"Again!" The instructor bellowed as I retrieved my wooden sword from the floor, determined to face my opponent. However, she moved with lightning speed and incredible strength, effortlessly evading my reckless strikes and striking me in vulnerable areas. I crumpled to the ground, coughing up blood. Laughter and whispers filled the air among the onlookers.
"Are you even making an effort anymore?" My opponent, a slender woman with short orange hair, taunted with a sly grin. "Lyra was right; you don't belong here."
I forced myself back onto my feet, clutching the wooden sword once more, ready to attack. But once again, she deftly sidestepped my strike and delivered a punishing blow with her own wooden sword, sending me sprawling in pain.
"That's enough for now," the instructor declared. "You all may break for lunch and return in the next fifty minutes."
