CHAPTER 34: THE LEVEL OF A SWORD GENIUS?

POV: Daemon

Is she going to take me as her disciple in this timeline again? No point in thinking about it. There’s nothing I can do. Lost in thought, weighed down by muscle fatigue, I dozed off despite myself.

"Is the lesson boring for Lord Indivar?"

An annoyed voice jolted me brutally from my stupor.

All the students were staring at me, but especially Luxia, her gaze sparkling with irritation I didn’t understand.

"No, please continue. The lesson is certainly fascinating... for novices." I waved my hand dismissively.

"Oh? In that case, why not give us a demonstration, sword genius?"

"Huh?"

"Come up on stage. A sparring match. I’m sure everyone would love to see the Blood Lotus swordsmanship in action."

Shit.

What to do? Refusing would be suspicious. But if I go up there... I’ll get humiliated.

No time to think.

I stood up with feigned confidence, aware of the weight of their stares. Hesitation wasn’t an option. My reputation as a prodigy was all I had.

As I climbed onto the stage, my mind raced.

Luxia tossed me a wooden sword and took a defensive stance.

"En garde! "

Just as I thought... no openings.

She’d aim for my legs first, then feint to my right flank.

Wait... This could be my chance.

From playing Apex to Supremacy, I obviously knew most of the main characters’ and major antagonists’ attack patterns. Like Ingrid, who loved using her claws followed by a backstab to shatter the spine—using her Drakonic Breath was more effective. Or Eden, who liked covering the area in frost and slapping opponents in the face, even though he didn’t need to reduce an enemy’s mobility—his movement techniques were among the fastest. So, I also knew Luxia’s most likely attack patterns.

The problem? Even knowing them, I could never match her speed. She was the Saint of Strength for a reason.

"I see you’re confident."

She took a step.

Shit—

*CRACK!*

Our collision echoed through the dojo. My blade had blocked hers just in time, as she crouched to strike my right leg.

"You’ve got good reflexes!"

No. Just prediction. I knew it would be the right flank, but I didn’t even move.

"Not really. I’m just reading your attacks. My reflexes will never match your speed."

I said it arrogantly, though my wrist trembled with pain.

Fuck, it’s like she’d shattered my bones.

"Reading my attacks? Either way, you lost in one move. No need to act proud."

I waved her off negligently.

"It’s one way to see it. After my right flank, you’d target my leg to block my retreat, then aim for my throat. If I dodged, you’d pivot to attack my back. I’d parry, but it would’ve been a feint... ending with a knee strike to the sternum."

Luxia froze, her knee mid-sweep, the motion unfinished.

Her eyes widened. She’d realized.

"That’s... exactly what I was going to do."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

The students held their breath. Some tightened their grips on their weapons, as if my words had made them vulnerable by proxy.

"He... predicted every move?"

"Not just predicted. He exposed weaknesses like they were obvious!"

"I... I’m impressed. Your observational skills are exceptional." She complimented me.

I used their stunned silence to hide my trembling hand in my pocket, feigning a calm too perfect to be honest.

"You also have a slight imbalance... It comes from your over-reliance on your front leg. I assume those muscles are slightly atrophied. If someone faster exploited that, you’d fall before you could counter."

"Your feint works on amateurs, but your right shoulder tenses a fraction of a second before changing direction. To someone who knows how to observe... it’s like announcing your moves."

Luxia paled. Not with rage. With disbelief. That imbalance was a remnant of her expedition to the Misty Continent, where she’d nearly lost her leg. Something no one knew—but I did.

As for the rest, it was just improvised bullshit to back up my claims.

’Seems to be working...’

The whispers grew louder.

"He talks like a true master-at-arms..."

"Is this the level of the Blood Lotus Sword Genius?"

Luxia sighed, visibly shaken.

"And if I decided to use my full power to kill an enemy like you? Is it so easy to predict my movements?"

"It’s still hard to predict with certainty. But since I’m neither a Heretic nor a demon, you’d adopt a less aggressive, more tactical style, opting for long-range combat, casting spells while waiting for me to expose weaknesses. Then you’d use your speed to kill me in a single strike. In that situation, I have no way to emerge victorious."

I smiled slowly, because in battles, Luxia unleashed herself to kill Heretics, while with everyone else, she did her best to kill them in a single blow without suffering. It was, in fact, her greatest weakness to date.

"It’s terrifying... So, I’m that transparent to you?"

"To me, yes. But rest assured... no one here has the level to take advantage of it." The room erupted in whispers. Some were annoyed that I looked down on them. But for now...

It’s time to ride the wave of the talented prodigy.

Luxia let out a dry laugh, but her gaze burned with intense curiosity.

"Very well, Indivar. We’ll see if you keep this confidence in a real situation."

I nodded, falsely relaxed.

"I’d love to get your advice one of these days."

"Are you asking me to teach you my style of swordsmanship?"

"From a certain point of view..."

"Well. You’ve exposed some flaws I wasn’t aware of. We’ll see later."

I smiled before leaving the arena and heading for the door.

"Fuck, I just survived that!"

[Kara Geb Bentham: Rivalry: 25% → 30%]

And now... They think I’m even stronger than I am.

"It’s gonna bite me in the ass someday."

At two o’clock, like everyone else, I headed to the cafeteria to restore some lost energy. Then, Kara and I chatted a bit on a bench in the courtyard, mostly about the upcoming mission. I assured her that the River faction and Isra would suffer.