My first duel

*****SURRDON'S POV****

The excitement died down and everyone moved their attention back to the disciples who were still fighting. Anxiety nibbled in my abdomen, giving me doubts about what awaited me down there. A duel, a real duel.

This would be my first time clashing head-on with another being and battling each other with our every might.

I sighed closing my eyes for a second to remind myself that I was lucky to have made it this far in a world where the weak were trampled on like ants. A world where only the strong mattered and killing the weaker ones was as common as breathing air.

'I'm close. I'll definitely unlock that damned sigil after today.'

*Bam*

An explosion boomed in the air before a disciple was sent flying through the air like a sword. His body smashed against the wall close to me. The cracking of his bones sent chills down my spine, jolting me back to reality. His groans registered in the back of my mind, reminding me of the only outcome of the duels. It was either I let out the ruthless side in me like I had been doing while playing the game, or I would end up as this poor bleeding disciple who was still writhing on the ground.

"Inner disciple, Yichen, wins!" The elder overlooking the duels announced, her voice echoing to every corner of the arena.

Dammit!

I was next, and the damned maid hadn't brought back any pills yet. Azron was always quick and obedient, her not coming back after almost ten minutes had something to do with...my enemies.

They must have held her back so that I would enter the arena with my wounds unhealed.

'Shit! Why did I face that old man today of all days?'

As I thought through what to do, a brown bamboo tag suddenly appeared in front of me with all my details(almost blank). It was summoning me to the central ring, to face the disciple who had just brutalized his colleague.

'What is to come will come,' I comforted myself getting off the wooden bench. Pain residue from the suppression still lingered, but it had lessened, allowing me to manage walking down from the spectator section. I planned on walking my way down due to my inability to fly or use a flying talisman when a translucent staircase appeared before me, paving the way down to the center of the large arena.

My face turned towards the VIP section and Nuo stuck out her tongue in a flash that only a keen observer could spot.

She had laid out the staircase.

Why was she still helping me?

I cleared that from my mind and took the first step on the frail-looking stairs. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach from the fear of accidentally slipping and falling. That would be too embarrassing than being defeated with one blow.

I made my feet firm and my steps confident.

Something about this body had me feeling as if I was supreme to all others-minus the lack of power.

The awed gasps and murmurs sounded pleasing to my ears. Yes, this is what I had been craving in my previous life...positive attention.

Once I reached the stone platform I would face Yichen, the staircase vanished, leaving me to fend for myself in the coming battle.

Thanks to Long, I knew all the strengths and weaknesses of all the five inner disciples and five core disciples who were to evaluate the outer disciples.

Yichen had cultivated a technique called Demon purging swords. To him, and most humans, demons were the most vile beings to exist. And here he was, facing the Lord of the beings he loathed without even knowing it.

He gave a short salute as customary, "Senior disciple Yichen, pleased to be your duel partner."

I reciprocated, but, without the unnecessary words. We both knew he couldn't wait to rip me apart with his majestic swords and show off to the whole sect. Just like him, most of the stronger disciples were waiting to take me down just to please Shihan.

I had heard the rumors, the envy, the disgusting gossip about me throwing myself on their Chief... physically even.

"Begin!"

I took a step backward, creating more distance between us.

Yichen displayed a smug grin as his seven colorful swords appeared, rotating around his body like a ring with a whooshing sound.

They radiated a special breath of spiritual energy, making them targets of interest to me. If the books in the library held any truth in them, weapons could also be refined to energy.

I summoned my sigil and it instantly appeared between us, spinning around like a shield. Even without a teacher, I had learned some small but useful skills from the library. Finally learning how sigils and other things like currency in the Ozath worked.

"If you want to back down, I'm giving you the chance right now. I don't want to hurt a weak Junior disciple as yourself."

"Do you always talk this much?"

Yichen frowned.

"So disrespectful to your seniors."

"You're only an inner disciple. How dare you call yourself my Senior?"

"Go to hell!" Yichen screamed releasing his swords.

They darted towards me in a neat row, attacking me from a wide range that my sigil could not cover.

I would have panicked, but, the memory of my previous life's bullies made me hold my ground. I had to fight back. Had to prove to them, even though absent from this world, that I could stand up for myself.

"Ice Demon purging swords!" I declared channeling my mana into the counterfeit ice swords conjuring in the air to reciprocate Yichen's.

"Impossible!"

"Go!" I yelled, sending the ice swords to fight Yichen's. This was not a solid defense for I knew with my low level of mana, keeping up with Yichen's attack for long would greatly deprive me of my energy.

This was meant to distract him while I tried to get closer to him. According to Long, Yichen was poor in close combat.

"Graah!" He groaned frustrated as he fueled the swords with his mana.

One of my swords was shattered by his, leaving an open gap to attack me.

As it swooshed in the air to stab me, I jumped to the side while conjuring another sword.

"You cannot defeat me, little brother."

"Beg for mercy and I'll leave you unharmed."

Hf! Everyone was looking for a way to humiliate me, nothing new.

As the swords continued clashing, I conjured five arrows, which I injected with a faint trace of my blood to strengthen their impact. They had a better chance of wounding him even with his sigil shielding him.

They darted through the air, slipping past the swords fighting for supremacy.

Yichen jumped backward, his eyes widening to the fullest as the arrows approached him.

The first arrow managed to slice his cheek. If not for his agility, it might have pierced his heart.

The second arrow was blocked by Yichen's sigil yet left an icy patch on it which would quietly begin to spread out.

Bingo!

That patch would be the way to take him down.

I redirected the remaining three arrows at the same spot, betting my life on a fickle weak spot.

"You're too weak!"

He cackled throwing his nose in the air, pride leaking from him like a broken tap.

*Snap*

Another ice sword shattered to pieces.

My breathing was thinning, and my mana depleting.

I had to finish this duel in the next three arrows or Yichen would have the upper hand.

"Destroy that sigil," I hissed and directed the arrows to stab his sigil.

*Swoosh*

Yichen's unguarded sword flew through the air, heading greedily at me. It smelled of unseen blood, of all who had fallen before me. As it aimed for my chest, my sigil appeared and it bounced right off before flying to join its partners.

"Open your eyes, Junior, you may possess a rare technique, but without strength, you-"

The arrows attacked his sigil one after the other, pushing him a few steps backward till his heel touched the edge of the circular platform we occupied.

He glanced back down at how close he had been to losing before sending his glare at me.

"You think you have what it takes to win?" Yichen roared, increasing the mana controlling his swords.

As if my ice swords were nothing more than paper, his slashed through them, raining shards of ice on the ground between us.

The moment suddenly went still. I could no longer hear the crowd that had been cheering and jeering at us. Time felt frozen as I stood there, depleted of any mana in my body.

The swords seemed to be moving in slow motion as they made their way to me.

"You cannot lose," a feminine whisper floated in the air and into my ears. It sounded like...Nuo.

As soon as she uttered those words, time began to flow normally and the swords moved at a fast speed.

They were coming, ready to slaughter me.

I wanted to use the Asura technique, but there was no more mana left.

Why wasn't the body functioning as it did in the game? I had placed all my hopes in that tiny hope that I would even breakthrough.