George was frozen for a moment, his face was now red with embarrassment. He picked up his sword and glared at Seraphine, clearly frustrated by his defeat. He felt that he had barely shown his true skills and perhaps, he couldn't pass this exam at all!
He felt that it wasn't fair at all since he believed that Seraphine deliberately made it harder for him. He recalled how she waited for other students to perform well but he was completely countered in his match just now.
However, George's expression lightened as soon as he heard her speak.
"Your technique is impressive," Seraphine said with a neutral tone in her voice... "But you rely too much on flashy moves. Focus on the basics, and you'll improve."
'Ugh…'
George nodded stiffly and walked out of the arena, avoiding eye contact with the other students.
However, he soon realized that Seraphine never advised others after she defeated them. With his, his eyes lit up.
Despite his loss, he held his head high. He was confident that his performance had been good enough to earn him a passing grade.
As soon as he left, Sir Roland finally called the next student to take the exam.
It was Hayden.
***
Hayden stepped into the arena with his practice sword in hand.
Needless to say, the crowd of students immediately focused on him. They were all curious to see how the youngest examinee would fare against Seraphine.
"Begin…" Sir Roland said as he glanced at Hayden. Perhaps, he was the most excited about this match. After all, he just couldn't forget how Hayden fought against a graduating student and won against him. It was something that had never happened before and perhaps, it would never be repeated.
Hayden had certainly left the spotlight after that match two years ago and he no longer participated in some big events and focused on his foundation skills. Nonetheless, Roland knew that Hayden didn't stop practicing.
As a matter of fact, he felt that Hayden didn't just get stronger but also obtained a physique closely ready to awaken Aura.
'It's like he's using a Breathing Technique even as he walks…' Roland thought as he observed Hayden's movement.
Hayden considered for a moment what to do in this match… Well, he didn't receive any training in sword techniques aside from the basic stances and a few movements from Dawn Swordsmanship taught in Swordsmanship Class.
'Okay… Let's try the Basic Stances again…' Hayden thought.
Of course, he wasn't underestimating Seraphine. As a matter of fact, he knew that he would lose no matter what kind of tricks he made.
With that in consideration, Hayden decided to just continue using his basic sword stances.
Hayden took a deep breath and shifted into the Ready Stance. It means that his sword was held vertically in front of him.
"Ahhh… The basic stance…"
"Right… That student used it to kill a graduating student."
"That's exaggerated. He didn't kill anyone. He just won against them with the most basic movements."
"He must be confident."
"But basic is still basic… Against a Knight Candidate, he'll definitely know his place."
On the other hand, Hayden was ready to rely on his own strength and his Ocularis Lens in this match. Although he had a decent result in the Orb of Trial, it was due to the fact that his stamina in that place was unlimited.
This time, he would have to push himself to the limit if he wanted to put on a good show.
Seraphine looked at Hayden as she recalled how he performed the modified Dawn Swordsmanship... She knew very well that Hayden had better sword skills than the Basic Stances.
'Are you trying to prove something? Let's see…'
Then, without warning, she moved… She no longer bothered waiting for Hayden to attack.
Her first strike was a quick thrust aimed at Hayden's chest.
Hayden shifted into the Defensive Stance, deflecting the blow… However, this deflection should be difficult as Seraphine put some strength on her thrust…
However, Hayden's control of his balance was impressive!
'I want to see more…' Seraphine thought as she continued on her assault.
Hayden on the other hand, transitioned between stances. They were all the basic movements which made everyone see their skill gap.
If they were the ones performing basic stances and even its footwork, they felt that they wouldn't be able to evade or block Seraphine's attack. None of them would probably attempt to do this aside from Hayden…
"Nice moves…" Sir Roland muttered as he watched Hayden, use the Side Stance to evade Seraphine's strikes and the Counter Stance to redirect her momentum.
The crowd watched in awe as Hayden held his own against Seraphine more for than three minutes!
For the first time in the examination, Seraphine's expression shifted from calm to intrigued.
Soon, Hayden's tactic changed.
After he used the Counter Stance to redirect Seraphine's momentum and the Circular Stance to evade her strikes.
Hayden feinted to the left… It may not be that effective but Hayden gained a small opening that allowed him to deliver a quick strike aimed at Seraphine's wrist.
Pah!
He successfully hit her! Something that no one else managed to do!
'His sword connected!' Sir Roland's eyes lit up. Although there was no strength to it, it was already impressive. Even the crowd erupted in cheers as they felt that Seraphine was indeed just a human like them! She could still make a mistake especially if she underestimated her opponent!
"He hit her! Hayden actually hit her!" Someone exclaimed as he couldn't contain his excitement.
Hayden had no idea who he was but he still smiled after hearing it.
Now, he was ready to lose… He wouldn't mind being defeated with such a performance. Once he became an Apprentice, he could finally attend the Horseback Riding Class.
But to his surprise, the match was already over with that performance…
It was anticlimactic!