The Sword-Grip Duel

Fran's next practice session was interrupted by the two keeping their distance and harassing her. One moment, they thrust their swords toward her; the next, they jumped right into the path of her swings.

After enduring it for a while, Fran finally saw a skill appear on her Panel.

[Elven Swordsmanship (Uninitiated) (Proficiency: 0/10): The style elves use when wielding a sword. You do not know it.]

At last, she'd obtained Elven Swordsmanship. Now she wouldn't have to worry about being kicked out of this class.

She glanced at Elven Swordsmanship on her Panel again, and a bold idea came to her.

She looked at Aboyue, who was still some distance away, ignoring Ren, who was closer. With a leap, she went straight for Aboyue, swinging her wooden sword in midair.

She thrust the sword straight at Aboyue's waist. The wooden blade carried the momentum of her leap and struck its target hard.

[You made a clumsy attempt. Elven Swordsmanship proficiency +1]

"Ah!" The impact made Aboyue cry out in pain, drawing everyone's attention.

Bela watched Fran with concern and a hint of guilt. After all, she was the one who had suggested Fran take this class.

When everyone looked over, Fran spoke up at once:

"Sorry for disturbing everyone. Aboyue and I have a personal grudge."

Then she turned to Teacher Burnett and said:

"Teacher, I request a match against Aboyue to settle our dispute."

Burnett's brows furrowed even more, and his face tensed. He clearly disliked this sort of scene.

If Fran had started the dispute herself, Burnett would have rejected her request outright.

The problem was that Fran had just clashed with them. Ren had apologized, but Burnett had taught classes for many years.

In his teaching career, he'd seen plenty of conflicts caused by deliberate provocation and jealousy.

He could tell that both of them had some foundation in swordsmanship. One of them alone would have been easy enough to explain, but the other had joined in as well. That was hard to account for.

Ren had apologized promptly, so Burnett hadn't lost his temper on the spot. That was the only reason he'd been willing to let their behavior slide a little.

He didn't like Fran's all-or-nothing attitude either, but the others had provoked her first...

"Aboyue, what do you think? Can this match settle your dispute?"

Aboyue had been caught off guard and stabbed, and he was furious.

He felt humiliated. Burnett had once considered him a promising student. When had anyone ever dared to insult him like this?

He held the spot where he'd been hit and slowly got to his feet. For an apprentice with his physique, it hurt, but he'd recover soon enough.

"Fine... I'll have a match with her!" he said through gritted teeth.

In truth, he couldn't refuse a request for a match, even if Burnett had phrased it as a question.

He'd known Burnett for over a year. How could he not know that, though Burnett disliked apprentices fighting among themselves, he also disliked apprentices who backed down from a request for a match?

Fran suddenly spoke up:

"Teacher Burnett, I request that we use the Sword-Grip Duel for this match."

As its name suggested, the Sword-Grip Duel was decided by whose sword fell from their hand first. Whoever dropped their sword lost.

Aboyue froze, then glared at Fran. No one had ever dared humiliate him like this.

Unlike a conventional swordsmanship match, where simply being struck meant defeat, this kind of match tested both sides' endurance and attacking skills.

Only when someone dropped their sword was the winner decided. Even if your chest was slashed wide open, as long as you still held your sword, you hadn't lost!

Did she choose this match just so she could humiliate me during the fight?

At that moment, Aboyue cast aside all his scheming. He wasn't afraid of a match.

What he feared was that he'd disappointed Burnett last year, and now Fran's sudden arrival in the Sword Chant School might take away the opportunity that should have been his.

"I agree! Come on, let's do the Sword-Grip Duel!"

Aboyue said it, seething with anger.

Burnett's expression flickered with surprise, then shifted to something like relief.

He knew the conflict between them couldn't be eased. Neither had given the other a way to back down. They wouldn't settle things without a fight.

But if they were going to fight, why not do it now? That was better than letting them go back and fight on their own until both were badly hurt.

After the match, their relationship might even improve a little once they knew who had won.

Burnett let out a long sigh, his expression softening.

"Everyone, listen up. There'll be no class today. I'll let you know when the makeup class will be held."

The other watching apprentices began chattering among themselves, but not one of them left because class had been canceled.

Watching the tense atmosphere on the field, Ren's expression shifted. He turned to Burnett, an idea taking shape in his mind.

Once the two stepped onto the practice field, Burnett said sternly:

"Listen, you two. This is a match, not a duel. You must not take the other's life or cause them serious, permanent injury. Understood?"

"Yeah!" They both gave an insincere nod, but Burnett's stern warning still sank in.

"Begin!"

Aboyue didn't attack right away. Instead, he took up a defensive stance where he stood.

It was his family's Iron Wall Swordsmanship, a complete set of defensive techniques. It was also the reason he'd stood out from so many other apprentices.

He had a complete sword style, including a Breathing Technique, Combat Techniques, and various stances, along with skills taught by the elders of his family. That made him far more formidable than the noble youths who had only a Body Tempering Method and a few Combat Techniques, and might occasionally know a Breathing Technique.

Fran had just stabbed him in the waist. He hadn't reacted because she'd caught him by surprise, but it had still shown him that Fran was fast. Otherwise, the defensive instincts he'd trained since childhood wouldn't have failed him.

But now he was on the field, with his Breathing Technique and stance fully in play. He didn't believe Fran could still land a hit on him.

And once he blocked Fran's attack, he'd have the upper hand and could counterattack.

But when Fran moved, everyone below—and Aboyue—was stunned.

In the past, when facing someone like Aboyue, standing in a defensive stance, almost everyone would approach slowly, test their opponent cautiously, and only then consider attacking.

Fran didn't approach in a conventional, cautious way. Instead, she did something no one expected—she jumped.

Fran kept her sword in a thrusting position in midair and stabbed straight at Aboyue's quickly raised guard. But Aboyue merely shifted his body back a little, his feet planted firmly in place.

Feeling the tremendous force behind the strike, Aboyue couldn't help growing more cautious. What incredible strength. But if she kept attacking like this...

"What is she doing?"

"Why is she using the footwork from the Elven Swordsmanship we just learned?"

The apprentices below whispered among themselves, unable to understand why Fran was using a skill she didn't know at all.

Burnett also furrowed his brows. He could tell Fran didn't know Elven Swordsmanship at all. She was just copying the footwork he'd taught them and adding a little of her own understanding to use this style of attack.

He couldn't understand why Fran was doing this.