Utopian System

Elio's eyes blazed with that crimson radiance while his muscles expanded beyond normal limits, sinews and fibers visibly shifting beneath his skin as his body prepared for combat.

The artromus sword became a blur of motion as he traced five cuts through the air with superhuman speed, each movement precise despite its devastating velocity. The blade sang as it cleaved the air, leaving trails of displaced energy in its wake.

Magical attacks erupted like lightning, faster than ever before.

Where once he could only launch three instantaneous attacks, refined techniques now allowed him to unleash five in a fraction of a second. The air crackled with power as each strike carved its way toward its target, a symphony of destruction orchestrated with terrifying precision.

A devastating attack of 800 damage points, enough to end most battles in a single sequence.

But Lucien was far from most opponents.

Magic cut through the air toward him, but five flashes of brilliant light intercepted the projectiles. When the radiance dissipated, Lucien emerged with his eyes glowing with the same crimson intensity as Elio's, his stance perfect despite the ferocious assault he'd just deflected.

"The speed of your attacks has improved through learning technique," Lucien commented, his sword leaving trails of light in the air like celestial calligraphy. "But you're not the only one who can push their limits."

Lucien launched forward while another quintet of magical attacks erupted from Elio's sword, who retreated with calculated precision. Each step backward was measured, each position chosen with deliberate care as he maintained the deadly dance of distance.

With precise movements, Lucien cut through the first four attacks, his blade moving with an efficiency born of experience. But the fifth...

Lucien couldn't cut it.

The timing was deliberately misaligned, arriving too close to its predecessor, forcing him into a dodge when cutting was no longer an option. The attack had been masterfully crafted, a trap disguised as standard offense.

'His feints have evolved,' Lucien thought while adjusting his weight from right foot to left to evade. 'These are no longer the direct and predictable attacks of before.' The realization carried both pride and concern, his student had grown far beyond simple techniques.

That shift in Lucien's foot balance was exactly what Elio had been waiting for, the moment of vulnerability he'd engineered through careful manipulation of timing and space.

The winged salamander roared as it catapulted its summoner with a powerful impulse. Elio brought the sword forward in a lethal arc, the massive blade humming with contained power. Before Lucien could complete his evasive movement, the massive sword was already describing its mortal trajectory.

Lucien barely managed to interpose his own sword, but the force of impact sent him flying several meters backward, the air displaced by his passage creating small vortexes in his wake.

The ease with which Elio exceeded his strength limits was evident, constant practice against daily Locus and the artromus had given him a familiarity with these extremes that Lucien had yet to achieve. Each movement showed a comfort with power that could only come from regular confrontation with death itself.

Lucien realized the depth of Elio's growth.

The distance control Elio had developed wasn't simple theory; it was a mortally precise art. In the exact instant Lucien crossed the invisible threshold marking the optimal impulse range, Elio had converted the situation into a lethal opportunity, a perfect fusion of technique and raw power.

But Lucien hadn't reached his position by chance.

Experience manifested in that critical moment, although the impact's force had been brutal, sending shockwaves through his entire arms, his defense had been sufficient. Years of training had taught him exactly how to angle his blade to redirect force rather than simply absorb it.

The system armor pulsed with regenerative energy, instantly restoring his hands' overloaded muscles from the impact. Blue light coursed through his arms as damaged tissue knit itself back together.

The numbness lasted briefly. Now it was Lucien's turn.

The power balance shifted subtly. Elio's explosive attacks had consumed his instantaneous mana reserve, while Lucien maintained his practically intact. A dangerous smile played across his features as he prepared his counterattack.

His eyes blazed with renewed intensity, if Elio could push his winged salamander to the limit, he would demonstrate the true potential of his Toxic Frog. The energy around him shifted, taking on a more sinister quality as he called upon his combined summon's power.

Elio was no longer the only one with a combined invocation.

The wind impulse that followed perhaps lacked the brutal velocity characterizing Elio's movements, but at this distance, it didn't need more. Every aspect of the attack had been precisely calculated to exploit this singular moment of opportunity.

The timing was impeccable, taking advantage of that brief moment when Elio still recovered his posture after his devastating previous attack. Experience had taught Lucien the exact duration of this window of vulnerability.

The Toxic Frog answered its master's call, its power fusing with Lucien's sword. The metal gleamed with corrosive energy that distorted the air around it. The thrusts came in a precise and lethal cascade, each one calculated, each one with purpose, a deadly rain of strikes that threatened to overwhelm even Elio's enhanced perception.

Elio managed to interpose his massive sword, but each impact released clouds of hydrogen fluoride that expanded like a deadly veil toward him.

The corrosion gave Lucien the first point.

The strategy he had used against Arterro now turned against its creator, a cruel irony that wasn't lost on either combatant.

The winged salamander roared as it catapulted Elio away from the corrosive clouds' reach. Each impulse was perfectly calculated, providing sufficient distance to avoid the acid while forcing Lucien to spend mana for counterattacks when Elio's mana would recharge.

But Lucien wouldn't grant that respite so easily.

His movements were precise, methodical, each attack blocking escape routes with gas while shortening the distance Elio could gain in the training room. The Toxic Frog continued imbuing his sword with corrosive energy, each strike releasing more hydrogen fluoride clouds.

"You can't stay away forever!" Lucien's sword traced an arc that forced Elio to use another impulse. "Your salamander will consume all your mana eventually."

Elio felt his mana accumulating slowly, but it wasn't yet sufficient for a significant counterattack. Each time Lucien got too close, the salamander propelled him in a new direction, transforming the combat into a deadly dance of advances and retreats.

The acid clouds began accumulating strategically, reducing safe spaces to occupy. Lucien was creating a minefield, limiting Elio's movement options with each new attack.

"Distance won't always be your ally," Lucien warned while his sword cut the air where Elio had been a second before. "Sometimes you must face danger directly."

A particularly aggressive impulse from Lucien almost connected, forcing Elio into a desperate maneuver. The salamander responded with a roar, elevating him above a particularly dense acid cloud.

Elio felt his mana reaching usable levels again, but Lucien had achieved something more insidious than simply closing distances, he had transformed the battlefield itself into a weapon. The acid clouds floated like silent sentinels, each one reducing the available maneuvering space.

Lucien's invocation could now freely control the battle zone.

A dangerous smile formed on Elio's face while contemplating the acid-saturated battlefield. If Lucien could turn the terrain into his weapon, he could convert it into his destruction.