[Title: Lieutenant Carrison]
[Rarity: Elite]
[Description: A carefree woman that was absolved of her crimes years ago but remained with the Penitents]
Horus faced all attacks with the same placid expression, his strikes were fluid and looked almost weak, which contrasted vividly by Carrison's savage all offensive style of fighting.
She brought down her halberd bone crushing force. The ground shattered where Horus had just stood with a thunderous crash.
He countered just before the axe came down, slicing across her belly lightly like a whisper. He moved so automatically and careless the attack looked weak.
Many of the Penitents in the audience looked annoyed by this.
"That was such a good opportunity, why didn't he attack harder?!"
"It doesn't even look like he got her."
Carrison's glowing blue armor was unscratched by Horus' sword, but that didn't mean he hadn't attacked hard enough.
There's something different about her [Endurance]. And her durability would be connected to the equipped armor.
He was behind Carrison now, which would normally be an inconvenient position to attack from, but that didn't stop her.
Her halberd ripped through stone as she spun and lashed out with a low strike. Horus cartwheeled over the strike and slashed at the opening in her armor, but she deflected it with her other hand's vambrace.
There was a gash left in the steel. Her [Endurance] reduced?
She was swinging that massive weapon around with one hand, and once she deflected his attack, she snapped forward with an open palm strike.
Horus slipped away from the attack but felt the air boom slightly. A single hit would knock him out of the field and break some ribs.
Elite-tier [Physicality] and [Endurance].
But he could sense her holding back a bit, whether it be magical skills or the full strength and speed of her attacks.
It was fair honestly, but he needed her to fight harder. It was the only way the system would reward him in his Adept requirements.
Carrison unleashed two swings too strong for him to even consider parrying. The first one came from above at an angle, he ducked just out of habit; and the second came for his waist, but he fully read this one and jumped out of the way.
[Adept-tier Perception requirement: Ten Skill shards(Complete). Rely on hearing or sight to follow ten attacks of Adept-tier or higher (Progress: 2/10).]
The system chimed in his ears quietly, careful not to draw his attention from the battle.
Carrison spun to swing low, an attack she had repeated twice now. And Horus moved immediately she turned—his body reacting before his mind even fully caught up, jumping and slicing across her back.
[Basic Swordsmanship] > 15 > 16 (Common)
She ended her swing with a smile as Horus disappeared, but she already knew where he was.
Before she could turn, Horus kicked the back of her leg, staggering her, then followed it with another slash to her back.
He was taking this time to learn how Carrison fought not only in case he had to fight her one day, but also to maybe mimic her style. She fought using a weapon mostly for swing and with palm strikes that he could emulate.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Carrison said with a grin. She struck differently from before, jabbing her weapon suddenly. "Let's turn up the heat."
The tip of the Halberd rushed past Horus with a column of packed air, but Carrison didn't stop there. She pushed off her leading foot and rushed him with a low strike.
The attack caught him offguard, so he couldn't dodge, instead he read her stance and blocked the strike with his blade.
Carrison slammed her open palm into the sharp edge of his sword, uncaring, pushing it into his chest as she sent him into the air.
Mid-air, Horus kept his eye on her, but she didn't press the attack. Instead she waited until he slammed into the ground.
He quickly rolled to his feet. And halberd split apart stone where he had just been.
That palm strike rattled his ribs. He still felt it despite blocking the attack, and his opponent's palm hadn't even been split open by the blade.
But he now understood why after attacking the Lieutenant three times.
Her [Endurance] is greater when she is attacking.
Combined with her fighting style that had her constantly striking, this skill evolution of [Endurance] fit Carrison very well.
"You fight like a shadow," Carrison commented as she swung wildly, "Like something not quite real. Your skill evolutions will be interesting. But it's more interesting to fight with the threat of injury or death isn't it? You should throw your body and bloodlust at the enemy while they do the same."
He silently followed her attacks. Not bothering to disagree verbally. Talking mid fight wasn't his style, and it especially wasn't against someone as fast and wild as Carrison.
Attacks slowed as Horus focused his mind on tracking them fully and then reacting to them. Sometimes he could only get out of the way in time, other times he was able to counter attack.
[Reflexes] > 15 > 16 (Common)
[Adept-tier Physicality requirement: Ten Skill shards(Complete). Exert 100% of your force in a strike(Progress: 5/10).]
[Adept-tier Perception requirement: Ten Skill shards(Complete). Rely on hearing or sight to follow ten attacks of Adept-tier or higher (Progress: 4/10).]
Carrison whipped her halberd upward so hard she titled off balance, and Horus' instincts screamed that this was his chance.
He sidestepped the upward slash and stepped in while slashing.
Carrison had her back almost parallel to the ground, one of her feet was in the air as she fell and only the heel of her second foot was connected to the ground.
She was falling and it was a free attack.
But suddenly she turned, her feet planted against some invisible surface, and blocked his sword with the shaft of her halberd.
Before he could react to the sudden shift her palm slammed into the chest plate of his armor and sent him sprawling.
He had only cracked open one eye when he felt the soft tap of Carrison's weapon against his chest.
She smiled down at him and offered a hand up. "You're scary good. I might not be able to hold back once you reach Adept."
"I'd hope so," he muttered as he took her hand and stood.
The crowd had long gone silent. They both fought hard. And as Common tier soldiers, many felt they couldn't have pushed Carrison to even exert much effort defeating them.
Many of them doubted they could even beat Horus, despite some having skills at the level 20.
"What a monster," one Penitent muttered.
"He doesn't even flinch. And he's quick to act," the older Penitent from before added. "His mother must have given birth on a battlefield. Decent looking too… maybe the son of a serving lady and a noble."
The other Penitents watched Horus anxiously as their captain spoke. If a fight started they were leaving the old man behind. They weren't trying to die in a dumb dispute.
Horus gave the Lieutenant a slight bow, ignoring the captain's words. "Thank you for your instruction."
"I told you, lay off the Highborn speak. You have my respect, as well as the other soldiers. I'm excited to see you dragging the High priest into camp one day."
They separated and Medava joined Horus as he returned to wherever his new tent might be. The boy's smile and bald head glowed with awe.
"You're a real warrior, sir—i mean, Horus."
"Did my sword look fake to you," Horus asked with a raised eyebrow.
Medava grinned. "I was a bit scared before, but now I'm excited to get out there with you and find the High priest."
Horus' eyes narrowed a bit as the boy's words travelled his mind, but he simply nodded.