(Arin's Perspective)
The longsword in my hand felt slick with sweat. Not because I was tired, but because I was afraid. With the muscle strength granted by Serum V2, gripping this sword hilt felt like holding a fragile glass cup.
In front of me, Rose stood in a perfect Terza stance, the third position. The tip of her Rapier pointed straight at my right eye, dominating the central line of defense. She was calm, like an ice statue holding a needle of death. There wasn't a single opening in her posture.
"Come on, Arin," she said, clearly challenging me. "Or do you want to wait for sunset?"
I inhaled, letting adrenaline sharpen my focus. I raised my sword to the Vom Tag position above my right shoulder.
"Alright, Lady. Don't regret this," I replied as I stepped in.
Not running, but a Passing Step. I unleashed a standard Oberhau; a vertical cut from above. My intention was to hold back my Aura at fifty percent to avoid injuring her too severely.
Rose didn't retreat. She performed a Counter-Thrust while raising her sword hilt to catch my blade.
Clang.
Steel met steel. Our swords locked in The Bind.
Here was the problem. Theoretically, I should feel her sword pressure and then thrust. But my Aura suddenly spiked to ninety percent due to momentary emotion. I failed to control the mana, so the attack was too heavy for Rose.
I felt the structure of Rose's stance waver. Her knees buckled under the weight of my sword. Her face winced slightly.
Damn! Too hard.
I panicked. If I continued to press, I would crush her wrist. Reflexively, I pulled my sword back abruptly.
"Sorry!" I exclaimed unconsciously.
Unknowingly, my action was a fatal mistake. In swordsmanship, you never break contact just like that when in a bind. It was an invitation to death.
Rose, feeling my pressure vanish, immediately seized the momentum. She performed a Disengage, circling her sword tip under my blade, and launched a Lunge as fast as lightning.
A blue energy ball exploded on my chest from point-blank range, along with the blunt tip of the Rapier thrusting into my solar plexus.
THUD!
I was pushed back two steps. My bone density absorbed the impact of the magic and the thrust, but my ego was bruised. I lost in technique because I doubted my own strength.
"Don't hesitate, Fool!" Rose shouted, her eyes flashing with anger. "You insult my technique if you hold back halfway! Treat me like an enemy who wants to kill you!"
"But if I get serious, you could break a bone, Lady!" I retorted just as loudly.
"Then break it! That's the risk of a duel!"
Fine. I would get serious. But I would play with distance, not in the bind. Rose fought like a textbook. Attack, parry, magic, retreat. There was a five-second rhythm there, the cooldown time of her magic.
I couldn't win with pure sword technique. She would shred me if I played fencing. I had to play dirty. I had to be an unpredictable storm.
I charged forward. Not with a stance step, but a full-power sprint. Rose frowned. This was outside standard "procedure". She thrust again, this time aiming for my helm.
Instead of parrying, I let my knees go weak. I dropped my body downward in a very awkward movement.
Utilizing the strange elasticity of my waist joints due to the serum, I bent my body backward almost ninety degrees like a limbo dancer. The tip of her blunt Rapier whizzed past my nose.
Rose's eyes widened. She had never been taught how to fight someone who dodged in such a bizarre way.
From that absurd backbend position, I twisted my waist and swept her legs with my Longsword. Rose jumped back with her super agility, but her foot formation was messy.
Rose's eyes widened in shock seeing that strange move. "What kind of creature are you?! Is your spine made of rubber?"
"Maybe a side effect of eating Goblin dung?" I answered randomly as I scrambled to stand.
Rose snorted, then answered with another Mana Bullet shot to prevent me from using the momentum of rising.
I twisted my waist, using the elasticity of my spine to tilt my upper body sideways without shifting my feet.
The mana ball passed by my ear, singing the tips of my hair slightly.
I saw an opening. Rose was in her five-second cooldown. I lowered my body, changed stance to Pflug, sword at hip side, and exploded my leg speed.
"Now you're mine!" I shouted.
Rose tried to thrust at my face to keep me away. Instead of parrying her sword which risked breaking it, I performed an Absetzen.
I thrust into her attack, letting the Forte, the strong base of my sword, crash into the Foible, the weak tip of her sword.
Physically, the base always wins against the tip. Rose's sword bounced upward. Her ribs were wide open. I stopped the tip of my sword one inch from her armor.
"Got you," I whispered.
But Rose smiled crookedly. "Five seconds, right?" she whispered back.
Her left hand glowed bright.
First Circle Magic: Mana Shield.
A transparent energy disc appeared right in front of my sword tip, pushing me back.
