Adventurer's Guild (pt4)

"An Assassin" she muttered slowly as it appeared in her mind

All her thinking managed to get a result

Her nature being quiet, her preference to throwing things, the piercing skill, and her Night Vision to name a few

She wasnt fond of deaths at all, but she had her share of Gore and Blood tags which kinda turned a bit off charts the last time she remembered. She died and all, and her mind typically from now on would be no different than a soldier on a cold war

A blood for blood, and to kill just to live...

She breathes out calmly and prepared herself for the worst. At most everything is no different than a game, where lives are insignificant in front of others...

Her mind was used to think things negatively

"Hahaha... Dying didnt feel good at all" She cursed at herself for being stupid and all

She browsed for stuff she might be needing on her chosen career path, throwing knives was on a seperate line up and was placed above small boxes made of wood, she also found straps nearby, just a small adjustable belt to fit the knives in. She went deeper and deeper into the storage room

Shields, Axes, Hammers, Mace, Club, and Unique weapons like whips, chakkram and two bladed spear

But she didnt find a Katana... no... theres just none of the same type as that, not even something like a curved bladed sword...

The choice of speed with slash, was out, this is bad because it was the main weapon of choice for her preferred fighting style

The usage of high lethality swift attacks, along with stealth and precision

I know how to load a crossbow too, but considering the fact that it was a human to human fight on a flat arena, its a given that I could not sneak attack...

So it all ends with a Sword...

"Hmm... a light weapon would be nice" her eyes wondered around and happen to land on the line of Shortswords, but thats not it, as she remembers another weapon of choice that is possible to appear in this world

"A Rapier" Struck by realization, she hurriedly scanned the entire sword line up, she found none but decided to keep on searching

On the Unique weapon line ups she found a thin sheathed sword on the further end

She examined it and found that it was indeed a Rapier. Its blade being thin, its unique guard that covers the hand, and its pointed end. But in the end, she realized that its blade was dulled and it had a curved tip...

Although discouraged, she decided that she will get one herself one day, similar to the Katana that emphasize on its ability to slice, a Rapier was emphasized into peircing, another choice for her as it was also good for quick attack

"The set was complete but, I'll grab a dagger or two as an off hand just in case" a Rapier was mean to be a single handed, unlike Katana that could be held by two hands. Its power lies not on power but in speed and precision

●●●

She exited the storage room abit ecstatic about her findings

Several eyes were pointed at her, and she noticed it. Shes wondering why but decided to feign ignorance as shes basically bad with crowds, not to mention stage fright

Claire returned back along with a tall man carrying a sword and a shield

Claire gestured to follow her so Xylene went along with them, and into an open area, one spot on the arena

"Sup, My name is Ray and I'll be your test conductor, you dont have to worry about hurting me as I was a proficient fighter aswell. Just give it all your best to pass the exam" Ray was a little hyped seing that the girl who was taking the test was a kind of beauty, he decided to give it a little consideration

Xylene nodded in return

Claire cleared her throat and begun explaining the conditions of the test "The test is simple, fight your opponent as much as possible with your preffered fighting style to get a grade on how well you perform. The enemy or specifically the conducter would also attack and counter attack, based on your performance, a grade would be earned. Please wear the gear provided for the test before we proceed to the final step" Claire instructed before handling a set of clothes with something engraved in front of it

At first I thought it was an armor, but its weight is actually lighter than how it looked

Xylene put the clothes in as it looked like a two sided apron along with a head gear both strapped by a belt, there is also a gloves that tightens using the belt on its end. Ray also finished wearing the gear and began waving at Claire

"The test doesnt apply timelimit as it was to measure your performance. And since you are both prepared, let me remind you that the armor you are currently equipped has the ability to absorb shock and display the level of damage that it recieved" some people already noticed the event and decided to eavesdrop the event

"The test will now begin"

●●●

Both Xylene and Ray distanced against each other

For Xylene, this was her first fight with a human, even in her former world, she was a pacifist

And for Ray, he was surprised that a beautiful girl would take the exam, he already considered holding back as to not get into the bad side of the girl

●●●

"Fuuh" She took out a mouthful of breathe and take a stance holding the Rapier at main hand and a Dagger at off hand

For Ray he held the shield off hand with the sword on the main hand

"You can attack first..." Ray said to her

He allowed her to take the initiative so she just went and take it "Haaah" She took a deep breath before pressing it as she broke into a forward dash

She raised her blade upward on the way

Ray was surprised at first, seing the speed of the dash he raised his vigilance for abit

There is one thing she knew about weapons. Letting your enemies know your initial weapon is a fatal mistake, it can let them prepare or think of a plan to counter you. Its a one thing even in RPG games, the weapon's actual use can be used against you, like axes can only be swung and that it requires momentum

A sword, no matter which is it, when its blade is pointed at you, it will only look like a line

"Haah" pressing the air in her lungs, she made the blade swing downward

She knew it, first initiatives were always a lure for counter attacks

Sensing the danger, Ray raised his shield to counter it

However Xylene anticipated it and twisted the sword back to her, before sliding off and ducking, and releasing the Rapier as a stab right under the shield

*Clang...*

A sound of metal resounded the place. Her attack was blocked by a sword, and she was shocked by the result

Ray seing this, raised his vigilance once more, but noticing Xylene's shocked expression, he fling the blade off using his shield before swinging his own sword

Xylene sensing danger from her body, woke up from her stupor and immediately raised her left hand to intercept the attack

However as the sword from her main hand was forced away, she lost her initial balance and while she managed to block the sword's path with her off hand dagger, the impact threw her off a few distance away

