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Thwack!
Branton's and Davian's wooden swords collided forcefully.
Thanks to the Strength points distributed last night, he could endure it, but Davian pretended to be pushed back a little this time as well.
"You're all talk, weakling! Hahaha!"
Branton used his strength to push Davian's sword up.
Davian's abdomen was completely exposed.
Thud!
He kicked Davian's abdomen hard.
"Ugh!"
Davian, hit by Branton's kick, was pushed back a long way.
Davian's left arm was already hanging limp, as if it were broken.
His face was swollen and bruised all over, and his stance suggested that his legs were also injured.
Davian clutched his stomach as if feeling extreme pain, then slowly straightened his back.
Without realizing it, a curse word slipped out of his mouth.
"Ah, damn it. Do I really have to go this far?"
Of course, he was talking to himself.
But Branton interpreted Davian's mumbling as he pleased.
"What, are you frustrated because you keep getting hit? Why do I have to go this far? You shouldn't have messed with us in the first place."
"What are you talking about, you idiot."
"This punk! Still haven't come to your senses, have you? Did you get hit too much and go crazy?"
Branton swung his sword around as if to show off, then attacked again.
This time, a low sword path aimed at his lower body.
Bonita, who was watching from below the training arena, muttered quietly.
"Looks like he's trying to finish it this time."
Vellum, who was next to her, didn't miss Bonita's muttering and asked.
"Finish it? Who?"
"An attack aimed at the waist and legs, making it hard to block. If Davian, who's clumsy with swordsmanship, awkwardly blocks it with the blade facing the ground, his upper body will be completely exposed. And of course, if he jumps to avoid it, he won't be able to block the next attack."
"You're right? Normally, you'd have to counterattack and break through that attack."
"Davian wouldn't know that."
"Then is it over now? Davian really held out well. Too bad..."
"It's definitely the end this time. But I don't know the result."
"Huh?"
"That kid, Branton. His attacks are too big. They have been since a while ago."
Davian's eyes gleamed sharply.
Branton's wooden sword was coming in low.
It was an attack that he had seen the countermeasure for in the swordsmanship textbook he had studied late into the night.
The best defense for this attack, which is ambiguous to block or avoid, is to counterattack the attacker.
However.
Although it was unfair, he couldn't beat Branton with orthodox methods.
He had to acknowledge the current difference in skill.
Davian waited for Branton's sword to come close, then jumped to avoid the attack.
Whoosh.
Branton's sword passed right below Davian's feet.
"You fool! This is the end!"
Branton manipulated his inner energy to stop the sword he was swinging.
Davian was still in the air.
"Haaah!"
Branton put all his energy into raising his sword toward Davian.
Even if he managed to lower his sword and block the attack, his posture would inevitably be completely disrupted.
If not this attack, the duel would end with the next attack.
But Davian didn't think about lowering his sword to block Branton's attack.
He thrust his right shin towards the wooden sword while still falling in the air.
Crack!
The sound of a bone breaking completely.
Branton's wooden sword and Davian's shin collided head-on.
"What, what is this guy!"
Whoosh.
Davian's wooden sword, freed in exchange for his shin, rotated quickly and sharply.
"Ugh!"
Branton, seeing the wooden sword flying directly towards his Adam's apple, unknowingly used all of his 1-star inner energy.
The inner energy gathered in his dantian spread throughout his body, creating movement that defied the laws of physics.
Branton's upper body was tilted back at an impossible speed.
'Got it!'
The moment he was relieved to see his neck out of the wooden sword's range.
Davian took his left hand, which had been holding the lower part of the grip, off the sword handle.
And he slightly loosened the strength of his right hand, which had been holding the upper part of the grip.
The sword handle quickly slipped out of Davian's right hand due to centrifugal force.
And the moment his right hand touched the pommel (the round part at the end of the sword hilt that prevents the hand from slipping off the grip), Davian gripped the grip tightly again.
In an instant, the length of the sword increased by a little more than a hand span.
Slash.
The tip of Davian's wooden sword accurately struck and passed by Branton's Adam's apple.
"Hup."
Surprised, Branton raised his hand and stroked his neck.
It was clearly a vital spot, but it only brushed past, so the pain was bearable.
Rather, the fear of death dominated Branton's mind.
If it had been a real sword, his Adam's apple would have been split open.
"Duel over! Davian wins."
Professor Stella's voice echoed through the training ground.
"...Waaaaah!"
The students, who had been watching the duel with dazed eyes, began to cheer.
"Awesome! Did you see that? He kept getting hit, but then he landed the finishing blow!"
"The sword lengthened in an instant, I thought he was drawing out some kind of aura!"
"The tip of the sword passed by his neck, and my neck felt all tingly."
Vellum and Nubes also stared at Davian with their mouths open.
"Did you see that? Vellum."
"Yeah. Did you too?"
Bonita chuckled and said.
"He's got some sense, more than I thought."
Meanwhile, a notification window appeared in front of Davian's eyes.
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[Quest 'Win a duel against a 1-star swordsman using only swordsmanship' completed.]
Acquired 1,000 Mana Points
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Ting.
Another notification window.
=====
[Hidden Quest 'Counter Punch' completed]
Acquired Skill: Eye for Sword Paths Lv.1
=====
It seemed to be a hidden reward that appeared after winning by taking a beating and then landing a counter.
