Field: A large platform, nearly 30 meters in radius, surrounded by waterfalls of water. The tiled floor is wet and slippery. Some laws are null here- for example, water doesn't conduct electricity (else I'd be zapping us both with every Rai Rom).

Rules:

• 2 weapons, unlimited armor swaps, no healing items. Post equipment in the challenge post.

Baron's Equipment:
Weapons
Spell Blades (Lightning Rage, Tiger Claws, Skill Drain)
Sotetsu (Flame Dance, Tiger Claws, Critical Hit)
Armor
Guard Cap (Repth)
Dragon Skin (Vak Rom, Ap Vakz)
Ring Mail (Juk Kruz)
Jungle Boots
Silver Bracers (Rai Rom)
Accessories
Swift Book

Shenmock's Equipment:
Weapons
Treeman Spear
Spear of Spell
Armor
Leg Mail
Bandanna
Wristbands
Leather Coat
Jungle Boots
Wyrm Hide
Guard Cap
Leather Cloak
Accesories
None

LET'S DO THIS THING~.

The crash of water- that was all Baron heard as he entered the area set aside for his duel. Water flowed from the walls around him, striking the edges of the platform before vanishing. The Twin Blade looked around in order to get a feel for the area, but discovered that was all there was to it. The fight would be head-on; there wouldn't be any tactical advantage to use that one did not already possess. Baron knew that this battle would be best fought with his head- his opponent and rival, Shenmock, was three levels ahead of him and had a much better chance in a head-to-head. Baron had the superior speed, sure, but there was still a lot left up to skill.

The other thing that Baron knew was that he hated water- loathed it with a passion at times. His outfit simply was not made for getting wet; it clung easily, it dragged, though not enough to slow the Twin Blade down; and it was very uncomfortable. That was the reason that Baron avoided rainy fields if he discovered that it was raining ahead of time. Storms were such a pain...

Sighing softly to himself, not planning on backing out, Baron took out his Sotetsu, the weapon of choice for the time being. He had done plenty with that set of blades- they had been very useful. Also with him were his back-up Spell Blades, in case his SP ever got too low, though he was very conservative about it. Baron just hoped that it wouldn't end up being a battle of attrition- he'd easily lose.

Holding his weapons at ready- one never knew when an enemy would strike- Baron stood and waited for Shenmock to appear. He was going to give the Long Arm a run for his money this time. After all, three was the charm- the first two times had never been decided. The fight was now personal. It was for Baron to end things, and put his rival into his place!

It was one of the many types of fields that he liked. More like arena, but he couldn’t care less. It reminded him of the fact that he was the element of ‘Rue’ and focused mainly on that. Of course, he was excited that this was an arena that enabled them to do one-on-one fighting instead of hit-and-run fighting. That was what Baron had done in their first match and he wasn’t too amused by it, but still, this match was different. It seemed like they were in the middle of a flooded area with a circular waterfall. Water flowed into some parts of it enough that if you hit it, you’d probably be brought to the ground or something. He wanted to avoid that and would do it at any cost in the duel.

He was up against Baron for the third time in a row. The first two rounds he had lost. This time he had a three level advantage and he had grown a bit stronger and had a lot more skill in his attacks. Baron was a level ten Twin Blade who had a rare item, the Swift Book. It would help him put more speed into his attacks so he had to watch out for any moves that he had in mind. Shenmock watched the Twin Blade. He didn’t look any different, but you couldn’t judge someone’s skill just by his or her looks. He looked like a strong and powerful guy, but he wasn’t too strong on the inside and didn’t have much strategy.

Shenmock watched Baron pull out his Sotetsu. It was one of his weapons and Shenmock had the feeling that they were more powerful than before. He pulled out his own spear, the Treeman Spear that he had acquired during his quest with Senna. He knew that this guy was quick and powerful so he focused his eyes on his hands and feet. Nothing else. He just had to focus everything on those two things and he would be okay with guarding. For attacking…he really hadn’t planned that out yet.

