Battle Against Bella

Fran arrived at the swordsmanship lesson. She had attended the arithmetic class last week, but the teacher just droned on and on, nearly putting her to sleep; nothing of note had happened.

Today was the day she and Bella had agreed to duel. They had actually set the date during the last swordsmanship lesson, but since that was her first time using a breathing technique in actual combat, her legs had turned to jelly afterward, and she had barely managed to walk back.

Although she believed that her current level was enough to earn an excellent grade by simply attending class on time, she possessed a competitive spirit. She had specifically purchased a combat skill and practiced it to the mastery level, all in preparation for today.

Reaching the mastery level in this combat skill had even granted her a +0.1 bonus to her physique, bringing her current stat to 1.5.

Of course, her biggest regret was not having practiced her breathing technique to the proficiency level; she felt that if she had, three Bellas wouldn't be able to defeat her.

As of now, her breathing technique was still at 204 proficiency, with a long way to go before leveling up.

A "bang-bang" sound echoed—John was gathering the apprentices.

Once the apprentices had assembled, John shouted:

"The two of you will spar in front of me, and after that, everyone else can practice freely."

After the apprentices had experienced their previous sparring session, it was impossible to just have them practice basic techniques, so John simply arranged it this way.

The duel between Fran and Bella was not scheduled for the first match; instead, the first bout was Mason versus Mars.

Mason gripped his wooden sword tightly, holding his breath and focusing his mind, swearing to wash away his previous shame in this battle.

Mars, however, was absent-minded. He kept glancing toward Fran's position, not putting his heart into the spar at all.

This attitude caused him to be caught off guard at the start of the match. He was nearly finished off by the charging Mason, only managing to block the attack in a desperate, last-ditch posture.

Then, relying on his superior physical stats, Mars forced Mason to retreat again and again; the force of his swings was so great that Mason couldn't block them at all.

A rat that only knows how to sneak attack. The fact that he had almost been ambushed reminded Mars of the last incident, and his temper flared, making his attacks even more ferocious.

He had originally disdained using a combat skill, but this time he decided to use one to vent his anger; he hadn't had a good opportunity to unleash a skill during his last fight with Fran.

He pulled back, giving Mason a moment to catch his breath, and began to channel his strength into his arms and shoulders.

This was his family's Earth-Splitting Slash; surely, this blow would make this stinking rat suffer.

But things did not go as he expected. Mason didn't dodge; instead, he charged forward, his body erupting with the same aura. Before Mars's sword could fall, Mason's wooden sword struck him first.

"Mars..." This time, the tone in John's voice wasn't just anger or frustration; it carried a hint of disappointment.

A series of reprimands followed, leaving Mars unable to lift his head, while when it was Mason's turn, John's tone shifted to pleasant surprise.

"Very good, Mason. To be able to master this combat skill in such a short time is truly excellent..."

He thought highly of Mason. This progress gave him hope—the hope that Mason could rank in the top three of the course. He only had three recommendation spots in his hands.

In his view, Fran and Bella were certain to get those spots, leaving only one remaining. However, defeating Mars didn't prove much; there were several other children of territorial nobles ahead of him who had much better foundations than Mason.

After a few more matches, it was finally time for the battle between Fran and Bella.

Just as she was about to walk onto the field, Bella called out to her.

"Fran... can you wait for me to activate my breathing technique before you attack..."

Bella could also activate her breathing technique in combat, but it had a slight wind-up time, making it easy for Fran to take her out in an instant.

Bella wasn't sure she could catch the opening Fran had when activating her own technique; the last time she saw Fran do it, she felt it was incredibly fast.

And if she didn't use her breathing technique, Bella felt she had no chance of winning.

"Fine." Fran understood the implication, but she didn't mind. She was already prepared; if she didn't use it, all her preparation would have been for nothing.

When John called for the start, neither side attacked immediately, instead standing in place to use their breathing techniques.

Fran, having reached the mastery level, activated her breathing technique almost instantly, without the need for the preparation time she had required during the last match.

Bella, meanwhile, slowly deepened her breathing, and it wasn't until two seconds later that Fran felt the aura around her change.

That's a bit slow. Slower than I was last time, Fran thought.

John was somewhat surprised that both of them could use breathing techniques in combat. This was the first time in all the courses he had taught that two apprentices were using breathing techniques to clash.

Of course, it wasn't that breathing techniques were rare; he knew many territorial nobles held tournaments where the ability to use them in combat was commonplace.

But it was different in the City of Apprentices. Here, you were required to have talent in mental power; without it, you couldn't get in, no matter how good your breathing technique was.

This dual-talent screening naturally made members of the Sword Chant School superior to others in many respects.

Once Fran confirmed that Bella was ready, she launched a lightning-fast strike.

This move made John notice something was off. What was going on?

He noticed that Fran's preparation time for her breathing technique had been drastically reduced. He assumed Fran had been obsessively practicing, so a shorter preparation time was normal.

But her speed at the very start was much faster than when she had used the technique last time. He could tell at a glance that Fran's physique was significantly stronger than before.

But how? Could it be that Fran only started using body-tempering methods to improve her physique after mastering her breathing technique? What kind of training method was that?

Usually, physique only increased slowly through long-term practice of breathing techniques.

He couldn't quite grasp what was happening with Fran—how she had gone from knowing nothing in previous classes to this state after only two lessons.

Back to the battle: Fran's first attack was blocked by Bella's horizontal sword, and the hand holding the sword didn't move an inch.

Fran felt the difference in strength. Even before opening her breathing technique, her physique had been a notch lower, and after using it, that gap had widened further.

Moreover, Fran's breathing technique focused more on agility, while Bella's focused heavily on strength, making the disparity in their power even more pronounced.

Fran continued her rapid, fierce assault, hacking down blow after blow. Although Bella was far superior to Fran in terms of physique, she was a notch behind in terms of agility.

Even after using her breathing technique, which enhanced her reflexes and nimbleness, she could only barely keep up with Fran.