You Picked the Wrong Opponent (2)

I squinted my eyes as I stared at Alfred. Judging from his initial posture, he would definitely be launching a swift downward strike. Just as I predicted, as soon as the signal was given, he took two long steps and slammed the wooden sword in his hands downward.

The sword's path was seemingly aiming for my shoulder at first, but as the very person before him, I could see the sinister grin on his face. The muscles on his arms trembled slightly, and he tugged the sword to the left, aiming for my face instead.

He must be trying to forcefully claim that it was an accidental hit and that he was aiming for my shoulders. Well, his scenario would only continue if I got hit, though.

To not waste energy, I just took a full step back, letting the falling wooden sword barely pass before my face, by the tip of my nose, and hit nothing but air. While his sword was down, I waved my wooden broadsword from the low spot near my left leg diagonally upwards to the enemy's side.

The sword wasn't that fast; rather, it was pretty slow due to its size. Despite that, Alfred was unable to dodge it. His posture, which was leaning slightly forward, made him unable to dodge an attack coming from the side. The broadsword approached, and instead of watching the dulled blade, I watched his expression instead.

"...!"

Instead of shock or despair, his face was adorned with a nasty smile. As if he were saying "You fell for it!", he shouted the name of a skill and cackled.

"[REFLECT]!"

A brief flash of light, not bright enough to be blinding but more than enough to rob me of sight for an instant. It appeared as soon as the sword in my hand landed on his side. Rather than feeling the texture of hitting flesh, however, I felt like I had hit a hard piece of metal.

"Guh!"

And just as I was about to pull the sword back, a phantom pain struck my side. It was weird since Alfred's sword didn't move at all. It was impossible for him to hit me. The only reason I could think of was the skill he shouted before my strike landed, Reflect.

I haven't heard of such a skill yet, but based on its name, it should be something that returns the damage to the attacker. This seems to be getting interesting!

"Hah! What's wrong? Did your ribcage hurt from breathing, you sucker?" Alfred sneered as he swung his sword diagonally upwards, aiming to hit my neck.

It was an easy-to-see attack, so even with my sides hurting, I was able to duck down and dodge it. However, again, an extremely eerie smile crossed Alfred's face as his eyes turned bloodthirsty. His voice echoed, shouting another unfamiliar skill name. "[Receding Wave]!"

"...!"

Just as I thought I had completely dodged the swing, it suddenly had an afterimage coming back toward my temple. If it hits, then I'd definitely lose my sense of balance for a short while, even losing consciousness in the worst case.

Thankfully, I was already in a low posture. It didn't take much effort to place the hilt of the wooden broadsword in my hand to block the incoming strike.

*Thunk!*

An unbelievably loud sound echoed, and the hilt of my wooden sword cracked almost immediately. What's more shocking was that the bastard's sword seemed to be able to break my sword's hilt, and it continued along its way to my temple.

"[Smash]!"

Having no other choice, I shouted and forcefully raised my sword up, hitting the other sword with what remained of the hilt and sending it above my head, off-target. As soon as it passed, I kicked hard on the ground, gaining distance from Alfred, and inspected my sword.

As expected, half of the hilt was now gone. As it is now, I can't hold it with two hands anymore. Waving a broadsword singlehandedly seems like a badass scene, though, so I don't mind it as much. It's not even heavy to begin with.

"Heh, Smash? What a trashy skill!" Alfred, as if finding that the skill I used was a common one, mocked me with a derisive smile. "If that's all you have, then just stay at home and never show your face to me, you loser!"

It's not my cup of tea to just keep on receiving derisive remarks, though, so with a sad smile, I replied. "What, you already got bored playing with me? Or did you get tired after just that short exchange? I wasn't even done with warming up..."

"Hah! Don't push your luck, brat. The only thing you'll be kissing today is the cold, hard floor!"

"Cold?" I turned to the heated mats acting as the flooring for the entire stadium. "It's pretty warm, though, and even soft... Wanna try kissing it first to see?"

