[MonsterManic]

Alright, this wasn't working.

Involuntarily taking the slash on the shoulder Kei was forced to step backward in retreat, returning his lance to the en garde position as he mentally pondered his next move. He needed to engage in a way that didn't force him to overextend, but rather entice his opponent to do do instead.

Once again stepping forward he executed a feint by faking a jab directly at one of Infrared's eyes before going directly for the chest. No turning to the side shenanigans this time, he fully intended on this hitting without opening himself up for a counterattack.

Combat Log:
  ● Feint into standard attack [6%]

Kei's Stats:
  ● Aura: [█████----] 66%
  ● Stamina: [█████████-] 95%
  ● Semblance: DEACTIVATED - 10 SECOND COOLDOWN

[Siuwa]

Hah, that worked. But then Kei stepped back and Infrared did not push closer in time so she just mirrored the backward step to gain a bit more distance than is ideal to the lance.

Barely out of each others' direct reach she finds another approach in her peripheral vision, one that uses her semblance more liberally. That also means a lot more pain accompanies, but luckily things that doesn't hurt normally doesn't hurt with her semblance either. Just try to not give away the semblance entirely, because there's one thing Infrared really wanted to do with the terrain here.

As soon as Kei even looked like he's moving Infrared breaks off to her right and again jumped onto another column of rock 3 meters or so tall, looking down as she prepares for any chance of applying her semblance.

Battle data:
Aura: 90%
Reaction: 1/2 Shots/16 stored

Attacks:
None

[MonsterManic]

This time Kei had no intention of letting his applied pressure go to waste.

Gathering strength in his legs he sprang into the air after Infrared, not aiming to land on the same pillar but instead striking at her as he passed in mid-air. To further amplify his attack he also thumbed his current lance's Dust chamber, causing the metal to crackle and pop as visible sparks began to fly. With the entirety of the lance's length now electrified he thrust at any part of Infrared's body that he could reach, before landing on the other side of the pillar.

Combat Log:
  ● Electrified thrust [6% + 6% Electric Dust]

Kei's Stats:
  ● Aura: [█████----] 66%
  ● Stamina: [█████████-] 95%
  ● Semblance: DEACTIVATED - 5 SECOND COOLDOWN

[Siuwa]

Oh, he's right behind me and trying to make a pass by. Remember how that rocket was dodged entirely? Now it's her turn.

Infrared shot to the air with another leap from the column of rock to make the viable window of his thrust disappear entirely. Leveraging the movement of the jump plus extending her hand to the fullest she can attempt a slam-slash aimed at Kei's forehead and if that didn't work, the real kicker comes in literally, when Infrared touches the ground she applies the semblance at herself and converting most of the fall into horizontal velocity that enables her to deliever her boot to Kei. A fall from that height isn't really damaging to Infrared, but a flying kick certainly is. And if it missed that's ok too, now she must be a fair distance from him which allow her to start making her way up the mountain.

Battle data:
Aura: 87%(-3% from semblance use)
Reaction: 1/2 Shots/16 stored

Attacks:
Slash: 8%
Knee: 12%

[MonsterManic]

Not for the first time in his student career Kei cursed the lack of a symbol which increased his jumping height as Infrared's response was just to jump even higher and attack from above. Not being able to correct his course meant that he had to take the slash "head-on", but that also meant when Infrared touched the ground Kei was already landing on the other side. And even if she was now a distance away and beginning to gain higher ground, it wasn't the largest problem in the world.

A quick application of his semblance gave Kei the familiar lightweight feeling of his speed symbol activating, allowing him to close the gap between them rapidly; or at least make it so if she fired a rocket the blast radius would hit her too.

