Alisa who once again witnessing to Alex's skill was in awe. She knew that Alex was an amazing fighter but she didn't understand just how amazing he was. Even now seeing how easily he dealt with someone supposedly from the best school when it comes to sports, he was unable to do anything at all.
On the second floor of the gymnasium watching the match with interest were Gunther and Jerome of Ryuuga Academy. They came here after learning that some people saw Oliver and Alex with Agell.
"That's one of the guys who presumably defeated the freshmen, and I guess the big guy on the side is the other one," Gunther spoke while observing Alex.
"Yes, do you want to interrupt them now?"
"No, my instincts tell me that now is not the right time, for now, let's observe them." Gunther stared at Alex like a predator looking at its prey.
...
Rachel and Sayaka were even more surprised than the others especially since they knew that Alex had no experience doing Kendo.
Rachel who also practices a certain martial art knew the difficulty of doing martial arts. It does help to have a good physique but that's not enough in martial arts. The dedication and time used to perfect a single technique was something that simply having a good physique should not be able to overcome.
...
Oliver who was also watching the match was excited when he saw how Alex dealt with the other party.
'If only Alex would say a cool line the scene would be perfect.'
While everyone had different reactions to the fight the only one who had nothing to say was the temporary advisor of the Kendo Club Lyner who was sleeping.
...
Alex now knowing the rules after a brief explanation had readied himself for the restart of the match. Setsuna this time was fully focused on Alex's feet. If Alex moves then no matter what might happen Setsuna would evade. Since he couldn't see the strike he couldn't block it, so Setsuna decided to use his instincts to evade instead and then counter.
Setsuna's senses were heightened to his very limit. He saw Alex slide his feet forward and due to Setsuna being tense the entire time when he saw Alex move he quickly evaded. Yet the strike he was waiting for never came, this was a bluff and a simple one at that.
Now in an awkward position after trying to evade, Setsuna couldn't move in time when Alex's real strike came.
"MEN" once again without seeing the strike but hearing the hit, Setsuna fell to the ground. The referee couldn't decide if that was a clear hit or not since he himself couldn't see the strike as well.
"That was a clear strike," Ken spoke up for the referee. Hearing the opposing team's coach, the inexperienced referee ended the match with Alex's victory.
Setsuna was no match for Alex since he wasn't even able to see his strike. Yet instead of getting demoralized by the extreme difference of strength, Setsuna had his fighting spirit burning even brighter than before. He then approached Alex pointed his shinai at Alex's face and proclaimed.
"Next time I'll beat you!" After saying his piece he went back to his team.
...
"Did you see what that guy Alex did?" Gunther asked Jerome who was standing beside him. Jerome shook his head before responding.
"No, I was not able to see a thing. Was there some trick to it?"
"No, there was no trick, it was a simple step forward then a simple downward slash. The speed of the step forward was nothing special, but the downward slash was a different matter. Not only was that downward slash fast but the timing was perfect, almost everyone including that guy who lost blinked at the same time. It was like he was forced to blink. Even I for some reason wanted to blink for a second but was able to hold back as I wanted to see what that guy did."
"Is that so..."
"That kid is something special, no wonder he was able to defeat all the freshmen including Kyle." A slight smile appeared on Gunther's face as he spoke.
...
Alex was going back to stand beside Oliver, but as he turned around at the corner of his eye he caught sight of Ken moving towards him.
Alex tilted his head a little bit and a shinai passed through the space where his head was and landed on his right shoulder. Alex pointed his shinai at his back without looking, and it landed on Ken's right shoulder.
Alisa was overjoyed by the sight of Alex's victory but more than that she too wanted to try swinging a sword.
'Maybe I should take the role of a swordsman in my next project.'
Rachel was surprised by Ken's sudden attack but after seeing Alex in action she wasn't that worried.
Oliver who saw Alex's counter move without looking made him feel like he was watching an anime.
Sayaka, on the other hand, was looking at Ken's movement with a serious look in her eyes, but after a while shrugged her shoulders and stuck onto Oliver's arm.
Oliver fully concentrated on Ken and Alex's confrontation and ignored Sayaka who smiled seeing Oliver wasn't going to detach herself from him.
"What is a sword to you?" Ken asked Alex without moving his shinai from Alex's shoulder.
"The sword is a tool for murder. Sword techniques are just killing skills. Since it is for killing, then obviously it should seek to kill in one strike. Superfluous things are all abandoned in pursuit of the limit of speed and power. Concise and precise movements are all one needs to win with a sword." Alex responded to Ken's question.
"Hahahaha the same answer as him. Kid who is the one who taught you the way of the sword?" Even though he already knew the answer Ken still asked Alex.
Alex hearing Ken's question wanted to ask why he should tell the man who his master was. Still, it's not really a problem even if he told him... So that the situation will end Alex decided to answer Ken's question.
"The one who instructed me in the way of the sword was Ryu Yamato." When Ken heard Alex's answer he started laughing merrily. The sharp aura he was constantly releasing seemed to double.
"Hahaha, I knew it! So the master beats me, and the student beats my disciple. The world truly is small" Ken retracts his shinai and retreats back to his post.
When Oliver heard the conversation between the two he got super excited. Wasn't Alex living his dream life?! He was strong had a stoic face, smart, and transferred in the middle of the semester. Wasn't Alex like a novel protagonist?
Rachel who heard the conversation started wondering if this Ryu fellow was also the one who taught Alex unarmed combat. Since it was similar to their family's martial arts, this Ryu might be related to her very own deadbeat father.
Alisa was pleasantly surprised by what she heard, it was as she expected Alex was truly different from the others. She was right to transfer to this school as her dream school life would become even more exciting.
Setsuna on the other hand felt a burning rivalry. So Alex's master beat his own master and now Alex beat him. The losing streak of master and disciple needs to end. Setsuna promised himself to double his training and surpass Alex.