...have been greatly exaggerated.

Louise and Siesta were adamant Kirito apologised. They tried to sway him from his course of action. The recurring reason they used was that he'd be killed, never mind the colourful language that Louise employed or the soft expression Siesta used. He was at the door of the courtyard by the time he stopped and turned around. Louise was the one he spoke to.

"Louise, didn't you want a powerful familiar?" he asked her.

She didn't deny that she did.

"Then be happy," he smiled, "If I'm gone you have another chance to get one and if I win then that'll be proof enough. Win-win right?"

Her mouth stayed open in shock. He must have been a special kind of idiot, she thought.

"As a familiar and servant of the Vallière it would reflect badly on me if you were to lose," she finally said.

"Hai, hai."

He continued on to his duel, after those whimsical words again. Kirito was relaxed as he approached the designated location. A crowd was starting to form but so far it seemed there would be plenty of room for manoeuvre. Not only that it was nice and shady due to the being in between two of towers that made up the academy.

Guiche eyed him through the bridge of his nose and before addressing him,

"Well, you took your time. I was beginning to think you had run away."

"Don't tell me we're going to duel unarmed," Kirito didn't take the bait.

"Of course not commoner," Guiche said with a flourish of his wand, "A true mage is never unarmed."

"So an armed mage will duel an unarmed commoner? Truly you are mage without peer."

Guiche was incensed, anyone could tell, because of that remark. The sarcasm was laid on so thick that even it got through to him. The rose wand that Guiche had been brandishing was waved about with a little flourish and a sword appeared in his hands. He threw it and it landed at Kirito's feet.

"Let it not be said that I am not a generous man," Guiche managed to utter, "Now prepare for the beating of a life time."

The rose wand moved again and from the ground sprang up four bronze golems in the shape of armoured women.

"I am Guiche the Bronze and these are my Bronze Valkyries," he gestured fancifully and they moved in to attack.

Kirito picked up the sword with his right hand in response. A sudden change overcame him. It was noticeable in that the runes on his left hand glowed and that the information about the sword became visible in his mind. Guiche's Constructed Sword of Dot Earth Magic was its name and it was a single handed slashing sword. Other snippets of information like length, width and weight were also available and it was nice to know. Perfect, Kirito thought, it was the same type of sword he was used to.

He swung at the first Valkyrie that reached him and deflected its attack, his sword recoiling equally violently. So maybe it wasn't quite the same, he thought, the sword was a bit too light for his liking. Swinging again, he deflected another attack but with despite that he was caught by another attack from the opposite side, raising his left arm as to block the blow. It was a straight punch and it blew his guard wide open. His arm became numb but for some reason it was still movable. Strange, he thought, I fully felt the blow. It should have been enough to break bone. Regardless, he stumbled back and tried to get some distance.

"Haha, it is too late to run away now commoner," Guiche taunted him from afar.

As if he commanded it, the Valkyries surrounded him in a circle. They weren't attacking just yet. Guiche was probably savouring his imminent victory. How am I going to get out of this mess, Kirito thought. The lull gave him plenty of time to think and he remembered something. I still don't know whether this is real or not, I wonder if sword skills would work here. The Valkyrie in front of him started to move. I got nothing to lose anyway, he thought.

Strike second but land first was how he chose to fight. Reacting in the split second as he recognised the Valkyrie's attack, he brought his sword in to position and stood his ground, the blade in his hand raised before it came down. It was a clean diagonal cut, from shoulder to hip, that was the result of his sword skill Slant. There was no time to waste as he rushed past the remnants of the fallen Valkyrie, its sisters in hot pursuit.

He was drawing them out, waiting for them to chase him in a line before turning around and charging back at them. The Valkyries attack pattern was the same, a straight punch that was easily read but hit hard. What surprised him as he dodged the first one's punch and cut it down with the sword skill Sonice Leap was the kick as he ended up in a lowered position from the attack. It was a testament to his reflexes that he could bring the sword in front of him before the kick lifted him off the ground through his block.

The force of the kick was somewhat neutralised but Kirito still flew a bit as he landed shakily on his legs. They were spread out again as he regained footing and closed in. He remembered a time where he sprung a trap and was ambushed by numerous enemies. These two were nothing compared to that. Seizing initiative he leapt at the Valkyrie on the left his sword sundering it in two as he pivoted as he landed and leapt again at the final Valkyrie, the familiar blue glow enveloping his sword.

Guiche stood flabbergasted. He wasn't the only one. This commoner, no this swordsman, had just made easy work of Guiche's Bronze Valkyries. It was unthinkable that swordsmanship could ever surpass magic yet here was proof of it. His eyes saw only a black streak and a blue flash before his creations were neatly cut down. His opponent locked eyes with him, turned and charged. He panicked now, an impossibility had just happened and he could only gawk in horror at his impending demise.

No, that was not how he wished to be remembered. The wand in his hand changed form and became an identical sword. Guiche de Gramont would go down swinging. Kirito noticed it, the clumsy overhead blow that would catch him if he wasn't careful. But another thought struck him and he lowered his blade, the glow returning to his sword and felt that the sword skill would initiate properly. Idly wondering why he could use swords skills, Kirito cut cleanly through his opponent's sword and landed behind him.

The duel was over. Guiche was catatonic, even as Kirito tapped his cheeks with his blade. There was no need to even have someone declare a winner. It was obvious enough. He returned the sword back to Guiche.

"The name's Kirito by the way," he smile and turned away.

He didn't get far before his master Louise emerged from the crowd and the numb feeling in his left arm faded. His body burned, his arms hurt, the left especially so, his legs were heavy and his breath became short. He could still stand, barely at that, and his sight wavered. Looking down he asked Louise between pants of breath.

"Do you happen to know a healer?"

She did.