{3RD PERSON POV}
With great speed, Mordred launched herself at Jaune with her sword held high above her head, intending to swing it straight down at him.
'This again... she always wants to end the fight fast' Jaune thought to himself as he took a step back and knocked her sword to the side with a simple flick of his own blade.
Mordred grinned and used the momentum from Jaune's deflection to swing her entire body around in midair, slashing at him again, this time from the side. 'This is what I've been waiting for, Jaune. You're too passive.'
Jaune's eyes narrowed as he dodged backward again. "This again, Mordred? Aren't you bored of doing the same thing?"
She frowned and launched herself at him once more, but the closer proximity brought her too close, and Jaune slipped inside her guard.
Shit!
"Boom!"
With a sharp impact, Jaune drove an uppercut into her gut. The combination of her own speed and the force of his fist made her feel like her insides were about to come up as spit flew from her mouth, and her body came to an abrupt stop on his fist.
She felt the blow chew through a chunk of her Aura, but she wasn't finished. She grinned, released one hand from her sword, and grabbed Jaune by the shoulder. This wasn't her first plan, but she wasn't going to complain about the opening.
"Got you, fucker!"
Jaune's eyes widened as Mordred's body glowed red and electricity arced over her skin, shocking Jaune with a thousand volts.
'This is bad. I can feel my Aura depleting' Jaune gritted his teeth as he tried to pull her off, but her grip on his shoulder was too tight. He couldn't even move properly with her Semblance locking his body down through the shock.
"I'm not letting you go, Jaune! I'm not losing this time, Jauney boy!" she shouted as she pushed her Semblance harder, forcing fifteen hundred volts into him while tightening her grip, even as she remained perched stomach-first on his fist.
Jaune felt his body spasm more violently, but he forced himself to focus his Aura, pushing it to cover his left arm for his next move.
He tightened his Aura control until his left arm glowed brightly. He didn't have full control, but it was enough for what he needed.
With a shout, he used the fist buried in her gut to launch her away from him. "AAAAGGGHHH!"
Mordred's eyes widened as she was thrown hard. 'This kid!' She skidded across the floor and came to a stop when her back slammed into the cave wall.
"I got you to take this seriously, didn't I, Jaune?" she grinned, electricity still cloaking her body like armor. This technique would be stupid for most people to maintain for long because of the severe Aura drain, but with Arc blood and the absurd amount of Aura she had because of it, she could hold it for a few minutes before her Aura dipped into the red. "Why don't you use your Aura Reinforcement? You can't beat me without it now, Jaune! I practiced this move in secret just for you, so use it!" she shouted, anger and excitement mixing in her voice.
She wanted Jaune to use Aura Reinforcement because she felt inadequate as a fighter. Jaune hadn't used it for more than a year, not even at the lowest level, and he still beat her every time. Her pride as a fighter and as his big sister was on the line. She had to make him use it, or it would only confirm that she still wasn't good enough for him, and she couldn't accept that.
Her eyes widened with hope when she saw Jaune stand still and take a deep breath, but her hope shattered when he shook his head.
"I... no, Mordred. If I used Aura Reinforcement, it would be too easy, and neither of us would learn anything," Jaune said with a sigh as he settled into the Fool's Guard, both hands on his sword with the point angled downward. He understood how much she wanted him to take her seriously, but if he Reinforced himself, the spar would become meaningless, and he would risk hurting her with the increase in strength.
She knew it would be easy for him, but she couldn't accept it. She refused to accept it. She believed she was strong, but compared to Jaune, she still didn't feel like she was enough.
Jaune launched forward.
Mordred took the opening and pushed her Semblance harder, driving it up to two thousand volts to boost her speed. With her body and sword coated in crackling electricity, she shot forward to meet him halfway, her blade aimed straight at him.
"LIGHTNING SPEAR!"
Her movement became almost lightning-like compared to before, and with her sword aligned for a direct thrust, she had turned herself into a spear of electricity.
'I'll make you use it, Jaune. That's an Arc promise.'
Jaune focused his Aura and channeled the lowest level of his Aura Reinforcement, sliding his sword against hers and redirecting the thrust so it cut into the air beside him as he stepped in. He had to use Aura Reinforcement because her speed now outclassed his without it.
Her eyes widened at the sight of it, but she didn't have time to enjoy the moment. With her arms extended and her strike missing, Jaune caught her by the arm, yanked her closer, and used the pull to pivot around her before driving the pommel of his sword into the back of her head, smashing her face-first into the ground.
The ground cracked with the impact, and her Semblance vanished as her Aura dropped to the verge of breaking. She forced herself to pull her head up with what strength she had left.
