Chiharu found the uneven ground turning worse. Her left foot slid down as her right remained. She jumped away to more level terrain before she pletely fell over. Unfortunately, level in the Field meant very little. When she reached her desired spot, it was already ging. She slid doweep angle before it caught her. ‘Damn…I ’t eve solid footing for more than a sed…’

  Riding out the unstable terrain, Chiharu gnced over at her oppo. The middle-aged man was ued by the Field. She expected it to be the case or he was used to maneuvering in it. In her current situation, he clearly had the advantage against her. ‘This would be over in an instant if I could reach him. He’s just a normal human.’ Chiharu could see so many openings for her, but the shifting ground opped. She had to adapt to her new enviro.

  “Having some difficulty?” he eo Chiharu. He took some casual steps forward without appearing overly aggressive. The i remained clear even if he seemed rexed. A flick of his finger unleashed a disruption in the air. It chipped away at the raised earth as Chiharu carelessly dodged. “It’s uling to see someone as young as you caught up in this. This is no pce for you.”

  Making use of cover, Chiharu threw a kunai at the man. “I’m not ied in your words.” However, she misjudged the ging elevation of the ground and her aim went too high. ‘I thought I ated for it…there has to be a pattern…’

  Chapter 164 – Uneven Ground

  Fumiko felt a little ill watg the ging surfabsp; She tried to exit, but the strength in her legs failed her. ‘I o do something to help Chiharu, but he’s ralized my magibsp; I’ve only got my physical attributes, but with this Field…’ A trapped feeling raop of Fumiko. and uselessness pgued her.

  Chiharu sed the area looking at the shadows. Her powers ran through her calcutions. ‘Everything is ging so mubsp; I ’t rely on any accuracy with the shadows… I need a pn.’

  He tinued a slowly paced stroll towards Chiharu. Every so often, he sent out attacks as though not intending to hit anything. Regardless, the distaween them shrank by the minute. “I’m guessing you’re like your friend and the reports. You have some ability, which doesn’t seem to be like our own. You think you're special because of it and don’t think about ye. Youth is a precious thing to waste.”

  The talking annoyed Chiharu, but she could do nothing to stop him. Her mind tried to absorb everything around her, but the pattern to the Field tio elude her. Everything she crammed into her mind made it feel like she would explode soon. “I’ve got no i in an oppohat only likes to hear his own voice.” She worked around the endlessly rollih trying to increase their distanbsp; His progress didn’t escape her mind. ‘I finally get an oppo and he just talks and uses annoying powers.

  A bit of ughter escaped the man’s lips. “Well when you get to my age all you do is talk. You might want to listen. Your elders tend to know a thing or two.”

  “I doubt you have anything iing.”

  Deteg the ge in position of Chiharu, he altered his dire of movement. ‘She’s doing a good job keeping out of sight even on the ging surfabsp; That takes some skill. Such skill is troubling…in someoill so young.’ He knew nothing of Chiharu other than what he read from her movements, words and as. It still gave him a lot to work with and he didn’t like the feeling it gave him. ‘Why is someone so young so skilled? What world did she e from and grow up in to bee like this?’

  Keeping things tense, his hands motiohrough the air, dispg again cutting edges. He had to keep things moving until he could make his move. “I don’t know about that. I have several things that might i you.”

  Chiharu felt the ground suddenly react strangely. ‘Is it getting rougher? Is he doing something?’ Any patterns or sense of the flow she had shattered with the ge. It unbanced her even more than normal a her pletely exposed. While almost pletely on her bad stariers away from the old man, Chiharu threw out a kunai to keep him off her. Her aim improved sihe st time and it actually had a ce against him.

  However, he motioned with a single finger cutting the kunai down before it came in reach of him. The cutting air tinued on towards Chiharu. She rolled away and got ba her feet to recover her stanbsp; The grou altering faster than before making it difficult for her to hold her position. ‘This must be his doing…’

  She felt the use of her shadow lose any ce of w. The only optioo her were what she could achieve through physical abilities. Yet she questioned her success with the Field. Her eyes darted around trying to read the situation again. Chiharu caught sight of him closer than before to her. She made the risky move of exposing her position.

