Sparring (1)

The senior who was going to spar with me was called Daniel, and he was known for his explosive speed.

Thus, since the moment the spar started, I was wary of it.

My senior smirked when he saw me like that. He then took a step forward and spoke to me.

"Sorry about this, Jane. It's not my fault that you angered the coach."

In the next instant, his body accelerated!

His speed was so fast that I could not believe he was not using mana. He closed the distance between us in less than one second!

But–

'He is slow…'

Strangely, that thought appeared in my mind.

I was slightly surprised by that, however, my body moved instinctively.

After receiving countless beatings from the demon in my dreams, my body had learned to react as soon as it sensed the slightest threat.

When my senior's punch was about to hit me, I leaned my body aside. Then, my right hand grabbed my senior's extended arm as I turned around before using his own strength against him to throw him to the ground.

It was a perfectly executed throwing technique!

"… Eh?" My senior let out a stupefied sound, and in the next second, he hit the floor.

I could not help but put on a slightly surprised look.

… So easy?

The entire dojo fell silent, and for an instant, nobody reacted.

Only the coach looked at me with a frown.

"The winner is Jane."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Daniel hurriedly stood up. "S-Sorry, coach, I-I was distracted. Can we do it again?"

Coach Michael did not reply and instead looked at me to ask for my opinion. I thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"I understand. Let's do it again."

Coach Michael nodded as Daniel and I returned to our respective locations.

This time, though, Daniel did not have the carefree expression of before. Instead, he stared at me with a serious expression as he crouched slightly, ready to unleash his greatest speed at the moment the spar started.

"Start!" Coach Michael suddenly said.

Once more, Daniel charged towards me.

This time, though, instead of throwing a punch, he launched a kick towards my abdomen.

I instinctively stepped back and extended my hand to grab his leg, but Daniel was already ready for that and pulled his leg back as he extended his right hand to grab mine.

But in that instant, I swatted his hand slightly, hitting his wrist and opening his guard. Next, I kicked the ground and accelerated towards him, extending the palm of my hand towards his chest.

Then–

*Bam!*

With a loud sound, I hit Daniel's chest, throwing him away.

The dojo fell completely silent.

"How…?"

Every student in the dojo was looking at me as though they did not know me, and even Daniel, who was lying on the ground, looked at me in disbelief.

Coach Michael put on a solemn expression. He stared at me for several seconds before calling another student.

"Saya, go and spar with Jane."

The young woman called Saya was briefly startled before nodding. She walked towards the stage and stood in front of me with an ice-cold expression.

Saya is a twenty-year-old woman known as the strongest in the dojo. She is a C-Rank Awakened with a skill called [Flexible Body].

Because this skill was very suitable to learn martial arts, she inscribed in the dojo to learn from Coach Michael. She has been learning from him for three years, and even Coach Michael praised her as one of his best students.

At the moment Saya stood in front of me, I felt a powerful pressure exuding from her body. It was chilling and piercing, like countless needles piercing my skin.

[Killing Intent…] I heard the demon murmur.

However, strangely, I did not feel intimidated by her pressure.

Because as soon as I felt it, I could not help but compare it to the demon's powerful aura.

And it was–

"Like a and compared to an elephant…" I murmured unconsciously

"Did you say anything?" Saya asked.

I shook my head and focused on her. Saya as well focused her senses completely on me.

In the next second, we heard the voice of the coach.

"Start!"

Immediately, Saya's moved.

'How fast!' I thought instinctively as I stepped backward.

At the same time, I saw Saya's leg hit the place where I was a moment ago.

But that was not the end. As soon as her first kick failed, a second kick came, and this time it was even faster than the first kick.

'Damn!' I instinctively crossed my arms to receive it. But just before her leg touched my arms, something flashed in my mind.

I moved instinctively following that thought. In the instant her leg touched my arm, I moved my body slightly to the left, parrying her movement and defusing her strength.

The lack of response in her kick startled Saya, making her lose her balance slightly. It was just an instant, but my mind tempered by hundreds of battles against the demon in my dreamland did not fail to catch it.

'An opening…!'

My eyes lit up. Without any hesitation, I took a step forward and threw a palm strike towards her chest, but Saya's reaction was faster than I expected.

She did not panic, and instead, she used her right arm to stop my attack as her hand flew towards my head.

But when my palm touched her arm, Saya realized that my palm did not carry as much strength as it seemed.

"A feint!?"

Saya's expression changed. She instantly realized she had fallen into a trap, and hurriedly tried to retreat.

But in the instant my palm touched her arm, I had already made my next move.

My body crouched quickly, making Saya's counterattack fail. Then, I threw a sweeping kick towards Saya's legs.

"Ugh!"

Sara grunted and barely managed to keep standing, but unfortunately, she lost her balance.

"Crap…!" She murmured in a panic, but it was already too late.

Before she could recover her balance, I had already stood up again, and my right hand was touching her neck.

Saya froze completely.

"… The winner is Jane." Coach Michael spoke, but I did not pay attention to his words.

Instead, I was replaying the last battle in my mind.

"... So I became that strong…"

It looks like the training of the demon was more effective than I expected.