//------------------------------//
// Rise Again: Part 3 
// Story: My Little Pony Heart of Friendship: Tales of a New Beginning 
// by ShadowDurza 
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Rainbow Dash grimaced as she gingerly applied a salve to Trace’s light but large burns. “Geeze! I knew hot water could be dangerous, but I don’t see how he could have fared any better against actual fire!”

Boros quickly handed Trace his third helping of water. “Sometimes, the elaborate nature of how derivatives are classified confuses even me, but considering the sheer amount of energy in steam, is it any wonder it’s classified as a fire derivative?”

Boros then leaned in close to Trace and started gesturing at the center of the ring. “Okay, let’s take stock of the situation. So far, Krank has yet to materialize his weapon, and he was being purely defensive during the initial part of the fight. But after you hit him a bunch of times, he was suddenly fighting at full steam. I have one idea about that: there’s a chance that he took the kinetic energy of each of your attacks when he was crouched and used a supportive spell to absorb and stockpile it all. But normally, it takes something tangible to contain and stockpile something physical, which would explain that big metal thing on his back. Channeling all that energy using some specific types of spells is a lot more energy-efficient than using magic directly.

“Taking all that into account, his strategy is obviously to draw the fight out as long as he can and wear you out while keeping you at a distance. So your best bet is to finish the fight quickly with a KO. You might be fast, and speed may count for a lot, but speed has one vulnerability: you just can’t be everywhere at once. His element is capable of a lot of wide-range attacks that can undermine your footing. Plus, his element's advantage over yours would make it easy to dispel effects and phenomena created by your air derivative, so be sure to put extra emphasis on your melee attacks.

“One final bit of advice is to focus on attacking his lower body. Maintaining a strong defense like his requires firm footing, so do whatever you can to disrupt that. Now go out there and take the wind from his sails!”

Trace punctuated this encouragement by punching an open palm with a fist, then he rose with the gong and proceeded to the center of the ring. The referee raised his arm. “Ready?” Trace took a stance and materialized his bo staff while Krank struck a forward-leaning posture, still with no weapon. The referee swung down their arm “Fight!”

This time, Krank took off charging like a locomotive with a burst of steam, his shoulder extended. Trace nimbly avoided this full-force assault, but Krank followed this charge up with another one, turning and advancing while hardly missing a beat with another burst of steam. After repeating this dance several times in a row, Trace got a determined look and started whirling his staff around, creating a line of glyphs that curled up in a spiral behind him. Right as Krank changed direction once again in another burst, Trace took his staff in both hands and charged directly at the oncoming armored giant.

When it seemed like they’d both collide, time seemed to slow down as Trace slid crouching low and made a spinning sweep at Kranks legs. However, Krank seemed to have anticipated this maneuver and thrust both hands downward, taking off and away while leaving a plume of searing-hot steam behind. However, immediately after recovering from his elaborate attack, Trace thrust out a free hand and sent out his glyphs to encircle Krank’s simplistic counterattack, slowing it to a snail’s pace and giving Trace the time to get clear. As both competitors seemed to reach opposite ends of the arena, time seemed to resume as the glyphs embodying Trace’s spell seemed to burn away after precisely three seconds, letting the tsunami of burning vapor rush forth, dissipating after hitting nothing.

At the sight of this, Rainbow Dash gave Boros an accusatory glance. “I thought you said that Krank’s spells could easily overcome Trace’s?

Boros just scratched his fuzzy chin. “Well… Any kind of spell that draws upon a physical stockpile is going to be on the simple side. Trace’s rune arrays are pretty up there in terms of sophisticated spellcasting. Regardless of natural advantages, more sophisticated spells are just going to have a bit more staying power in a clash, at least for a short while.”

At this, Rainbow Dash got a dazed look for a moment and clenched her eyes shut as she held a hoof to her head. “Blech! My head wasn’t sent spinning this much since I had to learn algebra as a filly!”