Shenmock smiled at Baron’s expression. He had already readied his weapon and his face was stern with determination for winning. He knew that he wanted to put his so-called rival in his place, but as Shenmock saw it, that wasn’t going to happen. Shenmock gave out a cheery laugh like the match was all just a game. He walked forward in his bare feet until he was in the middle of the small area. He prepared his spear and gave Baron a stern look.

“The third time we’ve fought, eh? I feel like this is the first and the last,” he said. He prepared his spear. “Be on your guard, Baron!” Shenmock raced forward, muttering, “Ap Corv” as he went. He jumped as a white aura surrounded him, pumping up his strength. He swung at Baron in a cross slash. Hopefully this was going to be a good match.

SP: 80 – 15 (Ap Corv) + 1 (turn point) =
66/80 SP

The room echoed with the fall of water, but a single voice filled the area as well. Shenmock had stepped forwards and issued his challenge- Baron was all too happy to accept. Then the Long Arm charged forwards, his spear leveled and ready to strike. Baron tightened his grip on his Sotetsu, switching to a defensive posture, legs bent and ready to spring. He'd be able to move quickly from his stance. Shenmock yelled out as he came forth.

"Be on your guard, Baron!"

"Aren't I always?"

Baron didn't even bring up his blades to guard as Shenmock came up, his weapon swinging twice in a cross-attack. The Twin Blade noticed, through Shenmock's status bar, that he had raised his attack power, likely using Ap Corv. That meant that each hit would be that much more devestating. However, it didn't do the Long Arm any good if he couldn't land a blow- and Baron wasn't just going to simply allow his opponent to hit him.

Stepping back out of the way of the first strike, Baron watched it whistle by in front of his face. However, on the second attack, the Twin Blade used his Sotetsu to lock up Shenmock's spear, forcing the two of them into a struggle to disarm the other. Baron knew that he couldn't win that kind of fight, but that wasn't his primary goal. He pushed as hard as he could, hoping that Shenmock would be applying equal if not more force that Baron himself was using. After a few seconds of struggle, Baron leapt back, hoping to catch his rival off-guard, and slashed out with his Sotetsu- two strikes aimed for the head were followed by a sweep kick towards the legs and another duo of slashes at Shenmock's torso.

"Don't get too confident there, Shenny. You forget our last two battles. The first one was hit-and-run; that much was self-evident. But the last one was head-on and you still lost. What makes you think that you'll win this time? A small level advantage? It's all skill, in this arena."

“Aren’t I always?”

The reply came quickly by his surprise, but the thing that surprised him most was that he never brought up his blades in defense. He watched his feet for a few moments, knowing they were going to dodge at the last moment, and then surprise him with multiple strikes that probably were quite powerful. Even if he had higher defense and strength, speed would likely be his enemy in the end. If he had had Ap Do at the moment, he could’ve gotten a bit faster than Baron and that would’ve been quite the match. Yet he didn’t have that and wouldn’t for quite a while. His feet finally moved.

Baron took what seemed like a quick and giant step back. His spear, though it was quite long, whistled in front of his face. His hair was swept back just a little bit, but he knew that Baron had just escaped one very powerful blow. His second swipe hit the weapon with extreme force, but not enough to overpower him. He tried not to overpower it too much. He had seen action videos where you pushed hard, fell over, and the person went in for the kill. It was basic attacks and he didn’t think he’d fall for it, but hopefully when the time came, he wouldn’t be too hunched over and then fall to his demise.

Baron hoped back. Shenmock fell over a bit. There it was; he had just fallen for a trick that he knew was coming. Shenmock fell forward a bit more before the blades came into action. The two swords came at his head in strikes and Shenmock tried twisting his leg to bring up his spear, but the majority of the attack hit his head. In the second strike, the blade met his forehead and hit him back. But he felt it from his chest and knew that Baron had kicked out. Shenmock tumbled back, but managed to bring his spear up in time to block the remainder of the attacks. Shenmock, having lost a good amount of his HP from the attacks (not too much due to the level, but it was enough). He glared at Baron. He was SO dead!

