"Whoo... Whoo..."
Nathaniel breathed heavily.
He was calming down his breath, and then, as he exhaled one more time, his body’s muscles tensed like a coiled spring ready to release its energy.
In that moment.
He kicked off the ground, launching himself forward, and Nathaniel was like a spear—the wooden sword was the tip—and he headed straight for Thomas.
Thomas met his lunge with a lunge of his own, and then he opened his armpit—letting the wooden sword slide past him—and his own wooden sword met with Nathaniel’s throat.
It didn’t hit Nathaniel, but it was enough to make him stop in his tracks.
"Two."
Thomas said with a smile.
He then took a step back, and Nathaniel also returned back to his side of the mat, twirling the wooden sword in hand.
Nathaniel wasn’t showing much emotion. He wasn’t an emotional guy. Yet, it was somewhat obvious that he was frustrated.
"One more hit..."
A student whispered.
If Nathaniel managed to land a hit on Thomas, it would mean that he would have ten points—while everybody else had zero.
That would make Nathaniel already a top-ranked student in the Box and ahead of everybody else.
So, while they didn’t say it aloud, most students were hoping that Thomas would actually win this bout.
Also, with Nathaniel’s loss, he would be the one doing the cleaning duty for the following week—which meant that they wouldn’t have to do it!
’First, Nathaniel tried to use a sneak attack to beat Thomas. It failed. Then, he tried to abuse the cracks in Thomas’ guard. It failed. Now, he tried using speed to overwhelm Thomas.
’It again failed.’
Devon thought.
To him, it didn’t feel like Nathaniel had any chance of defeating Thomas unless there was another trick up his sleeve.
"Whoo... whoo..."
Nathaniel panted, and then he squeezed the hilt on his wooden sword and then grabbed it with his left hand as well.
Two-handed grip!
’He changed his style.’
Thomas thought.
He, on the other hand, didn’t bother changing his style—his left hand was still behind his back, and his wooden sword was still held in only his right hand.
"Cough!"
One of the students suddenly coughed—as he had been feeling slightly sick since riding in the ferry—that cough also acted as the start signal.
Without further ado.
Nathaniel sprang forward like a coiled spring and started swinging his sword, his movements really aggressive.
It was like he was a young man currently visiting a carnival, trying to hit the moles with a hammer as they popped out of their small holes.
That’s how it looked.
Parry. Parry. Parry. Parry. Parry.
Thomas parried every single strike. It was like the small zone around him was protected by an invisible force field.
"...Who is he?"
"...Does anybody know who our instructor is?"
The students talked with each other, as they had never heard about this Thomas guy, and he was really, really skilled with a sword, apparently!
Nathaniel sword thrusted. His arm extended. The sword came for Thomas’ face. But at the last moment, he moved his head out of the way.
The wooden sword grazed past his cheek!
’A mistake!’
Thomas thought, as Nathaniel was now completely exposed, and he immediately swung the wooden sword for his chest.
But then!
Nathaniel released his left hand from the hilt of his sword, grabbed Thomas’ wrist, and pushed his sword-wielding hand down.
He couldn’t swing the sword now!’
"?!"
Thomas looked surprised.
’This was Nathaniel’s intention all along. Thomas was wary of Nathaniel’s left hand, but when he started using both hands to swing the sword, Thomas’ wariness towards that lowered.
’That was what Nathaniel wanted, so he could grab Thomas by his wrist and basically unarm him!’
Devon thought.
Thomas had completely fallen into Nathaniel’s trap, and Devon had no idea how he could escape this predicament!
Nathaniel, with his right hand, suddenly spun the wooden spear around, and he changed a grip on the sword.
A reverse sword grip!
"It’s over!"
The students gasped!
Nathaniel, with the reverse sword grip, swung the blade for Thomas’ exposed neck, and it didn’t look like he could do anything.
His sword was out of reach. It couldn’t do anything.
"Not bad, boy!"
Thomas smirked, and then he used his entire body and tackled Nathaniel, like an ice hockey player.
Nathaniel stumbled back, but he didn’t stop holding his wrist and swung the sword again for the second time!
The quick tackle gave Thomas enough time, and he revealed his left hand from behind his back and grabbed Nathaniel from his wrist!
They were now both holding each other’s wrists. It had become nothing but a physical struggle. Nothing like the contest of skill and technique it was before.
"Argh!"
Nathaniel pulled his head back. He was going for a headbutt!
If the headbutt landed, it would count as a hit, so he didn’t care if his face started bleeding as a result of the headbutt!
Nathaniel pushed his head forward. The forehead kept coming closer. Thomas’ eyes widened in a shock.
In that moment.
He ducked under the jaw of Nathaniel, and then he smashed his waist into Nathaniel’s stomach and flipped Nathaniel over his shoulder.
"?!?!"
Nathaniel’s vision flipped upside down, and at that moment, he crashed into the mat back-first and was momentarily stunned.
Thomas gave a quick jab to his chest.
"And third."
Nathaniel heard the ’third’ rang in his ears, and he watched as Thomas stood over him, offering a hand.
He grabbed the hand, and Thomas pulled him back to his feet.
"Good fight."
Thomas said with a smile.
Clap~! Clap~! Clap~!
The students were amazed. They had never seen anything like that. They thought that Thomas really was an excellent fighter.
It looked like he was destined to lose after falling completely into Nathaniel’s trap, but he still managed to come out top!
Nathaniel didn’t say a word and just sat back down next to the mat.
"...Hey, good job out there, Nathaniel."
"...You almost had him!"
The students were saying nice things to him, but Nathaniel ignored them all and didn’t bother responding back.
He didn’t care how close he came to winning.
In the end, he still lost.