*Sigh~*
Julius felt hopeless, not for his greatest student, but for the blind dreamer. Ranked lowest for those who would survive.
"Ahh youth~ such innocence."
'He will face reality eventually, one by one people would die no matter what. I've seen it happen, time and time again.'
Without knowing sunless' past, Julius had misunderstood his student.
"Let's take a short brake then, I'll give you time at the cafeteria."
"it's not like that!"
Sunless then leaves, aimless he walks around facing Nephis unknowingly.
"pervert"
He looks up, seeing the famous princess, the words naturally followed.
"Now im reduced to being a lecherous person. Not great at all."
a small chuckle, came from nephis.
If it wasn't for his past that smile could have pulled him yet it brought him nightmares.
"Reduced? didn't know you had dignity to begin with." Nephis commented.
He glared, devoid of emotion. The hall felt dim, like the shadows swirling around him.
'Why is she mocking me!? Did master jet... no... This fiend must've forced master jet to reveal my nightmare, considering how famous she is, she has authority'
***
As she looks down on this enigma, something felt wrong yet didn't thought much of it. She then recalls what he had said to Master Jet.
'Who would say something like than in front of a master, unless he is truly a pervert.'
As the tension rises, a silhouette from those walking from behind her. The hallway was narrow and standing at the center now became quite awkward. Like two lovers having a quarrel.
As she moves herself from the side to let them past through, she realized it too late. There's nobody there.
*thud
a punch came through, and nephis realized she has been fooled.
it was no passersby, it's just his shadow. mimicing someone walking. Without his shadow connected to him, sunless became a disturbingly wrong existence.
The punch was laughably weak but the fact that it did connect is the problem.
'All this time... what i've trained for...' was it the lack of resolve, the pointless enduring yet failed to be of used when it truly counts.
"I understand now..."
'harmless, this person is harmless enough to let my guard down. Too pathetic for me to get fooled'
A false belief formed into her mind, the truth was buried deep in her heart.
***
"Are you crazy?" Sunny asked, genuinely concerned.
'understand what!? did I hit her that hard?'
Her reaction was soo out of the blue, like a person conversing to nobody, a lunatic.
Soon, Sunless was on the ground, unconscious. Punched directly to the gut before fainting.
She looks down on something insignificant
"distractions, irrelevant to my goal."
leaving him behind, as though nothing happened.
she headed again to the arena within the academy. There he was, standing like the hero of the story or in her point of view.
'Another assassin'
Nephis has already faced a few legacies who was sent after her, they where also dreamers instead of going straight into the academy they did a detour. Hoping they could finish her immediately before her 1st nightmare.
her journey to the police station wasn't really as smooth as it was. The government really had to patrol and sent out Jet to fetch her. Already a few where killed by jet arriving to neph alone alerting the others to leave her behind. Jet wasn't reprimanded by the legacy clans, the government has all the control in the waking world, for now.
Now another adversary is right infront of her, Caster. One of the most promising individual. His aspect ability obliterates every dreamer in the academy, including nephis herself.
"Another spar, Lady Nephis?"
with a nod from the princess the battle began. Earlier what she had called a distraction did point out how dangerous that could have been if sunless was an assassin. Even he could've killed her back then.
Compared to that, in this arena countless awakened watched over their spar. It was safe to restrain herself and also to be beaten thoroughly.
Her restrain is also a form of training. Trying to win with the bare minimum is the greatest way to adapt to her devastating flaw.
The iron tiles reinforced, it held the weight of each step from their spar.
Caster lowering his posture jumps forward becoming a blur, then a clash of dull blades crossed each other.
Interms of putting in strength, caster could not win without his aspect ability. Each time she swings her sword at him, it's heavy. Unmovable like a mountain. It felt like she had swung her sword in a full circle carrying a huge momentum, yet her swing was short and simple.
It was deceptive, Caster quickly knew that wasn't her ability but a kind of boxing technique incorporated into the sword which he didn't know.
For someone who only learned the sword, Caster had limited himself only with the sword.
Caster could not parry her swing, so he uses his full weight to match it. Then it'll just be a stalemate, the fact that her movements is too simple is what infuriates him.
He could not employ a faint or a sudden thrust. She would just retreat, she literally just do one thing which is to slash. she doesn't parry or thrust.
'Something changed?' He wonders
Cornering her is the only way to win.
'Everthing is calculated. I could not discover anything about her, nor can I do anything to her. Now she's retreating?'
*shhhringhh!
the swords despite being dull clashed inducing sparks.
Nephis knew what to do, to force his opponent on a standstill until the opponent falters. That is the only way to win and for him to know nothing.
Using his body weight and aspect ability more intensively, he overwhelms her deceptive technique. Forcing her into a corner. In the end, he discovered nothing.
She deliberately distance herself away from any danger when failure is inevitable.
'Madness'
It wasn't just the swordmanship, but the entire battle itself. In the beginning their clashes was rather straightforward, now she emphasized avoidance.
Their sparing was already dull from the lack of swordmanship coming from Nephis, what's the point of sparing if he only wins by overwhelming her or her just going out of the corner.
Thoughts of sunless would always come up, even in the middle of a spar.
'An appearance that could decieve, I too shall decieve others with a simple swing.'
Even the recent encounter with sunless, it shows how one utilize the surroundings.
'the fight itself isn't the deciding factor, avoiding it entirely is also an option. The entire surrounding is also part of the fight, I could just go out of the corner ending the spar.'
Whenever Caster showcase several faints, Nephis knew where to parry. But that would be showing him a glimpse of her swordmanship. She either let the dull sword hit her or get knocked down on their clash.
It was always a painful outcome, the goal was to master minimal movement not to get a beating.
If only Caster knew his opponent was distracted with other stuff.