Chapter 10 - Beaten. (Patreon)

POV: Third Person

Rui looked at the wooden sword in Ais's hand for a few seconds before taking it from her. As soon as he did, Tiona spoke.

"Ais, be careful. You might end up hurting him." She was visibly worried.

Ais was far stronger than Rui, and her swordsmanship was on an entirely different level, so Tiona had every reason to be concerned.

"Don't worry. A wooden sword can't hurt someone like Rui, even if I hit him with all my strength," Ais said confidently. She was certain that Rui's sturdy body would shatter the wooden sword into pieces if she struck him with enough force.

Rui, however, wasn't nearly as confident.

'I think she could kill me with this sword if she wanted to.' He smiled bitterly.

"Even so, be careful. Rui, are you sure you want to do this? You've never used a sword before. There's no reason for you to go through this kind of training."

"It's fine, Tiona. That's exactly why I'm doing this. I've never used a sword before, so I want to see if I have any talent for it."

Before Tiona could say anything else, Ais asked,

"Are you ready? I'm going to begin."

Tiona stepped away from the two of them and watched from a distance.

'I'm worried... If Ais takes this too seriously, Rui could actually get hurt.' she thought.

Rui took a few steps back, putting some distance between himself and Ais. Once he felt it was enough, he said,

"Alright, let's begin."

He raised his sword, holding it with only one hand.

Ais looked at his stance and thought,

'He has so many openings...'

Then she spoke.

"Alright. Here I come."

Rui narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the wooden sword.

Then, in less than a second, Ais vanished from where she had been standing and appeared right in front of him.

Startled, Rui raised his sword.

He reacted at the very last second.

Ais's sword slammed into his, sending him stumbling backward. His entire arm went numb.

"You'd be dead if this were a real fight."

Before Rui could do anything, Ais's sword was already resting against his neck. She stared at him with a serious expression.

She was taking this very seriously.

Rui realized this wasn't the time to fool around.

With a determined look, he pushed her sword away and said,

"Alright. Let's do that again."

'She's way too fast... but if I push myself a little harder, I can handle this.'

Ais stepped back and turned to face him once more.

This time, Rui assumed his stance while gripping his sword with both hands. His eyes remained fixed on Ais, who stood perfectly still, not moving even an inch.

Then, the moment Rui blinked—

Whoosh!

Ais disappeared from his sight.

Startled, Rui swung his sword to the left.

This time, he reacted in time.

Their wooden swords collided, and the sharp crack of wood echoing against wood reverberated throughout the training grounds.

Their eyes met.

Then Ais made her next move.

She launched a relentless flurry of attacks, wielding her sword with flawless precision and forcing Rui backward. Rui was using his sword more like a shield than a weapon.

If they had been using real swords and were actual enemies, Rui would already be dead.

Ais was toying with him.

She drove him backward until he was forced out of the training grounds.

His hand ached, and sweat covered his body.

In contrast, Ais hadn't shed a single drop of sweat.

She lowered her sword and said,

"Your reaction time is good, but your movements are terrible."

"Well, I've never done this before. You're going way too hard on me, Ais."

"I'm not even taking this seriously."

"Haha..."

Rui laughed.

"Alright, let's do it again. This time, could you slow down a little?"

"Alright."

Watching from afar, Tiona thought,

'Rui doesn't have any talent for this... This is going to be a completely one-sided beating.'

####

POV: Rui

As I breathed heavily, I looked at Ais, who was standing there without a single drop of sweat on her body.

'How is that even possible? Is she not even trying?'

I looked down at my wooden sword. It had cracked.

Then I looked at hers.

Her sword wasn't damaged at all.

'I guess it all comes down to the amount of force she puts into her swings compared to me.'

"Alright, let's take a break."

Ais lowered her sword.

"You're improving little by little. Your movements are getting better."

She was complimenting me.

But hearing her praise didn't make me feel any better.

I felt defeated.

And irritated.

It was unbelievably frustrating that I hadn't managed to land a single hit on her.

"Alright."

I sat down on a nearby bench.

Tiona walked over and handed me a bottle of water.

"You're not in pain, are you? You should stop for today."

"How long have I been training with Ais?"

"I think... about twenty minutes?"

"Only twenty minutes? Hahaha... I feel completely exhausted."

"Ais is on another level, Rui. You know that better than anyone. But you're doing really well for someone using a sword for the first time. Right, Ais?"

"Yes. Very well."

"But you still haven't answered me. How's your body feeling?"

"My arms and stomach hurt a little, but I'm fine."

Ais had managed to hit me several times with her wooden sword.

The places she'd struck were already bruised.

"Ais, I told you you're overdoing it!"

"If I were overdoing it, Rui wouldn't even be able to walk."

That was terrifying.

After resting for a while, I got back to my feet to continue fighting Ais.

At the very least, I had to land a single hit on her.

Standing in the middle of the training grounds, I looked at her seriously and pointed my sword at her.

"This time, I'm going to hit you."

"Good luck with that."

Ais replied in her usual monotone voice.

This time, she remained where she was, waiting for me to attack.

I activated my "Boost" skill and charged toward her at high speed.

But I immediately noticed that Ais's expression hadn't changed at all.

My speed meant nothing to her.

I swung my sword toward her neck.

Calmly, she raised her own sword and blocked mine.

"Too slow."

Before I could react, she drove a kick into my stomach, sending me flying backward.

She hadn't used her full strength.

Even so, the impact was enough to nearly make me throw up.