"Wow, that's a pretty impressive Aura, is he already at Ace level?" Inquired Zian in surprise, as he stared at Brid.

"Yeah, he's basically maxed out his Potential as much as he can. So, physically, he's at his peak, though he's still got room for improvement with his combat skills and technique," I replied with a nod.

"I don't think I've ever heard of a Healer who's actively gunning to fight at the front line. I have met Healers with decent combat skills, but they only develop those skills for self-defense, so that they won't be completely helpless if things go wrong.

But looking at this kid's Aura and build, it looks like he packs quite a punch. Actually, Rio did tell me a bit about him, since they were classmates at the Academy, but seeing this in person is a lot different to just hearing about it," Remarked Zian in bemusement, as the barrier formed around the pair.

The girl, Rio, drew out her blade, my eyes narrowing slightly in fascination as I leaned forward to get a better look.

Is that a custom-blade? I've never seen a weapon quite like it before.

It kinda looks like a rapier, the tip was narrow and razor-sharp, and as for the edges of the blade, they were serrated with small, curved teeth. She likely uses the edges to tear skin apart, and stabs with the tip of the blade to finish off her targets.

What an interesting sword...the question is, can she wield it properly?

Her armor's pretty cool, consisting of an armored dark green vest, gauntlets and shin-guards that looked inspired by samurai armor, with those flaps of leather slates strapped around her waist, covering the sides of her thighs.

She wore a long-sleeved black shirt and dark brown trousers made of the same material as my gear under the dark green armor, along with a dark green mask hanging around her neck.

As she cracked her neck, she slid the mask up, covering the lower half of her face before pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, tapping on the side of the frame, the back of the frame extending out and connecting, fastening the glasses to her face.

Brid was hanging back with a slight smirk, waiting for her to make the first move. She let out a slow exhale before swiftly sprinting towards him, whipping her blade across and lunging forward as she closed in on Brid.

She swung the blade across at the middle of his torso, the tip of the blade missing the front of his body by a hair as he sprang back, before taking a swift step forward and driving his left fist towards the side of her head.

His fist grazed the top of her head as she ducked down, before driving her blade straight up towards Brid's head.

Suddenly, his right leg sharply tensed up before shooting up with immense force, striking her left gauntlet as she quickly raised her arm up defensively, the force of Brid's knee strike launching her back several meters through the air.

She twisted her body across in mid-air, canceling out some of the momentum and regaining her balance, her feet skidding back slightly as she landed.

She quickly lifted her gaze as Brid rushed forward, racing across the space and suddenly putting on a sharp burst of speed as he closed in on her.

"It looks like he can double his speed in short bursts, I had no idea Healing Magic could be used like this," Mused Zian in fascination.

"Yeah, I'd love to fight him once he's more experienced," Added Ciel with a gleam in her eyes.

He leapt forward with his warhammer drawn back, driving it towards her head with a powerful thrust of his arm, letting out a grunt of exertion.

Rio waited for the last possible moment, the head of the hammer clipping the left side of her head as she shuffled across to the right.

As she evaded a direct hit, she lunged forward and whipped her blade across, slicing through Brid's armor and ripping the skin on his left side as one of the serrated edges violently dragged through his skin.

As she shot past him and spun around, she drove her blade towards the back of his head with a swift, twisting thrust of her blade, as he quickly turned while the jagged gash across his side closed up.

He tilted his head across, grimacing as her blade tore across his right cheek, blood streaming down the side of his face before his hand suddenly shot up, grabbing the middle of her blade.

She stiffened before quickly pulling her blade back with all her strength, the serrated edges of the blade tearing Brid's palm apart as she began to slip the blade out of his grasp, but he held onto it long enough to keep her in place, a sharp, wheezing gasp ringing out as he whipped his hammer forward with a rapid spin, slamming it against the middle of her stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

She got sent hurtling back through the air rapidly as she coughed out blood, her back slamming against the wall of the barrier with a loud thud, eliciting a stifled gasp from her.

As she shakily stumbled forward, she used her blade as a crutch to keep herself from falling over, spitting out some blood before running her sleeve across her mouth to wipe the blood away.

She then shot forward, Brid responding in kind and charging towards her, a puff of dust erupting behind him as he leapt forward with a sharp burst of strength.

Suddenly, he swung his right arm across he closed in on her, flinging a handful of sand towards her face.

She instinctively closed her eyes and unfurled a vicious thrust of her blade towards his head as he simultaneously swung his hammer across.

He tilted his head across to the left, the blade piercing into the corner of his mouth before ripping his cheek open, before Rio suddenly vanished from sight as Brid's hammer closed in on the side of her head, the barrier teleporting her out before he could make contact.

Hm, she's pretty good...she's weaker and slower than him, but she was a lot more agile and nimble, not to mention her reaction time.

Looks like her Perception isn't her highest physical stat for nothing.

"Seems we've got a great crop of new Aces this year, huh?" I remarked with a smile.

"Yeah, I'd say so...we have to make sure we properly groom and nurture them, that responsibility falls on us as Guildmasters," Responded Zian with a nod.

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