"Hahaha, I didnt expect you were this good" Ray said in disbelief, while it wasnt rare, theres always people who join the guild with initial experience with a weapon. As a veteran, he knew if someone was new to the weapon. And Xylene was no exception, he knew that its most likely her first time using it, but she still has the ability to use a sword "That sword, its your first time using it huh" Ray said while looking at it

Xylene was getting up from her fall, and dusting off her clothes. Nobody said it was over yet so she knew that the test was still on going

Many curious people gathered around to eavesdrop the test, while its true that they all joined the guild already, they are atleast curious about other's test result as they all had experience the same

"Haah, Haah" Xylene was trying to calm herself after the first exchange, she hasn't experienced anything like it before. While its true that the blades was dulled, the sense that it used to be able to cut before, it still lingers inside her mind. She can feel her blood pumping faster and her body being tense. Earlier in their exchange, she almost let out a shriek when she flung away, imagining herself with a girly voice in front of the crowd, her mood instantly dropped coldly...

"I'll make you pay for this" she cursed inwardly, before breaking into a grin

Ray's instinct felt danger inside of him, then she realized that the girl in front of him was grinning coldly while holding the sword, he knew that something was off

Xylene sheathed the dagger on her off hand, and held her hand that was holding the Rapier in a two handed stance

More power for more speed she thought. Lowering her stance, she broke into a run, but this time instead of blindly stabbing at one direction, she aimed and slashed at the direction of the sword before jumping sidewards and moving behind the shield

Ray intercepted the attack with the guard of his sword and felt a slightly different impact. It was heavier to the point that he began to feel it, however before he can locate her again, she moved behind the shield and disappeared on his vision

"An assassin move" he said

Xylene moved behind him while thinking of the next approach, she dont think that she can use magic on this match as she saw no indication of magic used by Ray, shes afraid that there might be consequences if she did that and it might be deemed as unfair

Just as she stepped behind him, she twisted the Rapier in an aim to stab his back while he's distracted

Ray, suddenly feeling danger on his back ducked down and managed to avoid the attack by a few centimeters

"Tsk" she clicked her tongue and retracted her steps as a sword went past her previous spot

"Cautious bastard" she said inwardly as she glanced at him, although its hard to admit, even on games she had encountered some people who could just flip the whole table when you are about to win the round

She tossed the Rapier on her left hand and reached for the Knives that was on the belt

She glanced at it once, before pinching the blade and threw it at the direction of Ray. But it was deflected by the shield

"Hngggh" She cant help but get irritated at the difficulty of this test, this is clearly me who was a Noob trying to win against a Pro. She backed off and created more distance

Ray seems to be on a daze at the fighting style that he was facing. Ofcourse that is true seing that the opponent was just a beautiful girl smaller than him. And during the fight, he realize the true nature of the weapon, and that the weapon should not act like that since it was only a thin sword, a Rapier to be exact. While its true that it was dulled, and that blades were abit more fragile after it was sharpened. For a thinner sword it should not be able to create that amount of impact at all

"One more exchange" Xylene thought, she was fighting but she didnt forget to try and understand her body better. Somehow, she knew that there was a possibility to increase her strength even further

*Swoong* Noticing the further increase of her irritation, she stabbed the Rapier to the ground and stabilize her thoughts. "Fuuuh, If I dont improve now, then when? the next time I'm about to die!?" she think herself as she grasp her hand even tightly

The gathered spectators, each and everyone released a collective cries the moment Xylene effortlessly peirced the ground

A hard paved soil, hardened by numerous steps that it takes everyday, but the spectators cant even retort as they were reminded that it was just a floor for the arena and that things like this was un avoidable

She grit her teeth and decided to move forward once again. She was greeted with a downward swing but she just avoided it by moving sidewards. She made a horizontal swing aiming at the hands that was holding the swords but a shield instantly covered it and took the hit

"Grrh, this is impossible to win" she tried to get abit more closer but then her body instantly felt an upward slash, her eyes imidiately shot at the direction of the attack and seen that Ray already recovered from earlier and was already attacking. She lowered her head while cautiously watching the trajectory of the attack

The swing went past her but she felt another one, in front, and it wasnt the same as the swords where it will just warn her of specific spot where it will most likely hit, this one was aiming at her abdomen

Shocked, she took a step back and saw Ray doing a reverse kick

Between the length of his feet caused by his height, and against her small stature's step back, she failed to dodge but luckily she managed to release a jump backward last minute and made it so that the impact wouldn't knock her out

She was flung once again, and this time it actually hurt. Since the gear was in front of her it managed to absorb the impact, however that is only limited to the parts that had the gear

She was actually pushed backward and her ass flatly landed on the ground. It even made a thud sound

This time for real, she snapped and its beyond recovery. She was humiliated and it was in front of a crowd

"If I dont kill you now then I cant be called a man anymore" She cursed inwardly but as everybody knows, she cant be called a man anymore

She picked a knife and stabbed it on the ground, quickly standing up, she held another and with a pitcher's stance, she threw it with as much force as she can

Seing Xylene fall, she felt bad for the girl. He hoped that she would call and end already since her performance already exceeded what was needed for the test. However, she saw that Xylene took out another knife from behind her belt and stab it on the ground, however this isnt just it, she quickly stood up and threw one at his direction

His body instantly felt danger far exceeding their earlier exchanges, this time it was a real one and his battle trained body felt it coming. He quickly lowered his body and took a stance of blocking, but it wasnt over yet. His fully trained instinct that he honed since he was a child was still feeling up danger inside of him

From blocking, he changed his stance into a deflecting