Jaune released Aura Amplification and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Are you okay, Mordred? Did your Aura break?" He worried he might have hit too hard, since it had been a long time since he used it in a real fight.
Mordred gave him a wide grin. "I made you use it, Jaune. That's a win in my book." She had lost the spar, but she got what she wanted, and she had to clamp down hard on the emotion threatening to rise.
'Stop it, Mordred. Don't cry in front of him.'
Even with her effort to hide it, Jaune could still see the strain in her expression.
'She... I... damn it, Jaune. You made her feel like this.'
He helped her up. "You surprised me, Mordred, especially with grabbing my shoulder. I should've expected it, but you caught me off guard."
Mordred nodded. "Of course you fell for it, fool. I call that move THUNDER CROSS SHEAR HEART ATTACK!" she yelled, crossing her arms into an X.
"Yeah... Thunder Cross Shear Heart Attack," Jaune said, shaking his head as he walked over to pick up her sword. "That's a lot to say in the middle of a fight."
He carried it back toward the weapon rack where they stored their equipment. "So, Mordred, other than that, have you made any progress with your Aura training?"
She nodded quickly. "Yeah. Here, look!" She held out her forearm and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, her forearm began to glow. "Look! I can do this now after only a few sec-guh!"
Her Aura shattered, and she stumbled backward.
"Mordred! Are you okay?" Jaune rushed toward her, but she raised a hand to stop him before he reached her.
"Yeah... I'm okay. It's just because of our sparring," she said, then sat down on the ground with a short, strained chuckle. "I forgot to let my Aura regenerate for a few more minutes before I showed you. Let me breathe for a second. Breaking your Aura feels like shit."
Jaune sat down beside her. "I know. When I first unlocked my Aura, I couldn't do anything for a while."
"How about you, Jaune? What's your progress?" she asked, turning her head toward him.
Jaune stared toward the cave entrance. "Me? I... I'm fine, I guess," he said, lying.
He had hit a bottleneck. He thought he could break through with training, but without stronger opponents, progress stalled. Mordred was the only person he sparred with, and fighting the same person for years wasn't helping either of them. It would be different if she were far stronger, but Jaune had surpassed her by too much.
His Aura Reinforcement had progressed better. He had developed three levels for it, but Aura Reinforcement was dangerous when used carelessly, so he created another technique to control it more safely, which he called Aura Structural Analysis.
He used Structural Analysis the way a bat used echolocation, except instead of sound, he sent a faint Aura pulse into whatever he touched. It let him sense internal structure, almost like an X-ray, though not as precise.
Structural Analysis helped him apply the correct amount of Aura into an object, which was why some things he had reinforced in the past had exploded. He had overloaded them beyond what they could handle. With Structural Analysis, he could reinforce more accurately.
It also applied to his own body. The most complicated reinforcement he attempted was his left eye. The risk of damaging it was high, but he refused to avoid risk if it meant staying weak.
With Aura Reinforcement, his left eye could see clearly up to ten kilometers away like it was only 10 meters infront of him, but it strained him so badly that he could only maintain it for a few seconds before risking serious damage. He had learned quickly that eyes were far more delicate than muscle and bone. The first time he tried it, it didn't explode, but it blurred his vision in his left eye for hours afterward.
As for his three levels of Aura Reinforcement, they worked like this:
First level: Enhances overall function. Bones become tougher and muscles become stronger. Time limit: 2 hours. Aura ratio across the body: 5%.
Second level: More dangerous, because he filled the reinforced area with roughly 25% Aura relative to its capacity. Examples included seeing up to ten kilometers clearly and punching through a tree with ease. Time limit: 15 minutes.
Third level: The most dangerous level he had reached. He first used it when he awakened his Aura, and the backlash was severe. He broke bones and tore muscle from using it for less than fifteen seconds. Examples included perceiving the world like it was in slow motion and moving so fast the world blurred, but without proper management, it risked tearing his body apart again. Time limit: 30 seconds. Aura ratio across the body: 35%.
With enough training, he believed he could extend the time limit eventually, but that was a problem for his future self.
"Mordred... do you want to help me with something?" Jaune asked.
Mordred looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "With what?"
Jaune didn't look at her when he spoke. "I want to run away."
Mordred turned fully toward him in shock and grabbed his shoulders. "WHAT!?"
[You could read up to 10 chapter ahead if you support me on patr30n. At patreon.com/Zaneninjacat]
Btw.. more powerstones=more extra chapter... just saying.. i'm kinda a glutton for those stones.