Okay, I know it took me a long time, but I've finally finished the next chapter.
As for the reasons... Well, first of all, I dawdled while writing this chapter. Sorry about that.
However, this chapter was also unexpectedly hard to write. The duels were a bit of a problem. I had planned who would fight and how the duels would end as well as the general course of events, but the exact, detailed course of events was quite tricky, and it took me ages to decide on that.
Once again, the chapter turned out longer than I anticipated. That really keeps happening. So... Sorry, but there's a part "missing" at the end that I wanted to include at first. That part will be in the next chapter together with another event that was initially planned to be the sixth chapter, more on that later.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and that it was worth the wait!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment or Sword Art Online in general.
After the little… incident with Sinon, Akinym wanted to continue the training as he had intended to. In his opinion, this group had caused enough trouble already. He didn't want even more sidetracking.
On the one hand, he couldn't get around explaining to Silica, Lisbeth and Leafa what had happened. On the other hand, they at least accepted the explanation without further questions.
So without further ado, they began the duels to assess the girls' battle skills.
Akinym decided to start with Silica and Lisbeth.
The first few seconds of that duel were a rather awkward exchange of attacks, and neither of the girls sustained considerable damage. They didn't really know what to think about these duels, and it showed.
Akinym was about to tell them off because of their attitude when Lisbeth apparently started to take this seriously and used a Sword Skill.
When she swung her maze from right to left at Silica, Silica dodged by leaping backwards. It wasn't just a simple jump, she did a backflip. Well, half a backflip. Silica landed on her free hand.
Lisbeth continued the Sword Skill with a blow from left to right. Silica pushed herself off the ground and jumped back onto her feet with another backflip while dodging the attack.
Akinym took note of that technique. Silica was either very athletic or she used the skill Acrobatics, which supported such movements. Akinym guessed it was the second option.
Meanwhile, Lisbeth's Sword Skill wasn't finished yet. It was a 3-hit-combo, so there was another strike left.
When Silica noticed the incoming attack, she panicked slightly. Instead of dodging again, she tried to shield herself with her arms and weapon. The strong Blunt attack easily broke through that parry. The impact knocked Silica away. However, she was back on her feet in no time and countered with her own Sword Skill.
Her attack consisted of two slashes, followed by a thrust. Lisbeth managed the deflected the slashes with her maze, but the weapon was quite heavy, and swinging it around rapidly was extremely difficult. She couldn't raise it again in time to deflect the thrust as well, so Silica hit her arm.
Lisbeth immediately prepared for a counterattack. She clutched her maze with both hands and drew it back to prepare for a swing from the bottom left to the upper right while Silica couldn't move because of the delay from the Sword Skill.
Silica [determinedly]: Pina, now!
As prepared, Pina flew towards Lisbeth and dashed against her head. With Pina clinging to her face, Lisbeth stopped the attack and tried to pull it off.
Lisbeth [irritated]: Pina! Get off me!
She managed to push Pina away, but Silica regained control over her body in the meantime, so this little distraction worked.
After that, Lisbeth charged at Silica. She prepared for a vertical, downward swing. For whatever reason, Silica tried to parry it with her own weapon. Unsurprisingly, the clash of weapons knocked Silica's dagger out of her hand.
It was the ideal chance for an attack, so Lisbeth swung her maze at Silica again immediately, horizontally this time… and only with one hand. Silica jumped backwards to dodge.
Lisbeth stopped her own swing with her other arm. The maze bounced against her bracer. To Silica's surprise, Lisbeth put both hands on her weapon and dash after her, thrusting the heavy maze at the other girl. Silica couldn't dodge after this sudden change in the attack pattern, so Lisbeth hit her shoulder.
Fortunately, Silica could put some distance between Lisbeth and herself with a few more jumps backwards before Lisbeth had completely steadied herself again.
Silica: Pina, Heal!
Pina used the skill Healing Breath on Silica to restore her HP a little. Lisbeth's attack had brought Silica's HP bar dangerously close to the yellow zone, so Pina's healing capabilities were a big help.
Akinym thought about this healing skill for a moment. It was the first time he saw a familiar, so he had obviously been interested from the very start.
Usually, players had to take the time to drink a potion or use a crystal (if they had one) to heal, but this familiar could probably heal on the fly, which might be extremely useful in battle if used properly.
Sure, there had to be a cooldown, but that only meant that it was all a matter of finding the right opportunity. Akinym already had an idea how Silica might use this ability to win the duel.
First of all, she had to whittle Lisbeth's HP down until her HP bar was close to the yellow zone. Normally, this would make her very cautious. However, if Silica's HP were relatively low, too, Lisbeth might be fooled into dealing a "decisive" blow.
If Silica would use Pina's Healing Breath in that moment to withstand that attack, it would create an opening for a counterattack, allowing Silica to deliver the final strike instead.
