Seeing the System message made Quinn's blood start rushing through his body in excitement.
It was the same message Tsukuru received whenever he challenged Erin to a spar, both today and yesterday.
But for Quinn, it was the first time he had received such a message.
Quinn hadn't planned on going easy on Leo in the first place, and if the match proved too easy, he normally would have to ease up as to not arouse suspicion.
If he was able to go toe-to-toe with one of the heroes of the Dalki War, that would DEFINITELY raise some eyebrows.
But with a reward like this, he could think of an explanation later.
Each time Quinn or Tsukuru leveled up, the Exp required for the next level up seemed to double, making it harder and harder to level up.
"What's wrong?" Leo asked.
Quinn gulped, and tightened his fists.
"Nothing." He muttered, assuming a fighting stance.
Leo's blinded eyes darted from side to side.
"Alright, students!" Leo announced. "The minute begins…NOW!"
As soon as Leo shouted those words, the sound of weapons clashing filled the hall.
Back with Tsukuru and Erin, Tsukuru held his daggers in a reverse grip, and his left dagger clashed with Erin's, well actually HIS sword.
"Oh, yeah!" Tsukuru replied excitedly, as he noticed that he felt far less resistance than yesterday. "That's A LOT easier! It doesn't feel like I'm swinging against a metal grinder!"
Meanwhile, Erin's face remained emotionless.
"Don't think that just because I'm using a Basic-Tier blade, it means I'm any less effective!" She replied, pressing the blade harder against his, pushing his hand back slightly.
Tsukuru strained, feeling the force.
He twirled the fingers in his right hand, reorienting his right dagger from a reverse grip to a regular grip, the dagger's edge facing outwards from his hand.
He swung his right hand in an arc.
However, Erin saw it coming, and jumped back as the dagger sliced through the air in the space she had been standing a moment ago.
Tsukuru grit his teeth.
He reoriented his left dagger so he was holding the "lizard tail" of its guard by his index finger, and flung it at Erin like a projectile.
However, Erin easily parried it with her sword.
There was a sound like clashing metal, and Tsukuru's dagger rebounded off of the blade, flying off to Erin's right, spinning in the air.
Tsukuru growled, and activated his Ability, creating a replacement dagger.
He held both daggers in a reverse-grip once again, and lunged at Erin.
Back with Leo and Quinn, those closest towards the two decided to take it easy during their fight so they could watch the two, and this included Brandon and his group.
Leo dashed at Quinn with impressive speed, but it wasn't anything Quinn couldn't handle.
He blocked the first strike, knocking the blade away with his gauntlets.
However, straight away, there was another strike, which Quinn managed to block, as well.
Leo smirked.
"A bit sloppy and rough around the edges, but your reflexes certainly aren't anything to sneeze at!" Leo complemented. "Now, let's kick things up a notch!"
Before Quinn could catch his breath, Leo attacked again, this time much faster than before.
But fortunately, thanks to Quinn's 14 points in Agility, he was still able to keep up.
"Haha, I can't believe I'm actually having fun against a student!" Leo said, laughing, as they continued.
Once again, Leo's attacks sped up.
It was at this point that Quinn looked to those around them like he was getting knocked around like a rag doll.
The students watching all thought that Leo was playing with Quinn, but Leo was truly impressed.
Although Quinn looked silly, he was still able to block each and every one of Leo's attacks with the gauntlets.
"Now, let's try this!" Leo shouted.
The attack from Leo's katana blade came from underneath.
Quinned raised both of his gauntlet-covered hands to block, but it looked as if the blade had disappeared, and phased right through them.
Before he knew it, the blade was right beneath his chin.
It was then that a rapid, electronic beeping filled the room.
As the noise filled the room, all the other students froze in place, and turned towards Leo.
Across the room, Tsukuru was leaning on his back foot, his left dagger held out horizontally in a reverse-grip, blocking Erin's sword, which was inches away from his face.
When they heard the noise, they too both turned towards Leo.
"Oh, it looks like our time is up." Leo said, sheathing his katana. "About Level 1.3 or 1.4, maybe. That's pretty good for a first year student."
Quinn however was in admiration of the weapons teacher.
At first, he didn't have a lot of respect for the teachers at the school.
They would usually just dominate over the students and tell them to "toughen up and get stronger", but Quinn felt like Leo was different.
Quinn could now tell that Leo was able to beat him in a fight any time he wanted, and that Leo was just testing him to see how strong he was.