"Then try and make me!" With gritted teeth, Alfred rushed forward with the same posture he had the first time.

Three steps, and he already had me in his sword's range. Just like before, he immediately swung the sword down, aiming straight for my head; however, unlike earlier, I didn't want to give him the time of day.

"[Smash]!"

Taking advantage of the low cooldown time of Smash, I waved the broadsword in my hand upward and swept away his sword, which was lighter than mine. Since the skill's motion was pretty fast since my Smash reached level 6 after my frantic hunting yesterday. It can now increase my swing speed by 55%!

Alfred, who couldn't see the full extent of my Smash skill earlier, was visibly surprised. What's more, his feet slightly lifted off the ground from the powerful force of the strike.

Taking advantage of his slight opening, I aimed a downward strike, aiming for his left shoulder. The panic in his eyes seemed genuine, but it suddenly turned into another sneer an instant later. I quickly knew why, though, as he shouted the name of the same skill as earlier.

"Idiot! [Reflect]!"

His voice echoed loudly, reverberating throughout the entire stadium. But after hearing his skill activation, I wasn't intimidated at all. Rather, I was thankful that I could observe his skills closer this time.

Just before the broadsword landed, I pulled my hand back greatly, causing my attack to miss. At the same time, I used my non-pivot leg to launch three light kicks, or more like a tap, aiming for his shin, knee, and thigh. A faint flash of light, not as bright as before, expanded in the briefest of instances.

After that, I realized that only my shin felt slight discomfort, while the knee and thigh weren't affected at all. With this, it's confirmed. His Reflect skill could only block one attack at a time. I don't know if it has a standby time or if it'll continue persisting until a strike hits him, but either way, I already found a way to neutralize his skill.

"You brat..." As soon as he landed, he took a few steps back, gaining distance, and glared hard at me.

Well, if my attack did connect and get reflected, then it's definitely enough for me to earn a few broken bones. He must be angry that he couldn't let me grovel on the ground with that use of his skill.

"Well, timing matters." I shrugged, intercepting whatever he was about to say. "And playtime's over."

The fact that he used Reflect again as soon as its cooldown ended means he had no other defensive skills. And now that I know its weakness, I have nothing else to gain from letting this small duel last any longer. Rather, there were already a few spectators coming in since the next class was nearing. Fortunately, no one from our classroom was here yet; otherwise, I'd be embarrassed to continue any further.

Now that I'm planning to end things, Alfred seems to have gotten angrier than before. His face turned red as he bit his lip, frowning deeply. "Are you looking down on me, you f*cker?! F*ck rules, you're going down!!!"

What? Was he even trying to follow the rules? He already tried to break it twice; what the hell is he saying this late in the game? Well, his being consumed by anger is a plus for me. He'd be reacting slower since his mind is out of focus.

Just as I was wondering what trick he'd pull now, he actually started bending his body like a javelin thrower and then chucked his wooden sword straight toward me. The sword was rotating like a drill, disturbing the air around it as it flew with the tip pointing straight at my eyes.

Just as I was wondering what he was planning to do with this, he suddenly clapped his hands. At that moment, two things occurred. One is that his wooden sword suddenly changed color, taking on a metallic hue. Two is that the sword suddenly split into a dozen or so pieces, covering a wide area before me. Whether they were illusions or not, I have no way to tell.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see QUEEN move, worry coloring her face. However, whatever it was she was trying to pull off, it'll be too late. Well, it's not like I need her help anyway.

Using the sword in my hand, I swung it with my full force diagonally, using Smash as a boost, trying to intercept the incoming swords. To my surprise, the swords that I hit released a loud, high-pitched ping sound, indicating that they really did become metallic. Furthermore, all the dozen or so swords weren't an illusion but real.

Well, it's useless now since I just swept them away, far from where I was. Although they still continued to fly, they were already not a threat. Rather, I took advantage of Alfred's being weaponless and lunged forward. Two large steps, and my sword was already aimed at his throat.

With a faint smile, I muttered confidently, "Checkmate."