The Academy allowed the students to use weapons in this sparring. They had even prepared wooden weapons on the side of the arenas for the students to use.
There were swords, spears, rapiers, and even a whip that was made from leather. The whip was still more lethal compared to other weapons, but as the students couldn't imbue mana into the whip, it was still allowed to be used in the sparring.
Long-range weapons were not permitted in the sparring. The reasoning was that the arena was too small and the projectiles could go astray and injure the spectators.
It didn't matter to me as I had planned to use a sword during this spar. I couldn't let the others see me using a bow.
In the future, when Zaiden would work as an Awakener, I was planning to go along with him using a sword, while doing some work in the dark as Rai the sharpshooter.
Ao had seen me in the Waterflow Training Facility. She even knew that Smith had accepted me as his disciple. So it would be strange if I didn't use a sword in this sparring match.
As my turn was the last, I went to the spectator seats with Lisa. Maria said that she would sit with our classmates, so she went the other way.
It seemed like the other heroines had already reserved seats for us. It was located on the west wing of the spectator seat.
"Hey, here!" Lily waved her hand as she called out to us. They were sitting in the first row of the seat, which had the best viewpoint. We approached them.
"Thanks for reserving our seat, Lily." Lisa thanked Lily.
"No problem!"
Ao smiled and nodded her head when she saw me. I nodded back and sat on the furthest seat as Lisa sat beside me. The seat arrangements beside me were Lisa, Lily, Shina, Ao, and Mirana.
"Hey, you go in the third round, right, Lisa?" Asked Mirana with a cheerful voice. She didn't mind my presence now. After interacting with me for a week, she understood that I was not the same as I was in the rumors.
I didn't know the full extent of the rumors that were flying around about me, but it seemed like the way I acted was really different from the rumors, so Mirana was now acting normally around me.
"How about you, Vincent? You are going last, right? Are you confident that you are going to win?"
Lily suddenly asked me when I was in thought. The others also looked at me curiously.
Ao had a confident look. She knew that I at least had enough strength and Talent to be recognized by Smith.
I, too, was confident in my strength. I was an Awakener; there was no way I would lose to Non-Awakener. Even if it was Zaiden, a reincarnated person, I wouldn't lose to him. So I grinned.
"I am afraid…"
When the girls heard my answer, they were dumbfounded. Ao's expression fell; she must never have expected my answer. However, I was not finished yet.
"I am afraid that I will win easily. I hope someone will give me a good fight later."
"O-ooh… you are confident, huh?" Lily asked me while blinking her eyes. "Zaiden is strong, you know? Maybe you don't know this, but I have already been with Zaiden since I was a child. And he was always training in his family's training facility in his spare time since he was six years old."
I had expected that. Almost all reincarnated people were like that in the stories.
Unfortunately for Lily, I was confident that I would win against Zaiden. And I was not the only one who thought so, because Ao also thought that I would win.
"I'm sorry, Lily. I know that Zaiden is strong but…" She looked at me with a proud look. "I think Vincent is stronger than him."
"Hmm? Really?" Asked Lily, in disbelief. "You were so confident when you said that, Ao. How do you know that Vincent is stronger? We never see them fighting against each other."
Shina nodded her head at Lily's words. "I-I also curious. How do you know that Vincent is stronger?"
"Well…" Ao looked at me with uncertainty.
She sent a signal that I took as something like, 'Is it okay to tell them about us attending the same training facility?' and I nodded my head to give her affirmation.
Training in the same training facility was no big deal. Surely Ao wouldn't tell them that we were, in fact, training under Sword Saint in a shabby training facility near this Academy.
"Vincent just joined the training facility that I am in. My teacher is impressed with his strength."
"..."
Why did she add something unnecessary?
Anyway, the girls looked at me with impressed gazes.
"Really? No way!"
"Is that true?"
Mirana and Lily had different reactions. Mirana didn't believe what Ao said, but Lily was only seeking confirmation.
"That's true. Right, Vincent?"
"Yeah, but I didn't remember Master being impressed with my strength."
"Fufufu, he is a bit shy, so he didn't tell you. But I could tell that he was impressed by you from his expression. I think he put a lot of expectations on you."
"Is that so? Then I guess I need to train harder to live up to his expectations."
All of a sudden, the students cheered loudly. They raised their hands to cheer and focused their gaze on the arena.
"It seems the first spar will begin shortly." I muttered as I looked at the arena.
Zaiden walked out of the tunnel on the right side while waving his hand at the crowd.
That guy oozed confidence as he walked. His opponent, on the other hand, looked worried when he saw Zaiden.
There was a rumor about Zaiden flying around the Academy too. The first rumor was the most famous one; it was about him being a playboy. The second was not too famous but still well-known among the students.
It was said that his family owned a training facility, and he had been trained by them since he was a kid. To be honest, I only knew about it when I investigated Zaiden in my spare time last week. He was better in every way compared to Zaiden in my novel.
Maybe that was the reason why he wasn't in Smith's training facility. The Archman family was not too famous in the world, but they had their own sword technique.
It would not be an exaggeration if I compared their swordsmanship with Smith's technique, Waterflow Swordsmanship; they were equal.
In the latter part of the novel, Zaiden learned about the existence of Archman Swordsmanship and chose to use his family technique over the Waterflow technique as it fitted him more.
