The "lazy, but secretly powerful" character trope had been prevalent in the past few years back in Dignitas' world.
These characters were typically the laid back protagonists who never wanted to do anything, but could easily contend with the strongest.
"I guess I'll start with my first trick." Closing his eyes to concentrate, Dignitas muttered. "Death's Vision: Self."
While it was still the very same Death's Vision that Dignitas had used ever since the first day he got here, it served a different purpose during this battle.
His mind briefly went back to the time he fought with Alicer. That time, he was forced to create a new way to use Death's Vision due to none of his attacks working.
The skill itself allowed Dignitas to foresee someone he considered his opponent's next movements. But being the linguist that he was, he figured he could twist the skill's words a bit.
In other words, if he considered himself as his own opponent, he would be able to see what would happen to what was supposed to happen. Not that that made much sense.
But basically, it was like the "counter the counter" type of aspect to Death's Vision that even Dignitas didn't think was possible.
Going back to the battle, Dignitas eyes immediately started filling with mana.
Seeing this, Warren nodded slightly. "Hoh."
"I'm coming." Dignitas warned him.
In an instant, the distance between the two of them was closed by him, and a swift slash from Dainsleif grazed Warren's uniform.
"Wow. He's gotten faster, hasn't he?" John commented at the sudden burst of speed.
In Class 1-A, John was the undisputed fastest combatant. But if you were to ask the students who was second, you'd get some mixed answers. But a good portion of those answers would say, "Dignitas." Those answers would only more shift the more frequent they witnessed him in battle.
But, back to the battle.
Dainsleif could've gone farther and even dug into his skin, but the blade was stopped by the staff Warren was wielding.
"Hardwood? Hmm. Being able to contend with metal means it's at least a B rank artifact like mine."
Releasing his strength, Dignitas spun the edge of his sword and began attacking Warren in a way that almost seemed theatrical.
It was a mix of slashes and stabs, along with a few strikes here and there. The perfect type of fighting for someone as unpredictable as Dignitas.
And yet somehow, Warren was able to remain unscathed even after that. The attacks that even Dignitas didn't think could be parried were sent back towards him.
Dodging the tip of his own sword, Dignitas commented. "Yup. Definitely skillful."
Warren then immediately retaliated with a set of his own attacks. Almost like a monkey, he latched onto his staff like it was a tree and began swinging it around.
A stark contrast to his innate nature of laziness, Warren Michash's battle style was reminiscent of the "Monkey King" in Dignitas' old world.
Dodging through his attacks, Dignitas made sure to counter with his own slashes whenever possible. It got more difficult as the battle went on, however. Warren's speed was gradually increasing.
"I'm gonna get cornered into the edge of the arena at this rate. I've gotta think of something."
While the arena they were in was already quite large, it too had a limit to its size. On the way here, Professor Shib had made it a point that if you were to fall out of the ring, you would lose.
Dignitas made sure to heighten his senses. His recent training with Lorelai (listening to the wind) had already been helpful in discerning the different sounds that flew in the air.
He still wasn't proficient in it, but he could discern the noises he wanted to hear if he was given some time.
And luckily, Warren had decided to give him some time by rapidly assaulting him.
"Let's see. Alright, remember what she said. Allow yourself to be encapsulated by the wind."
To the rest of the students, it looked like Dignitas was suddenly drifting through the air. He allowed himself to rest on it, as he gracefully dodged Warren's attacks.
The latter's attacks seemed to pick up now.
Suddenly, Dignitas felt a change in his vision.
"Gotcha." Warren smiled slightly.
"Shit, I've gotta dodge this."
In his eyes, Warren was about to do a sweep that just barely reached him. If Dignitas kept his distance, he would've gotten out fine and be set to start his counterattack.
"Fuck, that hurt!"
What happened instead was the staff suddenly changing in size. It grew longer, and that was enough to land a hit on Dignitas.
His ankles were now bruised, making it difficult to continue moving quickly.
"What's your plan now, mister honor student? Please surrender, I wanna go back to sleep."
"Nah. Why don't you do that instead? I get to win, and you get to go back to sleep. It's a win-win for both of us." Dignitas suggested.
"Hmm… nah. I like to win, too."
In the blink of an eye, Warren's staff grew to twice its original size. It didn't seem to have any effect on the weight either, as he could swing it just as easily as earlier.
No longer relying on dodging to get away, Dignitas focused on meeting his opponent's attacks with his own to mitigate the impact.
But after a few minutes of doing so, Dignitas was shocked to find that Warren's swings hadn't even gotten slower.
They still moved at the same speed as when the battle started.
"This is why I hate these types of characters…" Dignitas sighed inwardly, staring at Dainsleif in his hands. "All or nothing, then. I'm betting this on you, buddy."
What happened next was unexpected. Dignitas shut his eyes tightly as he was deflecting Warren's attacks.
Everyone in the class immediately turned their attention to the former, who had mysteriously sheathed his sword.
Even Warren looked surprised. He stopped his attacks and slammed his staff into the ground.
He turned to Professor Shib. "He's surrendered, hasn't he? Do I win now?"
Shib shook his head. "No, I told you you have to knock your opponent down. Until then, the match is still ongoing."
"Eh, what a pain. Alright then. No hard feelings, mister honor student."
In the first time during the start of the battle, Warren's staff grew to a monstrous length.
It almost reached the ceiling! Even Professor Shib was lost for words.
And in the midst of this all, Dignitas stayed his cool. He kept his eyes closed, and merely took deep, rhythmic breaths.
With a final warning, Warren bid him goodnight. "Good fight, mister honor student." Then, he swung down his staff.
What happened next was even more unexpected than the earlier scene!
It was at a speed almost unseeable. In fact, the whole thing came and went faster than even the normal person could blink.
When the students' finally took notice of what had happened, Warren was on the ground, and his staff had been cut in half!
On the other side of the arena, Dignitas had just sheathed his sword, and was sweating bullets.
He muttered, "Distortion Slash wins this one, I guess. Hot damn, John's techniques really are broken."
"Dignitas Qwerdan wins this one." Professor Shib announced.