At that, Boros sentimentally rolled his eyes as he made a sympathetic chuckle. “Yeah… I admit life was a lot simpler as a young, obnoxious warrior fighting off central forces goons with a scrap iron ax when my darkness element could annihilate anything they threw at me. Then that sword elemental from the Prancing Pony guild came along, subdued me, and forced me to use my talents to be a productive member of society…”

Back in the arena, after that last confrontation, both competitors stared each other down as the fight had come to an abrupt standstill. Trace suddenly gave Krank a wry smile and adjusted his grip on his weapon. He then began yet another direct charge at Krank while spinning his staff. Krank rolled his eyes as he yet again took a stance to receive this attack. This time, however, Trace abruptly threw his staff, sending it spinning right towards his opponent. Krank didn’t miss a beat in spite of this and promptly adjusted his stance to catch this makeshift projectile, but this distracted him as not only did Trace not break off his charge, he accelerated past his weapon and bent low to sweep Krank’s feet from right out under him.

Trace’s opponent was sent tumbling to the ground as he quickly regained his own footing and caught his spinning weapon in one hand. The referee appeared between them in a flash of light to make his call. “Knockdown! Trace, five! Krank, three!” However, he could only make it half past two before Krank quickly regained his footing.

Back in Trace’s corner, Boros made a big smile and gestured towards the ring. “Atta boy Trace! Way to take back the lead!”

At this development, Rainbow Dash gleefully did a midair flip. “I might not be a warrior in the same way as you guys, but even I can tell that Krank’s got some good instincts! I was thinking really hard about what Trace could do about that, but I’m kicking myself over forgetting about just being unpredictable!”

In the ring, after the referee made the okay to resume fighting, Krank took a moment to dust off his armor. Then, in the face of Trace pointing his low-held staff at him, struck a more close stance and held his arm in front of him. Appearing against his forearm in a flash of light was a dark purple shield, square and broad enough to cover three-fourths of Krank’s body standing up. The metal was thickening around the circumference and extended outward while following the slight inward curve of the shield. In the center and in an outward cross shape extended rows of narrow and slightly long spikes.

In response to this, Trace adjusted his stance and held his staff in a more parallel defensive grip. Soon after, Krank adopted a crouched stance with his shield held outward. Then, the apparatus on his back sent out a big puff of steam before he rocketed forward, his shield serving as his spearhead. Trace responded by turning around and bidding a swift retreat.

For the better part of the half-hour, Krank chased his opponent, unable to match Trace’s pace but never falling too far behind. After a few moments, Trace lowered half his staff and started dragging it on the ground as he ran, leaving behind a cloud of dust in his path. In response to this strategy seemingly having no effect on the pursuit of his large shadow, he abruptly ceased. But as the chase went on, Trace seemed to grow desperate as he tried this strategy again and again in different parts of the ring to no avail.

This show was starting to get old and rather repetitive, and the crowd was starting to take notice and was very vocal about that fact. Seemingly in response to this, both competitors slowed to a complete stop. They had a brief staredown before Trace got a cocky look and pointed his weapon and Krank with one hand. Then, he lowered his weapon to draw a line in the dirt and stepped back from it a ways before gripping his staff in both hands once again, pointing it at Krank.

In response to this challenge, Krank reared back as he took a deep breath and matched his exhalation with a big puff of steam. He pointed his shield outward and took off with a dashing charge, making directly for Trace. Right before Krank was about to cross his line, Trace snapped his fingers, causing a line of his white glyphs to appear over the physical line in the dirt. It was too late for Krank to notice as they flashed when he tread on them. Trace stepped aside as Krank hurtled past him out of control.

Krank appeared stunned for a moment after he made a hard collision with the sloping wall of the pit. Trace took advantage of this and raced up to his opponent, using the end of his staff to pin Krank against the wall while shrouding him in a white aura. The referee appeared next to the fighters to make his call. “That’s a pin!” However, almost immediately after making the one count, Krank forced the both of them back with an intense burst of steam that simultaneously dispelled the enchantment placed on him.

After the vapor cleared, the referee motioned for both competitors to take positions back in the center of the ring. Immediately after the referee made the call to resume the fight, Trace raised his hand overhead and snapped his fingers. All the places he’d dragged his staff on the ground during their chase beforehand lit up with lines of glyphs, practically covering the whole arena. At this development, the normally composed Krank’s posture and eyes betrayed a slight apprehension.

In spite of Boros’s low, haughty laughter at this development, Rainbow Dash’s expression betrayed incomprehension. “What’s Trace doing? He’s totally showing his hand, like you humans say!”

