Spellsword

"The test was easier than I expected", says Eve with a satisfied face.

'Yeah, only for you', Luna thinks to herself.

"Yeah, only for you", says Daniel while walking towards us.

"Hey! Dan, at least someone here shares my pain"

"Don't worry, Luna. Whatever you get, I will be there with you, basking at the bottom of the rankings."

Luna and Daniel share their own exaggerated hand greeting.

"What are you, 8 year olds??", Eve says with a sigh. 

"Ayo Goddess, don't say it like that. It's a greeting between fellow warriors. Speaking of which, are you gonna challenge the instructor again, Luna?"

"Of course, last time, some idiot dropped water on the floor. If I didn't slip and lose my stance, I would have definitely won."

"Well, Goodluck then. I still have to get used to my equipment."

"You aren't used to the knuckles yet?"

"Adjusting the mana matrix in the middle of a fight is really hard."

Daniel is a Brawler, that is, he uses his bare hands as a weapon. So to increase its effectiveness, Brawlers use Knuckles. Glove-like weapons worn on both hands, Knuckles can form mana crystal spikes anywhere on its surface at any time by just adjusting the mana matrix inside it. It's really useful since you can control whether a blow is lethal or not by controlling the length and sharpness of the spikes.

"Well, better burn it onto your muscle memories then. Reflex is the only option you have."

"That's what I have been doing. Training until it becomes second nature."

"Are you boys done? Lunch break is almost over.", Eve complains in an irritated voice.

"Yes, Goddess. Let us leave right away. Nutrition is very important before a fight."

'Cafeteria food is as bland as ever, but whatever fills my stomach is good enough for me', Luna thinks to herself while walking out of the cafeteria. 

'Eve and Dan have already left, better go to the Training hall quickly', she starts running towards the Training hall.

She reaches the Training hall rather quickly without even breaking a sweat thanks to her inhuman strength and stamina.

"So you've finally joined us, Miss Royce!"

"Sorry for being late, Instructor"

"Ah, no worries. I just finished assigning partners to everyone. Shall we begin?"

After saying that, Instructor Corvan pulls out his Mana Blade, pointing it at her.

A big smile forms on Luna's face as she too pulls out her own Mana Blade, strapped to her belt and activates it. A blue cylindrical beam, about 90 cm long, forms from the hilt which gives off a faint glow as foggy mana sublimates from its surface.

Mana Blades are an ubiquitous weapon that everyone can get for self defence purposes. Although the one Luna uses is a Military grade one that she got as a present. Normal people don't have access to that kind of weapon, they can only get non lethal mana blades.

Mana Blades function using the phenomenon known as crystallization of mana. High density mana can crystallize around a core taking its shape. That's how Mana Blades which look like a Torch can form a blade out of thin air. Not that it matters to her.

Luna and the Instructor take their stance as they ready themselves for the fight. 

Luna sprints towards the instructor at breakneck velocity swinging her blade at about a 30° angle with the horizontal from her bottom left to the top right. Since it is a diagonal swing it will be hard to avoid by jumping or crouching. The swing is also coming from below, so it's hard for him to effectively block it with his blade. He can only step back.

As expected, the Instructor does take a step back to avoid the swing, but before Luna could make her next move, he lodges his blade onto the floor and spins himself 360° while holding the hilt of his blade with both of his hands, turning himself into a spinning top. The heels of the spinning instructor approaches Luna but it is too late for her to step back, she can only block it with her blade.

The impact is quite great. She slides back on the wooden floor despite blocking the impact with her blade. She even has to use her hands to maintain balance. 

After regaining her stance, she looks up only to find the instructor right in front of her mid air, vertically swinging his blade from top to bottom with all his weight. 

She blocks it with her blade yet again holding the blade with both of her hands. 

"Impressive, any normal person would still be recovering from the shock of blocking my kick like that."

In this deadlock scenario, she has only one option. She lifts up her index finger from the hilt and points it at the Instructor's face. She uses the Pressure differential Mana Matrix saved in her ring to create a small gust of wind at his face. 

The Instructor backs away while rubbing his eyes. 

"Nifty little trick you got there. Should I use magic too?"

As he says that, chunks of Mana crystal materialise around him which he then hurls at her. 

She quickly uses the shield crystal matrix saved in her ring to crystallize a Shield in front of her. But that isn't enough, the shield breaks upon impact and shrapnel flies around her everywhere. Some scratch her arm while a fast one hits her straight at her forehead.

"Luna!! Are you okay!?", a panicky Eve comes running towards Luna who was lying on the ground, unconscious.

"I, uh, sorry, got a little carried away.."

Eve gives a death glare to her instructor which was enough to shut him up.

"Yo, instructor, what's the big deal?"

"That's enough Dan, help me carry her to the infirmary."

"Right away, ma'am"

The Two of them put Luna's arms around their shoulders, carrying her to the infirmary.