Akinym wondered if Silica would think of something like that. Well, she would have to get her dagger back first…
For that purpose, Silica ran towards it. Lisbeth tried to intercept and stop her, of course. When Silica was about one metre away from the dagger, Lisbeth stepped between Silica and her weapon while readying her maze.
Silica ducked to dodge, took a quick step to the side and dove headlong past Lisbeth towards her dagger.
Lisbeth wanted to use that as an opening for another attack, but Pina distracted her again. This time, it just flew around her head frantically.
Lisbeth tried to chase Pina off with one hand.
Lisbeth: Pina, cut it out!
Akinym had to force himself to focus on this… scene. He already knew what he would tell Lisbeth once this was over.
Meanwhile, Silica made the best of the opportunity. She grabbed her dagger quickly and immediately attacked.
Lisbeth was quick-witted enough to sense the problem and tried to dodge by jumping away. Silica's slash attack barely hit her leg.
Silica jumped to her feet to get ready for another attack, but Lisbeth wouldn't give her the chance to easily. She already dashed at her while preparing a Sword Skill.
Unfortunately, Pina was still flying around and accidentally got in the way of Lisbeth's strike. Lisbeth noticed this to late to cancel the attack.
Silica, on the other hand, was swifter to react. She immediately leapt forward.
Silica [panicking]: Pina!
She pushed Pina out of the way, but as a consequence, the attack hit Silica directly on the head. The brunt of the attack knocked her away easily, and it reduced her HP by half.
The duel was over, which was a blessing in disguise. At the very least, a safety system cancelled the rest of Lisbeth's Sword Skill.
Lisbeth: Silica!
She immediately hurried to Silica to check on her. Pina also rushed to her side. Even Leafa and Sinon ran towards her.
Silica sat up. She groaned, but she appeared to be fine.
Leafa: Silica-san, are you okay?
Sinon: That was… a pretty serious hit. Way to scare the heck out of us!
Akinym also walked over to them, although he was much calmer.
Akinym: Silica-san, are you alright?
Silica [slightly dizzily]: Um… Yes, I am. Thank you. [slightly dejectedly] All of you. I'm sorry for worrying you.
Lisbeth [apologetically]: It's okay! If anything, I am sorry! I went a little… overboard.
Akinym: Actually, you didn't. To be honest, I have my doubts if you even took this duel seriously.
Lisbeth [upset]: Give me a break! This duel obviously went too far! Would it hurt you to be faced by that?!
Akinym: I don't see your point. It's not like she'll have a concussion. [slightly worriedly] Sure, the last hit reduced Silica-san's HP more than I like, [calmly] but that's all.
Sinon [slightly taken aback]: You really don't seem worried at all…
Akinym: As I said: What's there to worry about now? She's fine, so there's no reason not to proceed as planned.
Lisbeth: Proceed as planned?! You seriously want to continue this… test?!
Akinym [annoyed]: Yes, I do. Ugh… Listen, I am willing to postpone Silica-san's debriefing until she recovers from the shock, but that's all! [sternly] I'm taking this very seriously, and I don't want pointless delays or interruptions!
The girls accepted Akinym's reasoning in the end.
Akinym [calmly]: Good. Lisbeth-san, about your performance… First of all, [slightly annoyed] why did you apologise?!
Lisbeth: Excuse me?! What do you expect? I could've killed her! [mutters] That was a shock…
Akinym: You merely fought a battle. This… turn wasn't predictable. As far as I can see, you did nothing wrong in that moment.
These words seemed unexpectedly kind to the girls. However…
Akinym: I can't say the same about some parts of that duel. You weren't too brute or ruthless, you were too cautious!
Lisbeth [surprised]: Pardon?!
Akinym: I'm willing to accept that you didn't want to put Silica-san's well-being at risk for the sake of a duel, even though you held back a bit too much at times, but what about [points at Pina] her familiar?
Pina cried in confusion.
Silica: W-what about Pina?
Akinym [looks at Pina]: It was interesting to see a familiar in a fight, [turns to Lisbeth] but I'm wondering why you didn't attack it, Lisbeth-san. After all, it attacked you.
Lisbeth: Whoa, wait a second! Are you saying that I should've hurt Pina?!
Silica looked quite distressed in that moment. Pina chirped dejectedly and sought comfort on Silica's lap. She petted her familiar gently.
Akinym [slightly sternly]: I'm saying that you should've defended yourself properly! This duel should've allowed me to assess your battle skills, but that won't work if you don't fight seriously. All I can say is that you shouldn't fight monsters like that, but I guess you wouldn't fight them as halfheartedly anyway, so I don't know what to tell you.
Lisbeth [slightly awkwardly]: Well, figures… But I can't just put Silica or Pina in danger, that… [worriedly] that's just wrong. Okay, maybe I could've fought seriously from the start, and the duel would've ended before one of us got into danger, but Pina is a different matter! Silica is so attached to Pina, so if I had accidentally…
Silica smiled at Lisbeth softly.
