"The what now?" Lizbeth tilted her head. "Did I hear that right?"
Raelis nodded nonchalantly. "You did. I can be your sparring partner."
She stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "No, kid. I'm afraid you can't. You wouldn't survive a single slash of mine. And for sparring? Do I even need to explain?"
"Well... I'm sure I'd be a better opponent than a tree," Raelis replied with a shrug, summoning another fireball in his palm. "Wanna find out?"
"I'm a Fifth Circle swordswoman. Do you know what that means?" Lizbeth asked, and before Raelis could answer, she continued. "That means I can use sword intent and aura. Both are advanced techniques that took me years to master. You, on the other hand? You've been in a coma for the last three years."
Raelis chuckled, then flicked the fireball toward her.
He also noticed that since that fireball was displayed in his strange interface, it was much easier to conjure, almost like the mana flowed through a direct, optimized path.
But that only works for Fireball... everything else is the same.
He watched the fireball fly toward her face. This time, she didn't even try to dodge.
That turned out to be her first mistake.
The fireball landed straight on her cheek before dissipating—but not before leaving a scorch mark.
Granted, her healing made it vanish almost instantly.
But the fact remained: he had managed to slightly injure her.
"Hah..." Lizbeth let out a suppressed laugh as she brushed her cheek, then glanced back at him. "Okay, Raelis. I'll give you one chance to make this interesting. I'm going to attack you in exactly five seconds. Try to survive for as long as you can."
Survive? Raelis thought, but he didn't question it too much.
He understood the capabilities of Fifth Circle swordsmen, especially those who could wield aura.
If she attempted the Sixth Circle test, she might actually pass.
Still, he pushed the thought aside, exhaled slowly, and moved behind a nearby tree.
His footsteps made no sound. With surprising agility, he leapt onto a branch and crouched, watching Lizbeth below.
And it seemed like she had begun to count.
"I gave you a bit more than five seconds since I had to adjust my sword. Anyways... Five... Four..."
Aside from a stealth technique and a bit of fire proficiency, Raelis realized he didn't have much to work with.
I did learn a dagger technique when I was reading the greatest assassin's journal... but it's just theory. I don't even have a pair of daggers—
He suddenly spotted two rocks by the river, and to his genuine surprise, they were in the shape of two daggers.
"Three..."
Raelis didn't have time to debate. He lunged from the branch and landed by the stream, grabbing the makeshift weapons.
As her countdown neared its end, he took a breath and jumped across the river.
He barely made it, but once he turned around, he saw Lizbeth standing on the opposite side of the river with her sword unsheathed.
He was about to wonder what her next move would be when a loud crack split the air.
And as he turned around, he realized the tree behind him had been split in half.
Just as it was about to fall on top of him, he dashed away, taking another look back at Lizbeth.
But to his surprise, she was gone.
Yet once his gaze landed on what was ahead, he noticed her standing there in an offensive stance, ready to thrust her sword at any moment.
Almost as if out of instinct, Raelis exhaled all the air out of his lungs and twisted his body to the side.
The greatest assassin's basic stealth technique didn't just silence his steps and breathing, it also let him move in short, sudden bursts of speed.
And thankfully he stepped aside, since in that very same moment, a violent gust of wind shot past the spot he had just been in.
It slammed into the tree behind him, toppling it in an instant.
A chill ran down his spine.
If I got hit by that...
"Oh? So you do have instincts. Maybe you're not so bad after all," Lizbeth remarked, stepping toward him.
She spun her sword playfully through the air while also shooting a glance at his two stone daggers.
"Nice improv, but are you seriously planning on closing the distance against a Fifth Circle swordswoman?"
"I wonder...?" Raelis tilted his head. "Would I do something so foolish?"
The moment his words fell, Raelis suddenly flicked his fingers, sending exactly five fireballs at Lizbeth.
While running around, he had made sure to station a few small fireballs behind trees. After all, with his earlier practice, he was able to slightly control them from a distance.
But alas, that distance was no more than five meters.
Lizbeth's surprise only lasted a moment as she raised her sword, deflecting the first two fireballs with ease.
Then, as she prepared to deflect the rest, they suddenly missed and hit the ground before dissipating.
"Uhh... I doubt that was supposed to happen, right?" Lizbeth commented, turning to him.
Yet Raelis was nowhere to be seen.
Those fireballs had been nothing but a distraction.
He had been observing the way she fought, and he realized that she only began reacting to attacks that were roughly eight meters away from her.
She could obviously react later and conserve more energy. But that would only be the case if she was going up against a worthy opponent.
Raelis? He was weak, and she barely saw him as a threat.
So he decided to exploit that fact.
He slowly approached from behind her, his steps not making any noise. Yet as he reached a distance of ten meters, he stopped.
Then he chucked a rock dagger into the sky, angling it to land on the opposite side of her detection range.
A few moments passed as she looked around, searching for him. But just as she was about to turn directly toward him, the rock dagger entered her eight-meter range.
She turned toward it and slashed with her sword.
Raelis didn't waste even a moment and followed up. He ran as fast as he could, trying his best to maintain the silence in his steps.
Finally, he was right behind her, with his single rock dagger nearing her throat.
But just as it was about to make contact, she swiftly turned her head toward him.
She wore a sly smirk, and before he knew it, she struck him in the abdomen with her hilt.
"Guh!" Raelis's eyes widened in pain as he lurched back, falling to the ground.
"Oh, my bad. You surprised me a little," Lizbeth remarked as she crouched down beside his head.
"Where did you learn techniques like that? Their execution is not the best, but I'm sure you'd be able to catch a Second Circle swordsman off guard easily."
Raelis groaned as he slowly sat up. "It's none of your business."
"Of course." Lizbeth sighed, then stood up.
She extended her hand with a sly smile on her face.
"Round two?"