Blackmoor's POV
I immediately twisted my body to the left while stepping to the right, narrowly dodging the stab. At the same time, I angled the jian in my left hand so that it slid along the flat of his greatsword, redirecting the thrust, while I raised my wakizashi with my right hand to counterattack.
In the end, both our swords reached each other's guards, locking in place.
Meanwhile, my wakizashi rested neatly against the side of Mikel's neck.
Naturally, he yielded.
Just like that, I became the king of the hill.
Yet I felt no joy from the victory.
Deep down, I knew Mikel had gone easy on me…
…though, to be fair, I had also gone easy on him.
That only reminded me once again—I needed to keep hiding my true strength.
Unlike the other class officers, there was no benefit in drawing attention to myself. If anything, showing too much might risk exposing my past.
So after that, everything went smoothly.
I fought skillfully, but never more skillfully than what I had shown against Mikel. I intentionally prolonged fights that I could normally end within seconds, and I focused on defeating opponents who would not attract too much attention.
Whenever a strong opponent—someone who might force me to reveal too much—challenged me, I would simply yield my position under the excuse of preserving stamina.
Meanwhile, I watched other talented students clash against one another, drawing attention to themselves while exhausting their own energy.
By the end of the day, I had secured second place.
I did it simply by fighting opponents who would not bring attention to me.
Although I found it somewhat dishonorable to focus on weaker opponents, the truth was that everyone in my class was weaker than me due to experience alone. And with my past at risk if I showed too much…
…I did not really have a choice.
However, as per tradition, the top one and top two performers of the Weapon and Blood Ceremony had to fight one final duel to decide the true top performer.
And unfortunately for me, my opponent was none other than Isabel Cyronis.
Even tired, she was still strong.
With no other choice, I stepped into the arena and prepared myself.
In front of me stood Isabel. In her hands was a kusarigama, while a shortsword remained sheathed at her side—a weapon I had yet to see her use.
The gunshot rang out.
The battle began.
As always, I started by firing my pistol.
Just as expected, Isabel either dodged or blocked every shot with ease.
I then drew my swords and pushed forward.
It was the same pattern I had used in all of my duels. In a real battle, repeating the same opening would have been a mistake. But since I was trying to hide my true strength and identity, this much was acceptable.
However…
I did not know that the outcome of this duel would make hiding myself far more difficult.
END OF CHAPTER