Sparring

"Oh, an outsider's rare enough, and one who can actually wound a Demon at that—don't you worry."

"But Rhode's still injured."

"It's fine, Norn." Rhode spoke up. "I'm actually a bit stronger than you might think. This little injury is nothing serious."

"Oh? Big talk!" Erik raised an eyebrow. "Perfect—let me test that out."

Seeing Rhode say that himself, Norn had no choice but to give up on stopping them.

He stepped back to give them room to fight, but still added, "Erik, watch your limits."

"Relax, will you? All that nagging—are you my mother?"

Erik's words made Norn's brow twitch. He wanted to charge over and punch the guy twice, but he forced himself to hold back.

On the other side, Rhode thought to himself that the warning would've been better aimed at him.

After all, if he didn't watch his limits, Erik might end up looking like a pincushion.

Better to just stick with Plant Magic for now.

"Come on!" Erik pulled a wooden staff from somewhere and assumed a combat stance.

He was the tribe's strongest warrior—even Norn fell short in some areas. The problem was that Norn fought more cunningly, and if Erik wasn't careful, he'd fall right into a trap.

So despite being a bit stronger in raw power, every sparring match ended with more losses than wins.

It left Erik feeling thoroughly frustrated.

Facing Erik's coiled, ready stance, Rhode gave a faint smile, raised his right hand lightly, and mana began to surge around him.

From a distance, Norn keenly sensed the shift in Rhode's aura and immediately shouted, "Watch out!"

"I know! I'll hold back."

Erik replied impatiently, already lunging at Rhode like a hunting leopard.

"This guy!"

Norn cursed under his breath. That warning had been for Erik, but the idiot had taken it as advice for Rhode.

Erik was fast. The wooden staff whistled through the air straight at Rhode's abdomen—but stopped dead a meter away.

It wasn't that he'd pulled the strike. His attack had been forcibly halted.

"What!?"

Erik looked down and found his feet tangled in vines that had sprouted from nowhere. Those vines were what kept him from moving an inch.

Before him, Rhode's fingertips glowed with a faint green mana—clearly, the man was a mage!

The vines slithered up his legs like living things. Erik struggled, but the more he fought, the tighter they wound.

"Magic!?"

Norn's eyes went wide as he stared at the scene in disbelief.

He hadn't expected this outsider to be a mage.

How had he managed that!?

Rhode raised a magic circle, and more vines burst from the ground, coiling tightly around Erik's entire body.

"So? Give up?"

Erik's face reddened. "Why didn't you say earlier that you're a mage?"

"Huh? Didn't I mention it? Guess I forgot."

Rhode chuckled, his expression carrying a hint of smugness—at least in Erik's eyes, it made him want to punch the guy.

"I'm not giving up that easily!"

He let out a sudden roar, dropping all restraint and unleashing his full strength. With a violent jerk, he snapped the vines binding him.

Rhode quickly backed away to keep his distance, surprised by Erik's physical prowess.

Free from the vines, Erik charged at Rhode again—this time, he was dead serious, putting all his power into it.

Rhode kept retreating, trying to maintain distance, and sent out more vines to bind Erik once more.

But Erik, now on guard, dodged them all.

"So fast!" Rhode's heart raced.

His vines had burst from the ground in an instant, yet Erik still managed to evade them.

"Then can you dodge this?"

Rhode waved his hand, and dozens of weakened Light Arrows appeared in the air. The next second, they all shot toward Erik.

The sheer number of arrows made Erik's scalp tingle. He was forced to halt his advance and dodge with everything he had.

"Hey! I'm the one who saved your life!"

After barely evading all the arrows, Erik shouted hurriedly.

"I know. That's why those arrows were weakened—but getting hit still hurts a lot." Rhode replied with a grin.

So this was what it felt like when Serie and Som had sparred back then?

The noble archmage thoroughly trouncing the backward warrior native.

That feeling—it was downright exhilarating for him!

On the other side, Erik was the one suffering.

"And you told me to hold back!" He shifted his target to Norn, who was watching from the sidelines. "How am I supposed to fight this!?"

Norn spread his hands, indicating he had no solution either.

They had only heard of mages as a concept but had never actually fought one—they had zero combat experience.

Mainly, he hadn't expected this Rhode to be a mage. No wonder the guy had escaped the Demon Race's pursuit and even managed to seriously wound them.

"Damn it, I'll go all out!"

Erik roared and charged at Rhode again with heavy strides.

Since Rhode had already said he wouldn't kill him, he might as well just go for broke.

Seeing Erik's speed spike once more, Rhode used the same trick, releasing Arrow Rain to block him.

This time, Erik didn't retreat. He dodged some of the Light Arrows, then swung his wooden staff to knock down the ones he couldn't avoid.

After clearing all the Light Arrows, he seized the opening right after Rhode had finished casting and rushed forward.

The only way to break a fight with a mage was to close the distance.

That was knowledge Kraft had once taught them.

But he had clearly underestimated Rhode—or rather, underestimated Rhode's magic.

Facing Erik charging straight at him, Rhode didn't dodge or retreat. He casually raised a Defense Magic barrier and blocked the attack.

"Come on!" Erik panicked. "Isn't that a bit too cheap?"

He let out the same lament Som had once made.

Mages really were a despicable bunch.

Rhode didn't reply. He simply released another Arrow Rain, forming a ring around Erik without firing.

Erik froze on the spot, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

At this range, there was no way he could dodge those Light Arrows, especially in such numbers. Getting hit would hurt badly.

He forced a strained smile. "Rhode... you're not actually going to fire those Light Arrows, right?"

"That depends on whether you admit defeat."

"I... I surrender."

As he spoke, the barrier and Light Arrows dissolved into specks of light.

Watching the dejected Erik, Rhode walked over and comforted him. "Your strength is impressive. You just lack experience fighting mages."