Combat Log:
  ● None

Kei's Stats:
  ● Aura: [█████-----] 58% [8% from overhead slash]
  ● Stamina: [█████████-] 90%
  ● Semblance: [速] [25 SECOND DURATION]

[Siuwa]

Not having time to rub her sore leg after that launch Infrared got to her feet and started ascending the mountain, jumping up the mountain pillar by pillar and climbing the altitude meter by meter. Looking back he could see him catching up and fast, but she expects still to be able to reach the summit or at least finds footing to unwind a bit before reengaging.

Battle data:
Aura: 87%
Reaction: 1/2 Shots/16 stored

Attacks:
None

[MonsterManic]

If a 4th year like Infrared could ascend a mountain merely by jumping from rock to rock with what Kei suspected to be some help of her Aura, then another equally trained student with a speed-boosting Semblance could logically do the exact same with much more ease. After all, while he freely admitted that he didn’t have as much stamina as his other peers, his diverse Semblance allowed him to square up against the best of the lot - for a short while, at least.

Still, it wasn’t easy closing the distance against someone who knew the tricks of the trade. For someone who held a rocket launcher, Infrared knew the drawbacks and knew them well. Vulnerable to close-range, as with all ranged weapons, and the blast radius meant even short-to-medium was normally out of the question. For that she had her sword, covering her weaknesses. She’d already proven herself more than capable, a top-tier representation of what a 4th year could do.

Yet for all that, he was a 4th year too. He knew the trade as well as she did. And while she could specialise in one or two parts of fighting, he could adapt. And what he had in mind would quite dramatically level the playing field - literally. And if Infrared chose to assist him by blowing stuff up, the more the better.

Immediately turning right and ceasing his chase, the fencer begins a very fast circle around the mountain, drawing and embedding lances around the circumference. It’s worth noting at this point that Kei is around halfway up the mountain, where it isn’t as wide as below, and the speed at which he’s working makes him somewhat hard to track, though not impossible for a trained person of good caliber.

Kei’s Stats
● Aura: [█████-——] 58%
● Semblance: [速] [20 SECOND DURATION]

Actions: Drawing and embedding multiple lances around circumference

[Siuwa]

Infrared imagined she would be caught up much easier had it not taken Kei a while to consider his actions, but now she has the high ground and can wait for attacks to come comfortably defend with the high ground. When she actually look that idea was scrapped in the face of the fact that he simply broke off to advance his own plan.

Seeing him finally acting proactively makes something tick off inside her, however. Could he have figured her semblance out already? From what she has seen of his lances they can output a fairly powerful dust blast. If this many lances all unleashed their payload at once that could rough up the ground and knock her down or worse... or better.

Knowing more fragmented debris heading her way is more ammunition to redirect Infrared started to reload Reaction. The cloud of uncertainty still looms over her, however, and she is defaulting back to the state of readying her semblance as the response.

Battle data:
Aura: 87%
Reaction: 1/2 Shots/16 stored

Attacks:
Reloading

[MonsterManic]

Perhaps Infrared’s reaction meant that she’d already figured out what he wanted to do. But then again, she could just be preparing for whatever he was doing. As Kei kept darting around the circumference over and over, he began alternating between striking the mountain itself with a steel core lance and further embedding the already implanted lances into the rock, until each one was buried more than halfway. It was exhausting work even with the repetitious motions, but the end result would hopefully be more than worth the effort.

Kei’s strategy involved some geographical knowledge - not something many people would come to associate with fighting, let alone a combat academy. But Kei was an old hand not only at adapting, but also strategising, and this trick pulled from knowledge learnt outside of combat training. What he was currently trying to execute was something known in the real world as the process of “freeze-thaw weathering”, which occurs when when water continually seeps into cracks, freezes and expands, eventually breaking the rock apart. The mountain was naturally devoid of water, so the natural alternative was to use Ice Dust, forcibly inserting the frozen water into the cracks being made by Kei’s lance strikes. However, the process would only work if the ice defrosted and became water - which was where the Fire Dust lances came into play.

