Battle OF Grammar: Word Fu!

Chapter 5 - Sapphire Suitcase In Action!

The Stage which Dam Son partially broke to chunky pieces had already been repaired sturdier by an expert Wordsmith. Many other battles took place before it was finally Dam Son’s time again to fight.

“Applicant-620, Dam Son and Applicant-613, Balloona! Please come up!” The referee waited until both participants were on stage before starting the match. “Begin!”

Dam Son’s opponent this time was a chubby Demi-Human girl who almost fitted perfectly when compared to a beach ball.

“She is a Word Mage. This battle might be even more fun than the last one.” Dam Son was genuinely excited to face off against a powerful opponent. “Hey Papyrus, how many Martial Arts Powered Letters do I have left? I wonder if ‘Smash’ will even work against her.”

“You have only 5 Martial Arts Powered Letters remaining. The Basic Word Fu Script, ‘Smash’ can only be utilized one last time.”

“I see. Then I better conserve it until I desperately need to use it.”

“I agree. Your body is strong enough to absorb a couple of hits. Just don’t get knocked off stage while defending yourself.”

“Who said that I was going to defend?” Finished consulting his Papyrus, Dam Son made a move against the chubby Word Mage by mimicking the first form of Xuan Li’s Guiding Water Stance.

“Tsk! Impulsive rat! Do you think because I am a Word Mage that I’m vulnerable to close-quarters combat? I’ll teach you not to underestimate this fluffy gal.” Taking notice of Dam Son swiftly closing the distance separating them, Balloona bounced her big behind onto the floor which propelled her upwards to flip over her opponent.

“Rollercoaster!” While in mid-air, Balloona conjured 2 large Mage Scripts at her lateral regions. Both of them were a little bit over a metre long. This was a common size trait among Word Mages. They usually possessed larger scripts necessary for execution.

[Basic Word Mage Script: Bubble Rush] (Activated) -40(MPL) 

“Huh?” Looking up, Dam Son’s eyes painted the colourful imagery of several series of large water balls shooting out of the Mage Scripts. “Another water type? Am I lucky or unfortunate?

“Guiding Water Stance, Evasion!” Dam Son utilized the water that was already splashed on stage to aid with the execution of his copied technique.

“There is nowhere for you to run, you damn rat! Have some more!” Even after landing, Balloona kept up her incessant assault against Dam Son. Wherever he evaded, she made sure that a furious bubble was heading his way.

“Is running around the only thing you are capable of? Then beat it!” Balloona applied an incognito script to the splashes of water over the stage.

[Basic Word Mage Script: Capture] (Activated) -20(MPL)

“What is this?” All of a sudden, Dam Son felt a restrictive manifestation of wetness clamping at his feet. Looking down, he identified a coagulating source of water holding him in place. “I can’t break free. Isn’t this just water, shouldn’t I be able to move freely through it?”

Papyrus made Dam Son aware of the current predicament he was in. “In normal circumstances, yes, you could move freely throughout water. However, the Mage Script that she got you with is one of restrictive property. You won’t be able to move for a while. I could deactivate this script but if I do that I won’t be able to continue recording the battle. It will cost me the remaining reserve of my Letters Ink. What do you have me do, newborn?”

Dam Son considered Papyrus's opinion. He wanted to win but not as badly as to sacrifice all of his trump cards. “Forget about it Papyrus. I will get out of this my way.”

“Then proceed as you wish.”

Dam Son mustered all of his strength to break free from the restrictive script but to no avail. “Wow, this thing is really holding me in place.”

“It’s game over, Dark-Human!” Balloona captured Dam Son into one of her large bubbles, making it float into the air. “I’m tossing your smelly ass off stage!”

[Basic Word Mage Script: Toss] (Activated) -10(MPL)

 “Oh no! At this rate, I might reach out of bounds. If I could only touch the ground.” Dam Son found himself quickly closing in on the outer boundaries of the stage. As he was nearing defeat, he heard a mysterious whisper calling out to him.

“That’s it! Suit, come to me!” Dam Son hollered out for his sapphire suitcase. Moments after his outburst, it flew from its idle spot on the stage, heading upwards to his proximity.

As soon as the sapphire suitcase entered Dam Son’s grasp, he became so heavy that the floating bubble could no longer support his weight. He burst out of the bubble and crashed at the very edge of the stage. “Whew, I almost didn’t make it there.  Thanks for your help, Suit.”

Seeing Dam Son cuddling his sapphire suitcase like an idiot, prompted a negative outburst from Balloona’s lips. “You duplicitous rat! Were you a Word Augmenter all alone? So you were holding back against me is that it? I will teach you not to mess with me! Come out!”

[Basic Word Mage Script: Water Lotus] (Activated) -50(MPL)

[Basic Word Mage Script: Bubble Rush] (Activated) -40(MPL)

[Basic Word Mage Script: Hula-Hula-Hoop] (Activated) -35(MPL)

Balloona activated 3 Basic Word Mage Scripts simultaneously, almost draining all of her Magic Powered Letters. Accomplishing dual casting was not an easy task among beginner Word Mages, which was why Balloona’s stunt caught the attention of some interested judges.

“This will surely chase away a cunning rat like you!”

“Why do you keep insulting me, pretty lady? You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve laid eyes on so far since I’ve entered Vocabular. I even thought we could be friends.”

“Pretty?” A blush involuntarily formed on Balloona’s plump face when she heard Dam Son’s complimenting her beauty. ‘He thinks that I’m pretty?’ This unexpected compliment actually veered Balloona’s attacks off course slightly.

“Suit, let’s go!” Dam Son started dashing towards his chubby opponent with his sapphire suitcase trailing behind him.

“You doggone rat! So this is what you were after? Waiting for me to lower my guard so that you could close the distance between us? Unfortunately for you, I’ve already prepared for such an eventuality.”

[Basic Word Mage Script: Water Wall] (Activated) -25(MPL) 

“How sturdy can water be? Suit, forward!” Dam Son smashed straight through the protective barrier of water with his sapphire suitcase.

“How did he get through my defence so easily?” With her back now close to the edge of the stage, Balloona sought to escape from there by executing another ‘Rollercoaster Flip.’ However, she was caught off-guard when Dam Son extended his sapphire suitcase above while throwing a kick at her midriff simultaneously.

“No! Stay away! Water Balloon protect me!” Before Dam Son’s assault could properly reach her, Balloona covered herself in a protective bubble. Due to this, the heavy attack which was supposed to crush her chubby nature to a flattened sheet only blasted her off stage.

“We have a winner!” So sayeth the energetic referee. “Applicant-620, Dam Son gained victory by knocking his opponent off stage. This is the second victory that he has claimed thus far! Only 2 more wins and he will be able to enrol in our Raixom Academy.”

“Yes, I won! Did you get all that Papyrus?”

“Certainly.” Papyrus had to clear a path for Dam Son who was jumping up and down excitedly.

Offstage, Balloona came out of her protective bubble; staring at the Dark-Human who bested her while muttering to herself, “That sweet-talking rat. Up till now, he hasn’t showcased any original skillset, yet he spanked my chubby butt? There’s something weird about his demeanour. He doesn’t look all that intelligent either but he is as solid as a rock.”

Saying this, Balloona stared at the area where she had just leapt from. That part of the stage was completely shattered. “His looks aren’t that bad either. Should I send a Friend Request to his Papyrus? No! No! What am I thinking about just because he called me pretty? He probably intentionally did so to get me distracted. Foolish! Foolish!” Balloona scolded herself, trying not to think about Dam Son’s cute face.