(Amina Moria POV)
I don't know why I agreed to the match so readily. If it were the regular me, I would've laughed his comment off and ignored him.
He could've tried to goad me into sparring with him, but I couldn't care less about him.
Maybe I just wanted to vent my frustrations. I loathed this party. Many nobles had tried to approach me in an attempt to court me. It was frustrating.
I was also irritated at Julius. Some part of me wished that he would step in and make the nobles go away. But he always ignored my plight.
Though I knew he wasn't doing anything because they couldn't hurt me. And I would probably selfishly complain afterwards. I knew that, yet I was irritated at him.
When I stepped onto the stage Maximillian was staring at me with a cocky look on his face. He was spouting insults at me and Julius, but I didn't hear a word of it.
I was too angry to care.
'I wish they could all disappear. I despise this nobility system. These people think they are special because of their birth. It's ridiculous.'
My mana stirred as it responded to my rage. I wanted to just obliterate the foe in front of me. I unconsciously released my {Haki} and {psuedo-Rulers Haki} which made him shiver in fear.
As soon as the match started, I rushed toward Maxillian without saying a single word. My opponent was astonished at the speed and ferocity of my attack.
I didn't bring my weapon with me, so I borrow a naginata that was here. It didn't have the function of transforming into a bow, but that didn't matter.
I kept my distance from my opponent, using my weapon's range to stop him from getting close. He used a classic one-handed broadsword, so his weapon length was shorter than mine.
Maximillian tried to get close, but my {Hawk Eyes} exposed all such attempts. He could only focus on defending.
I continuously swung my weapon from different angles so he couldn't find any openings.
He tried to circle around me but I always kept him 1m - 1.2m away from me, just outside his weapon range.
He tried to use techniques like {Mana Slice} to attack me, but they were cleanly deflected by me. I had to admit his skill with his sword was great, but not a match for mine.
At this point, I could see veins on his forehead. He was clearly proud of his swordsmanship skill yet he was being toyed with by me.
He lacked experience fighting opponents with weapons that had a longer range than his and who abused it as I did.
If he did, he would've taken advantage of the tiny gap of space that was created just after I swung my naginata.
Realising the change in his mentality I left an opening so he could get close. Normally he would've realised it was a trap, but he was too annoyed to care.
He rushed forward ready to swing his weapon at me. In a split second, I exceeded my maximum, ducked under his attack, and kicked him in the chest.
He was sent flying because of my enhanced attack and while he was doing so, I exceeded the sound barrier and swung my weapon toward his neck.
Normally the weapon would've cut right through him, but thanks to having a barrier that converts physical damage to mental damage, it was only blocked. It was the same barrier we had at school.
It was an ingenious piece of technology created by a famous enchanter couple of decades ago.
Though to him, he felt the pain of his head being chopped off. He was clutching his neck in pain as he looked at me in fear.
'He's weak. Is he really B rank?'
Our relative strengths were similar yet he stood no chance against me. This came from the difference in combat experience. He has never fought someone who had the intention to kill him.
He scrambled away from me, not caring about his image. No cheers were coming from the crowd. I could only hear the sound of my breathing.
I walked off the stage, not caring about the crowd's gazes on me.
"Wow, ruthless much. It was just a spar."
Julius met up with me after I left the stage.
"Really? I just defeated him."
"You weren't fighting like it was a spar. We were attempting to kill him. If it wasn't for the barrier, you actually would have. I could feel your murderous intent all the way from the stands."
I recalled the spar I had with Maximilian.
'Now that I think about it, I was extremely aggressive. I am usually more passive so I learn from my opponents. But I just completely suppressed him.'
"Did he piss you off that much?"
"Not everyone is like you Jules. Those stares. The ones that want to take advantage of me. Those ones who only treat me only like an object. They hurt. And I hate them."
"But they can't hurt you. You can just intimidate them."
"And risk disturbing the backgrounds behind them? You overestimate what my name can do to deter these people. Though I have my talent, now that the war is over, the government doesn't need soldiers."
Jules' expression softened.
"I'm jealous of you. You can hear the whispers behind your back. They say you 'suck up' to me and your a 'filthy commoner'. Yet you don't let those words hurt you. They just bounce off you. How?"
"Because I don't care. They mean nothing to me and don't hold a candle to me. I can easily surpass them with my talent."
"You are the only one who can think like that. I guess that's what makes you, you."
"Anyways, I want to tell you something, so could you come with me?"
"Why not here?"
"I prefer it to be in a quiet place. I don't want anyone listening."
'Wait! A boy wants to tell something to a girl in private. Is this a confession? Well, he is handsome and intelligent. Since when has he looked at me like that?'
My mind created thousands of fantasies. I could feel me heat rushing to my head.
'Well, I wouldn't mind....'
"What are you thinking about? Are you coming? James and Violet are waiting for us."
'Oh, I rushed to conclusions. Thank god. I don't know what I was thinking. There is a multitude of other things he might have wanted to tell me in private.'
Even though I was glad it wasn't a confession, some part of me was disappointed with that outcome.
"Yeah let's go."
I pushed those thoughts out of my mind. Jules had a severe look on his face. Whatever he had to tell me must have been important.