Thankfully Chester was not made to wait for long. The trees shuffled just as gently as before, but never faded, prompting Chester to hold his position rather than follow. The opponent had traced back on himself before starting an approach; an unorthodox strategy, but not one which went unnoticed. 

Chester waited until the very last moment, alert and focused as Jaldoa closed the last of the distance. His dash was fast, yet erratic, enough to sway him from sniping him at that distance. Instead, Chester noted the position of his staff, cueing him into taking a defensive role. He stepped in with a firm, broad stance, positioning his Vertex diagonally before himself in both hands. 
The blunt staff clashed against his defence at an angle, resounding and crackling like crushed plastic. Though sliding back a step from the impact, he aptly kept his footing and balance. This foe had a surprising level of strength and weight behind his swift movements, and he did not need a glance to imagine the array of cracks adorning his Vertex post-collision. Jaldoa continued past his right, unaffected by the trade, while Chester's sights merely followed his path. His left hand detached from his weapon, then reached to his left, its glowing hue dissipating into a familiar violet anomaly.

Just as Jaldoa twisted in turn, Chester had summoned a second Vertex; this time of a brighter shade, and over twice as wide as the one he carried. Its length spanned from a number of yards behind Chester on the forest's floor, stretched close beside Chester's left and Jaldoa's right, and finally terminated upon a distant branch close to the crater.
While not offensive in its own right, Chester's obstruction would serve to impede Jaldoa's options. A rightward retreat could not be made as freely while he lacked momentum, and any follow-up attack would be bottlenecked between the Vertex and Chester's tree. Already beaming with naive overconfidence, the Human held ready to act upon his foe's next motions.