Whoosh!
Summoning pure Shadow Energy from the small black mass near his heart, Valyr had the dark energy course through his body, ending up at the tip of his blood red spear as a wave of Shadow Energy soon manifested in front of him.
Spanning a height and width of a few meters at first, the wave swiftly grew in size as it made its way to where Jekyll stood, spanning over tens of meters within seconds.
"Well, that ain't fair." Saying these words to himself as his expression grew solemn, Jekyll eventually let out a faint chuckle as he realized he had basically said the same thing Valyr said earlier during the first portion of their game of chase.
"There's no such thing as fairness." Naturally, Valyr picked up on Jekyll's words, grinning as he wondered what the latter would do to defend against his attack.
Even though his control over magic and the strength of his magic spells had grown large enough for him to be able to use it as a main combat style, the techniques he could access through [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] were still the most destructive techniques he had in his arsenal.
With that in mind, it was no surprise that Valyr went slack-jawed when he saw the wave of Shadow Energy suddenly split apart into two, making the young man feel as if he had witnessed someone part the seas in half.
Imbuing a great portion of his Intent into the wooden staff, Jekyll was able to split Valyr's skill, relying on the several weak spots he had found through his unique eyes as he exerted a great portion of his strength.
"Haah... haah..." Though only a bit of sweat formed around his forehead, the man knew that if the wave were to come into contact with him, just like how Valyr would have been killed by the blades of energy sent out, he would end up becoming severely, if not mortally wounded.
"That... definitely caught me off guard," said Jekyll after he had caught his breath, revealing a mocking smile to Valyr. "However, I was still able to defend against it."
"Are you seriously still at the peak of Rank 2?" he added not long after. "With that kind of combat strength, I would have even mistaken you for someone at the peak of Rank 4 if we were out in the battlefield."
"I don't really have any reason to lie to you," replied Valyr, smiling as he took the man's words as a compliment. "If anything, I owe it all to the main class I currently have."
"Speaking of which, you might be able to defend against one of those skills..." Not long after, this smile turned into a slightly malevolent grin as Valyr continued to wield the spear, only to jump into the air and summon his Shadow Energy once more.
"But how about four?"
"[Tide of the Dark Night]!"
Whoosh!
Once again, a wave of dark energy appeared before Jekyll, causing his expression to turn solemn as he pushed his eyes to the limit in hopes of finding a weak spot to exploit. However, just as he was about to make a move against the wave before him, another wave of dark energy appeared to his side, seemingly moving him into a corner.
"I think this might be the strongest attack I'll ever muster up for the meantime." Ignoring the fact that his strength continued to decrease as he wielded the spear, Valyr swiftly ran to the best of his abilities, utilizing [Hunter's Tracking Eyes] to find areas that he could exploit before sending out another [Tide of the Dark Night].
With that, Jekyll was eventually boxed in by four waves of dark energy, forcing the solemn expression to turn slightly grim as the number of weak spots in his vision surprisingly began to disappear the closer they got.
"Mmh..." Letting out a low groan at how it was taking him so long to find a way out, Jekyll pushed the gears in his mind to their limits, turning them madly as he began to imbue his Intent of Lightning into his wooden staff.
"There!" Eventually, just as the four waves were about ten meters away from him, Jekyll found a vital spot that he could exploit, putting all of his strength into it so that he could force his way through the dark waves and escape.
Unfortunately...
"[Breath of the Nascent Wyvern]!" As if he was waiting for the man to find the vital spot all this time, Valyr swiftly breathed a large wave of fire in the general area where Jekyll hoped to break through. Surprisingly, this move from the young man caused the vital spot the man was aiming for to disappear, forcing him to find another one before he was hit by the waves.
"Agh! Damn it!" Now somewhat annoyed that he was forced to find a way out again, Jekyll decided to end things once and for all, circulating his mana and his Intent of Lightning into the wooden staff as he began to thrust the staff in every direction.
"[Wrath of the Lightning Hunter]!"
"[Stellar Oblivion]!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Within a couple seconds, Jekyll sent out over hundreds of strikes towards the waves of dark energy surrounding him, dismantling the energy forming them bit by bit.
Unsurprisingly, with his mana and his Intent working in tandem, the Shadow Energy fueling the waves were no match for it, causing all of them to disintegrate as particles of light and dark briefly covered the training ground.
"..." Feeling a hint of fear from possibly being hit by one of the strikes Jekyll sent out, Valyr swiftly distanced himself from the man as his eyes glistened with awe, taking in the sight before him in its entirety.
After all, in the world of Veldanyr, it was rare for those at Rank 5 and above to make a move. Therefore, the young man cherished this moment before him as he not only witnessed one of the peak powers retaliated against his attacks, he witnessed his idol and his inspiration retaliate against his attacks.
"Fuck me... I am never going to suggest playing a game with a monster like him ever again." Letting out a long sigh as he dropped the wooden staff to the ground, Jekyll looked at his surroundings, eventually noticing Valyr standing a few dozen meters away from where he was.
Recalling what he had done at the very end of his attempts at defending against Valyr's attack, a bitter smile appeared on Jekyll's face as he made his way towards the young man. "For someone at the peak of Rank 2, it almost feels unreal for me to say that you have the capabilities to severely injure a Rank 5 class holder, possibly kill them even."
"In any case, since I used a skill to defend against your attack, I consider it as my loss," said Jekyll, laughing not long after. "Once you comprehend your own Intent, perhaps we could do this once more, but with me being less restricted."
"Well, with all things considered, if you were truly serious and went all out, my chances of winning would have been zero," said Valyr in response, smiling as he enjoyed the game he played with Jekyll... even if he almost died at one point. "If anything, this just gives me more reason to continue honing my strength."
"As you should, really." Jekyll grinned. "Though it may seem like I'm not in the know since I stay here at Anadhar, I already know about the orc outbreak happening in Algerie. With that, the greatest reassurance you could have when all hell breaks loose is the strength you've cultivated thus far."
"After all, unlike some people, it won't betray you."
"I'll definitely keep that in mind." Seeing as he now truly had no more reason to stay around the gambling den, Valyr decided to finally head back to Algerie, placing his spear behind his back as he went up the stairway, with Jekyll following behind him not long after.
...
"Once again, let me remind you that the next part of my legacy can only be obtained once you comprehended your own Intent." With the sky already dark, Jekyll and Valyr bade their farewells near the gambling den's entrance. "Of course, you're free to experiment with the skill if you want. You might come across something about it that would not need an Intent at all."
"It'll be a while before I get around to doing that," said Valyr in response, wryly smiling. "I'm currently preparing for something, actually. Obtaining the second part of your legacy was part of that preparation."
"You don't have to tell me what you're preparing for," replied Jekyll, gesturing Valyr that he could leave at any time. "You've already told me more than enough after you've revealed your identity to me."
"Alright then." Deciding that he should really head back to Algerie in preparation for the small tournament that was happening in the next couple of days, Valyr finally waved goodbye at the man, only to stop in his tracks not long after. "Now that I think about it, I've told you my name, but you haven't told me yours."
"Does it really make any difference?" Jekyll let out a bit of laughter as he eventually obliged. "Fine, fine. But I'll only repeat it just once."
"Jekyll Endheid. A Count of the Astella Region, and a member of the Imperial Endheid clan."
"Of course, it'd be better for you to know me as the owner of the Silver Gambling Den." Grinning, he then urged Valyr to finally leave. "Alright, go. Now get out of my sight."
"As you wish, Sir Endheid."
"Bah! Don't get used to greeting me like that. Sounds stupid."
