"I'm putting everything into this one attack," she declared. "I hope you do your best to stop me."
"You'll have to make me." I gestured for her to come.
"I will try my best, Master."
She didn't move immediately, unlike her usual style. Instead, she entered into a deep focus, her grip tightening around the dagger.
Looking closer, I saw she had incorporated my teachings, her breathing following the rhythm I had drilled into her.
But soon, it shifted, taking on a style uniquely her own. I said nothing and let her continue; her aura told me she was growing stronger by the second.
ZZZZ
The air around the blade was vibrating—not just from her grip, but from something else.
She was concentrating all her strength into a single strike, letting the energy build. I counted the seconds in my head—ten… twenty… forty.
The attack was taking nearly a minute to cast. It was already a huge flaw in her technique; in real combat, such a long cast could be disastrous.
