Chapter 37. The Grip-of-the-Sword Duel
Fulan’s practice afterward was constantly harassed by the two of them while they deliberately kept their distance.
One moment they would stretch their swords toward her, and the next moment they would jump directly into the path of her swing.
After enduring it for a while, Fulan finally saw the skill appear on her panel.
[Elven Swordsmanship (Uninitiated) (Proficiency: 0/10): The sword style used by the elven race. You do not know it.]
At last, she had obtained Elven Swordsmanship. Now even if she were expelled from this class, she would not have to worry.
She glanced again at the Elven Swordsmanship entry on the panel, and a bold idea formed in her mind.
She looked toward Abeyo, who was still some distance away, deliberately ignoring Raine, who was closer to her.
With a sudden leap, she jumped straight toward Abeyo and swung the wooden sword in midair.
She thrust the sword directly toward Abeyo’s waist. Carrying the momentum of her jump, the wooden blade struck the target heavily.
[You made a clumsy attempt. Elven Swordsmanship Proficiency +1]
“Ah!”
The sudden blow made Abeyo cry out in pain, drawing the attention of everyone present.
Bella looked at Fulan with a worried expression, and even felt a bit guilty, since she had been the one who suggested that Fulan take this class.
When everyone’s gaze turned toward her, Fulan spoke immediately.
“Sorry for interrupting everyone. Abeyo and I have some personal grievances.”
Then she turned to Instructor Bernit.
“Instructor, I request a sparring match with Abeyo to settle the conflict between us.”
Bernit’s brow furrowed even more, and his face tightened, clearly displeased by such a situation.
If Fulan herself had initiated the dispute, Bernit would have rejected the request outright.
But the problem was that Fulan had just had a conflict with them earlier. Although Raine had apologized, Bernit had been teaching for many years.
During his teaching career, he had seen plenty of conflicts born from jealousy, schemes, and deliberate provocation.
He could tell that both of them had a certain foundation in swordsmanship. One person crowding another might be excusable, but two people pressing into the same space made little sense.
Because Raine had apologized quickly earlier, preventing him from reacting on the spot, Bernit had somewhat forgiven their behavior.
He did not like Fulan’s attitude of mutual destruction either, but since the other party had provoked her first…
“Abeyo, what do you think? Can this sparring match resolve the conflict between the two of you?”
Abeyo had been stabbed in the waist by surprise and was burning with anger.
The humiliation gnawed at him. In the past, he had been personally cultivated by Bernit. When had anyone ever dared to offend him like this?
Covering the spot where he had been struck, he slowly stood up. For an apprentice with his Physique, the pain was sharp but would quickly pass.
“Yes… I am willing to spar with her!”
He said it through clenched teeth.
In truth, he could not refuse this request for a match, even though Bernit had phrased it as a question.
After spending more than a year with Bernit, how could he not know that although Bernit disliked apprentices fighting each other, he also disliked apprentices who shrank away from a sparring request?
At that moment, Fulan suddenly spoke again.
“Instructor Bernit, I request that this match use the Grip-of-the-Sword Duel.”
A Grip-of-the-Sword Duel, as the name implied, determined victory by whose sword fell from their hand first.
Abeyo froze for a moment and glared viciously at Fulan. No one had ever humiliated him like this before.
This type of match was different from the usual sparring where a single hit determined defeat. In this duel, what was tested was endurance and attacking methods.
Only when the opponent’s sword fell from their hand would the result be decided. Even if someone’s chest were slashed open, as long as their sword remained in their hand, they had not lost.
Did she choose this kind of duel just to humiliate me during the fight?
At that moment, Abeyo cast aside all calculations. If it was merely a match, he was not afraid.
What he feared was that because he had disappointed Bernit last year, Fulan’s sudden entry into the Sword Chant School might steal the opportunity that should belong to him.
“I accept! Let us do it—the Grip-of-the-Sword Duel!”
Abeyo spoke those words with burning anger.
Bernit’s expression froze for a moment, then shifted into a sort of resignation.
He understood that the conflict between the two could no longer be eased. Neither side had left the other any room for retreat. Without a fight, the matter would not end well.
But if they had to fight, it might as well be now. It would be better than letting them return later and engage in a private battle that could leave both sides seriously injured.
After the match, perhaps the relationship between them might even ease once a victor had been decided.
Bernit let out a long sigh, and his expression softened slightly.
“Everyone listen. This class is suspended for now. The time for the make-up lesson will be announced later.”
The watching apprentices immediately began whispering among themselves. Not a single one left the room, despite the announcement that the class had been canceled.
Meanwhile, Raine’s expression changed slightly as he watched the tense atmosphere between the two. His gaze shifted toward Bernit, and a plan formed in his mind.
When the two of them arrived at the sparring ground, Bernit spoke sternly.
“Both of you listen carefully. This is a match, not a duel. You are not allowed to take each other’s lives or cause permanent disability. Do you understand?”
“Mm.”
Both of them responded perfunctorily, but they still kept the stern warning in mind.
“The match begins!”
Abeyo did not choose to attack immediately. Instead, he assumed a defensive stance where he stood.
This was his family’s Iron Wall Swordsmanship, a complete defensive system and the very reason he had stood out among so many apprentices.
It included a full set of sword techniques—Breathing Method, Combat Techniques, numerous stances, and many tips taught by elders of his family.
All of this made him far stronger than those noble apprentices who possessed only a Body-Tempering Technique, a few Combat Techniques, and occasionally a Breathing Method.
Earlier, Fulan had stabbed his waist. Although he had failed to react because it was a surprise attack, it made him realize one thing—Fulan was very fast. Otherwise, his defensive instincts, trained since childhood, would not have failed to respond.
But now he stood fully prepared. His Breathing Method and stances were activated.
He refused to believe that Fulan could still break through his defense.
Once he blocked Fulan’s attack, the battle would become his stage for defensive counterattacks.
However, when Fulan moved, both Abeyo and the spectators were stunned.
In the past, whenever someone faced Abeyo’s stationary defensive stance, almost everyone would slowly approach, probing carefully before deciding how to attack.
Fulan did not approach cautiously at all.
Instead, she used an attack method that no one had expected.
She jumped.
While airborne, Fulan maintained a thrusting posture and stabbed directly toward Abeyo. He reacted quickly and blocked the attack, though the force pushed his body slightly backward while his feet remained firmly planted.
Feeling the tremendous force behind the strike, Abeyo’s expression grew more serious.
Such strength…
But if she kept using this kind of attack…
“What is she doing?”
“Why is she using the Elven Swordsmanship footwork we just learned?”
The apprentices below whispered among themselves, unable to understand why Fulan was using a technique she clearly had not mastered.
Even Bernit frowned deeply. He could see that Fulan did not actually know Elven Swordsmanship.
She was merely copying the footwork he had demonstrated earlier, adding her own understanding to form this attacking method.
He could not understand why she would do such a thing?