*Clink*

*Clink*

*Swoosh*

I deflected the sword flying to my face by raising my weapon to the right in a guard.

The intense force from the blow sent me flying to the left as I slammed against the floor.

I didn’t even manage to save my head from getting injured as the impact caused my blade to ricochet into my temple anyway.

My head hurt, my hands were calloused, I was completely dazed and I was lying on the floor like a forgotten sack of potatoes.

All of this because my thick-headed teachers couldn’t accept that I'm just a genius who can learn multiple things at the same time.

I didn't see what beating a grown-ass man as a one-year-old was supposed to prove in that regard but at that point, all I could do was collect myself and focus.

There was too much riding on this match for me to lose without a fight.

The moment my consciousness returned, I gripped the handle of my wooden sword tightly, flipped myself over and bearly managed to eventually stumble onto my feet.

I glared at my opponent with weak eyes and then grit my teeth so hard that I feared I would shatter them.

"Is that all you have? I thought that a genius like you would be able to achieve such a simple task as getting a single hit on an old man." my teacher said in a mild but condescending tone.

“If you can't even learn how to swing a stick around over the course of two whole months how the hell so you expect to start learning the basics of spellcraft which takes months to even comprehend.” he continued to mook me as I got up and readied my stance with a bright scummy smile plastering his face.

Kent was definitely enjoying beating my ass.

This must be his petty revenge for all the interruptions and smart remarks I made during his classes.

Now that he had a perfectly good excuse to let out his anger I was sure he would be making the most of it.

This was to the point where I suspected that he wasn’t holding back because I was a child, but because if he went too far too fast he wouldn’t be able to savor the moment.

Even though intellectually I knew that his words were spoken just to rile me up, my heart still flared with anger at the insult as I tried my best not to let it overtake me.

I dashed towards my opponent the moment I felt his concentration slipping and went for a gab with my sword.

Moving like a gentle breeze Kent quickly side-stepped out of the way and delivered a quick downward slash to my head.

I barely reacted fast enough, clumsily raising my weapon to the top of my head in defense. The two swords collided against each other but after a few struggles like this one, I had already learned my lesson.

Trying to overcome Kent in a contest of strength was an exercise in going to the hospital.

All I tried to do was push the word in the opposite direction to the one my body was moving to make it easier to dodge.

Despite using everything I had to force his sword in another direction his attack was firm I was only bearly able to dodge by lunging forward.

I quickly turned around and what greeted me was a swift sword slash from my opponent aimed directly at my stomach.

I held my sword firm with both hands to make sure my stomach didn’t take the brunt of the hit but right before the weapons clashed against each other I did a light hop.

I thought that this would allow me to get sent flying by the force of his blade without completely tumbling over or taking the brunt of the hit but after I actually tried it I realized that after that move it was very hard to steady my footing.

During that time my teacher simply moved forward with no wasted movement and struck me in my forehead before I had any time to react.

I was sent flying back to the loving embrace of the one who I had grown quite attached to in the past half hour, Floor-chan.

Head banging, hands hurting but you already get the point.

It felt like I had been doing this same song and dance for so long that I was honestly beginning to forget what not being in pain felt like.

As I forced my body to get up I felt a faint presence lending a hand to push me forward. This was my Endure trait.

Traits, unlike skills, were passive abilities that couldn’t be actively used but were always active, sometimes increasing in effectiveness depending on the situation.

Now that I was so exhausted I could constantly feel the helping hand of Endure on my back slowly dripping bits of energy into my body and whispering into my ear to keep going.

Regardless of the pain and exhaustion needed to induce the enhanced effectiveness of Endure, it was an addicting experience.

“I will admit that you’ve done pretty well so far considering your age” Kent spoke in a relaxed tone as he looked at me slowly getting up off the floor.

“I will also admit that your learning speed is adequately impressive to make up for your extreme lack of talent with the blade, but now is the time to call it quits. You won't get a hit on me today and you know that better than I do,” Kent stated matter-factly.

Using all of the pain and negative emotions I had been cultivating during the course of this battle I gathered every scape of determination I had left, but deep down I already knew that I lost.

The only thing still keeping me in this fight was a promise to myself and my pride.

Now wasn't the time to regret my decisions and give up the fight.

I had already made my bed in this mess and there was no taking it back.

Now was the time to focus.

If I couldn't win I could at least get as much practice and information out of my opponent as possible for the next time we would spare.

Thoughts and questions flooded my head as I finally got back on my wobbly feet, I felt the slight nudge of my Quick-witted trait easing my thoughts.

What moves was he using that could steal or had holes in them that I could exploit?

What angles and attack patterns did he have trouble blocking and counterattacking from?

What strategies could I use to catch him off guard, and how could I best utilize the abilities I already had against him?

I was processing all of those thoughts while studying his every move waiting for an attack and looking for an opening.

My eyes were like daggers, my mind a well-oiled machine but my body felt as if it was weighted down by steel.

