Nerissa and I were hiking out to a secluded spot she had found prior to our arrival for our spar. I had to don my armour as we walked as all the jungle insects were munching on my flesh like the big snack I am.

I am usually fine with insects having a little nibble on my shoulder or rear, but these ones were not as playful as my lovelies, so the armour was donned.

I was, however, rather excited about this little spar between Nerissa and I despite knowing I will get my ass handed to me. I also did not see the duel as my obligation to fulfil after she gave me her Ichor either. We both clearly wanted this.

The premise of losing the duel didn't deflate my ego either. I have always had a stronger sparring partner and judging from what Orchid has told me, Nerissa is certainly strong, strong enough to keep Orchid constantly weary without all her gear on top of that.

After roughly two hours of walking, Nerissa declared. "Alright Apollo, we are here." She then brushed forward a large drooping leaf to a rather peculiar sight. A large field, roughly the size of a small sports field, was cleared out entirely; A large hole in the jungle canopy made it look rather eerie. Especially with the bleached, ashen ground looking different to the rest of the jungle floor.

"Podzol. There must be something draining the nutrients from this patch of land. Perhaps some Psionic plant buried deep?" Nerissa stated before turning to me. "However, it has provided us with an excellent training place, I would prefer not having to do any damage to the surroundings after all."

I bent down and scooped up a bit of the podzol with my gauntlet. 'Mhm. Brittle, most likely acidic. This is the type of stuff the Hive leaves behind. Barely any biomass in it.' I thought before dropping the soil.

"Yeah, this will do perfectly. Are you ready for an ass whooping?" I said with unwarranted confidence. Nerissa laughed softly before bringing her hand to her mask, composing herself. "I am glad you are eager, but I need to figure out the parameters of our fight. How much I should or should not hold back etcetera and I have the perfect way to test."

Nerissa put in a long sequence into the purple buttons on her armour and before her materialised a very thick barrier. It was not all encompassing like her dome and barely covered half of her torso, but I could tell how sturdy it was from a mere glance.

"I wish for you to strike this thrice. Once with your sword, once with your first and once with your full speed tackling the object. I didn't bother asking why. I trusted Nerissa's judgement and unsheathed Zircon from the sheathe on my back.

With proper posture, I positioned myself for a basic overhead swing and followed through shortly after. As soon as Zircon made contact with the block, I felt an overwhelming sense of wrongness as there was no connection force and Zircon barely got her blade within the block before all my momentum halted.

"Ok, I did not like that. What is that thing?" I asked, but Nerissa simply stood there silently. And I could tell she had a smug expression upon her face, even if I could not see it at this moment.

I then dropped Zircon, allowing her to float at my side while I threw a punch with a full set of movements towards the barrier. Again as soon as my fist came in contact with the barrier, It was like I struck it with a feather. I felt a sense of wrongness again.

Finally I ran to the edge of the field and got into a ready position. My legs tensed to a serious degree, my Power armours legs expanded automatically as it read my intent to make up for the added size.

At nearly eight feet tall in my power armour, I was quite the oncoming sight as I burst from my location at full speed. With the naked human eye, I would have looked like a blur as I approached the target, but I could tell that Nerissa was having no trouble.

I dropped my shoulder just before making contact with the barrier, bracing for impact, but like before, the moment touched the accursed thing, I simply stopped. It was like the thing exists to absorb kinetic energy.

"Yeah, I don't like that." I declared, prompting Nerissa to completely ignore my whinging. "Physical prowess is exceptional for someone your age and your speed is certainly nothing to scoff at. Ok, I have the information I need. Prepare yourself.

I limbered myself up, getting my breathing into battle rhythm. This might be a spar, but my spars with Orchid almost always ended with one of us getting penetrated and only in Orchids case was it the good kind. I didn't expect anything different here. I would not dishonour my stronger opponent by not giving it my all, if the opportunity shows itself, I will attempt to cause serious bodily harm, like I hope she does to me. I would only avoid vitals...

I just realised something. "Hey Nerissa, being a Psionically created being, do you have any body parts I should know about that if injured could be fatal to you? you know, bar the normal brain, heart etcetera?"

"No Apollo, My biology is functionally similar to yours. No nasty surprises. But that being said, you won't be able to cause that kind of injury anyway." She said and I heard a twinge of playfulness in her tone.

Reaching out to my side, I grasped Zircon in my hand and gripped her tight. I could tell immediately she was rearing to go and if judging from the fact the hive's will literally requested I obtain some of Nerissa's blood, I bet Zircon wanted some as well.

'I will do my best sweetie, but she is out of our league right now.' Zircon vibrated subtly at my thought as she too had in her own way, gotten battle ready. I then turned my attention directly to Nerissa and nodded, indicating I was ready.

Nerissa then nodded back before extending her hand out in front of her. Immediately I felt it. The black hole of energy before her, sucking in the Psionics in the surroundings. The Energy here was thick as it is so in moments Nerissa grasped her newly created weapon of war.

It was a golden hand and a half sword gilded with beautiful spiralling patterns all across its length, from blade to guard up the handle and across its square pommel. The sword was breath-taking, it could easily be a display piece. Its beauty was immense. But, much like her armour. This masterpiece of a weapon was not just a pretty looker. It was made for gruelling battles, or in this case, a nice friendly spar.

I proceeded to look between Zircon and her sword and quipped. "Your sword is bigger than mine..." Nerissa said nothing, only placing the sword behind her head in a wrath stance. I had to admit to myself that I was a bit unprepared.

Nerissa walked around with a spear most of the time, so I was expecting and psyched myself up for range disadvantage. This threw a slight wrench in my plan, but it was also not the end of the world. I was comfortable sparing against swords. It is what I am most used to with Orchid, but at the same time, the defensive stance Nerissa had taken left me nervous.

Orchid was much more aggressive and often started in a neutral stance before being just relentless, so this was new for me... And exhilarating.

I slowly began walking towards her, starting in tail guard as I approached, but I still did not know at what speed she would be moving at during the spar, so I felt it a bad idea to focus on my reaction time to parry away a blow from that position.

I switched slightly, I needed to be aggressive. Her stance indicated she would commit to a slash from the right. I switched to a side stance, focusing pressure upon her left side, it was the most exposed right now.

I began to circle, but she did not seem as 'arrogant' as Orchid who kept her back facing me as I did this and proceeded the wheel with me. The action she was committing was simple. She simply pivoted her body while maintaining her stance, but knowing the enemy I was facing and the power she possessed, it added a pressure upon me and I felt myself already begin to sweat.

She was just standing there, but she was menacing. Her golden armour made her feel like the 'good guy' which only added onto the stress. Still, even as I got closer, she refused to budge. I was only a few steps away from the engagement area now and that's when I decided to commit to my plan.

Switching from side guard hastily, I positioned myself in a plow while gathering as much energy as possible in my legs for a powerful thrust to the joints of her armour. She was still in her wrath stance and I wagered I could still get off a deflection if she swung from the right now.

However, as I engaged in the thrust, she did something I did not expect. She dropped her head slightly and with impeccable form had feinted from behind herself and I now had a sword heading for my exposed head, in the completely opposite direction I had expected.

I had fallen into her trap.

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