"You have ten seconds to rest."
Sonia took a deep breath and raced against time to recall all the details of the battle just now. Although she believed she hadn't lost any memory due to repeated deaths, if she had forgotten something, she wouldn't realize it. She could only try to avoid the worst-case scenario as much as possible.
She had lost count of the specific number of deaths, and she didn't bother to keep track. Her mind was devoid of any extraneous thoughts—her mother in reality, classmates, exams, and her dreams were all pushed to the furthest corners. She focused all her attention on the enemy before her, known as the "Final Observer," exhaustively analyzing every detail of his movements, memorizing each brutal moment with her body!
She discovered that the Final Observer hadn't mastered any Extraordinary Ability, not even holding any physical advantage over her.
Compared to her, the Observer was merely an enemy who wielded a sword—at most, a very skilled enemy with a sword.
Sonia had seen Sword Masters who had refined their swordsmanship to its peak. Even an ordinary swing could impose a spine-tingling pressure on bystanders; merely holding the hilt of their sword could strike fear and submission into the weak.
Compared to those true towering figures, the Observer was but a mundane stepping stone.
Yes, just a stepping stone.
Although she had experienced another death, Sonia had managed to counterattack the Observer in her desperate strike.
But just like a thrown sword would return to his hand, the Observer, who had just been struck in the chest, had already recovered as if healed instantly.
If there were a recovery time, Sonia would surely trade her life to gradually wear him down, but unfortunately, the duel was fair, leaving no such loophole for her.
A fair duel, Sonia found it somewhat ironic in her heart.
Yet she admitted, everything was indeed fair.
Various unreasonable restrictions made her realize she only had one choice: to defeat the Final Observer with absolute strength in the duel.
Ten seconds passed, and at that moment, time seemed to become a tangible entity. When time was up, Sonia instantly tensed her entire body and charged at the Observer with her sword!
At the start of the battle's first second, the Observer would always maintain his sheathed stance, then thrust forward with a Sword Drawing Slash. The further Sonia was from the Observer, the more intense the attack she received, potentially causing her weapon to be knocked out of her hand!
This move was very similar to the rumored Iaido Sword Drawing Slash, and the way to counter it was quite simple, never dodge, but actively step forward to interrupt his swirl!
Clang!
Sonia's arm was almost numbed by the shock, but she ultimately stopped the Observer's swirl, successfully dragging him into the most deadly close-combat fight!
Having died so many times, Sonia no longer cared about acquiring a few more holes in her body. As long as she could kill the Observer just before her own demise, it would be her victory!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After several intense exchanges, Sonia silently counted; when she reached five, she sliced through empty air.
The Observer mysteriously and abruptly evaded in the opposite direction and then stepped forward, slashing toward Sonia's head with his sword!
There was no warning, extremely perilous!
Sonia once thought this was some Extraordinary Ability. After numerous deaths providing experience, she found it was a form of combat footwork.
But even seeing through it, Sonia had no solution—she couldn't predict where the Observer would evade!
Because the Observer often evaded suddenly after seeing Sonia's attack, then immediately counter-slashing, so Sonia named this move "Read."
Iaido was easy to block, but Read was hard to defend against.
So Sonia simply didn't defend, directly raising her arm to block the Observer's blade and rushed in to attempt to decapitate the Observer with a sword!
The biggest weakness of Read was insufficient power, not enough to sever her arm!
However, when the Observer struck her arm, his legs abruptly slid on the sand, again dodging in another direction, narrowly evading Sonia's blade, then stepping forward to slash at her neck!
Two consecutive Reads!
"You have ten seconds to rest."
Sonia patted her face, gripped her sword hilt, and looked at the Observer, "Bring it on!"
The Observer had no objection, adopting the sheathed stance to launch the Iaido Sword Drawing Slash—
There was no metallic clash of striking blades. The Observer still maintained his swirling slash posture, but he hadn't struck anything.
Just as the Observer was about to hit Sonia, Sonia suddenly slid on the sand in an extremely uncanny manner, evading in another direction!