Silica: Liz-san… [to Akinym, determinedly] Liz-san is right! I'm fighting side by side with Pina, but I don't want to put Pina in danger! [worriedly] Not again…
Pina looked up and smiled at Silica happily. It snuggled up to her belly. Silica continued petting Pina.
At first, Akinym wanted to object, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he took another look at Pina and began to think.
First Strike duels were a good way to test new students because – as Lisbeth had mentioned – the duel would end before the combatants got into real danger. However, the safety measures didn't protect items. The same probably applied to familiars.
Akinym [sighs, slightly tiredly]: Okay, I'll accept that you didn't want to risk killing Silica-san's familiar… Pina. [slightly sternly] Although jumping in front of it to shield it from an attack… I absolutely can't approve of such actions! That was way too reckless and dangerous. I trust that you won't do anything like that in a real battle with your life on the line!
Akinym wanted to move on to the next topic, but he noticed Silica's doubtful expression. He had a theory as to what this expression meant, and he didn't like that theory.
Akinym [slightly upset]: Silica-san, you can't seriously consider putting yourself at risk for the sake of your familiar! It's one thing if you do that for your companions – as long as you do so within reason – but a single item isn't worth it, no matter how rare or useful it is!
Silica [slightly upset]: It's not about that! Pina… [sadly] Pina is my oldest friend in this world. Pina was there for me when I had nobody else, fought at my side and saved me. [slightly upset] I can't turn on Pina!
Leafa [determinedly]: That's right! I haven't known them for long, but I've already noticed how close they are, and that Pina is a true friend to Silica-san! Pina doesn't act like a tool around Silica-san, more like another true companion!
Silica [happily]: Leafa-san… Thank you! [determinedly] It's true! I don't care if Pina is just a part of the system. To me, Pina is real! A real friend.
The girls obviously considered this very convincing and agreed with each other… and with Pina, by the way. Even Sinon made a little remark about how strongly Silica seemed to feel about Pina.
Akinym, however, wasn't really impressed. He began to rub his temples.
Akinym [annoyed]: "Pina" is an item! You can be attached to it however you like, but if you're in a life-and-death situation and have to choose between yourself and your familiar, the choice you have to make should be obvious!
Silica averted her eyes. A picture of Pina blocking a lethal blow appeared in her mind.
It was a distant, painful memory, and she was glad that it was distant. The sorrow, despair and loneliness she had felt back then had been almost too much too handle, and she wasn't sure if she could bear losing her oldest companion again, let alone in the exact same way. Not to mention that there was no guarantee that Pina could still be saved like last time…
Silica: I… don't know if I could make that choice…
As soon as Silica said that, Akinym inhaled sharply, and his pupils constricted visibly.
Akinym [yells]: You have to choose!
The girls were completely taken by surprise by this outburst. In fact, the sudden yell made Leafa and Lisbeth back away and Pina jump out of Silica's lap. Well, and it almost made Silica topple over backwards.
It took a moment until Akinym realised what he had just done. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calm breath. His stance gradually became less tense.
Even after he had apparently calmed down, he kept silent with his eyes closed. The girls were a bit too nervous to say anything, especially since Akinym seemed to think about something.
After about half a minute, he opened his eyes and looked at Silica again.
Akinym: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. Now look, I don't know what happened that you'd prioritise your familiar over your own safety or that you'd even consider it, so I won't pretend that I could judge that. However, look at it this way: Pina's existence is tied to your account. If you die, your account will be deleted, and so will Pina, so it's not a choice between your life and its. Either only Pina perishes or both of you do. There is nothing to gain from showing the same kind of recklessness again.
Silica hated to admit it, but Akinym had a point. The other girls felt similar about this.
Akinym [slightly awkwardly]: Okay… That was… quite the digression… [calmly] Maybe we should get back to the debriefing.
Frankly, the girls had their doubts about changing the topic so nonchalantly, but it was actually a welcome excuse for avoiding this depressing topic. Ultimately, they had no objections.
Akinym: Silica-san, judging from your evasion technique, you use the skill Acrobatics, don't you?
Silica became a bit nervous because she was afraid that Akinym would disapprove of choosing that skill. After all, using skill slots wisely was essential.
Silica: Y-yes, I do. I-is there something I should know?
Akinym: No, it's fine. I just wanted to confirm it. It's a good idea as long as you can handle the system-assisted movements. And if you use them wisely. I use that skill myself, and I'd say it's recommendable to anyone who prioritises agility over sturdiness. [sternly] However, you have to commit to that choice!
Silica: W-what do you mean, Akinym-san?
Before he answered, Akinym glanced over to Sinon for a moment. He turned back to Silica once he had confirmed that she had taken the hint and paid close attention.
