The deans felt that Tyson was a bit too useless so although they didn't want to allow this battle between two representatives, especially before the Adventurer Academy Competition, they had no choice but to do so because they wanted to see their ace student's current capabilities.
Was he still the same untouchable Shye Crowley? Or has Siegfried and the other representatives overtaken him after such a long absence?
The results of this battle will tell them everything they need.
In contrast to the usual duels between warriors, these two started slow. Circling each other as they slowly got in range, not willing to show the slightest bit of opening to their opponent.
The silence was deafening as everyone watched the battle between two legends unfold.
By this time, Tyson, who had just regained consciousness forced himself to stand up as he groggily watched the battle.
He didn't even know how he lost so he was a bit dejected, as he watched on the sidelines like a true side character.
Although he was forced to respect Shye Crowley, he wanted his Senior Siegfried to avenge him so he closely watched their battle which was bound to be a little too fast for the untrained eye to see.
*CLANG*
'Tch...He's still stronger huh?' Siegfried inwardly thought after being slightly beaten back in the first exchange.
It wasn't a surprise to him though, not only was Shye using a greatsword, but he had always been physically stronger than him before, thus, he wasn't bothered.
Siegfried continued probing Shye's abilities as he skillfully weaved in and out of battle as he hacked, slashed, and stabbed his tachi toward Shye who easily deflected all of his blows.
There were even a few moments where he almost had to block a full-powered swing which he wanted to avoid at all costs since Shye's raw power usually numbed his arms every time.
After getting a good feel of Shye's current capabilities, Siegfried felt that there was no need to test the waters anymore.
It seems that he managed to catch up so he felt that he had a good chance of beating Shye this time.
'Siegfried's combat techniques are more refined now huh? Knowing him, he must be preparing to attack seriously...' Shye thought to himself as he activated his skill [Enhanced Reaction Time Lv.2] in advance to prepare for Siegfried's onslaught.
Sure enough, upon realizing that he didn't have to play it too safe since their attributes seemed to be mostly equal, Siegfried immediately activated both of his self-buff skills, [Enhanced Agility Lv.3] and [Enhanced Dexterity Lv.3], before decisively charging towards Shye.
*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*
Now having greater agility and dexterity compared to Shye, Siegfried's masterful combat techniques were on full display as Shye was slowly pushed back, barely able to deflect Siegfried's quick but compact swings, even suffering a few small cuts in the process.
"Oh!! Senior Siegfried is serious now! It seems that Senior Crowley, the so-called legend, was a bit overrated huh?"
"Hmpph! I knew he was a sham! I simply cannot imagine Senior Siegfried's refined combat style losing against anybody!"
Still, being the battle maniac that he was, Siegfried immediately realized that he would get absolutely demolished after his buff skills ran out.
Thus, he started using all of the skills in his arsenal to try and defeat Shye within the time limit of his buffs.
After successfully pulling off a risky dodge, Siegfried immediately used [Power Slash Lv.3] to begin the graceful knight's last stand against the bloodthirsty predator.
*CLANG*
Fortunately for him, it seemed that a skill-empowered attack was enough to stop the berserk dual-wielder in his tracks, sending him sliding back a few meters, slightly struggling to stabilize his footing.
Seeing that his skill created an opening for him, Siegfried fearlessly capitalized, immediately using [Dash Lv.3] to instantly appear in front of his staggered opponent, followed by two consecutive skills, [Empower Lv.3] and his trump card, [Ethereal Sword Lv.3 (Rare)].
It seems that Siegfried had already shown all of his cards, risking everything on his finisher sequence.
He knew that it was a bit too early to do so but he had no choice as his buff skills were running out.
Shye knew that Siegfried already gave everything he had so as a sign of respect, he used his new killing combination to finish him off.
"Puhaahk"
Shye spat out blood as Siegfried's sword sunk deep into his shoulders, however, even his double skill-empowered attack wasn't enough to defeat Shye in a single hit due to his skill, [Stoic Lv.3]
'Hahahaha damn it, I still lost in the end huh?' Siegfried inwardly thought as fear and trepidation consumed his little heart shortly after accepting his defeat.
A draconic roar reverberated in the entire academy, bringing fear to even the hearts of the audience who were watching the fight from a distance.
Siegfried, who bore the brunt of the mental attack, was left shaking in fear, his signature battle-hungry look temporarily fading into inexistence as Shye finished off his petrified rival using [Power Slash Lv.4].
Naturally, Shye wouldn't want to kill his friend so the blades of his swords stopped just inches away from Siegfried's neck.
Realizing the situation he was in, Siegfried sighed and acknowledged his defeat with elegance and class.
"Haaah...You win again..."
Following his words were resounding cheers from students of all year levels, staff members, and seasoned instructors.
Naturally, Maia was one of the people cheering her lungs out after witnessing the prowess of her beloved big brother.
As for Tyson and the other top-ranked freshmen, they could do nothing but clench their fists in humility as a single thought resonated in their minds.
"So that's why he's a legend..."
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