"Ha!" A laugh escapes Kaylith's lips. I soon find out why. There was nothing inside the pole. It was nothing more than a ruse to make me waste time on something that didn't matter. And I fell for it … so he would like to believe.

"What the heck!" He utters in confusion.

"I am a jack of all trades, master of none." I say, "What it means is that I have built my muscle strength quite a bit. Though I haven't done it so much that I can do things only professions can do, I'm still capable to lift this thing up and use it as a weapon against you."

And just as I say, I pick it up and from its length and look at him with hostility.

"Did you know it was empty from the start?" He asks, with a smile coming on his once again.

"I only suspected it would be." I answer, with the smile on my face disappearing.

"I see." He claps deliberately as if to mock me. "I guess I should use a few more tricks then, shouldn't I?"

Then, I realize – clapping his hands wasn't to mock me, it was a way to activate another ability, the ability of his to attack the optical senses of a person.

And while not directly offensive or painful in any way, I understand that this ability is bad news. Right now, because of this ability that I don't even know the name of, my sense of distance and dimensions has gotten bad. The former means that things that are far from me like Roswaisa and Danny in the stands appear near while the pole I have ended up dropping to my feet (obviously is very near) but look far away. The later means that I can't see a straight line as a straight line. It looks like a curved line to me. It feels like I am looking through broken pieces of concave and convex lens attached together.

"Your troubled expression tells me you realize how potent this ability can be." He says, and I can't even see his expression clearly to tell if he's just saying it as a matter of fact or mocking me in some way.

In any case, I can't use the pole as a weapon if this goes on. h.e.l.l! I can't use anything as a weapon if this goes. I am defenseless and helpless in this situation … or not.

"What the-"

He finds himself surprised as I start reaching for the pole I had dropped earlier. Of course he is surprised. Why wouldn't he be?

"Despite my eyes constantly deceiving me because of your ability, the reality hasn't been altered." I know that because the three in stands were doing nothing except looking in confusion at me, wondering why I am acting like I am right now. "And since that is the case, everything is still where it was before and I can still reach it."

"Hmm … can you really? You do realize a problem with a person's vision basically handicaps anyone no matter what?"

"The 'no matter what' needs some correction." I say as I close my eyes. And as I do so, everything becomes dark. I still feel some disturbances but the problem is more or less over for now. All I have to do now is to pick up the pole I dropped earlier. I may not be able to see him but I can still swing a pole and hit him, can't I?

"That's futile." He says as his hand stops mine from picking up the pole. I see. He is this close, is he? He probably has a lot of defensive magic that can help him if I try to jump on him so he sees no danger in getting close to me. That, however, is his mistake.

"Ha! Did you really think I was planning on picking up the pole and hitting you with that?" Well, I actually was. "I wasn't. I was just trying to bring you here so I could do what needs to be done – kill you."

"You are telling me you have some surefire way of killing me?" He asks.

"Of course I do." Of course I don't. "Wanna see it?"

Unfortunately though, I come to know a blasphemous thing when I try to psych him out with that, "I am surprised Roswaisa didn't tell you. It probably slipped her mind. But, I can read minds."

"…" That means he knows everything I have been trying to not let him know.

"Yes, I most certainly do know those things you have been trying to hide from me, like the answer to me asking where you got the knife." He is clearly mocking me as he says all that. But, in any case, I'll humor him.

"I guess that means I lost, doesn't it?" I say as I grab his stab wounds and press it hard enough for him to shout in pain and back off fast.

"s.h.i.+t!" He remarks in pain.

Well, even if one he read minds, he would still need time to react to the things he reads in other people's minds. Instantaneous actions like grabbing that wounds and pressing it are things that would still work, even if well-thought out plans don't. I guess I know why Priscina, or her AI at least, told me specifically to follow my conscience, not just to follow the brain but a specific part of the brain, the one that always knows what to do.

"Hah!" I sigh and open my eyes. Because of the pain he would have felt, he would have automatically cancelled out the abilities he was using – making my vision return to normal.

So, I use this opportunity to pick up the pole and swing it around to hit my opponent right at the spots it would hurt the most.

"Ah! Ah! AH! AH! AHH!!" He yells in pain again and again as I beat him, my own father, senseless by a hollow iron pole.

"Well," I say, "time to put an end to this charade."

*****