Akinym: There were moments during your duel when you tried to block attacks with your dagger. [Silica nods] That wasn't a good idea. Daggers are small, light weapons, made for precision, agility and easy use. However, they're not suited for parries, so you shouldn't even try to block attacks. Focus on dodging, maybe deflecting if the situation allows it!
Silica (and Sinon, too, by the way) made a mental note about that. To be fair, she had already noticed that, but she made that mistake time and time again in the heat of the battle… She had to work on that.
Akinym [to Lisbeth]: There's one more thing I have to say. You use Blunt weapons… a rare choice, but it comes with a certain potential. However, you have to make the most of it! These weapons are rather heavy and unwieldy, so they don't fit a style that is based on agility.
Lisbeth [slightly doubtfully]: Well… I mean, my maze is a bit hard too handle sometimes. I like to be quick on my feet, though…
Akinym [contemplatively]: I see… Hm, it's pretty hard to change one's fighting style after two years, I guess. It might take more time than it's worth… [calmly] My suggestion would've been to change your style to a tougher one. If you'd change to heavy armor, you could try to block and endure hits instead of evading them. This group could use a tank, and you seem to be the best option as far as I can see. Not to mention that it would be a good time now that the system error messed up your skill proficiency. That decision would come at a higher price once you've leveled it up again.
She thought about it for a moment. Sure, Lisbeth could see where Akinym was coming from. However, she had her doubts about taking the role of a pure tank.
Lisbeth: Hm… I still like my style as it is, actually. [mutters, slightly annoyed] And a delicate lady in heavy armor? Really? Why do you seem to like the idea of a girl getting hit so much?
Despite Lisbeth's efforts, Akinym could hear her relatively clearly. The death glare he gave her in response made her flinch.
Lisbeth [thinks, nervously]: Dammit, Liz, when will you learn to keep quiet around that guy?!
Akinym tried not to pay too much mind to Lisbeth's last remark. He told himself to focus on the matter at hand.
Akinym: Consider it! If you decide against it, so be it. I'd recommend it, but it's your decision in the end.
That concluded the debriefing after Silica and Lisbeth's duel.
Now it was time for his last student. He turned to Leafa.
Akinym: This leaves you, Leafa-san. Now, for your duel partner… [looks at Lisbeth] I actually had Lisbeth-san in mind.
Lisbeth [whining]: Oh, come on! You can't be serious, I just finished a duel, and a nerve-wracking one at that!
Akinym [sighs]: I've figured that much…
Leafa: It's okay, I don't mind waiting for my turn a bit longer!
Akinym thought about the situation for a moment.
He could've asked Silica, but that would probably not have ended differently.
He had another option, even if he didn't handle these tests that way usually since it wasn't the best way to observe his student's skills calmly.
Akinym [mutters]: Well, I've done it before already, so it's not that bad, I guess… [walks onto the duel grounds, says out loud] There's no need to wait, I'll do it myself. Follow me, Leafa-san!
Akinym and Leafa took position, facing each other at a distance of about three metres.
Leafa drew her katana and got ready. Akinym still searched his inventory for the right weapon. When he found it, he equipped it, and a spear materialised in his hands.
The girls noticed immediately that this wasn't the weapon he had used against Sinon. It may have been approximately the same size, but this spear looked much more elegant and refined. The shaft seemed to be made of ebony wood and the spearhead had a subtle, silver gleam to it, which looked fairly nice.
Lisbeth, who was the most knowledgeable spectator when it came to weapons, recognised the general design. It resembled a Japanese spear, a katagama yari to be exact.
However, it was unlike any yari Liz – or any of the girls for that matter – had ever seen. The secondary blade was strongly curved, relatively slim and about half as long as the primary, straight one.
Anyway, Akinym took his battle stance and sent the duel request. Leafa accepted it, and they got ready.
While the countdown for the duel was going down, Akinym observed Leafa's stance. It looked familiar. The way she held the sword with both hands directly in front of her and relatively low, pointing it straight at him… the angle at which she held it, her foot stance…
When the timer was at five seconds, he realised that this was a kendo stance. He had seen it a few times in the real world. Furthermore, he had met players who had practiced kendo to some degree and tried to use that knowledge in this world.
For a second, Akinym wondered how he could confirm that. He might try to observe if Leafa used other kendo techniques, but his knowledge of that sport was fairly limited. In the end, he gave up on that idea and focused on examining Leafa's general combat experience.
For that purpose, he adjusted the way he held his spear right before the duel finally started. He pointed the spear more to the left while loosening the grip of his right hand, which held the rear end of his spear.
Because of that changes, it should seem as if his right side wasn't covered well, so it would invite an attack.
At the same time, Akinym prepared to change his grip on the spear again if Leafa tried to take advantage of that opening. If she did, he would raise his weapon to block the blow with the shaft.
He also changed his foot stance for that purpose. He didn't shift his weight yet, though, since he didn't want to give his true intentions away.