  Standing up, she banced off the uneven ground long enough to give her a moving start. She couldn’t manage her full speed, but it was still enough for her to move faster than a human eye could perceive. Unfortunately, she miscalcuted the nding as the terrain moved in her path. ‘Damn!’ Reflexes only saved her from a plete exposed opening. However, she still left a signal to her position.

  Several cutting bdes went through the air at Chiharu. She bent over backwards taking advantage of the terrain to improve her range of dodging. The attacks went over her and disappeared at the edge of his Field. Chiharu pulled herself back up to gre at the old man. “Aside from a fight, I don’t think you have anything that is me.”

  The man came to a stop after hearing her words. “A fight, that saddeo hear that.”

  “I don’t care about how you feel. I’m only ied in fighting strong oppos.”

  “That’s a rather narrow view of the world for someone so young.”

  Listening to the fight from a distance, Fumiko kept with the two of them. She had s about Chiharu in the fight. Fumiko knew she could handle herself in a fight, but the maalking to her. It bothered her that Chiharu kept talking babsp; ‘She’s normally very quiet and talks to no one unless it is important. Why is she tinuing to talk to him? Is something wrong?’

  “Enough about my age! It’s meaningless!”

  “But you’re just a child. You should be at home and learning. Not out here fighting.”

  Chiharu had enough of his prattle. His st words were enough to break her free from the deferategy she pyed. Her feet juggled the terrible bao stand before him. “I’m no child!” She used her speed to push her forward at her target. Her appearance shifted into a blur that momentarily surfaced during the o adjust to the terrain. Removianto from its sheath at her back, Chiharu let the bde arc through the air closing the distaween them.

  Her bde suddenly stopped short of its target. The man’s hand held her forearm preventing her from finishing her ssh. “Only a child charges off emotions. I see no adult.” He finished his words by lifting Chiharu off the ground and throwing her across his Field.

  Cast carelessly aside, Chiharu bounced on a couple of blunt rises in the ground before she caught herself and nded on her feet. She hardly had a moment to react, but surprise filled her face finally catg up. ‘What did he do?’

  Fumiko could hardly believe what she saw. Shock covered her face as well. ‘I could uand if he had special abilities or did something to block her, but barehanded? How is that possible?!’

  tless calcutions ran through Chiharu’s mind in the seds she waited before c up her stunned look with hardened determination. She started her charge through the ever-gih. ‘He ’t have my strength…’ Her hand tightened around the hilt of her short sword. ‘His Field is redug my speed and agility, but it should still be faster than a human’s…’ Nothing came to her.

  Questions filled Chiharu’s mind. Answers disappeared from sight. All her pnni nothing.

  “Charging again?” he remarked. “Having a o make you an adult.” He flicked his fingers, discharging several invisible bdes in the dire of Chiharu.

  She felt that she was getting more used to them. A couple of side steps kept her out of any danger. However, she fronted even more at different angles ing at her. The array was wide enough that a simple dodge was no longer enough for her. Her eyes g the ing ground. Winding back her arm, she smmed into the earth.

  A ripple bubbled up from the earth and ed up the surfabsp; Earth stretched under pressure, but held tight, not ripping. It rose from the force all around Chiharu ag as a shield. Impacts sounded off dully cutting into the distortion. The earth shattered a moment ter and the bdes broke through to Chiharu. She already had her arms up in defense.

  Moments passed with loose dust hanging in the air in a thin veil. Chiharu’s figure is easily outlihrough the sheet. She stepped out from the cover dropping her arms. Small droplets of blood fell from her fiips.

  The man narrowed his eyes a little, but didn’t look surprised or fused by her dition. “Making use of my Field’s properties to create a defeo dampeacks. You’re pretty quick.”

  “And you’re annoying,” added Chiharu. She broke into a sprint for her enemy once more. He presented argets to avoid, but they felt a little faster than before. She evaded them, but felt the narrow escape. ‘He’s getting serious…’

  He released even more attacks on Chiharu as she got closer. “You only o surrender. Even after all you’ve dohere is still time to turn babsp; Fners don’t belong here.” His staered slightly as Chiharu came even closer to her without signs of stopping.

