37: The Stakes Of The Sword Duel

The dim forest canopy obscured the feeble sunlight, casting elongated shadows over Lisa and Steve.

As Lisa tried to prop up the poisoned and limp Steve, her hand brushed against a cylindrical container tucked into his uniform...

Intrigued, she pulled out the cylindrical container from his uniform, which turned out to be a black flask with a red cap. However, engraved on the curved surface of the flask was a grotesque illustration that resembled a bat with wings and fangs. Yes, fangs!

Lisa tried to open it, but after several failed attempts, she gave up.

"This flask looks and feels creepy. Why can't I open it? And it felt like there was some liquid inside of it... Whatever, it is none of my business."

Then, activating her variant abilities, a smoky mist of energy engulfed Steve's entire body. Just that this time, it wasn't purple but instead it was whitish. Since Lisa can produce poisons, she could also neutralize them.

After a few minutes had passed, Steve slowly regained consciousness and opened his eyes. He was met with a pair of gray eyes staring directly at him. Steve's eyes flashed with a hint of redness, just as his gaze was drawn to her alluring exposed neck.

Lisa kept her gaze locked onto his hazel eyes, which were already slightly reddish, almost gawking at his handsome features. 'Why does it feel like he has become even more handsome just now?' Lisa wondered why she couldn't keep her eyes off him.

Unknown to her, she was under Steve's charm. But when he realized the effect of his charm on her after fully regaining consciousness, he immediately dispelled it.

"Ummm, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to cause you any harm when I followed you here into the woods. I was simply curious to see your skill with bows and arrows."

"But how did you know that…" Before Lisa could complete her sentence, she was interrupted by Steve.

"Anyway, thanks for neutralizing the poison. I was truly lucky to have met someone like you who could easily analyze misconceptions."

Lisa smiled. The handsome guy in front of her just complimented her. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. She even forgot what she wanted to ask him initially about how he knew she was coming into the woods to practice her archery skills.

"I think I should be heading back to the academy now. I, I…"

"Why the rush? You mentioned that you wanted to assess my archery skills, correct? I might as well show you how proficient I am with the bows," she interrupted him before he could find an excuse to leave.

Steve found himself at a dead end. Initially, he followed Lisa into the woods intending to feed on her blood. But after discovering that she was the genius of the Chesterfield family, he decided not to make any rash moves. Not to mention, discovering that she has an affinity for poison variant makes him want to wet his trousers. Remembering how her poison had rendered him unconscious makes it even worse. So, he doesn't want to stay another minute with such a dangerous girl.

But now, does he really have a choice? The girl herself offered to let him see her archery skills. So, he must stay, otherwise, his lies will be exposed. Therefore, he could only nod his head, affirming that Lisa should do her thing.

Lisa, seeing his nod, smiled before drawing her bowstring once again, just like before, without nocking it with an arrow. She then closed her eyes and released the bowstring. This time, instead of a condensed purplish energy arrow, a light blue energy condensed into the shape of an arrow and shot out at an incredible speed.

Steve, who was looking in the direction of her aim, furrowed his brow as he could not see the target she was about to shoot. He was about to voice his thoughts when the arrow swerved from its direction and flew directly towards a bird soaring overhead.

'She can already use telekinesis with her arrows. Certainly, she is a genius, as people usually address her.' Steve thought as the arrow hit its target right across its abdomen. The bird, which looked like a hawk, fell lifeless to the ground.

"So, how were my archery skills?" She asked, grinning widely.

'What's wrong with her? She had been smiling after I used my charm skill... Don't tell me she has fallen for me.' Steve became even more scared of her. 'In the future, I should definitely avoid getting involved with girls. First, it was Evelyn, and now Lisa. Steve... Steve.'

Lisa asked again, pulling him out of his thoughts. He smiled at her and replied.

"Your archery skills are more than perfect. I haven't seen anyone as good as you before."

'Just poisoning me with your previous shot is enough to testify that.' This, he thought. But it seemed he had praised her too much, as she was all smiles, probably feeling on top of the world now.

Steve cleverly found a way to break free from Lisa and hurriedly returned to his dorm room. This should be tagged as "blood-hunting gone wrong."

—— — ——

Evelyn, after leaving her room with the dragon whip, went straight to the training grounds to practice with her weapon. These past few days, she had become even more proficient and in tune with the once-tagged old and rusty whip.