As a reincarnator, he surely knew about that, and that was the only reason he hadn't come to the Waterflow Training Facility.
Naturally, the weapon that Zaiden chose was a sword. His opponent also used a sword, as it was the most common weapon used by Awakeners.
Both of them entered the square arena and faced each other. A teacher with a stout figure stood between them to act as a referee.
"Will Zaiden win? His opponent doesn't look that strong, but… I am still worried." Said Mirana.
"Don't worry! Zaiden will win." Reassured Lily. "As I said, he is strong."
The atmosphere in the area tensed. The cheering of the spectators suddenly stopped as the fighters got ready.
The students' attention was focused on Zaiden. He was famous in the Academy; it was natural for him to stand out with his handsome look.
"Kyaa!! Zaiden!!"
"Zaiden! Do your best!"
Some girls shrieked to encourage him. But, Zaiden paid no heed to them.
He only concentrated on his opponent, as he looked at him with a serious look.
Even though they were Non-Awakeners, he didn't let his guard down and respected his opponent.
The fighters were briefed by the teacher about the rules. At that time, the headmaster of the Academy appeared in the middle of the arena while holding a microphone.
He was an old man with white hair, wearing a white suit. His beard was trimmed neatly, and his body was stout.
This old man's name was Jack Ashborn, the only named character in the Academy besides Zaiden and the heroines. He was a former active Awakener who was famous for his support magic.
After he retired, he established this Academy with the hope of nurturing the next generations.
"Hello, my beloved students! The time for this year's Spar Tournament is here! Raise your voice if you are fired up!"
"Ooooh!!!"
The students shouted at once, following Jack's order. Even the girls shouted excitedly beside me.
"It's nice to see that you are fired up for the tournament! Without further ado, let me explain the rules!"
At that moment, a hologram screen appeared in the middle of the arena.
The technology of this era had advanced significantly because of Mana. The people in charge of researching were Awakeners who had Talents to back it up. As a result, something such as a hologram screen was successfully developed.
On the screen were the rules of this sparring tournament. Unexpectedly, it was simple, as there were only three rules.
"First, you are not allowed to kill your opponent! Second, you can only use the weapons provided by the Academy! Third, no one is allowed to use a Magic Pill! Is that clear?"
"Yes!!" The students answered excitedly.
Magic Pill to boost strength or agility was common in this society. It could be concocted by someone with a Brewing Talent. Magic pills were not rare, but they were quite expensive. Also, it was available in the Awakener Store.
"Good, then let's start the Spar Tournament!"
With Jack's shout to start the tournament, the referee swung their hands down while he quietly exited the arena through the tunnel.
Immediately, the fighters kicked off the ground and started to fight.
"Woah!!"
"He's fast!"
The students were amazed by him.
Zaiden's movements were fast. Untrained eyes would not be able to follow his movements.
But, for someone with trained eyes and Sharpshooting Talent like me, Zaiden's movement was like a turtle. I could see his movements clearly.
His opponent was confused and panicked when he saw Zaiden's movement. He swung his sword towards Zaiden without any technique. The move was clumsy and slow.
Zaiden easily dodged the sword and struck his opponent on the chin with his sword. His opponent couldn't handle such a sudden strike. As a result, he stumbled behind and fell to the ground.
Using this chance, Zaiden put his sword near his opponent's neck.
The referee stopped the spar immediately, resulting in Zaiden's victory.
"Yeah! Good job, Zaiden!"
"He won!"
"It's natural…"
Mirana, Lisa, and Lily jumped up and shouted as soon as Zaiden won, while Shina smiled as she made guts pose with her hands.
I nodded my head in satisfaction. Seeing the skill level that he had now, I must admit it was not bad for a Non-Awakener. Maybe he was getting stronger faster because he was surrounded by the heroines that he loved?
If that was indeed true, then I didn't need to make him separate from those girls. I also didn't need to do something that I would surely regret in the future. Honestly, I was a bit happy when I saw his growth going smoothly.
He was the only hope that I had to save the world in the future. It couldn't be me, it was only possible because it was him.
However, it still fell short compared to me. I could pull off those moves easily without breaking a sweat.
The match continued. The second round was someone from another class that I didn't recognize. The fight was not as exciting as before, but they were still good enough for Academy students. It also lasted longer as both sides were equal, and both of them used a sword.
The student with short black hair won in the end. And the third match would begin in a few minutes. It wasn't her turn yet, but she should be ready in the waiting room in case someone called her.
"Wish me luck, girls."
She stood up and walked to the waiting room to prepare for her match.
"Break a leg, Lisa!"
"You can do it!"
"D-Do your best!"
Lily, Mirana, and Shina encouraged her. Lisa nodded in the distance; she heard them even amidst the rowdy crowd.
I also looked forward to Lisa's fight. My mouth curled into a grin as I crossed my arms. Finally, I would be able to see the heroine fighting someone.
Although she was not Awakened yet, I was still excited to see her fighting with my own eyes.
What kind of fight would she show me, I wonder?
Lisa was not a fighter; she was more of a researcher. In the novel, she was a famous alchemist who made high-grade Magic Pills and had a successful business.
So, as the author, I was looking forward to her fight.