When the duel began, Leafa took a quick glance at Akinym's right flank. This showed him that his feint worked.
Leafa quickly stepped forward and to the left because she expected Akinym to thrust his spear forward. It was also a good way to get in position. She lifted her sword above her head and aimed at Akinym's right forearm.
She was quite surprised when Akinym basically snapped around and blocked her attack with the shaft of his spear. It startled her so much that she almost didn't notice Akinym's counterattack.
Right after blocking Leafa's attack, Akinym took the stance for Horizontal Spear and unleashed the Sword Skill as fast as possible.
It was his turn to be surprised when Leafa still managed to block the attack, manually at that. Sure, she groaned under the pressure of the impact, but she held her ground.
Akinym took a step back for now. Fortunately, the strain he had put on Leafa was enough to keep her occupied until he recovered from the post-motion delay. However, he still decided against taking the offensive and let Leafa attack instead.
And that's what she did. She attacked with quick, decisive blows, each accompanied by a stern yell, almost like a little battle cry. Each blow aimed for Akinym's lower arms or head.
Akinym blocked her attacks, but it became increasingly difficult. Leafa wouldn't let him catch his breath, and her attacks were strong enough to put almost too much strain on Akinym's manual parries.
Finally, there was an opening, and Leafa went for it. Akinym resorted to dodging and managed to evade two strikes.
Upon seeing that, Leafa circled around him to attack from the side instead of the front. She was faster than Akinym had expected. When she aimed at his chest for a diagonal downward strike, he had to use the system-assisted parry to block it.
Leafa let her katana slide off the shaft of Akinym's spear, whirled her arms around and continued with a vertical blow. Akinym would've guessed that this was a Sword Skill if the animation had been there. However, it wasn't, which meant that all this was her own technique.
Akinym [thinks]: Impressive… She knows how to fight with a sword, no doubt about it.
It still would've been better to use a Sword Skill, though. Performing such a manoeuvre manually took longer and gave Akinym enough time to acknowledge Leafa's skill and to dodge.
Or so he had thought. Leafa's sword graced Akinym's right shoulder. Sure, she had aimed for his head, but he couldn't dodge the strike completely, which meant that the first hit went to Leafa.
The spectating girls were quite impressed. They hadn't seen her fight so far. They only knew what Kirito and Leafa had told them about Leafa's kendo practice in the real world. Seeing her fight was a sight to behold in their opinion, and certainly quite different from the usual, run-of-the-mill swordsmanship in SAO.
Lisbeth had cheered Leafa on pretty much from the beginning, and Silica had joined in around the time when Leafa had parried Akinym's Horizontal Spear. Well, Sinon was too focused on following the fight to spend even a second on cheering.
Anyway, when Leafa landed that hit, the girls honestly thought that she might win fair and square. So far, she had seemed to have the upper hand.
However, that impression lasted a mere second before Akinym showed them what they were wrong about. After getting hit, he figured that he should take this fight completely seriously. No more playing around.
He leapt back at incredible speed. Even Leafa barely noticed that Akinym had moved by the time he landed on the ground again.
At the very second when his foot touched the ground, he used his Acrobatics skill to dash forward again immediately. Normally, he would've had to steady himself again after the landing, but the system assistant allowed him to perform this actually impossible movement. At the same time, Akinym thrust his spear forward.
Leafa's battle reflexes saved her. She readied her sword to block the incoming attack as soon as she noticed it. There was nothing else she could've done in time.
She also had insane luck. The blade of her katana clashed with the base of the secondary blade of Akinym's spear.
Her grip on her weapon was just strong enough to hold onto it. She stopped the thrust before the primary blade pierced her chest. It would've been a critical hit and the end of the duel.
Akinym was both surprised and happy that Leafa managed to block this attack. He had performed it in the heat of the moment, without completely thinking it through. He didn't actually want to end the duel just yet.
The force of the impact pushed Leafa easily one metre back. Akinym still kept pushing to keep the pressure up.
Once they came to a standstill, their duel kind of turned into arm wrestling for a moment. Well, sword-spear wrestling. They tried to overpower each other while locking blades.
The physics in Aincrad incorporated leverage, at least in situations like this when the system assistant wasn't involved and applied its own "rules". Akinym benefited from this effect in this situation.
The strain was visible on their faces, but especially on Leafa's face. She was almost forced on her knees, quite literally.
The spearhead of Akinym's spear slid down the blade of her katana until it pressed against the guard of the sword. Leafa had to stretch her arms out to keep the tip of the spear away from her body.
It didn't help her, though. Akinym used another trick. He rotated his spear clockwise until the secondary blade cut into Leafa's wrist. His intention was to continue until he cut her hand off. It was a good opportunity to showcase the Lost Limb debuff, especially if Leafa didn't know this mechanic yet.
