Virtual Sparring

Without warning, the world around me became a training yard out of the Middle Ages. I blinked and looked again, not quite trusting my eyes. High walls of fitted stone rose on every side, and banners snapped from the towers in a hard wind. The cold of the flagstones climbed straight through the soles of my feet.

"Hah—! Jesus!"

A woman had appeared in front of me out of nowhere. I startled and took a step back. The presence she gave off was simply overwhelming. Hair the deep, quiet blue of the open sea streamed in the wind, and silver light ran along a full suit of medieval plate. For a moment I just stood there, struck dumb by the sheer authority of her.

"Uh... hello?"

I pulled myself together and offered the greeting, awkward as it was. Her face didn't change at all.

Damn it. What the hell is this?

While I was still trying to make sense of her, she lifted her sword in one elegant motion and, without a single word, brought the blade to her chest. She hadn't spoken, but I understood it all the same. She was paying me respect.

Uh, uh—what do I do? Am I supposed to do the same?

I was still wondering whether I ought to return the courtesy when her eyes went sharp, and in the next instant her body blurred.

What? Out of nowhere—

Steel hissed through the air.

"Oh, fuck!"

I dropped on instinct. Her sword sheared past above my head. Wind tore at me, and a few strands of hair went flying with it.

Shit. Is this woman actually trying to kill me?

My heart kicked into a sprint. I could feel the adrenaline flooding every limb. This was no ordinary drill. She had meant, with complete sincerity, to take my head.

The blade came around again with a heavy rush of air.

"Damn it!"

I threw myself into a roll and barely got clear. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠female knight was already swinging a second time.

You said this was a spar! A spar, goddamn it!

Whatever the System had written down, this wasn't sparring. It was a duel with our lives on the line. I spat the complaint and drew my own sword to meet her.

The blades met with a ringing crack.

"Ghk—!"

The instant her sword struck mine, a shock ran the length of my body. Her movement was as natural as flowing water and, at the same time, fast as lightning.

Wait...

A few exchanges in, her motion started to feel familiar. The placement of her feet, the angle of every cut, the turn of her body—all of it was identical to the swordsmanship I knew.

This is Imperial Swordsmanship.

It was. She was using the same art I was.

The fuck? The same swordsmanship?

The difference was that hers was refined and keen past any comparison with mine.

They aren't even in the same league.

Her sword work was beautiful enough that the admiration rose in my head before I could stop it. We were both using Imperial Swordsmanship, no question, but her technique existed on another plane from anything I knew. The gap between a beginner and a master, if I had to name it.

Steel cracked again.

"Ghk!"

I just managed to catch the next swing, and the impact left my arm numb. Sweat ran into my eyes and smeared the world. I lifted the back of my hand to wipe it away, and her sword was already coming in again.

Fuck. She doesn't leave a single gap.

I twisted on instinct and let the cut go past. A few more strands of hair parted in that same instant. I'd kept my life by a hair.

"Hah... hah..."

I dragged in air and glared at her.

Shit. Keep this up and I really am going to die.

Stay like this and she would kill me. I knew it was time to throw everything I had at her.

Light.

The moment my will sank into the blade, it went light as a feather. I took that sword and hurled attack after attack at the female knight like a man ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gone mad.

"Eat this!"

Clang. Clang. Clang. I poured every ounce of strength I had into the assault, and her defense was perfect. She moved like an iron wall, and my sword was turned aside every single time.

You goddamn— Heavy!

When cut after cut died on her guard, I changed the pattern and loaded every bit of Telekinesis into a single downward stroke.

"Aaaagh!"

I roared and brought the sword down with everything behind it. The shock of that overhead blow shook the whole training yard. Dust boiled up thick enough to choke on, and a huge crack split the floor.

My blade met hers and threw sparks. It was a blow with real weight in it, and she took it anyway, her face as blank as ever.

You bastard! What are you, a monster?!

I had emptied myself into that strike, and she was still standing there untouched. I ground my teeth. Sweat had soaked me through, and my arms and legs were starting to shake. I still couldn't quit. If I didn't beat this knight, there was a real chance my head would come off.

Fine. One more time.

I opened distance from the woman who had just stopped my sword and drew a deep breath, hauling Telekinesis up again. That was when her eyes changed, and she was in front of me in a heartbeat.

"You fuck—!"

She had closed to the tip of my nose before I could even register it, and the shock locked me in place. Blue hair whipped across the wind and cut off my view.

Shit. She's this fast?

I jerked backward on reflex, but her sword was already flying for my throat.

A clean, wet parting.

The world in front of me went dark all at once. The sharp pain of a neck coming off lanced through my whole body. Is this death? The thought flickered past, and in that same sliver of an instant I was back in the real world.

"Hah!"

I sucked in a ragged breath and opened my eyes. The medieval training yard was gone. The familiar yard of the house filled my vision instead. I felt along my neck with one hand. No wound. Thank God.

"Cough— cough!"

The shock of what I'd just been through tore a cough out of me before I could stop it.

Damn it. That was way too real...

My heart was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠still hammering like it meant to break out of my chest. The moment was still vivid: the female knight coming in with that blue hair streaming, and the instant that keen edge opened my throat.

"Ugh... I'm gonna be sick."

My stomach rolled, and I held the nausea down for a few seconds. Virtual or not, it was the first time I had ever felt the fear of death from the inside.

I checked the clock. Less than five minutes had passed since I went in. In the virtual space it had felt like twenty, at least. If time out here had barely moved, then stepping into that place must have stopped it.

A System window opened in front of my eyes.

"Haa..."

The sigh came out the moment I read the quest window.

"Fuck... what kind of dogshit quest is this."

Of every living thing I had met in my life, the strongest had just been updated. And the quest wanted me to beat that thing. The sigh came on its own.

The fear of the death I'd just tasted was still raw. I rubbed at the nape of my neck and replayed the moment: cold metal parting flesh, consciousness going thin.

"How the hell am I supposed to beat that monster."

I muttered it and got to my feet. My legs were shaking. The fight in the virtual space still seemed to be sitting in my body.

Even so, I can't just give up.

I clenched a fist. Clear this quest and an immense reward was waiting. If I meant to live through a zombie apocalypse, this wasn't an opportunity I could throw away.

"All right. One more time."

Die in there and you didn't die. You came back out with your body already healed. Which meant I was standing in front of an arcade cabinet with infinite coins. Failing to clear a game under those conditions was something only an idiot did.

"Slam into her enough times and a hole's bound to open somewhere."

I set my jaw, opened the System window to enter the virtual space again, and laid a hand on Imperial Swordsmanship.

"Ah, fuck...!"

Today, of all days, the System kept landing blows on the back of my head.

"Hic!"

A small, cute hiccup sounded behind me. I turned, and the Lunch Duo was standing there.