Boros made a proud but somewhat sinister smile and pointed a finger towards the arena. “Trace has turned this battle into an all-out war by adding a psychological element! You said it yourself that Krank’s best attribute are his good instincts, but making use of them in the heat of battle requires a state of absolute focus upon his enemy. His mind has to be like a still pond, a mirror of his observations of his opponent as he detects the subtle involuntary movements they make as a tell for each form and technique they use.

“Our own unconventional warrior Trace, however, made that impossible now, because he can’t devote all his focus to his opponent if he has to take extra care watching his step! That earlier taste of what Trace’s glyphs can do probably gave him an extra serving of forbearance, so we shouldn't expect him to take any risks. Finally, Trace himself has no need to be wary of his traps, spellwork as sophisticated as rune arrays makes deciding what one’s magic can and can’t affect easy.”

Back in the ring, Trace quickly recreated his grip on his weapon, holding it low and pointing the end at his opponent, who stood fast with his shield raised. Suddenly, Trace took off and began clashing weapons with Krank, forcing him back with several hefty thrusts directly onto his shield, later mixing in some swings, forcing his opponent to swing his shield back and forth as he struck from alternating directions.

Using a thrust with a running start, Trace forced his opponent back far enough to tread on a line of glyphs, which erupted into a flash and wrapped him in an aura that slowed him to a snail’s pace. Before Krank had the chance to dispel this effect, Trace made a running leap, holding his staff overhead, getting in a hard strike to Krank’s shoulder, causing him to stagger. The referee raised his hand and made his call. “Critical Hit! Trace, seven! Krank, Three!”

The referee motioned for Krank to use his magic to dispel the enchantment afflicting him, which he did so in a small but forceful puff of steam. Immediately after the referee motioned for them to continue, Krank abruptly crouched, tensing up his body. Right as he explosively thrust upward, a wary Trace took off in the opposite direction, correctly anticipating the wide-reaching explosion of steam that covered a quarter of the ring, dispelling all of the rune arrays in his vicinity.

This action got a look of concern out of Boros. “Hm… Definitely crude, but it did what he set out to do. He may have effectively cleansed the battlefield of Trace’s advantage, but I’d bet he depleted the last of his stockpile.”

An enthusiastic Rainbow Dash aggressively smashed her hooves together. “So now Trace has got this in the bag!”

However, Boros shook his head at this. “Think deeper, little pony. Krank still has his personal supply of magic. But as for Trace, it’s been a long fight for him, and all those rune arrays probably have him running on fumes. He probably can’t spare anything except to drive his speed. Does he have anything left in his bag of tricks?”

A now confident Krank turned his shield to beat against it with his fist. However, Trace seemed unfazed at this whole development. Instead, he slowly, calmly raised his weapon overhead, carrying it horizontally in the cruxes of his inner thumbs of his open palms, adopting a serene expression. Then, with a pair of flashes at opposite sides of the weapon, Trace bent the newfound joints and in an agile display positioned what was now a solid-white three-section staff in a stylistic manner curled around his torso from his back.

Seeing the sudden apprehension in his opponent’s eyes, Trace charged forward into short-ranged distance, acrobatically whirling his flailing weapon before unleashing a flurry of strikes that Krank could only awkwardly fend off with his shield. Finishing this combo, Trace took the end of his weapon in both hands and made a hard twisting swing at Krank’s upper body.

Krank raised his shield in an extra-high angle to meet the flail-like weapon. However, this was only a feint as with a twisting motion, Trace withdrew the weapon back to his grip, but continued his spin to lash it out and curl it around Krank’s leg, taking the end that swung around in his opposing hand. With a full-body twist in the reverse direction of the first, Trace yanked Krank’s firmly planted foot off the ground. With one last twist, he came around again and thrust both ends at his off-balanced opponent’s torso, sending him to the ground. The referee appeared to make his call. “Knockdown! Trace, ten! Krank, three! It’s over! Trace Paragon wins by TKO! Krank Delcross is out of the match!”

Soon after Krank rose from the ground, the referee raised Trace’s arm, who used his free hand to flash a peace sign at the crowd with a big smile. Krank dusted himself off and rolled his eyes at this display, turning around to march back to his corner at an even pace.