"Don't get too confident there, Shenny. You forget our last two battles. The first one was hit-and-run; that much was self-evident. But the last one was head-on and you still lost. What makes you think that you'll win this time? A small level advantage? It's all skill, in this arena."

He wiped the blood off his forehead and prepared his spear. Sweat was already dripping down his forehead and he faced Baron. If he could get a spell out, he could distract Baron enough to attack again! It was a perfect plan and hopefully it’d work, but he didn’t know. Well, here goes nothing, he thought. He twirled his spear in the air and brought it down into the ground.

“Rue Zot!”

The ice around Baron started to freeze up a bit. It took more effect in a water area, but it was probably more just for show. The ground rumbled a bit before a giant thorn blew out of the water and enveloped Baron. A bit of water sprayed into Shenmock’s face and he didn’t know if it hit Baron, but he knew that he had gotten his HP down a bit. Hopefully at least. Shenmock, his spear held high, raced forward, jumped, and swung down at the Twin Blade. Then, with a quick kick to follow up, he jumped and did a 360 spin, twirling his spear as he did. The last attack pretty much failed. Unless Baron was fairly stupid, he would dodge the attack.

Shenmock landed on the ground, his eyes a bit dazed from the spin. He really needed to learn not to do that kind of thing in matches. He looked at Baron with determination in his eyes.

“Baron, if you get too confident, you make mistakes. I’m not too confident with my skill and attacks, but if you get too confident in this match, you’re as good as dead.” Shenmock prepared his spear. “Show me what you’ve got, Baron!”

SP: 66 - 20 (Rue Zot) + 1 (turn point) =
47/80

Baron's eyes widened as the pillar of ice shot up beneath his feet, knocking the Twin Blade backwards. While it wasn't a direct hit, it threw Baron onto his back, a vulnerable position due to the fact that he couldn't move easily when not on his feet. He started to get up, a small fraction of HP missing from the icy attack, when a spear came down and whammed into his chest with the flat of the blade. That definitely hurt! Baron was slammed down onto the ground once more, and barely avoided a follow-up kick.

Baron thought he was in the clear when the spear continued nearby, forcing the Twin Blade to duck beneath it lest he lose his head. However, Shenmock showed his back immediately after due to the spin, and that left a huge opening. Baron kicked out again, aiming at the feet to trip Shenmock once the Long Arm turned to face him, and then leapt back to where he would have some more room. It seemed obvious that Shenmock had the advantage either at close- or mid-range, so Baron would have to work from long-range until an opportunity offered.

Once he had gotten about three meters away, enough that Shenmock couldn't easily reach him with his spear, Baron focused a charge of Rai energy into his left hand, preparing his Rai Rom spell. However, he didn't release it right away- first, he threw one of his Sotetsu in a perfect line, directly towards Shenmock's face, and then he released the lightning held in his hand, a tornado of energy forming beneath Shenmock's feet. He could avoid one or the other, likely, but it seemed that he wouldn't be able to do both. Baron saw a direct hit in the making. Once the two attacks were off, Baron ran forwards with his remaining blade in hand, hoping to get within his rival's range before the Long Arm could recover from whatever ended up hitting him.

Coming up close, practically upon Shenmock's face, Baron's free hand flew out in an impromptu chop, aiming for the Long Arm's wrist, so that he would no longer be able to hold his spear with both hands and be able to attack Baron up-close. Of course, Baron's current positioning made it difficult for the spear to come into play- spears could handle close range, but not up-in-your-face close range. Baron grinned at the opening as the two came face-to-face.

"Too confident? Surely you jest. I'm just having too much...fun!"

