My arms feel heavier than big pieces of stone right now. I lift my metal sword up with both of my hands, but my fingers are shaking against the cold handle. The fight is becoming much harder for me with every single second that passes in this dark room. Chalreth stands firmly on the flat floor, looking completely relaxed while I try to catch my breath. My chest moves up and down very fast because I am so tired from all the running and jumping. The cool air of the basement does not help my body feel better anymore. I can feel the sweat dripping down the side of my face, making it hard to see the space between us clearly. I try to steady my boots on the rough stone blocks, but my legs feel very weak underneath my weight. I know that she is waiting for me to make another move, but my muscles are burning from the great effort of the match.
She takes a sudden step forward, and I have to react immediately to stay safe. She moves her arm and throws a fast downward strike straight toward my head. I lift my sword quickly to place the metal blade above my face. Our weapons hit each other with a very loud clanking noise that hurts my ears in the quiet basement. The physical force of her blow is too strong for my tired arms to handle easily. My knees bend against my will, and my boots slide back across the flat stone floor backward. I can feel the heavy vibration from the hit traveling all the way down through my bones into my feet. It feels like trying to stop a falling tree with a small stick. I struggle to push her weapon away from my line, using all my strength in my upper body to clear the empty space.
I realize that I cannot stay close to her if I want to survive her attacks. I decide to use my throwing move again to force her to step back from my position. I pull my right arm back and fling my sword forward across the empty air with a hard push. The metal weapon spins rapidly as it flies straight toward her chest. Chalreth does not look worried at all by the flying blade. She lifts her own weapon with a tiny movement of her wrist and parries my sword away cleanly. The sharp clank echoes off the high stone walls once more. My weapon flies back to me through the air, but I am too tired to catch it perfectly this time. The handle slips out of my fingers when I reach up, and the sword drops onto the hard floor with a loud clattering sound today now.
I have to scramble forward on my knees to grab the handle before she can reach me. My fingers wrap around the cold metal just as she walks up to my position on the floor. I lift the blade up defensively while still on the ground. Chalreth launches a quick horizontal swing that aims directly for my shoulder. I hold my sword with both hands to block the incoming hit. The impact is incredibly loud, and it pushes my body flat against the hard stones. I struggle to slide away from her position, kicking my legs out to create some space between us. I stand back up on my feet slowly, feeling a sharp ache in my side from the movement. The fight is completely one-sided now, and I am using every bit of my energy just to avoid getting hit by her blade in the middle of the room.
She does not give me any extra time to rest on the stone floor. She instantly moves her body forward again, starting another series of fast attacks that keep me moving backward constantly. Her weapon becomes a complete blur of rapid motion directly in front of my tired eyes, making it almost impossible for me to see where the next blow will land today. I am dodging her extremely fast attacks by pure instinct now, shifting my torso left and right without planning my steps at all. A very sharp swing cuts right past my left cheek, and I can feel the rush of wind against my skin. I bend my body backward to avoid a second strike, nearly losing my balance on the smooth gray stone blocks. My heavy leather boots are slipping on the stone floor because I am moving so frantically to stay completely away from her weapon.
I try to find any possible opening to launch my own counter-attack against her defense. I lift my heavy metal sword high and swing downward with all the force I can gather in my shaking arms. I want to hit her weapon and push it out of her hands, but she is far too quick for my slow movement. She tilts her body slightly to the left side, letting my heavy blade slide past her without touching her clothes at all. My sword hits the empty air, and the heavy momentum pulls my upper body forward off-balance. My chest is completely open to her position, and I cannot move my weapon back in time to protect myself. Chalreth steps into the open space right away and lands a swift physical strike against my ribs that sends a massive wave of sudden pain straight through my entire body right now today.
The force of her blow knocks all the air completely out of my lungs. I stumble backward across the arena floor, gasping heavily as I try to get oxygen back into my chest. My vision goes a little bit blurry around the edges, and the torches on the walls look like moving streaks of light. I hold my metal sword in front of me with a very loose physical grip, my arms feeling completely numb from the constant fighting. Chalreth does not follow me with a fast run this time; instead, she walks forward with small, calm steps, keeping her weapon ready by her side. She is watching my movements carefully, seeing how much I am struggling to stay upright on the stones. I try to slowly steady my breathing, but my heart is pounding incredibly fast inside my chest from the absolute weight of this heavy physical exhaustion today.
She closes the distance between us once again, and I know I have to prepare for another defense. She lifts her weapon and launches three incredibly fast cuts from different directions today. I move my sword to the left to block the first strike, making a sharp clanking sound. I swing my blade to the right to parry the second hit, but my arms are too slow to stop the final movement completely. Her third strike hits the guard of my weapon with massive force, breaking my defensive stance entirely. The sheer weight of the blow forces me down onto one knee on the hard gray stone floor. I press my left hand against the stones to keep my body from falling completely flat on the ground. My right hand is still holding the sword, but the point of the blade is resting heavily down on the floor right now.
I stare down at the flat stone blocks beneath my knee, feeling the absolute limit of my physical strength. My muscles are shaking violently, and every part of my body is telling me to stop the match and rest. But I look up and see Chalreth standing there, waiting for me to get back up on my feet. I refuse to give up right here in the basement arena. I use my sword like a stick, pushing down on the handle to lift my body back up onto my boots. I stand straight once again, though my legs are trembling from the massive effort. I take a tight grip on my weapon, lift it back into the air, and charge forward toward her with a loud shout. I swing my sword wildly from left to right, throwing everything I have left into these final strikes. Chalreth does not step back at all as I rush toward her position. She stays perfectly still in the center of the floor, moving her blade with tiny, precise actions to block every single one of my wild swings. The clanking sound of our weapons is continuous, a fast pattern of metal hitting metal that echoes through the large basement room. I swing from the left, but her blade is already there to stop it. I swing from the right, and she deflects it away easily. I put all my energy into these final attacks, but she blocks them all without trouble. I try to lift my blade again, but my fingers lose their grip completely. The sword falls onto the stones, and I drop down onto both knees, entirely defeated by her extreme speed in the training match today.