Sarah's Story Chapter 041 - A Rank vs C Rank Spar

Gregory was full of regret.

As a Leader, it was perfectly normal to have to make decisions with incomplete information.

Making the long journey to the capital to get training for Delphi. Taking a gamble on a Class he’d never seen before. Trusting an old, old friend from way back when he was E Rank.

But there were mistakes he could have avoided today, as well.

Setting two conditions. Setting any conditions at all. Now he was stuck in a lose-lose situation. Either he beat up a poor young girl, desperate to find her brother, more desperate than he’d known was humanly possible, in fact; or he failed to make her yield in the next thirty seconds and they’d have to waste time letting a level seven girl, not even sixteen years of age, try to train their party’s Scout.

This was further compounded by the nature of the spar: Brawler Sarah only had to dodge and run away from him for thirty seconds. He had to hunt her down and put her down. With unlimited time, he could manage doing that without injuring her. But neither of his classes were suited for takedowns. Even his combat class, Spearman, was specialized towards shieldwork and drawing the attention of foes away from his comrades.

It had been a long, long time since he had needed to hold back against a foe.

The young girl frowning in front of him, offended in that way only young women can be, had been doing nothing but sparring for months. She would know the optimal strategy for her victory. He was going to have to chase her around the yard.

Her legs. He would aim for her legs, and trust in Clara to heal her back up after. It was optimal. He only hoped it wouldn’t crush her spirit.

He mentally prepared to lunge forward, holding his shield at the ready, but low, with his spear tight in his hand and his arm loose, ready draw back and swing but without giving any sign.

Another mistake.

“Ready? Start!”

Gregory took a mighty step forward–

[Reflexive Shield]

And was interrupted by his skill, jerking his shield up to block something that struck with incredible force right in front of his eyes.

He naturally found his balance, almost instantly, and lowered the shield to see where the young girl had gone. She must have thrown a practice knife at his shield as a delaying tactic, to give herself a head start. Smart, he thought, as he lowered the shield the last inch and saw a whirl of limbs and a foot lashing out towards his temple.

With twenty-nine levels worth of boosts in speed, and plenty of field experience, Gregory had enough time to react. He ducked, lowering his head just enough to let the kick sail harmlessly over him, keeping his balance. At the same time, he judged that she would land on his right. He brought his spear around in front of his body and tensed, ready to counter with a sweep.

Then it would be over.

The Brawler landed, but took no time to find her footing or re-orient. Literally, no time. She was already rebounding, tumbling around towards his back as his spear swept out, tearing through the air with a loud whoosh.

He missed. But the girl was now mid-roll, behind him and to the right. She’d be terribly off balance.

Instinct drove him now. Swing his shield around, with the momentum left from his spear swipe, and bash the threat. He already had its full attention, now he just had to keep it with continuous attacks.

He started turning and took a powerful kick to his hip.

It didn’t do any real damage, not through his armor. But that might have shattered bone if he hadn’t been wearing his leathers today.

He felt weightless a moment, and his feet nearly left the ground. Finally his head finished turning, feeling like he was swimming in molasses, and he saw the girl in a handstand rabbit kick position, straining against his weight.

Wait.

Was she trying to take him off his feet?

No matter. He was bringing his shield around now. The girl wasn’t moving particularly fast, not at only level seven. She was just acting in an unexpected manner. His shield was coming around now. He adjusted his aim slightly higher, to strike at her core and legs rather than her head and arms–

But she fell limp, like a doll with cut strings. Flopped right to the ground, and his shield passed over her harmlessly. As soon as it had fully passed, she raised her body the slightest inch and lunged forward, on her fingers and toes, and pulled her legs into a tuck just ahead of his wooden practice shield slamming down like a guillotine.

She was coiled like a spring, and launched herself skyward by rabbit-kicking into empty air and thrusting with her hands. Gregory had never even see an Acrobat move like that.

She sailed up, and his eyes tracked her every move. Eyes wide open to receive the handful of training yard dirt she flung into his face.

Unbelievable. She threw dirt in his eyes? In the middle of a spar?

He couldn’t see.

[Danger Sense] spiked.

But it was still fine. The Brawler was now in mid-air, with no way to dodge. He couldn’t see, but he pulled back and thrust his spear at where she should be. Not just that, but where her abdomen should be.

Arthur’s eyes widened the slightest bit from how he had been glaring at the spar.

Lawrence’s jaw fell slack.

Clara, refracting the light around the corner so that she could watch well away from the dangerous young woman, forgot to breathe.

Delphi actually paid attention.

Sam grimly stared, ready to call a stop the second things got too dangerous.

The brawler had twisted in the air, somehow extending her hang time the slightest bit, and rotated her body so that she landed feet first on the spear’s shaft closest to the tip. She gripped it with her toes and, perfectly balanced, placed one hand on the shaft next to Gregory’s hand, and with the other, chopped precisely at his wrist–

Brawler Class Skill [Reave] has reached level 9.

Gravity once more took hold of the girl, and Gregory, still blinded, jerked his shield up slicing the air between the two. With a light tap, the Brawler pushed off his shield, found her balance, and landed on the balls of her feet. Gregory kept his shield up, and with his now free hand, rubbed the dirt out of his eyes.

“Stop!”

Gregory froze, only blinking the last of the dirt out of his watery eyes. Had the Brawler taken the fall badly? His [Danger Sense] was already overwhelmed, and had been since the dirt had blinded him, but he turned his head and saw the tip of the wooden practice spear, inches away from his temple.

It didn’t remain there but a moment, but with his Speed, a moment was long enough.

The Brawler had halted her momentum, but lost her balance in the process. She withdrew the spear and smoothly transitioned into first one hop, then another, coming to a stop well outside striking range. She held the spear like a novice, no, both worse than that, and better. The spear settled into a position at her side somewhere between how one would hold a spear, a staff, and a javelin.

It took Gregory another second to process that the spar was over.

He finished wiping the dirt out of his eyes and turned to Sam who had a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, even in the still-cool morning air. “Was that thirty seconds already?” he called.

Sam shook his head. “No, that was eighteen.”

Gregory stared blankly at him for a moment, and his brain continued to process the spar, until he realized the spear had been about to strike him in the head.

It was his loss.

Sarah panted near the center of the training yard, sweat making her training clothes cling to her skin unpleasantly.

Brawler Class has reached level 8.

Brawler Class has reached level 9.

Brawler Class has reached level 10.

She had just gained three levels in eighteen seconds.

She had never pushed herself that hard before. Not even sparring with her mother.

A number of other intrusive thoughts flitted through her mind.

Brawler Class Skill [Dodge] has reached level 12.

Brawler Class Skill [Tumble] has reached level 10.

Brawler Class Skill [Spearmanship] has reached level 3.

Slow clapping broke the silence. Delphi smiled and clapped, looking at Sarah with a vacant smile.

“Well done, Sarah! You managed to beat Gregory in under thirty seconds!”

Everyone else in the Golden Swan turned to give her an exasperated look. Noticing this, Delphi tilted her head questioningly. “Huh? That was the condition, right?”

Almost immediately losing interest, she stepped forward and gave a shallow bow in Sarah’s direction. “I look forward to learning from you, teacher.”