BXBX NOVEL Chapter 183 182: Test (Leone)
Getting another whiff of her nectar like blood made me thankful, but I was incredibly annoyed that he had harmed her.
Even if Kat seemed to dismiss the pain with ease, it irked me that someone had dared to harm her.
However, there was little I could do about it; she had healed herself quickly enough, Marco Sizali was out of the tournament, and I was as well.
Sighing, I turned back to the last fight of the tournament, which was between Giana Cryms and Miss Grangeri, both women flickering around the grounds as they launched attack after attack at one another.
Kat had been knocked out of the tournament in her next fight, this time placing roughly above the middle of our class; she had face Countess Aurim again, and the golden haired woman had \'managed\' to land a solid blow on Kat\'s abdomen, resulting in her loss.
Eventually, Giana managed to score a glancing blow on Miss Grangeri\'s wrist, resulting in the curly haired woman dropping her thin sword.
Capitalizing on that opportunity, Giana pressed the tip of her blade against Miss Grangeri\'s chest.
"Winner, Giana Cryms! Congratulations! Now, everyone, we shall be moving onto the real exam; remember, this was the first part, but the bulk of your grade will come from your spars with us. Since we still have a good amount of time left, rest up and grab a real training weapon! You have five minutes to prepare!"
Hearing that, we all nodded and moved towards the weapon racks, with Jahi and Anput grinning at one another as they lifted up blades of their own.
Kat and I rolled our eyes at that, with the Dogkin finding a new dagger.
Staring at my wooden sword, I pursed my lips before shrugging, keeping it.
The next five minutes passed quickly; Jahi and Anput were chuckling as they made bets to one another, teasing and poking fun at the other.
As for Kat and I, we stood in silence, looking over the crowded field before staring at the Professors.
If I had to guess, we would be allowed to choose the Professor we fought, and if I was right, then I would choose Professor Liako; I was used to sparring against another sword user, and since we were being evaluated on our improvements, it\'d be best to fight against the thing I am most accustomed to.
Besides that, the Snake Woman was the only one of the three I felt comfortable facing anyways; Hawn was out of the discussion due to his relation to Jillian, as well as his help in getting her and Kat alone at the banquet, and Thorn was... well, he was Thorn.
I didn\'t want to fight someone who was more Bear than Bearkin.
Leaning against the wall, we waited for the five minutes to pass, before Professor Liako stepped forwards, a wooden sword in her hands.
"Alright, so this is how the second part of your exam is going to work. You will form a line in front of the Professor you wish to fight, and we will take you on one at a time. Each of us will be limiting ourselves to match your strenght, so the fight will come down to your technique. That\'s what you\'re being graded on; how much you have improved over these last few weeks."
Nodding, we all continued to listen to Professor Liako, who gestured towards her colleagues.
"Your choice is also being graded, but it\'s not a large percent of your overall score, so don\'t worry. Now, come. Pick wisely."
Professor Liako, Professor Hawn, and Professor Thorn all spread out, and all the students filtered forwards.
Kat and I made our way over to Professor Liako, who was the most popular choice by far.
Jahi and Anput made their way over to Professor Thorn, who was the least popular choice; only five students made their way over to the Bearkin, who\'s grin faltered slightly at that sight.
Professor Hawn had a large amount of students as well, but Professor Liako had the most.
Kat and I had been the most decisive for choosing Professor Liako, so we were up first.
When everyone had made their choices, Professor Liako nodded to the other two Professors before staring at me.
"Lady Leone, would you like to go first?"
Watching her take a few steps backwards, I pursed my lips before nodding; I would rather get this over with quickly than watch everyone else fight before me.
It\'d be torturous for my mind to watch everyone be toyed with before having to step up and face her...
Steeling myself for the trial to come, I took a few steps forwards and readied my sword, staring at the woman across from me.
Seeing my stance, she gave me a small nod before mirroring me exactly, making me frown.
However, I knew that Professor Liako was one of the best swordswomen in the Academy, and since she teaches it for every year...
Well, of course she\'s going to be a rather difficult fight.
Readying myself again, I dragged in a deep breath before launching myself forwards, beginning with an overhead swing.
Professor Liako\'s ocean blue snake eyes flitted to my unprotected midriff, a small frown on her lips before she raised her sword and blocked my swing.
Sliding my blade off hers, I flicked my wrist towards her side, only to grunt as she twisted her blade in her hands and blocked that as well.
Taking a step back, my eyes widened as she remained in contact with me, her blade stabbing towards my chest.
Pivoting, I pushed her blade away using my own before slashing at her stomach, taking advantage of her open posture.
However, the Snake Woman twisted her body away from my slash, before raising her sword and preparing another swing.
Resetting my stance, I decided to meet her attack and work from there, which made the woman nod slightly.
Her wooden sword cut through the air as she swung it towards my head, and I raised my blade to meet it, before redirecting it to the ground below us.
Trapping her sword in the dirt, I sent a clumsy kick towards her shin, making her chuckle as my foot slammed into her leg.
"Good. Remember, your whole body should be used in a fight when possible."
Rotating slightly, she moved her leg from my reach and disengaged, slipping her blade out from beneath mine.
Twirling her sword in her hand, she nodded before saying "So far, so good Leone; you at least know which side of the sword is which now. But, I want to see a little more..."
Lowering herself, she launched herself at me, and I frowned.
She had said she was holding back, but she was much slower than Kat...
Shaking that thought from my head, I met her thrust with my own, making her eyes widen as I blocked her speeding tip with my blade, stopping it just as quickly as she had launched it.
Using her momentary confusion and surprise against her, I batted her sword to the side and lunged forwards again, my sword traveling along her blades edge, until it was about to reach her throat.
Breaking herself out of her momentary shock, her wrist flicked out lightning quick, slamming her blade into mine and pushing it away.
Stumbling forwards due to my momentum having no where to go, I collided with Professor Liako, who caught me.
Her hands were on my shoulders, but I had been moving so fast that I was practically laying on her chest.
Smirking slightly at me, she raised her brow before gently pushing me away.
Taking a few steps back, I gave her a wry smile before waiting for further instruction.
Coughing slightly, she gave me a nod and said "You pass. That block of yours surprised me, and I think that, against those on your own level, will leave them in shock long enough for you to land the finishing blow. Good job, Lady Leone."
Bowing to her, I retreated to the side, where I watched Kat step forwards when Professor Liako called out "Next, Miss Zara!"
As Kat took her spot opposite Professor Liako, I glanced over at Professor Thorn, my eyes widening as I watched the large Bearkin fend off an even larger Demoness.
Both moved like a blur, and I could briefly make out their face splitting grins as they launched attack after attack at one another.
Marveling at their speed and ferocity, I eventually turned back to watch the fight between Kat and Professor Liako, wondering how the Dogkin was going to fare against our Professor.
Would she manage to pass?
Or would Professor Liako see past her farce that she insisted on continuing?
Pursing my lips, I could only watch on as their spar began, my heart racing a little as those thoughts entered my mind.
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I\'ll do a chapter from each of their perspectives so you can see each one\'s thought process\' and fighting styles.
Though, I really need to find a way to scale them so you all can know just how strong they are...
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