Making one last circle around, Kei began to activate his lances in order. Firstly came a Ice Dust lance to jump-start the process, forcing cracks throughout. Then came Fire Dust, melting the ice and forming water, which the next Ice Dust activation then refroze and made the cracks wider. Another Fire Dust lance, melting the ice so that there would be less resistance to Kei’s last move. The entire process was a fast-forwarded example of freeze-thaw weathering. Sparing one last glance at the peak, Kei stopped at the last lance to be activated.

Kei’s Stats
● Aura: [█████-——] 58%
● Semblance: [速] [15 SECOND DURATION]

Actions: Triggering Dust within lances (2 Fire and 2 Ice). 1 lance remaining untriggered.

[Siuwa]

Infrared trains her eyes on Kei as she reloads, the rocket being inserted into the walls of the launcher carefully. Those who chose to see the match in top-down view would see a dot in the middle rapidly surrounded by a forming circle, almost as if an intricate glyph would form any moment, devouring Infrared like she's the virgin sacrifice she's seen a million times in her games. And that's exactly what she expects, the circle will spell her destruction if not defended. By 'defend' Infrared means 'use her semblance which leaves a larger punishable opening the harder she was hit'. She has a slight feeling this is not a good idea, but decided to put her trust in her semblance's effectiveness.

As Kei ran around the mountain for the last lap Infrared can feel the ground shrieking and shivering through her feet and kneeling knee, under pressure she doesn't know exists, due to a process she doesn't know the principles of. What she knows though, is the only roadsign left standing in a storm, guiding her to her one reaction: deflect whatever is coming. That said, she still can't help but flinch when reloading finishes and there only one more step until it is revealed if the exchange is profitable or if an unexpected play outsmarts her entirely.

Battle data:
Aura: 87%
Reaction: 1/2 Shots/16 stored

Attacks:
Finished reloading

[MonsterManic]

Didn’t matter what Infrared pulled now. His plan was complete.

Instead of triggering the Dust inside the last lance like he did with the rest, Kei instead rammed the entire length into the mountain, now made possible because of all the hidden cracks, whacked the base hard with the hilt of his rapier, and ran.

If the audience could guess what Kei was pulling off, what came next was not surprising. As Kei ran headlong down the mountain, the lance behind him discharged its Combination Dust payload. Combining that with the already cracked and loosened rocks turned the mountaintop Infrared was standing on into a erupting volcano, complete with blazing hot rocks from the Fire and Combination Dust. The muffled boom was completely covered by rocks of varying size, shape and sharpness exploding in every direction, but nearly all aimed upward - exactly where Kei wanted it to go. With any luck, this would even take Infrared out - though it was highly unlikely, considering he still didn’t know what her Semblance was.

Kei’s Stats
● Aura: [█████-——] 58%
● Semblance: [速] [10 SECOND DURATION]

Actions: Triggering Combination Dust Lance, running for life

Combat Log:
  ● Eruption (25-40% Aura Damage depending on how many rocks hit + 5-15% from superheated rocks)

[Siuwa]

The instant Kei starts to run for his dear Aura Infrared stares right at him intently and spread her body as much as possible with both Action and Reaction on hand. That's the last thing she clearly remembers before she hears a loud "Boom" and everything went black.

[OOC: the following frame-by-frame analysis is nowhere near scientific and does not pretend to be so. Background music: Level 5 Judgelight - To Aru Kagaku No Railgun Opening 2 by Fripside.]
t = 0 split seconds, the Dust in Kei's lance detonates. Infra made a pose that spreads her limbs and equipment.

t = 1 split second, the cracks propagate throughout the rocks at incredible speeds. Infra still waits without noticing everything.

t = 2 split seconds, the rock is fully shattered and some of them start moving upwards. Water affected by the shockwave fill the cracks in every direction. Infrared's legs start to feel the ground pushing against them and start sending neural signals to the brain.

t = 3 split seconds, the mountaintop looks like it slightly expanded. Infrared feel the push from the ground and prepares her semblance to activate at any moment.

