Chapter 23

"Hey everyone! It seems that Lysandra is going to spar!"

"Really? Is her opponent that old man? Who is it?"

"I don't know... He doesn't seem like an adventurer..."

The place was buzzing with excitement.

It was no wonder; Black Rank adventurers were the envy of all adventurers. If she was going to spar, it was understandable that many would want to watch.

It would have been more impressive if her opponent wasn't an old man like me.

"This is the guild's training ground, right? I think the space is sufficient."

"…Yes, I think it will be fine."

I nodded in response to Nidas's words.

"Hehehe, this is going to be fun, so much fun!"

T-this guy is treating it like it's not his business.

I wonder if I won't get any bad luck for giving Lucy a good beating.

After that, things went smoothly, and it ended up being a sparring match between Sarena and me.

The location was the training ground attached to the Adventurer's Guild. Unlike the training ground of the Knights, it was outdoors and of moderate size.

Looking around, there were wooden dummies set up everywhere, and quite a number of adventurers seemed to be present.

However, since it was a training ground, most of them appeared to be new or young adventurers. Specifically, most of the visible plates were White and Bronze.

Well, once you become a full-fledged adventurer at Gold Rank or above, you probably don't need to practice with swords in the training ground. They probably train through quests and real combat.

"Hmph."

Sarena was as usual.

She must be used to this level of attention.

As for me, while I've been seen a bit in the dojo, I'm not used to sparring with such a large audience.

Teaching at the Reberio Knights is also quite a fresh experience. Being surrounded by adventurers is, of course, a first for me. I'm a bit nervous.

"Then, teacher, please take care of me."

"Ah, please go easy on me."

In the center of the square, Sarena and I faced each other.

No, I really mean it. Please go easy on me. Really.

Sarena bent her knees slightly and spoke a single word.

It was the bow I taught her when she was young.

I felt a bit warm inside that she still remembered it.

We both held wooden swords. However, while mine was similar in size to a longsword, Sarena held a pair of shorter, thinner swords.

She uses a dual-wielding style. The difference in weapons can significantly affect the fighting style. Well, how should I handle a dual-wielder?

No, this is just a sparring match. It's not about winning or losing.

Besides, it would be disrespectful to Sarena to have such杂念 (distractions).

Alright, let's focus. Focus!

"―I'm coming!"

"…!"

Sarena signaled the start of the battle.

With a short roar, the woman in front of me vanished from my sight.

—Did she crouch down?

The run-up was fast, from the right, a backswing, both hands, no, one was a feint, a body strike, block, a vertical cut, dodge, a kick, suppress, jump back, she follows, a double-handed thrust, dodge, a slash, block, another thrust, spin, a spinning cut, block!

"Haahaaaaa!"

"Ugh…! Damn!"

Wow, she's so fast! My thoughts can't keep up!

It was like lightning and thunder, a fierce attack that made even breathing a gap.

There was no room to think about counterattacks. I was barely dodging by reflex.

No, Sarena is incredibly strong!

Of course, she's a top-ranked adventurer, so she can't be weak!

Having two swords means, simply put, twice the number of strikes. Of course, the handling changes, so just holding two swords wouldn't be much of a threat for a novice.

But Sarena is different. Her movements are perfectly optimized for dual-wielding.

Sometimes delicate, sometimes bold. Her two swords danced wildly in all directions.

This is bad, I'll be overwhelmed if this continues.

I don't expect an easy win, but as someone who teaches swordsmanship, it would be embarrassing to be completely outmatched.

No, this isn't the time to worry about appearances!

Phew, that was close, it grazed me!

"Hahahaha! You're impressive, Beryl!"

"No, not a single hit…? I can't believe it…"

"She's blocking everything…! Who is that old man!?"

Damn, I can hear the crowd. It's a sign that I'm not fully focused.

Focus, focus! If you let your guard down, you'll be hit in an instant!

—A rising cut, a vertical cut, a body strike, a leg sweep, a diagonal cut, a thrust, a parry, a kick, a flying cut, another leg sweep, a spinning cut, a double-handed thrust—!

The time to fend off her relentless attacks continued.

How many seconds have passed? The time seemed to move so fast that I couldn't tell.

However, there was one thing I noticed in the short time we've been exchanging blows.

While Sarena skillfully manipulated both hands, her left hand was slightly less active. She was probably not a complete ambidextrous.

Even when I taught her swordsmanship as a child, she was right-handed.

Of course, her skill is more than sufficient for normal combat. In fact, it could be said that her technique is already perfected at this stage.

It's not a gap, just a tiny flaw, smaller than the eye of a needle.

—If I'm going to attack, it has to be here.

I focused all my nerves on deflecting her attacks and waiting for her left-hand attack.

"Haah!"

"—Shit!"

Our spirits clashed.

The diagonal cut from her left hand. This is it.

There's no other way to counter it.

I placed my wooden sword against her approaching wooden sword and spun it with the tip of my hand.

It was a small trick I once used on the deputy commander of the knights, Hembritz. I forced the flow of power to the side, disrupting her balance.

Sarena's movements were too fast, and I had to focus all my nerves on this one move.

Of course, I didn't think I could control a swordsman of Sarena's caliber with such a small trick.

With her skill, she should be able to adjust her center of gravity to my "deflection" without much effort.

But, a fraction of a second.

That's all I need.

"…Damn!"

Sarena's eyes widened for a moment at my move, but she quickly tried to adjust her stance by switching her feet.

It was a great move, but in that instant.

In that instant, I was faster!

"―――!"

"…One point, perhaps."

At that moment.

Sarena's dual swords came to a sudden stop in mid-air.

My wooden sword was at her throat.

"―Thank you very much."

"Uh, thank you."

Although it was a controlled strike, I decided the match with my one blow, and the sparring ended.

We exchanged bows and headed towards Nidas and the others.

"Whoa! That was amazing!!"

"What was that! What was that! What was that!?"

"I saw something incredible! I saw something incredible!"

Suddenly, the already buzzing training ground was enveloped in an explosive volume of voices, far louder than before.

Well, the audience's surprise is understandable.

Sarena's rapid and relentless attacks were truly impressive. As a top-ranked adventurer, her skill is clearly different. I'm sure the new adventurers here also saw something great.

I just managed to slip in one move in the midst of my struggle.

I was just enduring, so it probably looked pretty lame.

In fact, I'm drenched in sweat from that one exchange.

Sarena is also sweating, but she doesn't seem fatigued.

I'm completely exhausted.

If we had continued, I would have eventually been overwhelmed. I think it would be impossible for a normal person to keep up with that.

"Phew… You were impressive, Sarena."

"No, no, you were amazing. I didn't expect you to block everything…"

We exchanged a few comments as we walked.

"But, your left-hand handling is not yet perfect, right?"

"You noticed… I still need more training to handle it as well as my right hand."

I added a few points I noticed.

I'm no longer her teacher, but if I can help Sarena reach even greater heights, I won't hold back.

"Hehehe, guiding a Black Rank adventurer. You're doing well."

Ahead, Lucy was smiling broadly.

Nidas greeted us with a surprised but smiling face.

And there was Maigen, standing there with her mouth agape in shock.

This time (again) was a sparring match, but I really feel that writing combat scenes, including such exchanges, is very difficult.

Balancing speed and readability is truly impressive.

I'll do my best.