to activate, but I can only use it once every five minutes per target. Alright, then, I’ll use it once, and besides that, I’ll fight solely using my physical abilities.

Alright, let’s do this.

I began casually strolling towards him at an eased, relaxed pace, as I spun my wooden short-sword in my hand with a flick of my wrist.

"Now, then...here I come," I uttered as I composed myself and locked in.

Glenn assumed a defensive stance as I let out a slow exhale and shot towards him, racing across the space at full speed.

Here goes...

"<Command: Don’t Move>," I chanted under my breath as I locked my gaze onto him, his body suddenly freezing in place.

I lunged forward as I closed in on him and whipped my wooden short-sword across at his neck, but right before my blade could strike, he suddenly broke free of the effect of my Skill, hurriedly raising his sword in defense, a deafening wooden clack echoing out as he narrowly blocked my attack.

I pulled back, getting low and slashing at his stomach, my wooden blade whizzing through the air as he took a swift step back to evade it.

I rushed forward and unleashed a barrage of slashes and strikes, several clacks ringing out as he blocked my attacks with his own blade, before shuffling back as I swung my blade across at his face.

As I missed his chin by a couple of centimeters, I backed away and got some distance, feeling a hint of frustration.

Damn it, he broke free of the effect of my Skill in less than two seconds, I guess that’s the best I can do with this Skill at my current level against someone as strong as he is.

It’s weird though, when I got close to him, I felt this strange pressure. I’ve never felt a sensation like that before, what was that?

<That would be his Aura>

<All Hunters and Monsters possess Auras, and when clashing, the one with the weaker Aura will feel a pressure from the one with the stronger Aura>

<The wider the disparity in their Power Levels, the more intense the pressure will feel to the weaker one> New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novelhall.com

<It is possible to perceive Auras, but you would need to raise your Perception to at least 500 to do so>

500?!

"What happened to me back there?" Muttered Glenn, eyeing me with a wary, bewildered look on his face.

Right, I should focus, can’t get distracted.

What I used on him was my Pride Skill, Command. By visualizing an effect and chanting a word or phase, I can apply the visualized effect onto a target.

But I can only inflict effects that are physically possible. For instance, if I say Command: Explode and visualize the target’s body exploding, it won’t work.

But, if I say something like Command: Break Your Arm, or Command: Kill Yourself, while clearly visualizing the effect, it’ll affect the target.

However, it’s far from foolproof. The Skill is less effective on those with a higher Power Level than mine, and according to Ai, even with those who are weaker than I am, they may be able to resist the effect, if they have a strong enough will, at least after a few seconds.

Given that it wasn’t particularly effective on Glenn, I feel a strong itch to try out another of my Skills on him, I was really hoping that Command would be a lot more effective that it turned out to be.

But, no, I should refrain from using another Skill. Even using one was pushing it, I can’t let myself get swept up in the heat of the moment. I need to calm down and reset...