One of the recent activities she has been engaged in at the library, aside from researching mana beasts in the dungeons, is gathering all the necessary information about mastering the use of a whip.

In the section of the general training unit, she was swinging her whips. Evelyn swung the whip, slashing it through the air. The movement of her whip has become more fluid, and she was somehow able to extend its length and retract it most times.

"I'm already proficient in using this whip. Actually, it was unlike what Mr. Ronald said about it. Sometimes, I do feel like it is more than just a beast weapon. These days, I have been practicing it. It feels like it is awakening from dormancy... Maybe I should try infusing it with my flames and see what will happen." She muttered.

Evelyn channeled her spiritual energy into the whip. The weapon absorbs only a small amount of it. She then swung it in a vertical slash. The whip burst into flames and unleashed a small fiery slash into the air.

"This is a nice start. Just as I had predicted, it was a beast weapon.

"I should meet the others at our usual spot now." She said as she tucked the whip into her hip before heading toward the direction of their group's meeting spot.

***

When she arrived at the outdoor section of the general training unit, the other three were already assembled there. Probably waiting for her arrival.

"You are here. We have been waiting for you," said Zoya, as she looked at her. "Oh! You were practicing with your whip." Zoya answered her question upon seeing the coiled whip hanging from her hip.

"I'm really sorry for being a little late."

"No problem. At least now, Elvis will tell us about his duel opponent tomorrow. He refused to tell us about it unless you arrive."

All three of them shifted their gazes to Elvis, demanding a response from him with just their glare. But Elvis' face turned ashen as he remembered what Mr. Ronald had told him earlier during the combat arts class.

"That man is truly a sly fox. He would have told me off if he didn't want to accept me as his disciple instead of arranging for me to duel someone much more skilled in swordsmanship from birth."

"What are you even talking about? Who are you dueling with tomorrow? Can't you be clearer for once?" asked Cedric, eagerly awaiting the mention of his roommate's opponent.

"It's Logan..."

"What? Logan? The genius of the Brown family?!" Exclaimed Zoya.

"What's wrong with dueling Logan? Isn't he the same age as us? Not to mention, he joined the academy with us this year." Evelyn asked, looking at the bewildered expressions on the faces of the other three.

"Seems like you don't know. Logan's uncle was a renowned swordsman. He is only second to Mr. Ronald, and he has been training Logan since he was five years old. That guy could actually go toe to toe with a Master swordsman with just his sword skills." Cedric explained to them.

"I wonder how you guys know so much," Evelyn lamented.

"That's because my family, the Ostwald family, is the largest weapons supplier in all of Humaldor. My father told me about this when Logan's uncle came to our Weapons Pavilion eleven years ago to buy a sword for Logan's training."

"Wait... I thought you told us your family is involved in the sales of pills and the likes... when you gave Zoya a pill after the fight with Wilson?" asked Elvis.

Cedric had been caught. He scratched his head while discreetly glaring at Elvis. Who would have known that Elvis would never forget what he said that day?

"Ummm... it is somewhat true. Majorly, my family is involved in weapon crafting and sales. Recently, my father decided to incorporate alchemical products into the business. It's all the same. Why do you think I take the blacksmithing and weapon crafting classes?

"Anyway, shouldn't you be extremely worried about how to survive tomorrow's duel instead of poking your nose around?"

Elvis kept his mouth shut, unsure of how to respond to Cedric. Evelyn, sensing the tense atmosphere developing, decided to speak up.

"It is just a duel, right? You should give it your best, even if you cannot win. If it escalated beyond your control, just admit defeat. Because those geniuses certainly like to oppress others.

"And don't even consider refusing the duel. If you can't handle such things, how do you intend to protect me as you claimed? Don't see it as a do-or-die situation. After all, Mr. Ronald is not the only person who can teach you swordsmanship."

Evelyn had spoken more than she usually would. It was clear that this duel was crucial to her as well. She was worried about Elvis but didn't want him to always give up in the face of challenges. Elvis also seemed to have had his morale increase by leaps and bounds. He said:

"You are right. I will give the duel my best. I have practiced hard for it, so I should prove myself, even if I won't be able to defeat Logan."

'It is a pity that I haven't mastered the Lightning Sword Slash I have been practicing,' thought Elvis.

"This is more like it. Bravo!" Cedric said, smiling.