`Time is on my side... I will be sure to use the advantage.` Abel thought to himself as the second magic circle materialized in full, before the opponent had reached him; the same radiant glow engulfing him momentarily once again prior to his opponent's offense. With the second spell activated, Abel's speed had been fortified -- his movements now possessing a mobility that would surpass a normal man; his reflexes subsequently enhanced a bit to balance this out. Essentially, it was as if [i]time[/i] had very slightly been slowed down for him.

	Nevertheless, his opponent had closed the distance in time to initiate an attack before Abel was in a position to actually take advantage of the new enchantment to his speed, which meant that just as the spell had finished activating Maddox was already on the offensive. While this meant that Abel was not able to optimize this new agility to make the first strike, the ability at his disposal now would surely allow him to react to the onslaught more effectively than one without such powers. If this servant of the king had presumed that his opponent was merely a common warrior, he would [i]quickly[/i] learn to regret that uninformed mistake in judgement. Had one only gauged the two combatants using their equipment as the basis, Abel [i]arguably[/i] had the disadvantage; however, magic could easily change the tide of any battle.

	`Brace yourself...!` Abel internally resolved himself as the man charged at him with ferocity, taking note from the man's position and stance that the opponent was about to execute a rather skilful backhanded shield strike; a move which Abel would easily recognize as he - a man who wielded a shield that also functioned as a favoured weapon due to it being the sheath of his sword - was also talented at the manoeuvre.

	Unfortunately for Maddox, beyond this fact was also one very noteworthy problem -- as he had approached Abel, the young man with platinum blonde hair had been given enough time to make note of one very crucial detail about his opponent's shield; Abel's hazel eyes had not failed to recognize that his opponent's shield was seemingly made of wood instead of metal - iron in this case - like his own. Taking into account difference in material between their shields, Abel would likely have the advantage in weight - and therefore [i]power[/i] - should they clash against each other. Maddox had the upper hand in terms of offensive weaponry, but not defensive weaponry.

	Abel had been given enough time to thoroughly examine his assailant to an extent, primarily due to the man taking his time to approach - presumably to avoid fatigue, which was impressive - and during this time he had noted that Maddox was likely very [i]slightly[/i] shorter than him. This did not offer Abel too much in the way of strategic contemplation without considering the man's weight, which was difficult to access and would only be noticeable increased by his armour, but Abel himself had always been - while still within the region of healthy weight - of the smaller frame in terms of build. Overall, Maddox was probably heavier than him if equipment was also taken into account, but the difference in their shields - alongside the reinforcement magic granting higher endurance - likely meant that Abel would not lose out if he forced these defensive armaments into a direct encounter. He was not used to having the advantage in strength due to his small frame, but he suspected his shield and magic would turn the tables in his favour.

	As the Crimson Knight unleashed his charge and swung the wooden shield sideways, Abel reacted - using the enhanced speed at his disposal - with an attempt to deflect the opponent's shield with his own, using a backhanded shield smash with his right hand. The result was a partial success -- while Abel had prevented himself from being knocked off guard by the opponent's shield he had not anticipated the power behind Maddox's attack to be so [i]optimized[/i], meaning that he was unable to actually deflect the attack and unbalance Maddox but he nevertheless prevented himself from being put at any sort of disadvantage. As a result of this, the successful execution of the Crimson Knight's follow-up strike - which was almost certainly counting on the success of the first one to some extent - likely was reduced [i]significantly[/i], especially with less power now behind it than there could have been.

	`Now!` Abel confirmed internally.

	Maddox's powerful blade came upwards at a diagonal to slash across his opponent's chest, but - by the time the sword should have met its mark - Abel had already moved; the enhanced speed that the young man now had access to giving him an opening to use evasive measures. Had it not been for the difference in material between their shields and the endurance fortification magic, Abel probably would have needed to continue blocking instead. That was not how things played out though -- the instant the sword was closing in on him he shifted his entire body to the left with an evasive step would come out at an unfathomable speed had Maddox not considered the possibility that the one of the spells cast was to fortify Abel's mobility.

	Had the angle of Maddox's slash come from the other side - an event [i]partially[/i] prevented by the fact that the opponent was right-handed - Abel would have shifted to the right and spun around a full rotation, using the enhanced speed to get behind the opponent and use a side slash to cut across his back; an attack which some might deem unchivalrous, but Abel's life was on the line and Evelyn was waiting for him. This arguably would have been the [i]ideal[/i] attack, but since Maddox was right-handed - and Abel was left-handed - he needed to shift to the left instead of the right in order to guarantee an evasion that would place him in a position of attack outside of the immediate range of Maddox's shield arm. Still taking advantage of the enhanced speed, he used the momentum created by his evasive movements to empower his counterattack, slashing his sword upwards at a diagonal angle that would start from Abel's right and rise to his left.

	As the attack finished, Abel would already be holding out his shield between himself and Maddox - able to do so easily from the stance his attack would finish in - in case somehow the opponent guarded or avoided him, but ultimately he was hoping to inflict significant damage to side of his opponent's body -- Maddox should have been heavily exposed from this position and even if his armour was in the way Abel was fairly certain this was going to cause some damage. If - and [i]only[/i] if - Maddox was knocked off balance by Abel's strike, he would follow with another attack by shifting forward and slashing his sword horizontally, inflicting further damage to his opponent's abdomen.

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[hider=Active Spells]
[b]Fortify Endurance[/b] (30 seconds remaining)
[b]Fortify Speed[/b] (54 seconds remaining)
[/hider]
[hider=My Post vs. Game Mechanics]I went under the assumption that the success rate of the sword blow would be lower than 83% should Abel not be knocked off guard by the initial shield bash Maddox used, so - if my explanation for why it failed to do so is adequate enough - my following actions are justified by it. I don't know how you would use dice modifiers to account for something like this, but I imagine the difference in success rates between attacking an opponent who is knocked off balance and one who isn't would be considerable. Naturally, all of my actions assume that you would go through with your second attack even if I managed to parry the first. If not, we'll discuss it over the OOC.[/hider]
[@ELGainsborough]