Slow

"Welcome welcome! TODAY MARKES THE FIRST TIME WHERE AN S CLASS STUDENT IS CHALLENGED FOR HIS SEAT!" said the voice of a commentator.

She was one of the school personnel. The arena looked grand with many people lining up to see the event. A lot of them were servants and most were nobles that came to watch out for boredom.

The royal prince is nowhere to be seen probably not interested in his sister's bullying rampage…

The old man who was at the gate yesterday was now on the sidelines watching the event.

Lady Lissandra was not here, though, and it was almost noon.

What is taking her so long?

The pressure I was getting at standing alone within the arena was not something small. Everyone was now appraising the one that challenged one of royal lineage, a double negative challenging an S class student, one with enough power backing them to change the fate of the country while another is nothing but a speck of dust in the dirt.

Lady Akari and Melinda were both observing the stage.

I even hoped for one moment that Lady Lissandra would not come; this would make it much simpler to solve this problem. However, I doubt it.

'Indeed, this is a psychological attack from her part. She had commenced combat with you long before you sat stage on the arena, making you wait here, giving you hope that she may not come then abruptly breaking it when she shows up in the last minute for you to be demoralised. This is a tactic that was often used in the past. Giving hope to the weak then snuffing it. Forcing their world to crumble as they grew reliant on a fleeting hope' said Nocturne

'Hey… no need to make my situation sound desperate.'

'Ah don't worry about that, when worse comes to worst I will take over and finish this farce, I wouldn't want that root to go into their hand. After all, you came in with a 100% chance to win. As long as I am with you, that is.'

'That is cheating… assuring, but still, it is cheating.'

'One uses all their resources in a fight. There is no such thing as cheating. The one who is right is the one who is standing at the end of the fight.' Said Nocturne

'However, don't for even a second believe that I will help you if you do not give it you're all. Afterall if you fail me and show weakness, or show yourself to be unable to exert all your potential, then I will not help you and will give up the root. We can still find another one someday, but the honor you will lose will scare you forever. And that is a lesson you must learn in order to always give it your all.'

'Honor? What honor does a mere orphan have' I said

'Not yours Basara, you are now carrying the honor of your house and mentors. Your Lady of flame, the swordmaster, and the Just lord's honor are all on your shoulders… no pressure…Kekekekek'

The announcer then spoke once she looked high in the sky. It was noon.

"It appears that Lady Lissandra will not be showing up today… the Victor of this match is"

"Hold up!" said a woman as she walked forward, wearing a black as night suite of leather, perfectly showing her blasphemous curves. While her long golden hair was neatly tied into a bun.

She had the emblem of the lion on her back while she exuded a sense of charm and dominance.

"I had some things to do, I hope you didn't think I was going forfeit the match?" she said

"Ah, don't worry about it, I knew you would come. It was getting a bit boring here," I said while shrugging

The confident look on her face disappeared as she knit her brows.

"Enough with the ramblings, I have better things to do, now ready up for a whopping.' She said as she brought forward her sword.

I stood still like an idiot there.

"What are you waiting for? Bring up your weapon? Or are you a magic user?"

"Ah… I didn't bring any weapons…" I said as I scratched my head a bit in embarrassment.

The people around us began to laugh.

"What a waste of time… Someone throw's him a weapon." She said as she looked more confident.

"Here you go." Said a guy, and as I turned I saw him again, the red-haired dude of the House Dantess, Victor." Use it well" he said.

I picked up the sword and looked at it.

It was alright, a bit heavy on the hand, but was of good quality. It had a nice patterned design on it. More of an accessory than a sword but it will do.

Once I held the sword, the smile on the girl's face grew wider.

"You have no stance. You are not even wielding your weapon properly, your grip is too tight like you are afraid it will run away from you. Are you sure you want to fight against me using swords? No matter, prepared to lose" she said as she moved forward.

She was… slow?

No, she was actually moving really fast, but… why does she look slow? I thought to myself as a chopping swing came forward, she was not trying to land a killing blow as her swing was calculated, she was trying to injure my shoulder, probably rendering me unable to fight.

Before the sword would make contact, I sidestepped.

And her sword struck empty air.

"Huh?" she said as she looked at me with wide eyes. She immediately jumped back without hesitation, afraid of an incoming retaliation.

'What are you doing? You could have finished the fight right there Basara…' said Nocturne

Everyone turned silent at the scene.

'Hang on, what the hell is going on, she is way too slow…"

'She is not slow, it is your eyes, and the training we were doing, you were accustomed to a much higher speed than that of a human, of course, she will look slow, however, don't underestimate her. That was but a probing strick that failed, her next attack will be more serious."

"I don't know what you re trying to do, Servant, but why didn't you retaliate? I obviously overextended and made myself vulnerable. This is a mistake that anyone other than you would have took and ended the fight. Indeed I underestimated you, but you underestimating me is a stupid thing…" she said

"Ah, sorry I just didn't think you would be that slow…" I said in all honesty.

To my words, all the stadium, the teachers and even the girl in front of me were dumbstruck. Some even had their mouths opened wide. 

'What? she was slow...'