At this time, the Observer was still in the rigidity of the swirl attack, while Sonia could attack him in turn!
However, Sonia assumed the posture of sheathing the sword!
"After dying so many times, even if I were a pig, I should have learned your moves!"
With Sonia's spirited shout, she stepped forward, whirled forward, and executed a Sword Drawing Slash!
Read, Iaido, Sword Drawing Slash!
Using Iaido as a follow-up move to Read to compensate for Read's lower attack power!
In fact, Sonia had already mastered the Iaido Sword Drawing Slash, but she had been holding back until she was confident in mastering Read, then unleashed both moves together, determined to kill the Observer in one slash!
Accompanied by the powerful rotational momentum, Sonia felt almost no resistance; her blade smoothly sliced into the Observer's chest like a hot knife through butter!
It wasn't that she didn't want to behead the Observer. It was just that she wasn't tall enough, and raising her arm even slightly during the swirl was a massive burden, so she could only settle for slashing his chest instead.
Was it that easy? Sonia was somewhat incredulous, quickly adjusting her balance from the swirling slash's aftereffects, watching the Observer warily, "Does this count as me defeating you?"
"Yes," the Observer said, "Congratulations."
"You successfully defeated me with just one sword."
One sword... In the moment Sonia was slightly baffled, the Observer nudged the sand with his toes and gently hooked out a longsword from the sand.
"Halftime is over; the second half begins." The Observer crossed the two swords into an X stance, "By the way, there is no ten-second rest this time."
...
...
"Sonia, there's an early class today, aren't you going?"
Sonia sat up holding her head, realizing only Ingrid was left in the dorm. Ingrid was already dressed and ready to head out.
"What time is it?"
"Seven thirty," Ingrid said, "There's a public course this morning. I remember you usually get up an hour early to do skincare and makeup before public courses... They have already left... You don't look so good."
"Do I?" Sonia instinctively touched her neck and then regained her senses, shaking her head, "Maybe I had a nightmare..."
"A nightmare? It will soon be forgotten," Ingrid said indifferently, "Remember to attend class, don't be absent, or they will deduct points from the dormitory."
Saying this, Ingrid left, closing the door behind her, leaving Sonia alone in the dormitory.
On any other morning after oversleeping, Sonia would have hurriedly gotten out of bed to wash and put on makeup, but today she didn't feel like it, sitting on her bed in a daze.
Oddly enough, it was clearly a dream, yet it felt so real; even more strangely, she showed no signs of forgetting. She remembered every detail vividly, from her first death to her ninety-ninth death, all clear in her mind.
Even every pain was still fresh in her memory.
Once the Final Observer switched to dual-wielding mode, the intensity of their battles instantly multiplied—Sonia almost had no chance to breathe, opening her eyes only to find the Observer pouncing on her again, her arms becoming almost numb, nearly relying solely on her body's instincts to withstand the Observer's assault.
Read, Iaido, Read to Iaido, Iaido to Read, Triple Rea, Triple Iaido... Sonia utilized all these moves against the Observer, exhausting all derivative variations.
When she defeated the Observer, she felt almost nothing, continuously using Read and Iaido, dodging all the Observer's attacks, attacking all his flaws, and then the Observer fell.
But after defeating the Observer, Sonia felt no joy.
Because the Observer said one sentence.
"This trial is over, but your life has just begun."
Although she couldn't see his face or hear his tone, Sonia was utterly certain—this was definitely not a Blessing.
"The Final Observer..." Sonia mulled over the name, as if gnashing it in her teeth before swallowing it down into her stomach to digest.
Meanwhile, in the luxurious suite at the bottom level of Kaimon City's Shattered Lake Prison.
Ash yawned and sat up, not knowing why, but he felt extraordinarily tired from sleep as if he had been beaten up.
Opening the Light Screen and Aurora's Mage's Handbook, Ash saw a brand-new message:
"After the trial, your Bonds with the Death Mad Sword Maiden have deepened."
Ash scratched his head, "...Arranging trials can deepen Bonds? Is there really such luck?"