Grey Skill 12

This time when he jabbed his fist fell very close to my body, but a slight change in air pressure prompted me to dodge him anyway. Something hard and heavy brushed past my left cheek, cutting off my ear.

The layer of aether clinging to my skin absorbed the attack, but I was sure that the blow would have knocked out an unshielded opponent if it had fallen squarely.

"You even managed to dodge that, huh?" Darrin noticed behind his tight guard. "That is a bit disheartening."

"You caught me off guard," I admitted, watching his eyes intently for his next move.

"Maybe, but it seems your monstrous speed and reflexes managed to make up for that," he replied before taking a few steps back, putting more distance between us.

Realizing what he was up to, I ran towards him, but was met with a barrage of attacks from all different directions. The direction of the attacks didn't seem to correlate with his physical movements at all, and he was good at masking his intentions by concentrating on anywhere except where the blows would come from. Although he couldn't sense the wind attribute mana formation, there was a slight gust of air before each attack. I ducked and moved, using my enhanced senses to track each blow extended with that subtle woosh , but the bombardment was enough to keep me from getting close to Darrin to counterattack.

'Can't you just… I don't know, charge head-on?' Regis asked, bored. 'Or are you showing off your graceful dance moves?'

A smile formed on the edge of my lips. I can, but what's fun about that?