Whoosh!
I deflected the incoming attack with my dagger.
Twang!
"Dual daggers?" Verdric raised an eyebrow, his expression one of mild amusement. "That's unusual for a Swordsman class student. Most of them are too clumsy to manage a pair of medium-length weapons."
He gave the flat of his own sword a lazy swing, as if he wasn't in the slightest bit bothered by the fact that I'd just stopped his attack with nothing more than a flick of the wrist.
The next instant, he attacked my arm.
I pushed off with my right leg and came in from the front, slashing at his side with my left dagger. He anticipated the attack and used his shoulder to shove against my wrist, sending the weapon flying from my hand.
"?",
I forced the remaining dagger against his blade, trying to create an opening. But the momentary lock was enough of a warning for Verdric, and he simply used the full strength of his arms to push me back.
Verdric raised his sword straight up, and the air around it seemed to constrict.
Swoosh!
He attacked with terrifying speed, and I couldn't follow his movements with Trajectory Eyes.
But I wasn't entirely defenseless. I'd anticipated his opening move and had prepared a backup plan. With a little help from mana fiber, I'd reinforced the hilts of both of my daggers with thin strands of mana.
Twing!
The dagger that he'd knocked out of my hand shot back to my fingers, and I used it to parry his attack.
For the briefest moment, Verdric's face softened, as if he was genuinely impressed.
"…That's a neat trick. I've never encountered anyone who uses such methods before."
"Perhaps that's because most people aren't willing to break the rules like I do."
He chuckled lightly, unharmed by my response and tilted his head to the side in amusement. "Oh? And what methods does that involve?"
"It involves giving people like me a chance to live another day."
Verdric's lips curled into a smirk.
"Is that so?"
The floor cracked where he stood, and he vanished almost immeadiately afterwards.
"???"
My Trajectory Eyes flared to life, revealing several arrows pointing in different direction.
[Right]
[Left]
[Up]
There were too many of them.
"Hahaha… "
I laughed nervously.
One of the problems with the Trajectory Eyes was that whenever the opponent had more than one option, it turned the arrows into distractions.
I turned around instinctively.
I was too slow.
Verdric's blade smacked into the middle of my back,
"Agh-!"
pushing me forward. I slid on my back for several long moments before coming to a stop.
Crack!
"Is that it?"
Verdric's feet landed softly upon the ground as if he had been floating the whole time, and his breathing was even. He really did not look like he was exerting himself at all. I could barely stand up, let alone move.
Is that it my ass…
I forced myself to my feet, suppressing a wince. My back was still smarting from where he had slammed into me, and my legs were shaking.
Can you even call that a sparring match?!
I had nearly embedded myself into the ground, but luckily enough for me, the professor had attached some protective gear to all of us, so that most of the impact would be absorbed by a Magic Shield, or else that last attack would have done more damage than it already did.
I flexed my fingers around the dagger in my hand and glared at him again, but Verdric merely continued to regard me in that same, calm manner.
Can you even call that a balance main character in this game?!
Verdric however move before I can even stand up properly.
"?!"