What Quinn also learned during their fight was that getting stronger and faster wasn't enough.
He needed to learn how to fight properly.
Suddenly, Quinn bowed his head to Leo.
"Please, can you teach me how to fight?" He asked.
Leo looked at the boy for a moment.
"Unfortunately, you have chosen a weapon that I do not specialize in." Leo said, his voice full of regret.
"Although I do think it fits your fighting style, and you appear to have some experience in hand-to-hand combat." Leo went on, his hand under his chin, stroking it as he spoke.
"However, there is one thing I can suggest to you."
His words made Quinn look up, hope in his eyes.
"There is a popular VR fighting game that the military students from the other bases play. If you want to get some hands-on experience, that is your best bet." Leo looked away. "Although the use of Abilities in that game is not prohibited, so you might have a hard time, I still think it will be a good experience for you."
Quinn smiled, and bowed again. "Thank you so much."
Leo smirked.
"Oh, and before I forget, it's been a while since I've had fun like that." Leo said, as he began to walk away. "Feel free to keep the gauntlets, as a prize for keeping me entertained. When you get stronger in the future, feel free to challenge me at any time. I will be happy to fight you again."
Leo then began to walk back towards the center of the weapons hall.
Back with Tsukuru and Erin, Tsukuru's arms were shaky as he attempted to hold them steady.
Eventually, he gave up, and slumped to the floor, his arms falling limp on either side.
He let out a long sigh.
"Damn it!" He muttered.
Erin loomed over him.
While her face still appeared to be carved out of stone, a minute, almost unnoticeable smirk appeared at the edge of her lips.
"I guess that was an acceptable waste of my time." She replied.
Tsukuru looked up at her, annoyed.
He looked like he was about to retort, but he then just slumped his shoulders, and sighed again.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He muttered. "You kicked my ass even with Basic-Tier equipment. There's nothing I can complain about."
He looked up, and saw Erin examining every inch of the Knight Sword, as if she was examining a lost treasure.
"You know, despite this thing's undesirable appearance, it has grown on me." She said, before looking down at him. "I think I'll be taking it."
Tsukuru and Erin shared glances.
Tsukuru knew that he could take the sword back in a heartbeat.
Since he had taken it out of his System's "Weapons" tab, he could take it back at any time, depositing it back in the System.
But, truth be told, it was honestly just taking up space in his System.
Neither he nor Quinn used swords.
Honestly, Erin was probably the best match for the sword.
Tsukuru gave her a half-hearted, dismissive wave.
"Take it." He muttered.
Once again, he saw that subtle smirk on her face, as Erin nodded.
She began to walk away.
Tsukuru sat on the floor for a moment later, before he picked himself up, and began to walk back towards Quinn.
Back where Quinn was, the students around him had a look of deep disappointment and dissatisfaction.
In truth, they were kind of hoping to see a repeat of Quinn's utter dominance of Brandon against Leo.
But perhaps that was asking too much.
During the fight, to them, it looked as if Leo was just toying with Quinn, and that he was being thrown around like a ragdoll.
"Alright, students!" Leo's voice filled the room. "It's time for your next opponent!"
It was at that point that Brandon saw Tsukuru coming this way.
He remembered this boy.
He was the "arrogant" Level 2 who thought he could defeat Erin, a Level 5, during yesterday's first match, and he had just seen history repeat itself.
He was the perfect opponent for Brandon to get his confidence back.
To use old-fashioned terminology, in Brandon's eyes, Tsukuru was an "easy mark".
Smirking, Brandon walked forward, and intercepted Tsukuru before he reached Quinn.
Seeing Brandon stand in front of him, Tsukuru gave him a confused look.
'Isn't this the guy Quinn curb-stomped yesterday?' He thought.
Brandon smirked, and raised up his trident, holding it in a fighting pose.
Seeing the unspoken sign of confrontation, Tsukuru smirked.
Unknown to Brandon, Tsukuru had the same exact thought he had.
Tsukuru saw Brandon as the perfect opponent to get his mind off of his second, consecutive loss against Erin.
After all, if Quinn could beat this guy, Tsukuru definitely could.
As Tsukuru assumed a battle stance, a System message appeared in front of him.
[An enemy Ability User has been detected. You have received a new Quest: Defeat the Level 3 Ability User Brandon Richardson
Reward: 50 Exp
An Ability Level difference of 1 has been detected. Bonus Exp will be awarded ]