Zadi vs. Mardowlin [Training/Match]

Opponent:

It has been a rather long time since Zadi entered the coliseum and for a good reason, too; Zadi had his first encounter with death within the dirt filled arena and it wasn't a very pleasant one. Death by fire is never good, especially when it happens twice, such as what has happened to Zadi. However, if Zadi is to become stronger, he must overcome his trauma by not only entering the coliseum but also winning a match within its boundaries. Not only that, Zadi thought it would be a nice way to test out the effectiveness of his new ring.

Stepping into the arena, Zadi made sure not to know anything about his opponent. He ignored whispers, jokes, and even reading material about Mardowlin, the opponent in question. Zadi wanted a surprise such that it felt more like a legitimate battle. However, upon initial inspection of his opponent, Zadi felt like he knew everything. A canine as a combat pet and a longsword for self defense. The man was lean while the canine was massively buff compared to a regular dog. Zadi could tell the canine would do most of the work while the owner, Mardowlin, would wait for the prefect opening. Only made sense with the pair's equipment and body structures.

Zadi was a little disappointed but also a little excited. He hadn't faced a human-pet pair before and thought it would be fun to try. The arena may be for even match ups, such as 1v1 or 2v2, but in this case, Zadi felt outnumbered. All the better for testing out abilities and equipment, "Alright, let's get this match started."

273/800 coliseum match
273/1500 Fake-Vassago Lesser Cherub training

"You seem rather confident being the new guy in this match."

Mardowlin's comment seemed empty and without interest. Zadi's talking probably let his thoughts slip from Mardowlin's mouth simply due to, what looked to be, boredom. However, that was just Zadi's guess. Zadi couldn't tell what his opponent was thinking, much less the animal combatant next to said opponent. All the same, Mardowlin's words rang a little in Zadi's subconsciousness, shaking him a little. Unfortunately, Mardowlin wasn't going to postpone the fight and therefore made a sharp whistle that could be heard throughout the coliseum. Obviously not ear-piercing though loud enough to seem to get a message through, but to whom? The canine without question.

Koronoe instantly sprang into action at 20 m/s in an attempt to Fetch Zadi. The fearsome canine looked very quick in Zadi's perspective, so he knew he'd have to act fast. In an attempt to temporarily trick the canine into letting down its guard and slowing down in the process, Zadi used Personal Space in order to look closer in an instant. From Koronoe's position, Zadi looked to be 5 meters away though not with the proper scent that Koronoe had picked up only recently. However, being so close didn't stop the canine from trying to Fetch, but to no avail. Having hit thin air, Koronoe simpy ran at 15 m/s towards Zadi in hopes of using basic paw swipes to finish him off, but Zadi was always 1 meter away after Koronoe crossed a certain threshold. Unfortunately for Zadi, that also meant that Koronoe was that much closer. Fortunately for Zadi, his trick did work in his favor, too, allowing Zadi to grab his shield from his back and Shield Slap the poor canine as it got just close enough.

Mardowlin looked on, perplexed as what he was seeing. It looked like his companion ran right through Zadi and ended up hitting a wall. Shaking his head in hopes of tearing the optical illusion apart, Mardowlin gave another whistle in hopes of helping Koronoe gain his senses again, not to mention his own. However, a mere head shake and whistle won't make this illusion go away!

Tech(s):

290 magoi/stamina

637/800 coliseum match
637/1,500 A-tier spell training

Zadi's illusion seemed to be doing well for him in this situation. So far, Warp magic is quite the magic to be reckoned with. However, everything changed when the large dog attacked once again, right for Zadi this time, not the illusion. Granted, Koronoe came so close to Zadi that the illusion lapped over Zadi and eventually went through him which caused Koronoe, after the earlier Shield Slap, to run into Zadi. Mardowlin finally understood what had been going on and whistled a command that caused Koronoe to attack what he just ran into with a fiery passion! Zadi was being torn apart, one limb at a time. In between the gap in time between one of the large canine's attacks, Zadi grabbed his sword and used the power of the embedded Savage Ruby to elbow Koronoe in the gut, causing massive blunt damage, or at least enough to knock out the large dog. The aftermath of the short skirmish showed Zadi half dead with A-tier and C-tier damage spread across his body.

Before Koronoe was downed for the rest of the match, he was able to Shake and Swipe Zadi with a final basic claw attack leaving behind some nasty wounds. Zadi got up and dispelled the illusion. He ended up understanding how difficult to use Warp magic really is and using it poorly, such as he had just done, would cost him his life later. However, the damage wasn't all bad. Zadi was able to test out his Spriggan's Call ring due to the injuries he sustained. Zadi used Nature's Focused Healing and sent both orbs of life magic towards himself and healed nearly all of his wounds. Not quite enough yet good enough for the time being.

Mardowlin didn't look too happy about the situation. Koronore was knocked out while Zadi only sustained C-tier damage from all the fighting so far. Not only was Zadi nearly uninjured, compared to his wounds before the healing, but Mardowlin just couldn't figure out what Zadi's style of fighting was. Perhaps a little of everything? Perhaps just screwing around and seeing what works? With his experience in the coliseum, Mardowlin had come across a few magicians and therefore knew how to spot on. Unfortunately, Mardowlin just couldn't pinpoint what kind of magician Zadi was. He carried weapons like a soldier while using magic like a trickster AND a healer. Very confusing indeed. Though even through all the confusion, Mardowlin could put some sort of 'thing' together about Zadi.

"The illusion you used against us showed all your movements. The healing you used isn't instantaneous. The melee combat you used is poor, to say the least. Whatever action you take next will likely be the same as all your other half-assed attempts at winning this match. You can't win against a veteran such as myself, even if you somehow managed to defeat Koronoe."

