Adaptive fighting

Raze led them into a small arena at the back of the guild; it was a place used to settle some disputes and other things.

There was a rack of weapons that had seen better days, but no one tended to them as long as they were still a bit functional.

"What weapon do you use, kid?" Raze asked.

"I use a sword," Silva replied.

"Alright, take your pick," Raze said.

Silva took a sword from the rack that fit his size and came to face Raze. Raze, on the other hand, took a piece of stick that had been lying on the ground.

"I'll be using this. The rules are simple: you have to survive a minute of me attacking, and after that, you have to attack me and land a hit in the next minute.

If what your father said about you is true, then you should be capable of pulling this off, right? After all, you are stronger than your own father," Raze said.

Raze looked at Leon at the side. "Keep count for us; tell us after every ten seconds," Raze said. Leon nodded, he raised his hands, and then brought them down to signify the start.

Raze charged from his position like a rocket; he covered the distance between them in less than a second and then swung his stick towards Silva.

Silva took a step back as fast as he could and raised his sword, parrying the stick to the side.

Even that simple parry put a lot of strain on his body; this was the disparity in strength. He set one of his feet back and planted it into the ground.

He managed to get through the first attack; he quickly withdrew a few steps and got ready for the next attack.

"That is good, but can you keep it up?" Raze said and charged again. He went in for another slash, but Silva was able to parry that one as well. He continued that way until his father called out the thirty-second mark.

As soon as it reached this time, Raze increased his speed and power behind his attacks.

He started pushing Silva back with several attacks, but Silva was able to block the attacks.

Silva could see a smile forming on Raze's face whenever he successfully blocked an attack.

It was as though Raze was having fun sparring with Silva.

"You're really something else, kid. When your father told me about you, I, for one, thought that it was exaggerated, but it seems all he said was true," Raze said as he went in for the final attack, using more force than normal.

Silva set his blade to block, but then the stick suddenly disappeared and appeared at another angle.

Silva was shocked by this, but he quickly calmed his mind. He had high intelligence stats and was able to make rational and quick decisions.

He spun his body in an unusual way, allowing him to parry the attack. The way he parried the attack was risky, and so it sent a shock up his arms, but it wasn't something he couldn't withstand.

"That's one minute," Leon called out.

"That last move you pulled off there, Silva, was really unconventional. I had wanted to land one hit against you at least.

So I used a move that I was sure you wouldn't be able to dodge, but you still managed to pull it off somehow. The way you twisted your body, that was simply amazing," Raze praised Silva.

"I guess now I just have to hit you once," Silva said.

"Hmm, after that last move you did, I can say you passed already, but if you feel like you can land a hit, then have at it. I will remove the time limit and have you try as much as you can," Raze said.

"No, that won't be necessary. I'll land a hit in one minute," Silva said.

Raze was shocked when Silva said that with so much confidence. He could feel his heart beating faster and his anticipation building for the fight.

"Alright, then come at me with all that you have," Raze called out.

Silva didn't waste a moment. He charged forward with his sword at his side, and then he activated dragon eyes.

The initial use of dragon eyes was to see the flow of energy. If he used it in this fight, he would be able to predict the motions of Raze.

For instance, if Raze were to take a step back, energy would gather in the leg first for the motion. Silva would see that energy motion before the leg moved, and that would give him a split second to make decisions.

It may not be much, but his landing a hit could all come down to just a split second.

As he got close, he went in for a conventional thrust to get things going. Silva noticed the energy flowing into the lower abdomen and some parts of the hips.

The energy moved in a twirling motion, and so Silva was able to predict that Raze would be twisting his body to the side in order to dodge.

Just as he predicted, Raze did indeed shift his body to the side and dodged the attack, but because Silva had a split-second head start, he immediately slashed his sword to the side.

Raze did not expect Silva to have such reaction time. He used his stick to block the sword, but then Silva added force behind his slash and cut through the stick.

Raze took a few steps back, the shock on his face was evident.

'This kid, he is adapting his attacks at reaction speeds that I have never seen before.

His first thrust should have completed the motion even after I dodged, but he quickly halted his sword and went for a slash.

I tried to block the slash, but then he added force. It is like he is reacting as fast as I am making my moves. What sort of monster is this kid?'