The damage and exhaustion were building and I had no idea where I would buy my next round of energy to move my body.

"Are we really still doing this?" Kent let out a sigh sounding more annoyed than anything.

He didn't even bother to take a stance but just gestured for me to attack with his eyes.

Another flare of anger ran through my chest but this time I fanned it rather than forcing it to rest.

If I wanted to know if an attack or strategy would work I would need to try them, If I wanted more information I would need to force it out of him and if I wanted an opening for an attack I would need to make one.

Kent was far too experienced at this to make any of those mistakes by himself.

Standing around trying to imagine every single scenario was getting me nowhere.

I focused my body and activated Sprint.

My body had already spent its meager stores of stamina after the first five or so minutes of this duel trying to keep up with Kent’s ludicrous speed however I already had plenty of time to recover while taking useless beatings.

Out of nowhere, I forced more energy out of myself than I ever had before bringing the force of my Will to its breaking point.

I steadied my breath and reminded myself of my goals.

I didn’t need to overpower him, all I needed was a hit, a small graze and I would have won this fight.

I needed to focus on that if there was even a minute chance of me pulling this off.

I forced most of the extra energy I managed to pull from my body into my dominant leg, pushing off of it with a massive leap forward at a fifteen-degree angle from my opponent.

I then swung my sword with the weight of my whole body, starting from my legs then my hips, and finally my torso exactly like I had been practicing.

The attack landed the moment I was in position, at the left of my opponent.

The dash and slash were powerful but the movement as a whole was sloppy, so much so that I almost fell over due to the momentum.

The cause was a mixture of exhaustion, not being accustomed to performing this type of attack with the excess energy I used, and finally, the focus lost from forcing that much energy out in the first place.

In any case, my teacher didn’t seem surprised by the move whatsoever.

He simply turned his body to the left at an inhuman speed and swatted away my astonishingly powerful blow with one of his own.

Our swords clashed and I was sent flying again.

I was surprisingly ok with that failure. It had already happened so many times that I became numb to it

While in mid-air I was already contemplating what my next attack would be and trying to figure out why the one I just used failed.

I didn't think that I had any energy left to make another move, but those were the exact thoughts I had five failed moves ago so I was confident that I would get back up eventually.

“Are you done?" Kent taunted me as soon as my body once again hit the floor in a very passive-aggressive tone of voice.

I again grit my teeth, rolled off my back, and pushed myself off of the floor.

As I got up I looked at the floor to find where my sword had been flung after I lost my grip when I was sent flying.

I grabbed it with my right tightly which upset the callouses that were forming on my palm.

I already knew what I wanted to try next but I waited for my professor to taunt me again so that I could get another burst of anger to push myself forward.

I wasn't thinking about anything else than completing my next attack or rather it would have been more accurate to say that my mind was far too tired to think of anything else.

What I ended up receiving was the exact opposite of angry motivation.

“Norman, you wobbling on your feet you should really stop for today or you might get seriously injured” Trisha one of the maids who was taking care of us exclaimed in a very worried tone.

My teacher Kent, done with the mockery I had become so accustomed to, just stood there looking at me with a worried expression.

This did not fill me with the kind of motivation I wanted but getting up was the hard part and I wasn't about to waste that opportunity I just struggled to make for myself.

I forced my body forward again pulling the energy I didn't know I had into another Sprint while trying something I had slowly been preparing for this entire fight.

Now was a perfect time. Kent was so worried that he didn't even bother taking his stance and seemed to have already mentally checked out of this battle.

Over the course of this match, I had already conditioned him to expect straightforward attacks using large broad swings of the blade or short dashes meant to stab.

I forced a lot of my energy into my swinging arm and my chest even trying to push some of it into my sword as that book taught me to.

This was an advanced sword technique that I had learned by reading ahead from what I was actually practicing.

The wooden blade I was holding glowed with a dim white light which was filled with dark impurities making it almost seem dark gray.

My teacher, my sisters, and the spectating maids all looked at me with expressions of shock, another plus was that people would be focusing on the sword even more now.

Kent in particular seemed taken aback for two seconds and briefly forgot that we were in a dual.

I didn't miss that moment and charged forward this time going for an extremely fast overhead slash which was blocked with a thunderous smack.

I didn’t waste any time, the moment our blades connected I dropped my weapon and went for a quick jab to his stomach.

All I needed was a singular hit to win and the shock mixed with me being so close already would guarantee me that hit.

After that things happened in quick succession first thing that I perceived happened was a notification ringing in my head.

[Congradulation of your skill Sprint Level 10 has been pushed beyond its limit and has evolved to Basic Concentrated Dash level 1 has been achieved]

[Congradluations you have Learned the skills Basic Slash, Basic Step, and Basic Guard Level 1 Designation (Single-handed long Sword)]

The second thing that happened was I felt a sharp pain at the side of my torso and was quickly knocked out.

…