Mardowlins words rang true within Zadi's ears. All of Zadi's skills weren't all that great in the grand scheme of things. The illusion may warp Zadi's image towards another location yet it still shows Zadi's movements right in front of the opponent. The healing magic does take time to heal Zadi, too. And finally, the worst skill Zadi seems to possess; his style of melee combat is absolutely terrible. Zadi was lucky that he defeated the large canine. However, Zadi didn't waver. He knew he may only be a jack of 'all' trades, but he also knew that he wasn't terrible at everything that he did, more or less. Unfortunately, if Zadi doesn't concentrate on one set of skills that he possesses, then he's screwed. Therefore, he can't afford to be a jack of all trades, not ever really. He must be a magician using items or a soldier using items.

Tech(s):

Item(s):

800+/800 coliseum match
1,273/1,500 A-tier spell training

Mardowlin was pissed yet cool to the touch at the defeat of his combat companion, Koronoe. The lone swordsman wasn't down yet and Zadi knew that Mardowlin knew all of Zadi's visible weaknesses. That is, if Zadi doesn't concentrate on a specific skill set that he possesses. What Zadi must do is focus on either being a magician or being a warrior. Not a mage-warrior combination. However, to Zadi, focusing on a certain set of skills won't get him killed. In fact, Zadi had a feeling that concentration is what's needed if he wishes to win this fight! Therefore, knowing that Mardowlin would be able to use Zadi's physical weapons against him if Zadi were to drop them, Zadi instead dropped his wand, subsequently his borg, and his kimono in order to lighten his load and keep focus on his skill set as a warrior.

"In case you can't tell, I'm going to fight you with my all!"

Mardowlin became a little perplexed at the sight of Zadi dropping his items. Was it a facade? And illusion? That's the thing, Mardowlin can't know if what's he's seeing is true. Not only could his limitless confusion get in his way, Zadi was focused which creates a huge gap in preparedness for the upcoming fight. That is, if Mardowlin was actually limitlessness confused and hesitant. Even Mardowlin could tell that Zadi's actions were true, after some thinking obviously, "You think that makes a difference!? I'll win this match and avenge Koronoe's sudden defeat! Come at me MAGE!"

Zadi knew he wouldn't be a match for a legitimate swordsman, but he could at the very least try. Zadi's current state of swordsmanship was at its peak if magic isn't involved and so Zadi would simply have to bear wit his amateur skill. Zadi gulped and made the first move, taking out his Rukh Slayer and Knight's Defender and running towards Mardowlin, shield up, sword cocked and pointed.

Mardowlin was prepared for a typical thrusting attack with how elongated Zadi's sword looked to be. Rapier-like but not quite. Zadi's shield looked to be light weight and easily deflected. Zadi's being shirtless would also make cutting him easier though could also make Zadi faster and capable of feeling the wind of an attack before it hit. However, Mardowlin dismissed such expert tactics for Zadi could only be an amateur at this point. Even Mardowlin wasn't a expert, much less master, at swordplay. However, not relying on magic made Mardowlin believe himself to be superior, even by just a hair which is wholesomely enough to win a sword match. Mardowlin also had the longer reach with his longer sword.

When Zadi got close enough, he basic thrust his sword for Mardowlin's abdomen. Mardowlin countered by side-stepping and using half of Dicing Trickster in order to bring down his own sword faster, just without the help of Koronoe. Zadi tried to block using his shield above his head but Mardowlin was able to slide off the shield and strike at Zadi's right shoulder, dealing B-tier damage. Zadi and Mardowlin made their initial moves and therefore both dashed backwards to gain a better perspective. However, the distance didn't last long as Mardowlin dashed forward with a slash to Zadi's chest. Zadi blocked with his shield, waiting for the right moment to counter. Mardowlin took another strike for Zadi and was successful with more B-tier damage, altogether now being A and D-tier.

Zadi was nearly at his limit yet knew what he had to do. Spriggan's Call may have healed Zadi once before, but Zadi could feel another ability activating just in time. When Zadi dashed backwards, he made sure to step on his wand in case he really did need to use magic again. With Spriggan's Call activating an ability while Zadi was thinking of Vassago's Holy powers, a combination ensued which brought forth what Zadi would end up dubbing Fake-Vassago's Lesser Cherub! The power healed Zadi quickly of ALL his wounds due to the super-healing powers of Holy Magic that now coursed through Zadi's wand and ring. Zadi could feel the same light he had felt from Vassago when healing and knew what to do next. It was unexpected of both his ring and wand working in combination, but Zadi liked it all the same.

Mardowlin became infuriated that Zadi was able to heal himself again and tried to strike as fast as he could but only to be stopped time and time again by Zadi's shield, now infused with the power of Deep Pressure Shell! Zadi countered Mardowlin's final attempt at defeating Zadi with Sneaky Crab Pinch towards Mardowlin's left shoulder tendon, impairing Mardowlin greatly and dealing significant damage. Mardowlin let got of his large sword and fell to the ground knowing that he was defeated by half the width of a hair. Mardowlin thought it was strange how Zadi kept getting damaged over and over again until he figured out that it was all a part of Zadi's plan to catch Mardowlin off guard. Looking up at Zadi from the ground, he could feel the skill that Zadi possessed radiate from him like the sun's heat;

"You let yourself get hit all those times so that you could heal yourself, catch me off guard, and disable me with only the slightest effort...I surrender."

"...Sure."

150 magoi/stamina

Tech(s):

800+/800 Coliseum Match
1,500+/1,500 Fake-Vassago's Lesser Cherub Training[/b]