We returned to neutral positions. My Aura and stamina had been drained due to the failure of efficient mana control. I had to end this immediately by penetrating her absolute defense.
Rose was now totally defensive. Mana Shield in front, Rapier ready to thrust from behind the shield.
I needed Senior-level strength. But if I used it, I would shatter the shield, and then my sword would continue to travel and split Rose in two due to the law of inertia. An object moving that fast couldn't stop abruptly.
Unless I forced it to stop by damaging my own body.
"Forgive me, Rose. This will be a bit rough," I muttered.
I jerked my breath, activating Senior-level Aura. The veins in my arms felt like they were filled with hot energy. My strength skyrocketed.
I stepped forward and swung a diagonal Wrath Strike with full power toward her mana shield. For a moment, my sword was coated in a faint solid aura light.
CRAAAASH!
The sound of shattering crystal was deafening. Rose's Mana Shield shattered into pieces like a glass window hit by a train.
Rose's eyes widened. Her face went pale. She hadn't expected her magic shield to break so easily.
My sword continued to travel, aiming straight for her neck. The inertia of my swing was too great. Death was right before her eyes.
STOP! I screamed in my heart.
This was the real test. I didn't let the swing complete. I activated all the antagonist muscles in my back and triceps to pull the emergency brake against my own momentum.
My collarbone screamed in protest. Muscle fibers in my right shoulder tore from withstanding the repulsive force I exerted myself. It felt like hitting an invisible wall at full speed.
The tip of my longsword stopped vibrating, pressing right against the skin of Rose's neck. No scratch. Only the wind pressure ruffling her ponytail.
I held my breath, enduring the pain in my shoulder that felt like it was about to dislocate. Blood dripped from my nose due to the pressure of burst blood vessels.
But I looked down.
At the moment her shield shattered, Rose didn't panic. Her perfect combat instincts took over.
While I was busy braking my sword, she performed a Passata Sotto; dropping her body low and extending her Rapier upward.
The blunt tip of her Rapier pressed right into the gap of my armor's armpit (Axilla), a fatal point leading to the heart.
We froze in that position. My sword at her neck. Her Rapier at my heart.
Rose stared at me, her eyes moving from the giant sword that miraculously stopped at her neck, then to my face pale with pain.
"You..." her voice trembled. "You destroyed the Mana Shield... and then stopped that much momentum at zero distance? Are you crazy? Your shoulder could have come off!"
I spat blood to the side, then grinned through the pain. "The brakes... are a bit tight, Miss."
Suddenly, Instructor Brook jumped into the center of the arena while clapping loudly.
"ENOUGH! Stop!" he shouted.
I lowered my sword with a trembling hand, and so did Rose. Signaling a draw.
The audience went wild seeing our match. Whispers of awe and horror were heard everywhere.
"Did Arin's sword emit solid aura just now? I wasn't seeing things, right?"
"Just your imagination. How could a Junior level perform Senior techniques? It must be a light trick."
"Then why did Lady Carlos's mana shield shatter? That's absolute defense magic!"
"Maybe just luck."
"Yeah, you're right, it doesn't make sense if it wasn't luck."
I could hear the excited speculation of the students. As usual, I turned on deaf mode, ignoring their gossip.
Rose stared at me. Not with the condescending look from the beginning, but with a wary gaze. The gaze of a warrior acknowledging the existence of another equal warrior.
"Your reflexes are good for a cripple," said Rose while sheathing her sword with a sharp click. "But your technique control is trash. You fight like a beast with no brain."
I shook my stinging hand. "In the forest, perfect technique is just a beautiful show before you get eaten by a monster, Lady Carlos. Surviving is what matters."
Rose was silent for a moment, then the corner of her lips lifted to form a challenging smirk.
"You have a sharp tongue too. My name is Rose Carlos." She turned, flipping her red hair. "Don't embarrass Elena during the exam, Partner. If you die foolishly, I will kill you again."
I watched her back recede.
"Another crazy woman," I muttered while massaging my temple. "Why are none of Elena's friends sane?"
But Brook slapped my shoulder hard while laughing heartily. "Congratulations, Nak. You just got 'hazed' by the Best Swordswoman in this year. And you're still alive."
I stared at my blistered palms. Rose was right that my technique control was trash. I won only because my physical stats were cheating and reckless.
"Instructor," I said seriously. "Teach me how to control this. The exam is in a week. I don't want my shoulder to dislocate in the middle of the exam."
Brook grinned evilly, his eyes gleaming with delight at seeing fresh prey to torture.
"Oh, certainly. Prepare to vomit blood, Boy. This week will feel very long for you."