"Okay, that should do it...well, do you feel anything?" Inquired Rosary, as she pulled away, a trail of saliva between our lips.

Holy crap, that was...

"U-uh, I...I felt that it was very sloppy. And I mean that in the best way imaginable," I replied with a gulp.

"Hm, your face is flushed, but you look pretty steady," She mused, as she gave my chest a light push, but I didn’t budge, "If it had worked, you should be all dizzy and stumbling. Do you feel drunk at all?"

Oh, yeah, the Skill she used is called Intoxicate, my mind totally blanked when she kissed me...I’m guessing it turns her saliva into an intoxicant, that explains why she was using her tongue so invasively and why that kiss was so sloppy.

When she kissed me, all my thoughts came to a screeching halt for a sec, and then I got caught up in the moment and started kissing her back. I mean, who wouldn’t? It was pretty nice...but it was just to activate her Skill, there probably wasn’t any other meaning behind it for her.

That said...she didn’t resist when I kissed her back, so at the very least, she wasn’t averse to it. I’ll take that as a win for now.

"I mean, I don’t think so...well, not that I would know, I’ve never been drunk before, so I have no idea what that feels like," I shrugged in response.

That’s not a total lie, since I’ve only had alcohol in my previous life. I’ve never been drunk in this body, after all. I was a somewhat heavy drinker in my old life, wouldn’t go so far as to say I was an alcoholic, but I’d rarely go more than a week without a drink back then after I turned eighteen.

"Oh, why not? You’re fifteen now, aren’t you?" She asked in surprise.

Ohh, that’s right, it had totally slipped my mind...the legal age for drinking and smoking here is fifteen, not eighteen or twenty-one like in the countries of my old world.

"I just never considered it, I guess, it kinda slipped my mind that I’m now legally an adult...but maybe I’ll give it a try tonight. You could join me if you’re free, might be fun," I suggested, shooting my shot.

I mean, she did just kiss me very deeply, even if it was for the activation of her Skill.

"Sure, why not?" She agreed with a shrug.

Oh, sweet.

"So, anyway, uhh...think we should get back to the duel?" I suggested wryly.

"Hm? Oh, right...I completely forgot that we were in the middle of a duel," She laughed sheepishly, before nodding, "Alright, let’s continue. Since I proposed the timeout, you can choose how we restart, specifically the positions we’ll take."

"Let’s just pick up from where we left off, out in the open and about twenty meters or so away from each other. And the signal to end the timeout will be...the instant that you make a move," I decided, after considering it.

"Fine by me."

I prefer to react and adapt to my opponent instead of making the first move myself, unless it’s a sneak attack, of course. We then took our positions, I brought out my Soul Weapon again, having deactivated it when she kissed me, bracing myself to counter her.

"Initiate Skill: Bind!"

As her golden chains came shooting towards me, I waited till they began to close in on me, before swiftly activating Jet Soles and blasting myself forward at top speed, shooting right between the chains and straight towards Rosary.

She began to swing the chains in towards me as I closed in on her, before I swiftly shot up, and then forward till I was right above her, in the blink of an eye.

I drove the dagger end of my handle down towards her with a swift twist, she quickly dissipated her chains and just barely managed to catch the tip of my blade between her fingers.

I then quickly reached for the base of the length of the whip and flicked my wrist as I grabbed it, cracking it across towards her as she simultaneously drove her free hand up towards my chest.

Her claws will reach me before my whip reaches her...in that case, how about this? Initiate Skill: Pocket Dimension!

Her eyes widened in alarm as her hand disappeared into a portal leading into my Pocket Dimension, while my whip closed in on her left shoulder.

She then quickly let go of my dagger while simultaneously pulling back her other hand, moving them to her left. She grimaced as my whip left a deep gash across her left wrist, before managing to grab hold of the whip with her right hand.

"Elemental Earth:...!" She chanted as I began to drive my dagger down towards her, "...Rock Spikes!"

I halted my blade and quickly flew up and away with my Jet Soles Spell as earth spikes burst out from the ground all around her, landing several meters away as I deactivated the Spell, before swiftly taking aim at her.

Elemental Plasma: Ultra Plasma Blast!

She zipped across to her right, leaping forward as my attack struck the spot where she’d been standing, a powerful wave bursting out upon impact as she just barely avoided being affected by it.

She then shot towards me, rapidly closing in and getting low as I swung my whip across at her, swiftly rolling away as I flicked my wrist down to crack the whip straight down as she ducked and the whip got right above her.

"Elemental Lightning: Double Lightning Bolt!" She exclaimed as she rolled away and evaded my whip, firing out two rapid, streaky bolts of lightning at me.

I countered by firing out the more powerful version of that Spell, Double Mega Lightning Bolt. My attacks hit hers and canceled them out, before continuing to shoot towards her after quickly grabbing hold of my whip tightly.

She narrowly evaded them by leaping forward while turning her body ninety degrees, the bolts of lightning narrowly shooting past her on either side, just barely missing her lower back and the front of her waist.

"Initiate Skill: Bind!" She exclaimed as my lightning bolts flew past her, extending her chains out towards me as she gave my whip a fierce, rapid yank.

I quickly sprang back while extending my whip, to prevent her tug from pulling me off balance, extending out pillars of earth around me as her chains closed in on sides.

She raced forward, using the earth pillars I’d formed as stepping stones to launch off of and leapt straight at me as she drew back her right arm.

She slashed her claws at me as she closed in, a few cuts appearing across my right shoulder as I managed to avoid taking it on the full. She landed behind me to my right on all fours before swinging her left foot straight back at me.

I spun across to dodge it, her heel grazing my hip before I flung the handle of my Soul Weapon at her face. She tilted her head across, my dagger slicing through the top of her left ear before I deactivated it, my Soul Weapon disappearing.

I can’t fully wield it with her holding onto it, and it’s not the best weapon at close range. I’m not skilled enough with the dagger to use it at close range against an opponent like her. I have to get some distance.

I began to activate Jet Soles, but she was fast to react, grabbing onto my ankles before swinging her legs up and wrapping her feet around my neck before I could react.

She then suddenly swung herself up, her thighs around my neck, choking me, the sudden increase in weight over my shoulders causing me to lose my balance and stumble back. I began to try and unleash a burst of lightning around me, but the instant a couple of sparks appeared around me...

"Initiate Skill: Bind!" She chanted rapidly, her chains wrapping around me and restraining me, before I felt one of her claws pressed against the side of my head, "I win."

"I...I surrender," I remarked with a strained grimace, starting to get a bit light-headed, before she let me go and got off me, "Damn it..."

"That was a lot closer than I thought it would be, I have to say...I would’ve been at a disadvantage if you’d managed to keep your distance," She replied with a wry smile.

"Yeah, well, I still lost," I sighed in disappointment.

I may have come here mainly to rank up to Platinum, but having gotten so close to Diamond, it’s pretty frustrating to have lost in the end. Oh, well, no point crying over spilled milk, no choice but to move on and try again once I’m eligible to do so again.

"Let me congratulate you on ranking up to Platinum. Let’s go update your Status Bar, shall we?" She suggested, as the barrier faded.

"Sure, sounds good."

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