"Senior, do you dare?"
Gracian looked down at Theo's face, his expression betraying nothing that Theo could use to guess the man's mood. There was no way for him to know whether his gamble would work or not except by… waiting for the man to reveal it himself.
"Are you absolutely sure you know what you are doing?"
Taken aback by Theo's suggestion, Gracian ended up so confused, he actually gave him a good-faith opportunity to back down.
'Or maybe he's already playing mind games, trying to put doubt into my moves by making me reconsider?'
When it came to swordfighting, generally, it was one's body that fought. It was simply a contest of both practice, revealed in how well one could counter the opponent, and sheer ability, an aspect that could be boiled down to the limits of how fast and unpredictable one could swing their blade.
In the heat of battle, there was no time for elaborate tactics, strategy, or plan of action. It was for that very reason that every swordsman would develop their own school of thought, of moves, to have something for their instincts to draw from during an actual fight.
But Gracian wasn't just a simple swordsman!
As a rank seventh practitioner, he had stepped into the realm of mastery. And while he had yet to advance beyond the first of the three master ranks… he was on an entirely different level compared to a mere rank one, someone whose limit was still within the first of the beginner's ranks.
"Yes, I'm sure. If it's with those stipulations," Theo crossed his arms over his chest, leaving himself no time to doubt his choice even once, "then I'm happy to proceed."
Theo looked ahead, right into Gracian's face, refusing to turn his eyes away.
This too was a part of the pre-fight mind games, the only part of the duel where one's character and words could have any real effect.
Gracian stared back at Theo for a moment, only to then laugh softly before unsheathing his sword in one graceful move.
"Let us partake, then," he called out, only to drop the flat of his sword on his shoulder while slightly pushing his legs apart to get a better, more versatile foothold. "Come as you will!"
Gracian was grinning, rightfully confident in his ability to dodge whatever attack Theo would throw at him.
But…
Just in the very corner of his eyes, there was a single hint of a wrinkle, the tiniest possible clue revealing the seed of doubt Theo's actions and words had planted within his soul.
'When it comes to mind games, you are several decades too young to try to match me,' Theo thought, keeping his face perfectly still as he pulled out his crude sword and took a moment to stand in a proper stance.
This fight, Theo had long since played in his head.
Standing atop the years of his own experiences, he could estimate the limits of Gracian's ability and speed. He knew what to expect. And by planting this single seed of doubt into the man's head, he ensured Gracian would give him his full attention, just in case Theo's strange confidence wasn't baseless.
A small precaution for the senior not to let a random junior humiliate him. A respectable dose of foresight undiluted by arrogance, something one could only gain by overcoming struggles they initially dismissed.
Normally, it was a mark of a truly experienced adventurer or knight, but right now?
Right now, Gracian's undivided attention was exactly the one element of the puzzle Theo didn't control directly.
'Now, let me show you how to play mind games properly,' Theo thought, still keeping his face perfectly frozen as he finally found his balance and put his body into a simple, basic stance.
'The fancier a move is, the less effective it is going to be.'
This was one of the many lessons Theo received from fate and various instructors. And so, rather than putting his limited energy into some unorthodox strike that could potentially catch Gracian off guard…
Theo just rushed with all his strength, springing up from his frozen stance as he leaped toward his opponent.
A stupid move, depriving him of a proper foothold and trading the entirety of control for a slight burst of momentum.
But Gracian… couldn't exploit this obvious opening. He was to afford Theo three moves, after all!
And so, watching Theo quickly approach, Gracian braced himself to quickly deal with Theo's limited moves, regain his mobility, and end this farce.
Theo landed just a few feet away from the man, shifting his body low as he dove to Gracian's left, putting himself at an advantage of attacking from his dominant side while forcing Gracian to defend with the opposite… Only to halt his strike in the middle, grit his teeth through the pain of straining his wrist, and then counter-slash at his senior's unguarded right instead!
This was pretty much the limit of how much Theo could do before he would inevitably crash into his senior. His body was too slow to let him try even harder.
On the other hand, however, accurately throwing a feint while charging in with a leap… was not something Gracian could ever expect from a mere first rank. That move alone was enough to bring Theo's classification all the way up to the last rank of the beginner realm, or maybe even into the first rank of the advanced class…
But that was it.
Theo struck from the left, twisted his wrist, and then corrected over to the right.
Not moving his feet a single inch, Gracian swung his sword, ignoring the feint only to brace Theo's attack with his guard and then guide it away from his body…
For Gracian, this kind of defense was legitimate child's play. Something he'd done thousands upon thousands of times. And now that he figured out how the fight would go, the hint of caution in his eyes vanished.
But Theo's sword, rather than just stopping at the limit of the young man's reach… continued to move off to the far right, guided away by Gracian's guard. The weight of his deflection didn't seem right either. Baffled and curious, Gracian followed after Theo's sword with his eyes…
Only for Theo to dig his fist deep into his senior's stomach, gnashing his insides for the split of a second before Gracian jumped away, stumbling on his feet to recover from the heavy strike.
Three free hits. The elaborate feint a proper rank-one swordsman would never be able to execute. Even the arrogant confidence and lack of doubt… those were all just facets of Theo's mind game.
Because before Theo could even ask for the three free strikes, he had already decided to end the fight with just one.