At that last word, Baron slashed out with the blade in his hand, aiming to slash a long diagonal cut across Shenmock's chest. It was his only option, since the Twin Blade wanted to conserve his SP unless otherwise needed. If he overplayed his limitations, as was apparent with Shenmock, he'd have nothing left for healing spells. The rules restricted items, but they said nothing about Repth. So Baron wanted to save as much of his SP as he could. The Twin Blade slashed forwards again, but that just led to the two being locked again, Baron with one blade holding off Shenmock's spear and not doing much good. The Twin Blade was forced to jump backwards and sheath his remaining Sotetsu, drawing his Spell Blades instead. He held them in a defensive stance, his feet set once more. One blade was held up before him, while the other was over his head for a quick counterstrike. He couldn't resist goading Shenmock on once more, though.

"So... are you enjoying our little rematch?"

SP: 65 - 10 (Rai Rom) + Turn SP Regen (+1) =
SP: 56/65

Shenmock’s attack obviously missed. Baron had ducked and he was left wide open for an attack. It almost felt like he had lost the match, but he wasn’t giving up that easily. Right as he turned to face Baron, he was met with a foot aiming at his own. The tripping game…how fun. Shenmock fell back in the water and with his hands, did a handspring, then fell back, performing a back flip. Not too shabby, he thought to himself. He prepared his spear, but didn’t get much time to react because Baron was already attacking. Not short range, but long range. A single blade whistled at his face like a kunai. Shenmock dodged it, but the blade grazed off his shoulder. Blood trickled down his shoulder and he winced at the sight of it. He looked at Baron and saw that he was preparing a Rai spell in his right hand. It almost looked like his version of the Juk spell, but he wasn’t using it short range. He was using it differently. Long range. Shenmock tried to get up, but the tornado of bright light and electricity formed under him all too soon and he was caught in it.

He was caught in the wind and he couldn’t seem to get out of the tornado. His hair was swept back and his character really didn’t move. But electricity got to him everywhere and he had several shocks that weren’t all too pleasant. He grimaced at the sight of the wounds. First he got tripped, then a sword was thrown at his face, and then a charge of Rai energy had come at him. Baron was really playing hardball this time. He’d just have to do the same for Baron, but he didn’t know how to catch Baron a bit by surprise. Again, Baron raced forward and Shenmock swung, but the attack missed just barely. Baron came up and with a quick karate chop, smashed his left hand. Shenmock was just about to kick him in the nuts in return, but instead, he jumped back, seeing as he was open for an attack. He glared at Baron.

"Too confident? Surely you jest. I'm just having too much...fun!"

“Really Baron? Then surely I must destroy that kind of fun. As I would say it, I can take you on with one hand tied behind my back. Now I can test that theory!”

Shenmock prepared his spear with his right hand alone, holding his hand a bit closer to the top so he wouldn’t have to carry as much weight. He held it at his side and put his left arm up, giving a gesture for him to come at him. Surely enough, Baron came at him with his one dagger prepared. He came at him and delivered a cross slash at him. Shenmock could barely block it, but managed to do it. Though the one blade was strong, it made their attacks even. One hand and one dagger. It was an even match, but Baron didn’t seem to want to stick with that kind of thing for too long. He swung back and the two weapons clashed again. Shenmock gritted his teeth and pushed as hard as he could with his right hand. Baron started letting down on the push and Shenmock did so too. He jumped back and Shenmock did the same. Baron, probably wanting to hold off on using magic points, slipped his blades away and pulled out a pair of blades known as the Spell Blades. Shenmock looked down at the water and watched his spear disappear in a flash of light. He looked up at Baron who held his blades at the ready, one over his head, the other pointed forward near his chest. Shenmock put his hand behind his back and a flash of light came. He pulled his spear forward. It was the Spear of Spell.

"So... are you enjoying our little rematch?"

