With just one glance, I can tell he's on a whole other level than the other disciples. His posture is relaxed, but no openings were visible. He had a small smirk on his face, a smile that wasn't cocky or mocking, but modest and confident. It's been a while since I felt nervous when facing an opponent of this caliber.
None of us moved a single muscle as we stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the move first, inspecting every little detail. I could see Solgac's eyes were half-closed, a face of pure boredom etched on her face. It felt like we'd been in the same position for hours. After a while, the opposition made their move. The red-skinned man took one step forward, and in that same instance, I finally began to make my move. In a flash, I disappeared and reappeared right behind the first pupil, and quickly lunged forward as far as I could. The first pupil effortlessly blocked my attack with his sword, and he did it without even turning his body to face me.
"…Hmph. Of course you wouldn't fall that easily," I grimaced. He raised his arm slightly, ready to start retaliating, but I hopped away at the slightest of movements. While smiling, the first pupil turned his whole body around, motioning for me to continue.
An obvious provocation. He expects me to get mad and charge recklessly, dulling my sense of reason. As if that'll work on me. I'll happily oblige and charge forward, but it won't go the way you think it would. Thing is though, I'll have to act carefully since my Stats are restricted. Adjusting to unexpected situations is a skill I learned back at Athiens.
I took a deep breath to calm my mind. A build-up of pressure leads to making rash decisions. This man is more skilled with the blade than I am, and the strength of his mana is stronger than mine because of the debuff. I also don't know who's faster between the both of us, so I'll have to find that out soon. What I do know is that I have one advantage over him, and that's unpredictability, specifically my mana. First things first, I'll test the waters to gauge his speed. I'll solve the problems one step at a time!
Infusing my legs with more power, I catapulted my body toward the first pupil who has been patiently waiting this whole time. Not even taking my eyes off my opponent, I released a volley of lightning-quick thrusts aiming for the vital points. The room which was just silent moments ago was now riddled with the clanging of metal clashing against each other, creating a symphony of thunderous roars that could be heard all throughout the dojo.
My opponent parried blow after blow, sometimes counterattacking after waiting for an opportunity to present itself. He would thrust his blade at my neck with a speed that rivals my own, causing me to barely dodge with the small window given. The tip of his blade was close enough for me to feel the chill of the steel against my skin. This little game of dodge and counterattack would go on for minutes, a game where no one could land a single scratch on their foe due to their agile nature and battle instinct.
"Hmph!"
With a strained grunt, the first pupil latched his free hand onto the grip of the blade and used his strength to propel me back a great deal. The push had me leaning backward on my right leg, and my defensive posture was broken. Now confident that he had broken the stalemate, he leaped forward and lunged his blade, aiming for my heart.
Thinking fast on my toes, I twisted my body as far down as possible. The first pupil's sword ripped through a small part of my hoodie and grazed some of my skin. A stinging pain enveloped my left shoulder, and I could feel warm blood escaping through the wound. In that same instance, Solgac scuttled away from my left shoulder and moved toward my right while hissing at the man. While this was all happening, I managed to create a short sword in my free hand and slashed away at my shocked foe's arm just as I backflipped away to regain my breath.
"Huff-Huff…"
"Amazing reflexes!" He chuckled as he inspected the fresh new wound on his arm. "In that split second of me cutting a small bit of your skin, you managed to create one of those blades fashioned out of your mana and used that opportunity to inflict damage while retreating!"
"…"
"I really thought I had you back there, but apparently not. I'm glad, nonetheless. It's only fitting that an opponent like you wouldn't beaten that easily."
Man… I really thought I was going to die back there! I saw my life flash before my eyes when I lost my balance. It was like I was staring at the jaws of death when I saw that blade coming toward me. Everything happened in slow motion…
"This is a thrilling fight, don't you think? It has been four minutes, and we are at a standstill. No one has the upper hand in this battle of ours! And to think we are still hiding our true powers. It's about time we stopped the warm-up and proceed with the actual battle, yes?"
"Aren't you a cheeky bastard," I grumbled.
"Not as cheeky as you, challenger. Take a good look at what you did to my poor weapon," said the man, raising his sword.
Perplexed by what he meant, I glanced over at his blade to see many nicks and cracks. It was on the verge of shattering into millions of pieces.
"That Damastril rapier is a real pain in the ass," he chuckled. The man grabbed the beaten-up sword, and with a quick motion, destroyed the entire blade portion by crushing it between his palm. Not even half of a second passed until the torn-off blade was replaced with a new one; created with mana.
"[Aura Blade]," I mumbled.
"Oh? If you know of [Aura Blade], I assume you can use it too?"
Actions speak louder than words. Instead of answering, I traced a finger along my rapier, encasing it within mana of my own. I could hear a sharp whistle in front of me.
"You surprise me! [Aura Blade] is a skill not just anyone can use. You must have the utmost concentration for the mana to take solid form and be in tune with your mana."
"You're way too excited about this…"
"Why wouldn't I be? Battling with a foe equal in level than I, is a rarity. I'm either fighting those who are weaker or those who are much stronger than I am."
"Hmph. Are you sure we're equal?" I sneered, getting myself into a battle-ready stance. The first pupil only smirked at my taunt, not even getting slightly peeved.
"You're welcome to prove me wrong. All that matters to me is improving my skills. Whether I win or lose the battle, I will still win the war as I get what I want," he finished as he hunched his back and rested his sword closely on the right side of his chest. Wasting no time, I snapped my fingers and created three mana blades of the longsword variety above the first pupil's head. He looked up at the magic in awe.
At the same time he averted his gaze, I charged forward at the man while also controlling the magic. I had both blades flank his left, right, and back while I attacked from the front. The first pupil faltered for a moment at the well-thought-out attack, but he quickly regained his composure and used his new sword to cut my mana blades in half, which instantly disintegrated at a single touch of his mana. Our energy-infused weapons collided with each other, and instead of bright orange sparks created from the clash of weapons, it was replaced with a drizzle of shining blue.
"We're still even, challenger!"
"Shut up and fight," I scowled.
"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!"
The first pupil decided that it was finally time to stop playing passively. With a new wave of speed and a crazed look in his eyes, he let out a flurry of blows that had me defending and no chance to counterattack. Each impact I received was as heavy as a boulder, and my opponent was just getting faster. The onslaught of blows had us moving around the room at speeds that could reach supersonic levels. If a regular human were to enter the room, it would be like a hurricane ravaging inside the area and they were in the middle of it all, sound and intensity included obviously.
"Ouch!"
I let out a small cry as I felt a sword slice through my thigh. I was getting frustrated as time went on, and that was because this whole time I'd been making sure Solgac was safe this entire time. Whenever I received a wound, the dragon would lurch forward, ready to bite away at the man's neck, but I would glare at her, mouthing at her to stay back and let me handle things. I didn't want Solgac to get hurt- not even a little scratch or mark. She would whimper and reluctantly back off, but I could tell that she was on the verge of attacking, regardless of whether I allowed it or not. While I was thinking about what to do next, the red man muttered a few words that I was hoping never to hear from him.
"Demonic Arts First Skill…"
When I heard those words, I was filled with anxiety and instinctively raised my arms in anticipation of the Energy Wave. I soon learned that reaction was a poor choice to do.
"You fell for it!"
When I peeked through my arms, I saw a sword flying straight at my face. This man tricked me into thinking he was going to use the Energy Wave and that had me instinctively defending! I don't have enough time to dodge or defend!
I could only watch on in horror as the blue blade was a hairbreadth away from decapitating my head…