Tournament of the Strongest, I

"A warrior from the town of swordsmen, Mayla, I wonder how he'll fare against me," I spoke to myself.

Although I called him a warrior, he was still a student just like me, so I didn't have much to worry about.

I walked placidly towards the stage where Lorn seemed to be doing the same on the opposing side.

"Hmm, is that a kimono? How weird, it looks exactly like those from Japan." I voiced when I saw Lorn's clothing, a katana was resting at his waist.

"Wait, no, for real, did that guy also reincarnate here or something? How does he have a katana too?" I muttered with my hand covering my mouth so people didn't find me weird.

"Here they are! The two fighters have finally made their appearance, one from a magic academy while the other from a sword sanctum. Now, ladies and gentlemen, let us witness what the premise of the Tournament of the Strongest has to offer to us."

"Hey, so you're the one that's going to fight me?" I talked after placing myself on the center end of the squared slab of concrete, tapping the ground to feel how solid it is.

"Yeah, and what of it?" He raised his brow with a frown taking over his face.

"Oh, no nothing, I just thought you looked a little worn down, just like your name," I smirked.

"Huh? What is this piece of shit spouting? You want me to kill you right here, huh?"

Yahoo, this guy is just the type of opponent that needs a good beating to come back to their senses.

I scoffed as I moved my cloak with my left hand to make way for my right one, "Try me?" I stretched my hand out elegantly as if asking for a woman's hand to kiss.

"Oho, we see that the fighters have already begun fighting with their words. There isn't much time so let the brawl begin right…" He took a pause and then yelled, "Now!" The referee swung his hand down in sync with the voice of the commentator.

"Huh?" Lorn, with his long hair that reached down to his waist, was already by my side with his katana unsheathed and ready to slice me in half.

I simply reached to the side of my cloak, taking hold of the solid plate that was tied to it.

Ding!

The slash didn't do me any damage, just as I had planned it to.

After gaining some distance, I took the metal plate out of the veil that was hiding it.

A deep dent visible to it, I simply licked it, "Heh…"

"This psycho," His expression changed to that of disgust, "You really a mage?" He asked.

"How about you find out?" This time I took the initiative to approach him, transitioning next to him after filling my muscles with mana up to the brim.

It was as if the world had slowed down while Lorn was still looking at my former location.

I swiftly outstretched my hand, making it like a blade, and reached toward his throat, trying to finish this in one motion.

"Huh?" Something glistened in my eyes, it was Lorn's katana.

It was moving vertically, its blade shifting to the left.

I quickly took hold of my arm, stopping it and jumping behind to gain distance, "You could see me?"

"Pfft, why wouldn't I? You're quite fast I'll give you that." He shrugged and I felt a bead of sweat going down the side of my face.

If I had continued with my assault, I would've had a severed hand.

"Your predictability is at a decent level too, so I'll give you that too." He predicted that I would approach him at that speed because there was no way a simple student would be able to move at the same speed as I.

"You talk a lot, you know?" He voiced with widened eyes full of killing intent.

Crap!

I jumped to my side, evading fiery blades.

I let my guard down, just because he's a swordsman, it doesn't mean that he can't use magic.

"Hmph!" The blades were appearing and disappearing without stopping, and I just dove around the arena's corners.

He must have quite a mana pool to be able to cast these many spells without stopping, but it should be soon that he tires out.

"Huff, huff…" He was already panting.

He's still not experienced, he should've not exhausted his mana reserves like this when he knew I was fast on my feet.

I looked at his face once more and noticed that he was going to blink for a long while, that, being a little more than a second.

"Hmph!" I tensed my muscles once more with mana and transitioned next to him.

"Bleh, you fell for it!" He stuck out his tongue like a maniac as he surged towards me, locking me in his arms.

"Kgh, I really did." I felt like gagging from the grip's pressure.

"Now, do you forfeit?" He asked with a rough voice, ecstasy already visible in it.

"Forfeit? It only begins now," I whispered to him, "Haha."

Super-Augmentation!

I envisioned the multicolored motes circulating throughout my body, my veins, my blood vessels, and up to my brain, becoming colorless. After being reprogrammed, the particles began taking a shade of green as they escaped my body into thundery green ripples which allowed me to immediately escape his grasp and appear across the stage.

"Huh, what just happened? Ladies and gents, so far, the first match hasn't betrayed our expectations with the showcase of solid skill and experienced forged through their adventurous years!"

I was now across the arena, facing the public with my back turned against Lorn.

I widened my arms as I slightly shut my eyes, "Oh, dear audience! Thank you for coming all the way here to watch our performance, for it was worth your time."

I shifted my neck to the side a little as I turned to face Lorn again, "Let me clue you in on some stuff. I want you to know that I didn't just jump around like an idiot, I only moved around the arena so you could witness this."

I slouched a little and then I began widening my arms back again like a music conductor, my voice came out high-pitched as I felt the ecstasy seeping in whilst mana escaped me, "Transcendental Art: Threads of Death!"

Instantly, the arena turned a grim dark color as Lorn's worldly screech entered my ears like the music I moved my baton about.

Lorn's bloody silhouette slumped to the ground as I turned to face the public again, kneeling elegantly as I flashed a captivating smile, "That was it for my performance."