"Alright, remaining competitors, line up," Talon said loudly as he approached the outdoor dojo.

There were no afternoon swordsmanship classes today, yet the entire class was in the field.

The sixty who were already eliminated came voluntarily to watch.

Although one of the ten fairies, Sylphina, would most likely be their class representative, the battle for the position of vice-rep would be intense.

Zach's position isn't as unshakeable as Lynn's, and either Bao or Dylan could advance to the finals if they fought well.

Aside from the excitement of the high-ranker battles, they could also learn a lot just by watching.

But the main reason why they came was the match between Bao Parker and Daru Finnley.

If the battle happened in the sword realm, the battle would be between Silver Serpent and pitiful little Omaru.

Finally, after holding on to his fading, fake reputation and a veil of irritating mysteriousness for this long, the Fallen Sword Prince would be unraveled, and his true limits would be exposed.

They had no doubts in their mind that Bao, who was a close second to the Sword Prince of his high school, would win against the fraudster, slightly skilled as the guy might be in defense.

Talon wasn't oblivious to the matters of his class.

He knew why all his students attended to watch, and since they were already here anyway, he might as well help them maximize learning by taking advantage of their focus.

He scheduled Daru and Bao's match to be the final one of the top sixteen matches.

Excitement and anticipation filled the air as the instructor gave a few reminders and repeated the rules for the remaining competitors.

Meanwhile, the onlookers chatted on the side, making bold predictions.

The most popular hot take was that Silver Serpent would upset False Witness, as some claimed they saw him training late at night, half-naked and sweating heavily near his dormitory like some stoic ancient warrior.

But only the results would matter, not speculations.

Soon, the first match began.

Two C-rankers duked it out at the dueling space.

From the get-go, the eliminated students of class 70 were gifted a heated, back-and-forth battle between two aggressive novices.

Little did they bother with defense.

As a result, in just less than a minute, the score was already 2-2, and both C-rankers were breathing a little heavily.

The onlookers were split, as both individuals were quite likable.

The battle inevitably ended with one of the two bagging the win in just a little over a minute.

It came down to a battle of nerves in the end, and a slight mistake cost the young man named Niel his spot in the quarterfinals.

The next battle was a one-sided massacre between Zach and one of the three D-rankers who made a deep run.

There wasn't much to be learned in this match except for how painful incompetence was.

The third match then began and ended, and then the fourth.

Aside from the matches where it was more or less a fifty-fifty between two C-rankers, the expected winners advanced.

Sylphina, Lionbreaker…

After every battle, the crowd's anticipation grew, building up for the final match of the top sixteen.

*PAH!*

The sound of a wooden sword hitting someone's shoulder echoed across the second outdoor dojo of the Sixth Training Field louder than it should've.

Not because the strike was powerful, but because it marked the end of the seventh match and the beginning of the eighth.

"Jelena advances to the quarterfinals." Talon declared.

The moment the two competitors of the seventh match left the dueling space, the crowd erupted into the liveliest of hubbubs.

"Finally! Daru Finnley, the Fallen Sword Prince, versus Bao Parker! I wonder how he'll do?" wondered a young man with black hair.

"Hmph, he'll get humiliated, what else? That's Silver Serpent, one of this year's finest, in case you still don't know," responded a guy with a buzz cut.

"I don't know, man…this guy's results seem a bit too inconsistent. Maybe he's hiding his skills?" another young man chimed in.

"Heh, are you dumb or what? Do you think he's hiding the tier of his sword, too, then?"

"Is that even possible?"

While the onlookers talked, the two competitors walked to the center of the dueling space, standing in front of white lines that separated them by a fair distance.

Daru waved his wooden tachi slowly, as if warming up.

A few meters across from him, Bao sneered, thinking that his opponent was avoiding his gaze.

"What, can't even look me in the eye, fraud?" taunted Silver Serpent.

Daru's brows rose, and he met Bao's gaze.

"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled. "Why would I not be able to look you in the eye?"

Why were his classmates always talking in mysterious words?

Are they posturing, or something? He knows a thing or two about posturing now...

Silver Serpent's lips moved in displeasure. Like Zach and his goons, he hated this side of Daru.

It was like he was a stupid kid who didn't know what was going on. Yet, there was also a chance this was his way of pissing them off, always catching them off guard and tongue-tied.

Does he really need to explain everything to the idiot?

Fine, then.

"You're quite the genius in verbal warfare, Daru Finnley, I'll at least give you that." Bao began, causing Daru's brows to furrow deeper.

"Since you're asking me to clarify what I mean, I'll tell you. You can't look me in the eyes because you know you're about to get destroyed and are hoping that by showing subtle hints of submission, I won't humiliate you as hard. But I'm not a softy. I'll beat you down like I'm your father until you beg for mercy."

Threatening other students like this was a courageous thing to do in front of an instructor.

As a result, a majority of their classmates grew a newfound respect for Silver Serpent simply for daring.

Talon could only allow it to pass this time, as the crowd was far too hyped at the fighting words.

He knew a lot of people hated Daru Finnley, and it wasn't that he was condoning it.

He just wanted to see the Fallen Sword Prince's true limits like the rest of them.

Naturally, he was an instructor, and he would step in when needed.

Everyone turned to look at Daru.

To their surprise, he suddenly chuckled, seemingly in arrogant amusement.

Was he overcompensating to put up a tough front?

"Well, you certainly have a wild imagination, and I appreciate that you're going to go all out on me. But if you think you're going to defeat me, I can only say you're a bit disconnected from reality. You don't have the necessary sword mastery or physical advantage to win against me." Daru stated, shaking his head in disbelief for a moment before striking a combat stance.

The way he said it made everyone fall silent for a moment.

Only a breath later did they erupt, most in "Ooh sh*t"s.

There were a few who somehow had a bone-deep hatred for Daru despite not even interacting with him, shouting things that implied: "Who do you think you are, trash?"

But a majority couldn't deny that they were pleased to the moon at what his fallen highness just did.

It definitely made the battle significantly more entertaining than they anticipated.

No matter who won, one was bound to be humiliated today, and most inwardly didn't care as long as it wasn't them.

Silver Serpent's anger peaked immediately.

However, he was someone who was aware of the effects of a composed front.

He would appear as the loser of the verbal battle if he burst into anger.

Despite a raging lava of hatred and fury welling up inside him, he feigned a calm exterior, sneering:

"You talk well, but can you back it up?"

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Daru's mouth.

"Try me, then."

To him, this was not a learning opportunity anymore, but a duel.

Silver Serpent WILL see the extent of his sword mastery.

Everyone waited with bated breath as the tough talk ended and the two competitors stood in front of each other, locking gazes in fighting stances, both seemingly as confident as the other.

Then, after another flaming second, Talon finally declared:

"Eighth match, Bao Parker versus Daru Finnley, begin!"

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