Shenmock could only frown at him. He was trying to get him angry and was challenging him. If he got angry, he’d mess up, Baron would laugh, and he’d be ashamed of his defeat.

“I really couldn’t care less about this match, Baron. Skill might be your specialty, but I might just surpass you in levels.” He smiled for a moment. “But hopefully…I’ll surpass you in both skill and levels,” he said.

He prepared his spear. The spear of spell would do him good in this battle. Hopefully he’d be able to hold out with it. Nevertheless, he would try his hardest and hope to win. He muttered something to himself and walked forward towards Baron. His spear was pointed at the water and the echo of the waterfalls came around and bounced off the water walls. He stood in the middle, only about three meters away. He pointed his spear at him and then, with a quick movement, did a quick jump forward, bringing his spear down. Once down on the ground, he raised his spear and did a sideways slash, spun around and did a cross slash. He couldn’t do a great big combo, due that his left wrist was hurt, but he thought it might suffice. Shenmock danced back, having done his share, and prepared his spear. Hopefully he’d hold out long enough. Maybe…maybe not.

SP: 46 + 1 (turn point) =
47/80

“I really couldn’t care less about this match, Baron. Skill might be your specialty, but I might just surpass you in levels. But hopefully…I’ll surpass you in both skill and levels.”

"Sorry to disappoint you, Shenmock, but the day you surpass me in skill is the day that The World ends! Let's finish this already!"

Baron watched as Shenmock switched to his Spear of Spell, mimicing the Twin Blade perfectly. Baron wasn't particularly surprised at the tactic- Shenmock didn't seem one for originality. However, it forced both players to watch their SP. Both weapons had the Skill Drain effect on them, which meant that the balance of SP would go one way or the other, depending on random chance. Any blow could drain the valuable magical energy. Baron knew that he couldn't afford to lose his SP- he had to conserve it for healing.

Baron leapt to the side lightly as Shenmock came down, slamming his weapon into the ground, and landed just out of range. His Spell Blades came up in a defensive stance, and Baron prepared himself for whatever came next. Shenmock's sideways slash with his spear was easy enough to avoid- Baron leapt right over top of it and landed on the ground once more. However, he didn't see the third attack coming, a cross-slash following the spin. It caught him directly in the chest, knocking him a few feet away and onto his back once more. The words SKILL DRAIN appeared as the hit connected, and Baron lost about ten of his SP, that went directly to Shenmock's own bar. The Twin Blade cursed at his mistake, getting hit like that. Baron's HP was starting to get to the halfway mark, and that was never a good thing- Shenmock was starting to pull ahead. It was time to get a bit more serious.

Running forwards again, Baron lashed out with his foot, aiming for Shenmock's head. Leaping as he kicked at the Long Arm, Baron spun and delivered a second kick to the same target. However, he was far from done. After the two kicks, he had gotten incredibly close to Shenmock, enough so that they were almost face-to-face. Putting both hands on the Long Arm's shoulders, Baron vaulted over his opponent to land behind him, his blades still ready. The Twin Blade spun on one heel and performed a quick about-face, giving him an open opportunity at Shenmock's back. He took it gladly, slashing out with his Spell Blades. He had to return the favor with a Skill Drain of his own, or else he'd be in trouble in the Long run.

Slashing once diagonally across Shenmock's back, Baron spun on one heel to build up centripetal force and slam his blade into Shenmock's torso again, slicing horizontally. The two hits formed a rough cross, hopefully hitting Shenmock and revitalizing Baron's own stock of SP. After all, if he ran out of SP, there was no way he'd be able to heal, and Shenmock would win the battle of attrition. Baron's face became more set as he danced back after his combination of attacks, standing in his standard defensive position again.

"Well, I see you've gotten better, if nothing else. This'll be more fun than I imagined!"

Baron SP: 56 - 10 (Skill Drain) + 1 (Turn SP Regen)=
47/65

Shenmock SP: 48 + 10 (Skill Drain) =
58/80