Victor logged out of Ascendant Realms after the third night with heavy eyelids and prached throat.
The mont he removed his helt, and got out of his sheets, the morning sunlight slipped through his dorm's curtains.
Outside, the campus was already filled with students moving about.
Today was the day.
The Versus Stage of the Sword Legacy Challenge had arrived.
Victor freshened up, threw on his uniform, and headed toward the arena with Selene and the others.
By the ti they arrived, the stands were packed as expected. Loud cheering students, instructors, and even a few high-profile alumni had co to watch the twenty remaining students battle it out for the right to claim the legendary sword.
Victor was assigned a holding spot in the crowd alongside his group until his match was called. He sat beside Reed, who was munching on sothing fried and too greasy, while Aria, Kai, and Danny chattered about who they thought the final four would be.
Victor leaned back, watching the stage rise and shift into a dueling platform.
The first match was soon announced.
> "Elyra Vorn versus Kael Romus!"
A collective murmur ran through the audience.
Kael was no pushover. He was a level 18 awakened with, ten warrior skills in his system. People also claid he was the fastest blade in Class 1-B.
However, he was going against Elyra after all so not everyone bore optimism for him.
Victor leaned forward.
Kael launched forward with a burst of warrior charged movent. His blade sliced the air with blinding arcs as he mixed movent with warrior skills ant to overwhelm.
His strikes ca from all angles, calculated and relentless.
Elyra didn't move at first.
When she finally did, it was with subtle flow.
Her body shifted like a current rather than a soldier. She parried the first strike with a single raise of her blade, like she was brushing away cobwebs.
The next attacks were t with effortless steps and soft redirects.
Then she activated a skill.
Her sword glowed faintly, and she slashed once—downward.
The entire stage cracked and split.
A shockwave followed, blowing Kael off his feet. His sword flew from his hands as he crashed into the far wall and broke through it.
He rolled multiple tis, before coming to a stop in a heap.
The crowd exploded.
"She won with a single attack?"
Even Victor was left blinking.
Reed whistled. "Remind to never make her mad."
The next battle followed...
It was one between two fairly balanced fighters. It was a long one, back and forth, steel clashing with grit.
Eventually, one edged out the other with superior stamina and mana control.
Then ca Reed's match.
He was paired against a fiery-eyed female warrior with no intention of holding back.
"Hey... You're really pretty what's your na?"
No response~
"Oh it's right up there... Debra right?"
No response~
"I'll try to take it easy on you so I don't ruin all that prettiness..."
Reed tried to flirt, tried to smile, tried to make conversation but nothing work.
She kicked him in the chest five seconds into the battle.
Victor winced as Reed was flung across the arena.
Reed scrambled to his feet and activated two of his skills at once... defense with an unpredictable mid-strike sweep.
The girl smirked but underestimated him, thinking he was just a big dumb oaf.
Reed caught her with a rapid spinning slash that disard her weapon and knocked her from the platform.
[ Reed Wins! ]
He staggered back to the crowd while holding his side.
"I was almost in love with her," he coughed.
Victor snorted. "She almost killed you."
"Sa difference."
The group was laughing at Reed when Amara appeared.
Victor froze mid-smile.
She approached their row of seats with a hesitatant look before calling his na.
"Victor… I need to talk to you."
His face turned cold instantly. "And I need space. You told to stay away from you, rember?"
She looked down while biting her lip. "I know. But this is about the fire. What happened to you... it wasn't supposed—"
Selene rose from her seat and stepped between them with piercing daggar like eyes.
"Oh no," she voiced with an icy tone. "Aren't you the bitch who made the entire Academy think Victor was a sexual assaulter?"
Gasps rippled around them.
Amara's eyes widened.
"Selene," Victor murmured.
But Selene didn't stop. "You ruined his na. Had everyone whispering and looking at him like he was filth. And now you want to talk?"
Amara flinched. Whispers burst through the nearby spectators like wildfire.
Victor said nothing at first but fixed his eyes on Amara who looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
Her fingers fidgeted and her face paled a little.