An unexpected gain.
'Eye for Sword Paths Skill Details.'
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[Eye for Sword Paths Lv.1]
Passive Skill
Your dynamic visual acuity improves according to the skill level.
The skill level increases along with your inner energy while possessing the skill.
=====
He gained a good skill that he hadn't expected.
An ability that is essential for swordsmanship majors.
'Did they give it to me in the sense that I should avoid getting pitifully beaten and land a counter?'
Professor Stella continued.
"Davian, go see the school nurse and get treated. You're a mess. And you, Branton. Why did you lie about your swordsman rank? That movement just now wasn't that of an apprentice swordsman. Is it true that you haven't taken the 1-star swordsman test yet?"
"...Th, that's..."
"It's better to be honest now. There are plenty of ways to check."
Branton looked back at Lex with a mixture of embarrassment and resentment.
Lex conveyed his intentions with lip movements, without making a sound.
'What, you punk.'
Gritting.
Branton gritted his teeth after seeing Lex's lip movements.
Professor Stella's voice was heard again.
"Branton."
An even lower and colder tone.
Thud!
Branton knelt on the spot and shouted.
"I, I'm sorry! I just wanted to win the first duel easily, so I did it!"
"So. You took the 1-star swordsman test and have a rank certificate, is that what you're saying?"
"Yes, that's right... I'm sorry."
"Disappointing. It's absurd that you faked your rank to easily take the victory. And even more absurd that you lost even after doing that."
"Th... that's..."
He had completely messed up.
It was his fault for getting excited and falling for Davian's provocation, but in any case, it was something Lex had ordered in the first place.
Branton glared at Lex, gnashing his teeth.
Now Lex was looking elsewhere, not even giving him a glance.
But he couldn't dare to openly blame Lex, who was the young master of the Marquis family.
'Damn it! ...Damn it!'
Professor Stella continued.
"Branton, you get 10 demerit points. And Davian."
Davian, who was holding his shoulder and limping towards the outpatient nurse's office, stopped.
"Did you know everything and keep getting hit for that one last hit?"
"Yes."
"On purpose?"
"Yes."
"It was a duel where you couldn't possibly win in the first place. It wasn't a fair duel either. There would have been ways to give up in the middle, right?"
"I wouldn't have started if I was going to do that."
It wasn't about the duel.
It was an answer to his major in swordsmanship.
Stella nodded a couple of times as if satisfied.
"A great swordsman must also know how to cherish his body. There is healing magic, but humans don't have the recovery power of trolls."
"I understand."
Davian started walking again.
The school nurse's eyes, watching Davian approaching with a limp, lit up for a moment.
With her long experience as a healer, Mediom could tell that the swelling on Davian's face, which had been swollen, had slightly subsided.
His left arm, which seemed to have been completely broken in the middle, was also moving to some extent.
'That kid has quite a good recovery power.'
Dinner time.
Vellum is enthusiastically explaining Davian and Branton's duel to Luna.
"Crack! I heard the sound of his shinbone being smashed. I was so surprised."
Luna looked at Davian with worried eyes.
"Are you okay, Davian?"
"Yeah. I've already been treated."
"That's a relief..."
"This is the important part, listen. Branton, surprised by the sword swung by Davian, squeezed out all his inner energy and retreated. Out of the wooden sword's range. But do you know what Davian did in that short moment? Oh my goodness..."
"Stop it. It's nothing special..."
"Nothing special? You, who just picked up a sword for the first time, beat a 1-star swordsman? And no one would have been able to avoid that last counterattack. What did you think? 2-star swordsman Bonita. You tell me. It was amazing, right?"
Bonita, who was picking out food alone again, was grabbed by Vellum and joined Davian's group at their table.
"Well, it was pretty good for a beginner."
Davian was quiet, but Vellum was so frustrated that he didn't know what to do.
"But it was amazing, right, right? It was his first time, like you said."
"...I acknowledge his grit."
Luna asked.
"Davian, are you really going to be okay? Double major. Tomorrow is another day of basic magic classes all day. Meanwhile, all the other swordsmanship students will be practicing or training."
"It doesn't matter. I can practice during free time in the evening. Vellum, when is the next duel?"
"Huh? I don't really know either. Maybe around the mid-term evaluation?"
Davian looked at Lex's group sitting far away and said.
"I won't end it with just one counter then. I'm not letting that bastard Branton get away with this."
Luna, Nubes, and the rest of his friends were quite surprised by Davian's angry voice.
He hadn't shown any particular emotional change since the duel, so they thought he would acknowledge the difference in skill and move on.
Perhaps it was because Davian hadn't shown any particular emotional fluctuations since entering the school.
But the look in Davian's eyes as he glared at Branton now and the voice saying, 'I'm going to catch that bastard then,' were filled with strong anger and revenge.
Only Bonita smiled faintly for a moment and nodded.
Bonita stood up and said.
"Of course you should. If you really intend to become a swordsman. Well, I'm done eating, so I'm going to train. You guys should stop playing around and go study. Do inner energy practice or something."
Davian stopped Bonita.
"Wait, Bonita."
"Why?"
"What are you doing on the weekend?"
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