That bastard, looking down on me. Wait till I wipe that smirk off your face. Ryuzo didn''t really believe that will happen, but it wasn''t hope that he was looking for, he needed a good strategy.


    First things first, let''s see how fast he responds and guards against my attacks.I also need to see the range my own attacks and how my own strikes even feel; it''s my first time holding a sword after all.


    thrust his sword forwardas much as he could. Ponytail raised his sword now, but their swords didn''t collide; he wasn''t close enough in range. Stepping even nearer, he thrust again. This time, their swords clashed. Ponytail deflected it. Ryuzo lost his balance already. The longsword came to his direction in a quick swing, bang.Ryuzo used his shield just in time. Bang-bang, a tremendous amount of force made his shield shake violently. Ryuzo quickly retreated backwards to safety.


    Damn it. My heart is already racing like crazy. Usingathrust attack against that Ponytail is dangerous. He simply brushed it away and broke my stance too. What are my other options?


    Damn it...damn you all. If this was a real fight, would you still cheer like this? Is all you care about seeing someone fail? I would be dead by now if we used real weapons.


    This thing I''m holding doesn''t feel like a weapon at all, it''s super light, and it doesn''t even cut. Wait—that''s it, isn''t?


    Previously, Ponytail did explain the goal of this challenge; stay in the ring and score as many points as you can. He mentioned nothing else. In that case, there might not be any important rules regarding point deductions, except perhaps for stepping outside the ring.


    stared at the smiling Ponytail, stood still while deeply exhaling air. Without warning, he dashed forward and jumped directly towards the surprised coordinator. Ponytail quickly raised his longsword sideways, hitting Ryuzo in the stomach. Stab. Ryuzo''s tip of his sword was now touching Ponytail''s chest.


    If we''re using real weapons, we would both be seriously wounded, but this is just wood. We can''t get killed here, so all I got to do is ignore his attacks, since they don''t do any fatal damage, and just aim for the points.


    This was a good experience, too bad I couldn''t hit his face though.


    I thought the questions were going to be focused on the illusions, damn it! Ugh...he did mention to focus on every visual activity, not the illusions. Now I realize what he meant when he said how my focus decides how useful my memory will be. I can''t have memories from things I haven''t paid my attention to.


    I guess not everyone is the same. Perhaps the people who talk negatively about me are the ones that don''t do anything about it. The people here are different at least. Being here is already proof that they care about the city, care for its wellbeing. The Order is doing their best too; I can see that. Despite the grim situation outside the city, they all still smile here, they still make jokes and fool around a little.I feel that I can trust the people here more now.Then again they don''t know anything about me yet. My intrusion is still a secret from the public. Even the Order doesn''t seem to know about it. I''m not planning to share it though. How would people treat me, once it is made public? Well, I guess it''s up to me prove my innocence before that happens.