Tracy was surprised when Kyle caught her staff, but the reason for that surprise was different than what one might expect.
She was not surprised that Kyle managed to grab it.
She was surprised that Kyle did it in the first place.
He had done that before in the past, and every single time, it ended badly for him.
An experienced Fighter like Tracy naturally knew that her weapon was prone to being grabbed by an enemy, and she had ways to deal with it.
Water Ether gathered around her staff, and she pushed forward.
This technique made her staff incredibly slippery.
In the past, Kyle had caught the staff with confidence, but moments later, it just slipped through his fingers, and Tracy had poked one of his eyes.
If she had been intent on killing him, she would have succeeded.
Tracy pushed her staff forward.
At that moment, a bit of Metal Ether appeared around Kyle's hand.
Tracy pushed.
But her staff didn't move.
"What?" she asked in shock.
Then, she pulled her staff back, but it didn't move again.
As an answer, she used more and more Water Ether, but it just didn't help.
Tracy had no idea what was going on.
Even Bonk would have difficulties holding the staff as long as he didn't try to crush it in his grip.
This wasn't about power.
Meanwhile, Kyle just grinned.
He had actually infused the surface of the staff with Metal Ether and forcefully refined its surface.
The surface of the staff essentially fused with Kyle's hand.
Without Remote Infusion, Kyle wouldn't have been able to do that.
The next moment, Kyle pulled the staff upward, lifting Tracy's body.
Tracy was now put in front of an ugly decision.
Lose the fight or lose the weapon, which essentially also just meant losing the fight.
However, Kyle made her choice for her.
BANG!
He rammed the staff into the ground like a hammer, using Tracy as the hammerhead.
"Ooohhh," Falk uttered with a wince.
That looked like it hurt.
Kyle lifted the staff up again and noticed that Tracy was still gripping it despite some of her bones being broken.
She hadn't lost the fight in her eyes.
"Oh, come on. It's over," Kyle said.
Tracy just looked at him.
"Tracy, this is not a fight. This is a spar. We both know the fight is over," Kyle said.
"It's not over," Tracy said.
Kyle took a deep breath.
He could ram her into the ground again.
He could tear her arms off.
He could swing her through the air.
But what was the point of that?
"Fine," Kyle said, letting go of the staff.
"I concede."
Tracy's eyes widened.
"What?" she asked.
"I concede. You won. Congratulations," Kyle said.
"You can't just give up," Tracy said.
"Of course I can," Kyle said. "I would rather not risk your life than win a mere sparring match. You win."
Tracy had won.
She had won against Kyle.
And yet, this didn't feel like a victory.
In fact, it felt like a loss.
A really bad loss.
Tracy gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in frustration.
Then, she took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I let myself go. It's my loss."
"It's fine," Kyle said. "We all have moments like this."
Tracy just sighed before walking back to the group.
"It was a good fight," Horatio said with a smile.
Tracy didn't answer.
Good fight?
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