Chapter 229: A Private Tutor (II)

Gray stepped forward and then raised his sword lightly.

The tip angled forward, shoulders relaxed, feet placed shoulder-width apart. His left foot slid half a step back, heel barely lifting as he adjusted his center of gravity.

Aurora observed everything about that same stance.

The angle of his wrist.

The tension in his forearm and the even distribution of weight through his hips.

Her lips curved faintly.

“Interesting.”

Fwoop!

She moved first with no warning at all.

One moment she stood still, the next she had crossed half the distance between them, her boots gliding over the stone with barely a sound.

Her blade cut downward in a clean diagonal arc aimed at his shoulder.

Gray stepped to the side rather than blocking directly.

Steel scraped against steel as he redirected the edge at the last second, turning her strike away with a precise flick of his wrist.

The impact rang through the training ground, sharp and controlled.

Aurora pivoted instantly.

Her elbow snapped toward his jaw.

Gray leaned back, the strike grazing air, and countered with a horizontal slash toward her midsection.

She twisted her torso fluidly, the blade missing by inches as she brought her knee up toward his ribs.

He caught her leg with his free hand.

For a split second, they were locked in close proximity.

Their facesare only a breath apart.

Her red eyes gleamed.

“You hesitate less than I expected.”

Gray shoved her leg aside and stepped back before she could capitalize.

“…Mhm.”

She advanced again, and this time, the exchange was much faster than before, as three consecutive strikes came in a flash.

High.

Low.

Thrust.

Gray met each one without brute force, turning his blade slightly off-line to deflect rather than clash head-on.

The uniform tugged faintly at his shoulders when his movement was inefficient, exactly as she had warned.

He adjusted mid-motion instantly.

Aurora’s lips curved.

“You feel it.”

“…I do!”

“Good!”

Upon hearing his confirmation, she increased her speed.

The air vibrated as her sword carved through space with sharper intent.

Gray blocked the first, slipped under the second, and barely avoided the third as the tip grazed across his sleeve, slicing a thin line through the fabric.

He retaliated with a forward thrust aimed at her sternum.

Clang!

She parried outward and stepped into his space, shoulder colliding with his chest. The force pushed him back half a step, enough to disrupt his balance.

Her blade flashed toward his neck.

Gray dropped low instead of retreating.

He swept his leg toward her ankle.

Aurora jumped lightly, clearing the sweep, but Gray used the motion to rise and deliver a rising slash from below.

Clang!!!

She blocked cleanly, the impact sending a brief shock through both of their arms.

They separated again.

“Phew…”

“You rely on adaptability,” Aurora observed, circling him slowly. “You read and adjust rather than commit…”

“And you like to force commitment,” Gray replied.

A faint smile touched her lips.

“Correct.”

Swish!

She lunged again, this time feinting high before shifting her blade mid-arc toward his thigh.

Gray reacted a fraction too slow, and unfortunately, tip tapped against his leg.

Splat!

A line of red surfaced through the fabric.

It wasn’t a deep cut, but Gray knew if it contained a little bit more force… that small swing probably would cripple him.

Aurora withdrew instantly.

“In a real fight, that would have crippled you,” she stated calmly.

Gray glanced down briefly at the shallow wound before lifting his gaze again.

“…Don’t hold back.”

Her eyes darkened slightly.

“As you wish.”

The next clash carried more weight.

Aurora pressed forward with structured precision, each strike flowing seamlessly into the next as her footwork tightened and became more efficient.

There was no wasted motion in her shoulders, no unnecessary swing.

Gray began to understand her sword style. It wasn’t about using overwhelming power, but complete control of her sword.

She was calculating every angle of her sword and his, to get the perfect off-error movement to gain the advantage, and then use that same advantage to transition to another swing.

’…Tsk, breaking this flow will be too difficult…’ he groaned inwardly.

He attempted to break the rhythm.

Rather than meeting her blade directly, he stepped inside her guard and aimed a short-range thrust toward her collarbone.

She rotated her wrist, trapping his blade against hers for a brief moment before twisting sharply.

The torque forced his grip to strain.

He released one hand instantly to prevent disarmament and drove his elbow toward her ribs.

She absorbed the hit with a partial turn, minimizing impact, then retaliated with a short headbutt that snapped against his forehead.

Crack!

The dull crack echoed lightly.

They both stepped back again.

A faint red mark formed on Gray’s brow, causing him to rub it lightly.

