Asuna accepted Ren Isana's invitation. Without another word, the two returned to the classroom, grabbed their weapons, and headed out to the sports field.
Yukino Yukinoshita watched this scene silently. There was going to be a good show to watch. In just a moment, Asuna would likely experience the exact same stifling frustration she had once felt.
"I look forward to our match!" Asuna held her rapier upright in front of her, staring intently at Ren.
Hearing Asuna's words, Ren nodded and said in a deep voice, "Then let's begin!"
As his voice fell, the [Lightweight] spell lit up beneath both of their feet simultaneously. The next moment, they dashed forward and clashed together.
The Tang Dao and Asuna's rapier collided, ringing out with a series of sharp clangs across the sports field. Both of them shared a tacit understanding, using the [Lightweight] spell to adapt to this high-speed combat.
Asuna managed to parry every single one of Ren's attacks. Even when it seemed like she couldn't block in time, she would somehow deflect the strike with an eerily fast sword thrust.
This was very interesting. Her attack speed suddenly accelerated in a split second. Ren instantly understood—this was likely Asuna's innate talent.
No wonder she used a rapier. It was the only way to maximize her swing speed. Realizing this, Ren didn't hesitate for a moment. *[Jianjigu]... Activate!*
Ren's eyes turned a brilliant purple. As they engaged in another clash, Asuna noticed the flash of violet and couldn't help but falter for a second.
A Magic Circle appeared beneath her feet as she rapidly retreated. However, Ren fiercely accelerated, charging forward to intensify his assault.
Seeing this, Asuna had no choice but to counterattack with her rapier while staying on the move. The two chased each other relentlessly across the field, the sharp *clangs* of their clashing blades ringing out continuously.
Observing from the sidelines, Yukino fell into deep thought. Asuna's demeanor when wielding a sword was completely different from when she used standard martial arts.
With that kind of thrusting speed, if it were her, she'd probably be taken out in a single exchange. The speed was simply far too fast.
The battle between Ren and Asuna quickly drew a lot of attention. Even some students who were still in class couldn't help but turn their heads to look outside.
But all they could see were two rapidly moving blurs. Their speed was already beyond what these students, who hadn't even reached Tier 3, could clearly track.
"They're amazing!" Megumi Kato had appeared beside Yukino at some point. By the time she came out, the two were already fighting. They had only just learned the [Lightweight] spell.
Yet the buff it provided was so massive. No wonder the teacher called it a highly practical spell. Just watching their fight proved it.
"That guy Ren has started..." The corners of Yukino's mouth curled up slightly. Watching Ren fight Asuna, she felt a sudden sense of amusement.
Ren's attack patterns were becoming more and more like Asuna's. Now, Asuna was clearly struggling to hold her ground. She must be feeling incredibly stifled right now, wasn't she?
This was the sheer frustration of fighting a guy like Ren. What was yours became his, and what was his remained his. The longer you fought, the more it felt like you were fighting yourself—except your opponent was stronger than you.
Who could you even complain to about something like that? She just wondered how long Asuna could hold out. She'd probably call for a time-out soon, right?
Yukino's thoughts were spot on. Asuna had also realized that Ren's offensive speed was growing denser and more relentless. It felt exactly as if she were fighting herself.
Furthermore, his Sword Skills were practically identical to hers. Did that even make sense? Pushing her innate talent to the absolute limit, Asuna had gone from being the aggressor to being entirely on the defensive—and it had only been a few short minutes.
The situation had completely reversed. She was now certain that her sword techniques had been entirely copied by her opponent. And, whether it was just an illusion or not, his thrusting speed was gradually matching hers?
This wasn't scientific at all! She could only achieve this speed by relying on her innate talent. But what about Ren? What was he relying on? Could he really have just learned it from watching her?
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. For a moment, Asuna's focus wavered. Seizing that split-second opening, Ren's attacks suddenly accelerated, and his blade came to rest lightly upon Asuna's shoulder.
At that moment, Asuna finally realized it—she had lost. Thinking of this, she spoke up in utter frustration, "I finally understand why Yukino doesn't want to spar with you. I don't want to fight you anymore either!!"
Fighting Ren was just too stifling. How did all of her moves suddenly become his? Everything she had worked so hard to learn was copied by him in a single exchange!!
"Hey, you can't say that. Don't you think that you can only become stronger by defeating yourself?" Ren was in a great mood. To Asuna's complaints, he figured this counted as comforting her, right?
He had already copied her innate talent. Along with it, he had replicated her minor habits and Sword Skills. Although it was a bit troublesome to execute them with a Tang Dao, it wasn't a big deal. It worked just as well!
Asuna's talent was focused on weaponry—increasing attack speed, enhancing accuracy, and boosting dynamic vision.
Because of this, Asuna chose to use a rapier. Once she grew stronger in the future, her thrusting speed would likely become as fast and swift as a flash of light, brimming with lethal power.
"I don't understand. Even if you copied my Sword Skills, how could your attack speed keep up?" Logically speaking, Ren shouldn't have been able to match that kind of attack speed while wielding a Tang Dao.
"Ever heard that with enough thrust, even a brick can fly? As long as my strength is high enough, I can be fast enough!" Ren grinned. Naturally, he couldn't reveal that he had copied her talent, so he chalked it up to brute force working miracles!
Asuna looked highly suspicious. She felt it wasn't that simple. After all, she knew her own abilities best, and she couldn't shake the feeling that Ren's subsequent attack speed closely resembled the effects of her own talent!!
"You don't believe me? Actually, I can go even faster!" Seeing Asuna's suspicious expression, the corners of Ren's mouth curled up. He took a few steps back, and the next moment, he began swinging his blade right in front of her.
He demonstrated a flurry of strikes at an even more terrifying speed. With every thrust, the sound of the blade piercing the air could be heard. In that moment, Ren fully displayed his raw physical strength.
Watching Ren's display, Asuna was completely dumbfounded. Brute force working miracles? Was that right? Why did it feel like something was wrong here? If brute force could really work miracles, then what was the point of her talent?
At this moment, Asuna couldn't help but begin to question reality. It seemed like her talent was completely useless after all!
But in reality, Ren had directly applied Yukino's talent as well—the talent of absolute physical control over his body's strength. That was why his current thrusting speed was even more terrifying than Asuna's!
After his demonstration, Ren came to a stop. However, Asuna had fallen into deep self-doubt. At the same time, she fully agreed with Yukino's stance—she absolutely refused to ever fight Ren again!
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