But she did, which was why she knew that she couldn't let it happen. This duel was already hard enough. Since she couldn't effectively fight back, she decided to retreat, meaning that she jumped backwards. In fact, she jumped backwards three times in quick succession to put enough distance between Akinym and herself to avoid another situation like that.
This actually worked in Akinym's favour. He didn't focus for a second, and when Leafa jumped away, he almost tumbled over. He managed to keep his balance somehow, but it would've been the perfect opportunity for a counterattack.
Now that he had seen Leafa's attack abilities, Akinym figured that it was about time to test her defense, but that was easier said than done. First of all, he had to put her on the defensive.
Leafa wouldn't play along that easily. She charged at Akinym for another attack. Due to their distance, Akinym had more than enough time to get ready while Leafa raised her weapon and let out her usual battle cry.
This time, however, he could also make an important observation. After her battle cry, Leafa seemed to mouth something else. Akinym was pretty sure that she didn't say the word out loud, at least not loud enough for him to hear. It seemed to be a short word, just two short syllables. Kote… Wrists?
Akinym blocked Leafa's attack. He noticed the she would've hit his lower arms if he hadn't defended himself. Was this a mere coincidence?
He tried to remember if there was a rule about announcing the targeted area in kendo. Since he wasn't exactly well-versed, he couldn't tell.
While trying to figure this out, Akinym dodged Leafa's next attacks. To a certain extent, he was used to dodging while coming up with the right tactic, so he still dodged all blows successfully, even though he had to use pretty much his full speed.
Akinym decided to keep observing Leafa's lip movements for now. He had to confirm if there was a connection to her attacks.
As it turned out, there was. She kept mouthing the same, short words over and over again, mostly kote and men. Whenever she used a specific word, she aimed at the same corresponding spot of Akinym's body.
With that in mind, he came up with a different tactic. By observing Leafa's lip movements and identifying the words she mouthed, Akinym could predict the trajectory of her attacks.
He blocked each and every single strike almost the second she got ready. These parries were extremely fast and precise, but also close and almost brutal, especially for a spear-wielder. The spectators were a bit shocked to see Akinym showing as much restraint as he had done in his duel against Sinon earlier: none whatsoever.
The way Akinym seemed to predict every of her moves and the speed and vigour of his defensive movements threw Leafa off completely. After this had happened half a dozen times, she didn't even know what to think anymore.
Akinym wasn't really happy, though. He still failed to put her on the defensive, so he decided to try something else.
He was a bit curious to see what Leafa would do when he used the same throw technique he had used at the end of his duel against Sinon earlier, so when Leafa took a step back to prepare an especially strong strike, he decided to test it.
When she attacked, Akinym tried his best to dodge to the side, but he couldn't focus on dodging for now. For the throw he had in mind, he needed to stay in front of her, so he couldn't leap out of the way of her attack completely. Leafa still hit his arm.
Akinym was willing to accept that, though. That way, he could use the aforementioned martial arts technique just as planned. Leafa didn't even realise what was going on until she was literally swept off her feet and flying through the air.
Unlike Sinon, however, she recovered from the shock almost immediately. She straightened herself, pretty much taking a battle stance mid-air, and pulled her sword back, getting ready to thrust it forward vigorously.
Once he saw that combined with Leafa's determined expression and her fierce battle cry, Akinym mentally prepared himself for the incoming attack that Leafa would probably launch the moment her feet touched the ground again.
And then she fell flat onto the ground…
There was no impressive manoeuvre or anything. Everyone else was just confused. Even Akinym, who would've used this chance under normal circumstances in a serious duel, simply stared at her in bewilderment.
After a moment, Leafa quickly got up and readied her sword again. She stared at Akinym with an awkward expression.
Leafa [hastily]: I'm fine!
Akinym: T-then… What exactly… was that right now?
Leafa: Nothing!
Yeah… Akinym wasn't buying it. He would certainly bring that up again later, but for now, the duel was more important.
Maybe it was because of her fighting spirit or she just wanted to gloss over her slip-up, but Leafa charged at Akinym for an even more vigorous attack. This time, she even jumped shortly before she reached him and swung her sword in a wide arc.
Akinym had one final idea what he could do to put Leafa on the defensive for now. For starters, he swiftly blocked her attack with the Parry skill.
Before she landed on the ground again, Akinym took a step forward, a step as wide as possible. He put his foot on the ground so that his leg was right behind Leafa's left ankle and pushed his spear forward. This earnt him another strange look from Silica and Lisbeth because of his extremely physical fighting style against a girl, but he managed to trip Leafa as intended.
While she was getting up again, Akinym took the stance for one of his Sword Skills. It was a simple Thrust skill, one hit.
Leafa couldn't get back on her feet in time. Once she noticed the incoming attack, she tried to twist her body to the side to dodge, but the system assistant made the necessary corrections easily. Akinym hit her right upper arm just as planned.
