The Transmigrated Author
Chapter 253: Desire

[Rel's POV]

After training with Valencia for a couple of hours, I hadn't expected much to come of it.

But even after sparring with her for a short time, my swordsmanship proficiency increased noticeably.

FWANG!

[Swordsman mastery: 7.82% -> 7.96%(0.14%)]

So I think the best case is to train swordsmanship with her.

Of course, I wouldn't dream of asking her to train with me regularly. I knew how much she disliked me.

Even during this session, I could tell how uncomfortable she was trying to help me improve.

She criticized my form and the way I swung the sword, and most of the time, she would just look away when I turned to look at her.

Maybe it was my fault. I recalled the many awkward attempts at trying to talk to her. I guess I'm not exactly the smoothest guy around.

SWOOOSH!

[On hit damage: 3,209]

After getting my last rep in, I decided it was time to leave.

"Okay, I'm gonna go now," I announced.

"Wait!" Valencia called out.

FWANG!

"...?"

But of course the system had different plans for me.

[A Hidden quest has been created...]

[Hidden Quest: The request of mutual understanding.]

[Description: Accept the request of Valencia.]

[Difficulty: A+]

[Rewards: 5 BSP (Base Stat Points), 1000 PPP, 500 BP, 250 QP]

5 base stat points and a lot of currency.

It was a fair trade-off for a hidden quest, so I turned to hear her request.

"Before you go... how about a little wager?" she said.

"A wager?"

I wasn't hoping for much, and I certainly didn't want to fight her, especially given the potential difficulty.

My gut was telling me this wouldn't end well.

"Yeah... You don't have to accept, but..."

"Sure."

Her eyes widened in surprise at my quick reply. I wouldn't normally agree to something like this without a quest.

"Ehem, so, we've trained for a bit, and I just want to see how you'd do in a spar."

Damn it... I should've known...

...

...

...

As Rel and Valencia headed towards the sparring ring, anxiety surged through Rel.

He knew he had little chance of winning against a healthy Valencia, so how was he supposed to approach this spar if the quest required him to beat her?

Okay, so I know her swordsmanship skills are two levels above anyone else in this grade. She relies more on technique than strength, but her weakness is that she can't output the same strength defensively as she can offensively. She has a near imbalance between the two but makes up for it with speed. If I want to land a hit, it'll have to be when she's caught off guard.

As Rel looked ahead to see where Valencia was, he realized with a glance that her mana and presence were different compared to their last encounter.

Huuu... this is scary indeed. Even after the tournament, I could already tell she'd gotten stronger, but just how much stronger has she become?

[Analyzing the following character: Valencia Freya...]

FWANG!

[Status Window Of: Valencia Freya]

[Age: 18]

[>Strength: 142, >Durability: 132, >Speed: 100, >Mana: A, >Elemental Attribute: Lightning]

[Current Thoughts: You cannot view this due to the quest,]

How scary... her growth is almost the same as Jan's, and the fact that she's already at 100 speed is frightening. No one in the academy would be as fast as Valencia.

A speed stat of 100 is nearly equivalent to the speed of sound.

"Alright, I'll go get a sword. Just wait for me at the sparring ring," Valencia said.

"Okay."

A few minutes later, they stepped onto the mat, facing each other, each holding a wooden sword of equal length.

Valencia positioned herself defensively, her right hand held in a fencing stance, ready to parry. Rel, on the other hand, kept both hands on his sword and maintained an upright posture.

I should be careful not to do anything suspicious. She already thinks I'm a beginner, and I've already told her I don't know how to use aura.

He had to play the part convincingly.

"I'm ready. What about you... Rel?"

"...?" Rel's face was momentarily confused. "Yeah, I'm ready."

He hadn't quite caught his name being called, mistaking it for "bell."

Jeez... I really am that forgettable to her.

"Okay, come at me with all you've got," Valencia said confidently, gripping her wooden sword.

WHOOSH!

In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Valencia, closing the distance with surprising speed. He feinted a strike towards her upper body, then followed through with a swift two-slash combo, aiming to push her back.

"You're quite fast," Valencia acknowledged, her eyes tracking his movements with ease.

BOOM! BOOM!

Both Rel's feint and attacks were effortlessly deflected by Valencia's guard. She stood firm, seemingly unfazed by his assault.

Damn, Rel thought, gritting his teeth. She's even better than I expected.

He retreated a few steps, reassessing his strategy. A direct approach wasn't going to work. He needed to replace a way to exploit her weakness, to catch her off guard. But how?

...

...

...

CLASH! CLASH!

5 minutes had already passed as their blades clashed relentlessly.

Rel was unable to break through Valencia's defences. Her stance remained solid, easily reading Rel without much thought.

Damn it... It feels like every time I get close to landing an attack, she shifts slightly towards the opposite direction and parries it with either the tip or the flat of her sword.

Haah... I don't understand how her mechanics work and now I'm getting tired...

Five minutes passed, and Rel's arms started to feel heavy.

He paused the spar to talk to Valencia.

"Hey, I never asked this... How do you determine what constitutes a win for you? Because all you've been doing is defending."

Valencia's brow furrowed.

"What do you mean? I win when you give up," she stated, her expression hardening. "When you realize you can't land a single hit on me, no matter how hard you try. When you finally acknowledge the difference in our strength."

This time, she advanced on Rel, her wooden sword poised to strike.