There was silence for a mont, then the door slid aside with a hiss. Anthony Thornheart stepped into the private training room quietly, his expression unreadable.
"Kaiser Solace. It has been a while."
Even as he spoke casually, one couldn’t miss the authority behind his voice.
Kaiser relaxed slightly, then turned back to the Automaton who was getting up again.
"I didn’t expect you’d be here. Are you that free today, President?"
He blocked a hook to the side, threw two sharp punches, and distanced himself from his opponent.
"Indeed, I can spare so free ti today." Anthony nodded, his gaze tracking their movents despite his blindfold. "You’re exceptional combat-wise. You definitely aren’t from a simple background."
Hearing his words, a faint smile appeared on Kaiser’s face. "Although I won’t refute or agree to your words, I’m curious... why do you think my background isn’t simple?"
Bang!
His punch landed on the crossed arms of the automaton, slightly denting the tal. Fighting with it barehanded, he patiently waited for the young man’s explanation.
Folding his arms, Anthony started. "I’ve seen several people with abilities but no skill. You possess skill, far surpassing that of most third-years even."
"You seed to be trained as an assassin, but... your fighting style is quite unrestrained and unpredictable. Your follow-up attacks are either readable but unable to be blocked and countered, or they are entirely unpredictable."
Kaiser’s smile grew. "Interesting viewpoint. However, aren’t assassins supposed to be unpredictable?"
Anthony shook his head softly. "Not in the way you are. An assassin’s fighting pattern can be ready slightly, but yours gives a vague feeling of confusion."
"Hm. That’s quite perceptive of you." Kaiser smiled in satisfaction, his heel slamming into the back of the automaton’s head.
Bang!
It crashed face first into the ground, Kaiser’s foot firmly planted on its head.
Finally, Kaiser turned back to Anthony. Sizing up the senior as he felt himself being observed, his smile widened.
’This man has the potential to beco a genuine article—manifesting a color of his own.’
According to his quick but precise observation, Anthony was a rigid, principled, and insightful human. Such articles which stuck to a simple sense of being were rare, and Kaiser saw a great potential in him.
"Why do I feel like you suddenly got more comfortable?"
Anthony asked, his deep voice carrying a hint of confusion.
"I suddenly found you more tolerable, President." Kaiser chuckled, then spoke to the AI. "Deactivate the automaton."
The red automaton struggling at his feet went stiff, then shut down right there.
"President, do you want to spar?"
...
They both moved to a larger training room, both dressed in armor and carrying their respective weapons.
Although Anthony had been initially surprised by the challenge, he agreed after a mont of thought.
"You’re very much aware that I am at the peak of the Awakened Realm right?"
To be sure, he asked one last ti. Standing in a sleek dark gold armor with a tal blindfold, he looked imposing.
"Hehe. I know all third-years are Rank 3 Awakened. There is no need for you to worry too much. I wouldn’t risk a useless beating."
Kaiser laughed softly, his posture relaxed. He was donned in the Asura Vest; a mix of black kimono and regular armor. In his hands were a pair of daggers with large blades.
"Very well."
A faint smile also appeared on Anthony’s stoic face, and he stretched out a hand. From his palm, a red lance slowly materialized, its blade gleaming under the LED lights.
["Duel authorized. You may proceed."]
The instant the AI spoke, Anthony vanished. Not a misperception—just gone.
Kaiser’s instincts scread imdiately, warning him of imminent danger. He twisted, his Freedom ability flaring.
’Inertia: Denied.’
The lance tore through the space where his torso had been, the shockwave alone shredding the floor tiles. Kaiser slid backward without friction, boots skimming the ground, daggers crossing just in ti to deflect a follow-up thrust.
Clang!
The impact sent a numbing sensation coursing through his arms. Still, Anthony didn’t slow at all.
The lance ca again... and again, and again.
Each strike carried murderous intent, sharp precision, and from perfect angles. Kaiser was driven back relentlessly, unable to contest in strength. Walls cracked and the floor buckled beneath missed blows.
’So this is pressure.’
Kaiser’s breath stayed steady, though his blue eyes glinted with glee.
’Adapt. That’s the only way forward.’
He leapt up, and everything seed to slow.
’Gravity: Unbalanced.’
His body flipped unnaturally, floating just long enough to avoid a horizontal sweep. He kicked off empty air, twisting mid-flight, daggers flashing toward Anthony’s neck. The blindfolded man shifted half a step to his right, causing the blades to miss by re milliters.
Instantly, he counterattacked. His knee slamd into Kaiser’s ribs, and the sound of bones cracking was audible.
He was sent flying, crashing into the far wall hard enough to crater it. Before the dust settled, the lance pinned him, its tip hovering a hair’s breadth from his throat.
Anthony paused, not hesitation, but assessing the junior before him.
’Dangerous...’
He concluded, feeling his own blood boiling from the thrill of the battle. He felt the urge to stop controlling himself and use his ability, but he restrained that urge. He didn’t want to kill a junior.
Kaiser grinned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"President... you’re really interesting."
’Friction: Removed.’
He slipped sideways like oil, the lance piercing stone instead. He spun low, daggers carving upward in a cross ant to disembowel his opponent.
Anthony, unfazed, twisted the lance with one hand, shaft slamming down.
Boom!
The shockwave flattened Kaiser into the floor. Cracks spiderwebbed outward, adding to the damage caused to the room. If the room had a spirit, it’d surely be cursing them both at the mont.
Kaiser spat blood as he felt pain bloom—sharp and intoxicating. Yet, he laughed under his breath.
’Yes. This is it. It’s been so long I felt this excited.’
Anthony stepped towards him, slow but domineering. Each step felt like a promise of inevitable defeat.
Kaiser rose from the ground, rolling his neck once. Essence surged through his body—not recklessly, but eagerly.
The next exchanges beca a blur. Daggers against lance, sparks flying everywhere.
The sound of tal grinding against each other was almost deafening, yet both students paid no attention to it, deeply engaged in the duel.
Anthony dominated the rhythm, forcing Kaiser into constant reaction. A thrust to the heart, a sweep for the legs, a downward strike ant to crush his skull. Yet each ti, his Freedom ability bent reality just enough to avoid them.
Anomalies continued to happen one after the other—montum stolen, angles denied, force delivered without recoil, and so many more.
Still, Kaiser was losing ground.
Then Anthony planted the lance and thrust straight forward. It was a calculated thrust, one impossible to dodge once locked on.
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