After that, Leafa rolled away and leapt up to her feet. She was about to attack again, but she checked her HP bar first. Akinym's attack hadn't really done much damage, but she noticed two debuff icons. Now she decided to take a defensive stance instead.
Akinym took note of the change he had hoped for. He had seen her looking at the upper left corner of her vision, and he had easily figured out what she had been looking at.
Akinym [thinks]: She's noticed. Good.
The Sword Skill Akinym had used was Armor-Breaking Lance, a simple attack, which was very useful due to its debuffs.
For one thing, it reduced the success rate of system-assisted parries, although Leafa didn't understand this debuff completely because she didn't know of the Parry skill yet. She thought it would affect her manual parries, too.
More importantly, however, it also reduced the targets defense. With lowered defense, Leafa figured that she shouldn't risk getting hit, so she would focus on defense until the debuff expired.
Akinym tested Leafa's defensive technique with a fast but simple combo of one slash, one thrust and two more slashes. It wasn't easy, but Leafa could fend the combo off completely.
To figure out where exactly here limit was, Akinym tried the same combo again, but faster. Leafa could still defend herself almost perfectly, although the last attack graced her right arm.
Leafa tried to throw Akinym off balance with a quick counterattack, which Akinym parried with the help of the system assistant.
After her counterattack had failed, Leafa took her defensive stance again immediately. Akinym had to give it to her: Her reflexes and reaction time were excellent.
Anyway, he tried the same attack once more, this time at maximum speed. The attack was incredibly fast. In fact, it was so fast that even Akinym couldn't completely control his body at that speed without the system assistant.
This time, the speed was too much for Leafa to handle, but she still did surprisingly well. She blocked the first strike, but it already threw her off balance. One hand lost its grip on her katana.
She barely managed to fend of the second blow, but the attack pushed her katana away. She was lucky that she still managed to hold onto it. However, she was left wide open for the two final attacks now.
Fortunately, the attacks were rather sloppy at this speed and "only" landed hits on her shoulders without doing too much damage.
Furthermore, Akinym had trouble keeping his balance after this vigorous attack. He almost tumbled over. When she saw that, Leafa decided to try another counterattack.
She quickly dashed to the side and then forward. When she was in position right next to him, she prepared to swing her sword at Akinym's upper body.
Akinym instinctively leapt forward to jump out of the way of the attack. He successfully dodged the blow, but Leafa didn't leave it at that. Akinym couldn't jump very far away from her, so with just one wide step, Leafa caught up to him soon after he had landed on the ground again.
As a last resort, Akinym used his Acrobatics skill again, this time to spin his body around. He used the momentum of the spin to swing his spear at Leafa.
It was a rather sloppy and weak attack, a desperate attempt to throw Leafa off before she could attack. She reacted in time and deflected this attack. After that, she aimed at the side of Akinym's belly and landed an easy hit, although the cut wasn't very deep, so it wasn't a critical hit.
To avoid further hits, Akinym retreated into the opposite direction, using some sort of… Well, let's call it an improvised cartwheel. Without the help of the system assistant, this acrobatic movement wasn't exactly polished, but it did the trick.
Leafa's second blow missed. She considered keeping pushing, but Akinym had taken a stable defensive stance in no time, so she decided not to push her luck, at least not while the defense debuff lasted.
There was also the issue that she was pretty much out of breath at this point. To be fair, Akinym wasn't doing much better, although he was in a slightly better state.
They didn't move for a moment, although both of them were ready to jump into action at any second. Akinym was the first one to take a relaxed, calm stance again.
Akinym: I think that's enough for now.
He opened his menu, and after a few clicks, a window popped up in front of Leafa. It was a proposition to end this duel as a draw, a feature that hardly anyone had ever used. Well, the outcome of the duel wasn't really important, so she accepted.
After that, Akinym stored his weapon away again and walked over to Leafa. Silica and Lisbeth also hurried over, they were clearly excited. Sinon followed them, albeit calmly and seemingly deep in thought.
Lisbeth: That was incredible! Geez, I've never seen anyone fight like that! [slightly calmer] Well, not since Kirito… Anyway, he wasn't kidding when he said that you're probably an amazing sword fighter!
Silica: Yes, you're amazing, Leafa-san!
Leafa [chuckles awkwardly]: Thanks, you two!
After that praise, Leafa was curious as to what Akinym would say.
Akinym: That was indeed very good. Your technique is commendable. It kinda seemed… inspired by experience. Could it be that you've practiced sword fighting in the real world? Kendo, perhaps?
Leafa's eyes widened in utter surprise.
Leafa: H-HUH?! W-what… H-how did you…? [suspiciously] Oh, wait… My brot… I mean, Kirito-kun told you that, didn't he?
Akinym [shakes his head]: Before this day, I didn't hear anything about you except that you're from a different game. It was your fighting style that gave it away. I've seen some of these stances before. There's also the fact that you seemed to announce where you aim, albeit silently, just by mouthing the words.
