Raye knew that he wouldn't be able to fight Leon normally.
He would easily be overwhelmed and defeated because of the gap in their stats and technique.
So he thought long and hard, searching for a way not to be defeated by Leon immediately.
And then he found it...
'If I know what move he will make and respond in advance, wouldn't I be able to fight for a while?'
A way to fight against Leon.
As absurd as it sounds, Raye had played as Leon multiple times. He had gone through the swordsmanship course many times as well, trying out all the endings.
In doing so, he became familiar with Leon's Celestial Forge Style. He memorized the initial moves taken for certain forms along with the attack patterns of that technique.
That's why Raye was confident he could guess what Leon's next move would be based on his stance and gestures!
He had actually tried it before, with Garis!
His opponent in the practical test before!
Raye knew Garis used the Fundamental Blade Arts, which were taught by Zion Academy to first-year swordsmanship course students.
And he was quite familiar with it too!
Anyway, using the method he thought of to fight Leon, Raye was able to defeat Garis easily.
That's why he went with this plan of his.
And now, getting back to the fight...
-----
'Ugh, I think my right wrist is swollen. This was probably when I blocked the second move of Leon's technique.'
Raye thought.
And despite the pain he was feeling, he didn't show it on his face.
'This is a bit exciting.'
A small smile crept up on his face.
Raye had been anxious at first, but now that his plan was working, he started having fun.
Though he still didn't get the proper timing of Leon's attacks.
One off move, and he's done. Raye had been pretty lucky until now.
Meanwhile, Leon had a glare on his face. He looked tense and more vigilant than before.
He didn't expect all of this from Raye.
Leon wouldn't have guessed that Raye could read his moves in advance either.
So, thinking that Raye was actually stronger than he looked...
'I need to take this seriously.'
Leon locked on.
Fwip—
He went into a drawing stance. He shut his mind off and just concentrated on Raye, determined to finish it already with this attack.
And seeing this...
'Oh, Celestial Forge Style, Nebula Slash.'
Raye was able to guess what the next attack would be.
He prepared himself. The distance between him and Leon was pretty far, so Raye became confident that he could dodge this time as well.
'Come, Leon.'
But suddenly...
Swoosh—
"Huh?"
A large amount of mana covered Leon's legs.
And before Raye could even process what was happening.
Bam—
Leon kicked off on the ground and disappeared from everyone's sight!
Fwoosh—
And he reappeared literally in front of Raye!
Then with all of his might...
SWOOSH—
Leon unleashed a heavy, sharp horizontal slash!
'...!'
Raye instinctively brought the dagger in front of him, guarding his chest. Then he raised his left arm to guard his head!
And after that...
BOOM!
Leon's attack connected.
...
...
*****
(Lena's POV)
BOOM!
A deafening explosion occurred.
Fwoosh—
Boom!
Then I saw Raye's body fly and slam into a wall!
Debris went flying.
"Urgh...!"
I shielded my eyes with my left arm.
And when things finally calmed down...
"Huh..."
"What happened?"
People started asking questions about the situation.
I was confused as well. I just saw Leon making a stance, and the next thing I knew, he was in front of Raye!
"Ah...!"
I remembered seeing Raye fly earlier.
I immediately looked in the direction where I saw him flying, and there, I saw the wall with a pretty big hole in it.
A dust cloud covered it. I couldn't see Raye's condition.
"..."
So I just waited for it to disappear. The others did the same.
Soon enough, the dust cloud dispersed.
And there...
"..."
We saw Raye lying with his head down, not moving.
"Is he okay?"
"Nah, he's probably dead..."
"That gotta hurt for sure."
I heard the students mumble when they saw Raye's condition. I was also thinking the same.
But then...
"Ugh..."
Raye groaned.
"Fuck..."
Then he stood up and walked out of the hole in the wall!
He raised both of his hands, then with a frown on his face...
"I lost."
He surrendered.
"Winner, Leon Lightbringer!"
I heard Professor Sariel announce.
And the duel officially ended.
"..."
The end was anticlimactic.
I really thought Raye might have a chance to win after seeing him dodge and counter Leon's attack.
'Well, he still did great.'
I thought. Although the duel ended quickly, it didn't end immediately as everyone had thought.
Then, looking back at the arena, I saw Leon still glaring at Raye.
'Why is he still so mad at him?'
I asked in my head.
"Hmm?"
But then I noticed.
"Oh."
Leon wasn't looking at Raye with anger, but more like in shock. I wondered why.
And that's when I saw it...
"...!"
Leon's uniform was destroyed in the front, and there was a cut on his chest!
On his wound, I could feel a bit of Raye's mana.
And then I identified the magic that caused the wound on Leon's chest.
'It was [Wind Blade].'
A basic attack spell...
My head snapped back at Raye's direction. He was getting treated by the healers now, calmly sitting down on a chair.
"Wha... Raye wounded Leon..."
"He was able to hold his ground pretty well despite the stats difference..."
"What the hell did he do...?"
The students who noticed the same thing as me mumbled to themselves.
'What happened in that split second?'
I asked in my head, looking back and forth at Leon and Raye.
Just then...
"Now, let us see both of their stats so we can grade their performance."
The headmaster spoke.
And immediately after that...
Swoosh—
Raye's and Leon's stats were displayed in the air for everyone to see.
=====
Name: Raye Alvah
Age: 18
Year Level: 1
Race: Human
-----
Stamina: 13
Intellect: 13
Mana: 9
Strength: 11
Speed: 13
-----
Overall Grade: F-
Growth Rate: S-
=====
=====
Name: Leon Lightbringer
Age: 18
Year Level: 1
Race: Human
-----
Stamina: 29
Intellect: 20
Mana: 20
Strength: 33
Speed: 32
-----
Overall Grade: E-
Growth Rate: S+
=====
And seeing the difference in their stats...
"..."
It just made us even more impressed that Raye was able to fight Leon like that.
"Raye only lasted four moves. I won the bet!"
I heard someone from the crowd. I ignored it.
"..."
Everyone did.
Against All Odds, Raye decided to still fight and was able to perform impressively.
And somewhat, I kinda respect him for that.