“…Your movements changed, huh?” Her lips curled up lightly before she licked them softly, as if her eyes were the most delicious prey ever.

“…How delicious~”

Swoosh!

She moved again without warning, and this time the exchange lasted longer.

Ten strikes.

Fifteen.

Clink, clang!

Steel rang repeatedly across the enclosed battlefield, sharp metallic notes layering over each other.

Sparks flickered briefly where edges met at precise angles.

Gray began narrowing his movements, trimming excess motion, letting her rhythm guide his counters rather than resisting outright.

The uniform resisted less.

Aurora noticed, and her eyes flickered with approval.

He stepped forward during one of her transitions, intercepting her blade mid-rotation and sliding along its length until their hilts nearly collided.

Their forearms pressed together.

For a second, neither moved.

Then Gray shifted his weight and attempted a close-range shoulder throw.

Aurora anticipated it.

She hooked her leg behind his and reversed the leverage, using his own momentum to twist him off-balance.

But Gray did not fall like someone caught off guard.

“Fuuu…!”

The moment his center shifted, he released tension instead of resisting it. His torso bent fluidly, spine arching as he allowed the momentum to carry him rather than fight it.

One hand shot down to the stone, fingers splaying for balance, and his body flipped over in a controlled arc.

His legs swept overhead in a clean gymnastic rotation, his boots slicing through the air before he landed lightly on the tip of his feet a few meters away.

Swoosh!

The instant his soles touched stone, he lunged forward again.

Aurora had barely straightened from the throw when his blade flashed toward her.

Thud!

She raised hers to intercept, but Gray shifted mid-strike, stepping inside her guard and driving his shoulder into her sternum while his hilt struck sharply against her collarbone.

The impact forced her back half a step.

“Phew…”

Gray retreated immediately, sliding backward to create distance. His boots scraped lightly against the stone as he steadied himself.

Then he lifted his left hand and crooked two fingers.

“Come.”

Aurora’s red eyes narrowed instantly.

’I already got the hang of her fighting style now…’ Gray thought calmly, watching the small tightening of her stance.

“Haah…!”

She exhaled once.

Then vanished forward as her speed suddenly increased.

The blade came from his right flank, cutting horizontally. Gray pivoted, deflecting.

A thrust followed instantly toward his abdomen

Clalng!

He parried downward, but soon came a rising slash from below aimed at his jaw. He leaned back just enough for the edge to pass inches from his throat.

Steel clashed again and again.

But now his counters were more efficient.

He no longer reacted half a beat late and started anticipating them. When her wrist twitched before a feint, he did not commit.

And when her shoulder dipped, he shifted early.

Aurora noticed this, and a faint smile ghosted across her lips even as she pressed harder.

She increased her pace further.

So did he.

Clang, clink!

Their movements blurred across the battleground, boots carving arcs into the stone as sparks flickered between colliding blades.

The sound of steel striking steel echoed in rapid succession, no longer isolated clashes but continuous ringing.

Gray started matching her acceleration.

Matched her angle changes.

Matched her transitions.

But only up to a point.

Until Aurora’s footwork became lighter, and her blade began arriving a fraction faster than before.

So, Gray increased his speed once again, but as he did so, Aurora did as well, repeating the same process until he finally reached the threshold of his current speed.

And she did not stop at all.

Fwip!

Her next strike slipped past his defense by a hair’s breadth.

Splat!

The edge sliced across his side, cutting through fabric and grazing skin.

A sharp line of pain flared across his ribs.

He did not retreat.

’…An opportunity!’

Instead, he stepped into it.

As her blade completed the arc, Gray twisted his torso deliberately into the strike, absorbing part of the impact while driving his shoulder forward with full force.

His free hand shot out and grabbed her upper arm, and using the momentum of her swing, he pivoted sharply and dragged her weight downward.

“A-ah!?”

Aurora’s balance shifted unexpectedly.

Her boots lost traction for a split second.

Gray used it.

He forced his entire weight forward, guiding her descent rather than resisting it.

Thud!

They hit the ground hard.

Stone cracked faintly beneath the impact.

Aurora’s back met the floor first.

Gray followed immediately, one knee sliding between hers to stabilize himself, his palm pressing against the ground beside her head to stop his descent.

His other hand still held her arm pinned lightly against the stone.

“Fuuuu…”

“Haa….”

For a moment, neither moved.

Their breathing mingled in the narrow space between them as they intensely stared at each other, their chest puffing up and down.

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