t = 4 split seconds, the rocks clearly show they're shattered even to the audience. Smaller splinters already shot past Infrared's statue and continue skywards. Some of them hit her. She does not feel that yet.
[OOC: the music is abruptly stopped by-]
Boom.

t = 5 split seconds, the sound of the explosion reached the audience. The bulk of the fragments reached Infrared and she activates her semblance, sending rocks that have a clear path towards where she last saw Kei.

t = 1 second, Infrared is lying on what's left of the ground being overwhelmed with pain. Tears are dripping down her face and her lungs can't scream. The rocks are flying towards Kei in a spread at a speed equal to what hit Infrared with.

Battle data:
Aura: 42%(40% -> 30% due to semblance cost instead of direct hit, 15% heat)
Reaction: 1 Shot/16 stored

Attacks:
Semblance reflected rocks: 20% + 5% Heat but spread out

[MonsterManic]

Considering the fact that Kei had instantly booked it down the mountain like a fucking eruption was about to occur (which it did) the fact that a fairly large rock struck him directly on his left shoulder was clearly more than just a coincidence. His “drop and run the fuck away” tactic did mean that whatever Infrared used to redirect the rocks his way wasn’t very effective, as the rest just whizzed over his head like superheated bullets.

Taking into account that he’d just been up a fairly large mountain, done about 30 laps like someone playing ‘ring-around-the-rosie’, then down again like his life depended on it, Kei was beat. Not to mention his spinal implant, which if that rock had hit would have probably killed him, didn’t help his stamina. He was forced to drop to one knee upon reaching the bottom to recuperate and catch his breath, which gave him time to look at both Aura meters. A grin plastered itself onto his face as he realised they were actually nearly on even ground for the first time since the match began.

Now, getting down the mountain was fine and all, but getting back up the damn thing was another story. He was fatigued, his Speed glyph had run out of time, and the freeze-thaw hadn’t done anything to help stabilise the rocks under his feet. Yet Kei pushed on, knowing this was his best chance at ending this fight.

Kei’s Stats
● Aura: [████———] 48% (10% from redirected rock)
● Semblance: [RECHARGING][30 SECONDS]
● Passive Effect: Fatigued - Damage dealt -3%

Actions: Hiking back up mountain

[Siuwa]

Infrared lies flat on the ground, barely clutching either weapon on her hands, her body in unbearable pain. she wants to roll on the ground but her back but her back can't flip, her body tells her to cry out in pain but the lung refuses to work beyond breathing in and out rapidly. She was being whipped, slashed, pierced and slapped at the same time. There's no reacting to anything else for her at this moment, her body involuntarily twitching and bigger tears forming.

Needless to say, this leaves her completely vulnerable to any attacks, ranged or melee, Dust or fists.

Battle data:
Aura: 42%
Reaction: 1 Shot/16 stored

Actions:
Being in pain(10 seconds remaining)

[MonsterManic]

Persevere. Push forward. This is nowhere near the worst you’ve experienced, Kei told himself, forcing himself up the mountain at a pace his body wasn’t ready to take, but he did it regardless. Even four years of strength, conditioning and stamina training didn’t make him used to the strain and burning in his thighs. It was like a constant cramping sensation, causing him to nearly buckle under the attempted speed at which he was trying to ascend the mountain.

Nevertheless, he got to what remained of the summit to see Infrared just lying there, twitching and shaking. In short, vulnerable. Without any trace of remorse, guilt, or thought, Kei rammed the hilt of his lance into his rotating canister and withdrew a lance shaft, before triggering the Lightning Dust concealed within its hollow core and delivering two of the hardest strikes he could muster straight at her face.

Kei’s Stats
● Aura: [████———] 48%
● Semblance: [RECHARGING][20 SECONDS]
● Passive Effect: Fatigued - Damage dealt -3%

Combat Log: Two Dust-enhanced strikes to face, affected by Fatigue (7% x 2 + 3% x2) [Original dmg 10% per strike]