  Chiharu didn’t give him an answer. She left her sword to respond. ‘He’s ged his stance, but I still get an opening…I just o put him down in a sirike!’ Unfortunately, her bde never made it to him. As though repyi history, his hand csped down on her forearm halting her bde timeters from him.

  She felt him going to repeat his previous move, but she fought his attempt. Her body shifted her weight and moved in closer to his space making it difficult to maneuver around her. Chiharu iwined her legs with his in spite of their vast height and size differenbsp; “I have my reasons for being here. I won’t be surrendering!”

  ‘She’s still got strength to fight me? How powerful is this girl?’ He danced around Chiharu’s movements trying to improve his position. She forced him to block her kicks, no longer satisfied with keeping things even. While she pushed him back a little, their situatiely remained a stalemate. “What reason would you have for being a fn try?”

  Sedary attacks failed to ect with him, narrowing her expression. She fought with her emotions to keep them from overflowing out of trol as before. Her arm still was tightly held down in spite of her efforts to free herself. “I’m not telling you!”

  “You’ve got a stubborn streak,” he ented. His hand pulled on Chiharu’s arm as he mao improve his position. A slip in the test by Chiharu fi off for her. ‘Finally hit her…’ He lifted up Chiharu and cast her aside into the back line of his field.

  ‘Dammit…’ she muttered to herself, as she recovered. Chiharu re-established her footing, but felt her legs pining more to her. ‘Is the grouing worse again?’ Her question remained unanswered as attacks from the old ma her focused on dodging. ‘They’re even faster than before…I barely dodge anymore… What’s he doing?’

  Chiharu narrowly dodge the st slice through the air with a couple of strains of her hair clipped. The disturbed air brushed against her fabsp; Something about it felt strohan before. Her eyes widened a little. Something was wrong. ‘He’s still got that zy know-it-all look, but he’s gettier… What’s with him?’

  Leaving behind her questions, Chiharu sprinted for him once more. She felt her st attack gave her a better uanding of him. She struggled with him uhe first time. ‘I’ll get him this time!’

  Fumiko watched the two fight, but felt things were turning worse for Chiharu. Her face turo fusion in watg her. ‘Why is she moving so slow? I know she’s faster than this… What’s wrong? It’s not just the Field…is it?’ Through the fight, Chiharu seemed to be getting progressively slower in Fumiko’s eyes. Before, it was hard for Fumiko to even see her, but in her present state, it almost seemed as if she was standing still. ‘…something’s wrong…’

  Atack came for Chiharu at lightning speed. Her reflexes did nothing for her as her body felt oddly sluggish. The bance she maintained before slipped and she tripped into the earth. She coughed on the dirt that sucked into her mouth. ‘What’s wrong with my body?’ Suddenly, Chiharu heard a pounding in her chest like it was a jackhammer on her. She ched her hand against her feeling short of breath.

  Chiharu’s eyes widened not knowing when her body felt so exhausted. ‘It doesn’t make sense. I haven’t been fighting for long… So why am I so…out of breath?! Why does it feel like I ’t stand anymore?!’ She looked up from the ground to see the old man’s feet near her fabsp; He stared down at her, still no more attehan before. His casual attitude annoyed her even more as though he did not see her as a threat.

  The man raised his brow a little, noting her gre. “You’ve got a good pair of eyes, but you should have finally begun to realize it. Right?”

  “What are you talking about?” Chiharu groueeth together baring them at him a little. His always-right tone raked down her spine ing her anger.

  He k down towards her, losing any sense of defense. It became even more apparent that he felt no sense of danger from her. “That all of your precious strength is gone. It’s sapped away.” He looked away towards the horizon. “It’s bothersome fighting at my age. So I just let my oppos tire themselves out with my Field. The unstable ground is only a distra to the real ability of it. It drains away your strength and physical energy until you’re too exhausted to fight anymore.”

  The middle-aged man stood up rubbing his neck as though he was tired. He looked down at Chiharu with eyes that for once looked serious. “It’s over for you.”