Leafa's feeling of surprise became stronger and stronger. She had this kind of habit because of her kendo training, and someone in ALO had pointed it out to her once, but she could hardly believe that Akinym had figured that out in just one duel.
The same applied to the other girls. Lisbeth put it into words quite nicely.
Lisbeth [mutters]: That's some crazy observation skill…
Akinym [clears throat]: To get back on track, it's a good idea to utilise this fighting prowess. Fighting experience from the real world can often be used in this game. I'm using techniques and basic tactics of aikido and judo myself.
Well, that would explain why Akinym's fighting style reminded the girls of martial arts at a few points.
Akinym: The only thing I have to scold you for is your complete reliance on these techniques. In SAO, combining your own technique with the advantages of the system is important, even crucial. You haven't used a single Sword Skill – or any system-provided skill for that matter – during the duel. You should try to include the use of Sword Skills in your style.
The idea didn't sit right with Leafa. It made her feel uncomfortable.
Leafa [insecurely]: Um, yeah… Sword Skills aren't really a thing in ALO, that game is more about the whole magic system. The thing is, I kinda tried some Sword Skills after coming here, and… It's just that the stances are so different from kendo stances, I don't know what to think of it.
Akinym: I understand that it will take time and effort to get used to it, but the merit of…
Leafa [interrupting]: No, no, that's not it! It's just… [worriedly] I'm a bit afraid that I might mix up any habits I pick up in this game and my kendo style when we'll be back in the real world. These stances are really important in kendo competitions, so I want to avoid that.
Akinym wanted to say something right away, but he contained himself. He was deep in thought for a moment before he finally spoke up.
Akinym: I understand that concern. Under other circumstances, I'd try to think of ways to combine kendo techniques and Sword Skills, but I simply don't know enough about kendo to do that. Therefore, I'm just going to be perfectly honest: [sternly] This is a war! A battle for survival, and the only thing that matters – that even should matter – is whether you make it out of this alive, and efficiency is the most important tool for that. Think of it this way: If you were to lose here, it will mean death, and let's just say that death will affect your kendo competitions in the real world much more than some "bad habits"!
This little speech was just depressing in every way, and Leafa showed that clearly. Sure, she couldn't deny Akinym's argument, but it still seemed much too harsh…
Meanwhile, Akinym took a look at the mark from Leafa's last attack. It hadn't vanished yet. He pointed at it.
Akinym [calmly]: I'll give an example: If you had executed this last attack with a powerful Sword Skill, you probably would've won this duel. Instead, you used a less effective manual attack, so the battle continued, and it might've ended with your loss. In this duel, that's not a problem, [points towards the open field] but out there, it's a deadly mistake! [sternly] Keep that in mind, Leafa-san!
Leafa nodded weakly. This reminded her a little of lectures from her kendo instructors, although this was much more serious, which made things worse.
Akinym [calmly]: Okay, that's all for now. Although… No, there's still one more thing I wanna know. [curiously] What happened during the duel when you looked as if you wanted to shoot straight through the air at me, but fell flat onto the ground? It seemed as if you had something in mind, but then… nothing came of it.
Akinym's description of the situation he spoke of might've been a bit vague (in lack of a better idea as to how to describe it), but Leafa still knew what he was talking about. After all, there was only one really… outstanding moment during that duel.
Leafa [chuckles nervously]: Oh, yeah… that… I… Well, I had the intention to… fly…
Akinym [raises an eyebrow]: Fly?
Leafa [defensively]: Yes! It was a reflex, okay? I've told you that you can fly in ALO, and it's a really important thing in combat. In ALO, I could've gone on the offensive right away, and I was so caught up in the heat of the battle that I completely forgot that this won't work here, so…
Akinym: I see. I understand the problem now.
To be honest, Akinym hadn't expected anything so… out of the ordinary. It was valuable information, though.
Akinym: I guess that takes care of the assessment duels…
Lisbeth: So… Does that mean we're done here, or…?
Akinym: Almost. There is one more thing I want you to do.
...and you'll see that in the next chapter. This one is finally finished.
I've played a little with the concept of First Strike duels in this chapter. I don't know if there actually is an option to agree on a draw in canon, the same applies to the idea of surrendering I've used in a previous chapter. I've just decided to include it.
Furthermore, according to SAO Wikia, a First Strike duel would end when a player lands "a clean hit that deals at least ten percent damage". I... kinda remembered that wrong... Anyway, I ended up changing that to landing a critical hit, which, in this story, will mean a clean, deep hit at a "vital area". For players, this will mean head, neck, chest or stomach.
This chapter also has a bit foreshadowing about Akinym's backstory in it. Try to find it if you like, it's not really hidden that well. And if you don't want to... That's perfectly fine as well.
Little Preview: Akinym has a final test for the girls... and a proposal for one of them.