Oliver's body crouched down like a predator about to snap, his entire body tensed and then relaxed. His entire body pounced forward towards the girl, moving at incredible speed. Similar to a white mist, Oliver suddenly vanished and appeared in front of the girl. A katana had suddenly appeared tied around his waist, and an unforgettable gleam entered the girl's eyes. The katana had reached the girl's neck, and just when it was about to tear into her flesh, a sudden clash of metal echoed throughout the area. In front of Oliver's katana, a double-edged sword stood like an unmovable mountain.
"I believe I told you to stop, kiddo."
"Hah? I don't recall such a thing."
"Aren't you something, kiddo." The man holding the sword had a piece of straw in his mouth. His eyes were narrow, and his face was full of wrinkles. Oliver knew he wasn't any match for him; however, where would he get such an opportunity to fight him for no cost?
Oliver took a step back and twisted his body, letting his katana glide toward the man's neck. The man scoffed at Oliver's amateurish movements, displacing his katana with a single slash upward. The clash of metal once again scattered through the area; however, this time it didn't stop at one. Oliver went on the full offensive, letting his sword move through the air at the man's various vitals.
The man calmly received each attack with relaxed eyes. His sword barely moved from its station; instead, his body gracefully moved against Oliver's flow. Oliver, getting increasingly annoyed at his futile attempts, murmured under his breath, "First Sword: Moonlight's Grace." His body seemingly vanished from the man's eyes, and the sound of metal once again rang out.
"H-how?"
"Heh. Not a bad attempt, kiddo, however, you're too green, brat." The man didn't give Oliver the chance to think and suddenly went on the offensive. He took a single step forward and swung his sword towards Oliver's neck. As Oliver raised his katana, his balance was suddenly broken, and he fell to the ground.
"H-huh?"
"Pay more attention to the feet, brat! Again!"
Oliver ground his teeth and quickly got up. The sounds of metal clashing against each other, the sounds of panting and yelling, the sounds of falling—they all rang out from the mountain. Oliver and the man continued their battle for an entire 8 hours. During this time, a small crowd of 29 other students had been observing. While most didn't think much of Oliver at first, they noticed his abnormal improvement—no, "improvement" might be a stretch. Instead, it would be more clearly defined as reckless bravado.
"Huff! Huff! W-what the hell are you?"
"Hah? Is the little brat gonna cry?"
"Fuck. Huff! You."
"Keke! Now that's the spirit, brat! Now pick up that sword and…"
"No. You can stop now, Kelois." A mature woman glared at the man, causing the scar over his eye to ache. He clicked his tongue, reluctantly sheathed his sword, and moved away from Oliver. The woman had dark crimson eyes and hair of the same color. She stared at Oliver with little to no emotion and finally ordered, "Get back to your Hall. Also, welcome to class, Oliver."
Oliver simply nodded and sat there, catching his breath. Although such a thing would be normal—catching your breath after a straining duel for 8 hours—the woman didn't seem to like it. As her forehead creased, she ordered again, however this time with a glare and a raised voice,
"I said get back to your dorm, maggot!"
Oliver looked at the woman like she was crazy, completely oblivious to the looks he was receiving from the others around. He flashed a small smile and slowly got up, not caring about the increasingly annoyed face she was giving him. He patted the dirt off his clothes and started to head towards his dorm, although he failed to realize that she was only getting more and more annoyed. Oliver's vision suddenly went dark as the woman from before glared at him. His last thoughts before complete darkness were, "I didn't even notice it."
Oliver woke up back in his room near the break of dawn. Unlike the classic tropes, Oliver didn't find any pretty girl nursing him or a grand beauty waiting for him to wake up. He got up and completed his daily hygiene routine. Afterward, he left to begin his daily training exercise when a sudden hand grabbed his shoulder on his way out.
"You got it rough, huh, friend?"
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me! To think you would have Ms. Samantha—you poor soul, friend."
"Is she that famous?"
"Yeah, wanna hear her nickname?"
"Not really."
"Heh, you're going to hear it anyway! She's called Scarlet Devil. I'm sure you know why the scarlet part. The devil part? Heh, she barely shows any emotion and is the strictest staff member here. Moreover, those on her bad side quite literally experience hell." Noticing Oliver's silence, Eman continued with a sunny smile, "While you, my friend, are now on her bad side."
"Why? What did I even do?"
"Heh, she hates those that ignore her authority and don't bend to her control. Good luck!" Eman left that last part and left the Hall. Oliver shook his head, not believing it would cause him that much trouble. Yet, he was proven wrong the very next moment as the person in question made her presence known.
"Why are you standing there, maggot? For failing to follow the rules yesterday, maggot, I want you to complete a small task."
"Huh?"
"Run. Run and don't stop until I say so."
Oliver looked at her demonic expression with unease filling his heart. He wanted to say something, however, her eyes seemed to gain a red hue, and Oliver felt death loom over him. He quickly shut his mouth, gave the woman a nod, and was about to run. Of course, he was stopped by her voice, which sounded as sweet as honey, "Aren't you forgetting something? You know I dislike wondering whether you understand my orders."
"Y-yes, ma'am."
"I didn't seem to hear you."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Samantha nodded, and Oliver was allowed to begin his run. Samantha didn't bother to go after him and left toward her actual purpose at the foot of the mountain.
III