"I didn't an—" she didn't get to complete her statent before...
> "Victor Revenant. Prepare for your match."
The announcent echoed across the arena like a divine call.
The tension in the air froze.
Selene still glared at Amara with a fuming expression while Victor exhaled slowly before taking one last glance at Amara.
"Don't worry," he said coldly, "I'm keeping my distance. Just like you wanted."
He scoffed and then turned to walk away.
The sword strapped to his back clinked softly in its sheat as his calm footsteps carried him toward the center platform.
The crowd buzzed loudly. This was Victor's first versus match, and amongst the warriors spectators were rooting for the most, he was top five so everyone was eager to see how this would go.
His opponent was already making a dramatic entrance.
From over fifty feet away, a tall figure leapt through the air and landed with a heavy boom as his boots slamd into the dueling stage.
The arena lights flared briefly around his arrival.
Standing 6'3, he towered over Victor by nearly half a foot.
He was dressed in white uniform and black mana armor layered atop. He had shoulder guards and twin rings of tallic energy rotating behind his back, like soone who'd walked out of an action poster.
This reminded Victor to use his credits better in purchasing benefits.
"Kleon Varrick!" the crowd roared. "Quick Blade Kleon!"
Kleon Varrick was an A ranked who had also perford very well during the competition.
Victor walked up the stage calmly with hands still at his sides and a straight expression.
Kleon grinned. "Finally get to fight the guy everyone's been talking about. The overhyped B ranked Warrior."
He turned to the crowd and raised his arms dramatically. "Don't blink, folks. This'll be over before you can say 'fraudulent reputation'!"
Laughter echoed across the stands.
Selene scowled from her seat. "Hope he enjoys eating his words."
Kleon turned back toward Victor with a grin plastered across his face. "Any last words? Or maybe you wanna save yourself the embarrassnt and surrender now?"
Victor tilted his head slightly, calm as still water. Then he chuckled softly.
"No last words," he said. "But thanks for the entertainnt."
Kleon blinked. "…Tch. You're gonna regret that."
> "Begin!" the announcer called.
Kleon didn't hesitate.
He stepped forward and vanished.
A rush of wind whipped past the stage.
The crowd gasped. One second Kleon had been twenty feet from Victor and now he was behind him, mid-swing with his blade glowing with high concentration of mana.
At the last mont, Victor moved...
He leaned sideways with his right foot gliding like silk across the floor.
Kleon's blade missed by less than a hair's breadth, sweeping past Victor's cheek.
The strike unleashed a purplish arc of energy that blasted into the far wall behind Victor.
Dust and debris flew from the impact.
Kleon's eyes widened.
"Huh?"
Before he could think, he lunged again and unleashed slash after slash at very rapid pace.
Fwwhii~ Fwwhii~ Fwhii~
his blade danced like a storm of shadows. Left, right, above, behind.
Victor's body weaved through it all with indifference. The strikes were always missing him by an inch or lesser.
The crowd began to murmur.
"Wait… he's dodging everything."
"Isn't Kleon supposed to be the fastest in the competition?"
"His attacks aren't even grazing him…"
Kleon grit his teeth in frustration.
"You're just lucky!" he shouted. "Try dodging this!"
He leapt into the air and activated one of his trump cards.
> [Warrior Skill Activated: Phantom Fang Storm]
A high-speed multi-strike technique that releases a barrage of shadow-enhanced sword strikes from unpredictable angles. Mana cost: 60.
Energy swirled violently around Kleon's body as dozens of ethereal blades materialized mid-air, forming a sphere of flashing steel.
So of the crowd stood up in awe wondering how Victor was going to get out of this one.
However, Victor simply stood there calm and relaxed with his blade still sheathed on his back.
A wave of qi began to spread around his body causing the ground tremble softly beneath his feet.
His eyes narrowed and then...
He moved.
He took one step forward with his hand raised, allowing Qi to surge forth from his being like a tidal wave.
He proceeded to grab the hilt of his sword, unstrap it from his back and swing downward while the blade was still inside the sheath.
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