"What…was that…" a young man from class 68 muttered, helping Talon's announcement finally break the silence.

They had not witnessed such an insane move before.

Normally, swordsmanship instructors wouldn't recommend using such a high-risk, difficult maneuver that would expose one's back for a moment and take one's eyes off one's opponent.

They wouldn't even teach such stuff.

The crowd felt like they were inside a sword-themed fantasy novel, or something…

Yet, Daru Finnley performed it and landed a hit so easily.

His bland reaction suggested that the spinning-strike move wasn't a big deal for him at all.

On the side, Lynn's heart that had already lightened up grew heavy once more.

She was shaken at the sudden, humiliating defeat of her secret boyfriend.

But more than that, the pressure on her shoulders intensified, and the consequences of losing crept into her mind.

She turned and left amid the lively hubbub of the crowd at the same time Zach was being carried out by the medics to the infirmary.

Undeniably, the main character of the conversations was Daru Finnley, the former Sword Prince of Ashton High.

Most now lamented the fact that he awakened a trash sword.

Based on what he did just now, if he had awakened at least an S-tier sword, he would've been a menace in the sword realm.

Still, not everyone was happy.

Those who were jealous of his fame right from the start and had weird, bone-deep hatred despite not interacting with him felt strangely relieved that, in the end, his fame would remain in Neo-Earth.

He was still garbage in the Myriad Sword Realm, though there were a few who begged to differ.

An overly imaginative dozen formed theories.

A handful among them said that the F-tier was probably only a performance by the government, and that the true tier of his sword was probably SS-tier at the very least.

Three muttered to their close friends something along the lines of Daru Finnley's sword possibly being a rare one that could be awakened multiple times, and this was the theory that became the most popular, fueling the crowd's excitement while they waited for the finals.

Due to this, the fact that nobody had seen him in the sword realm since the first few days began to float.

Not a single one among his classmates claimed to have seen him grinding levels somewhere.

This veiled the Fallen Sword Prince in yet another layer of mysteriousness.

No one knew where he was, what level of spawns he was fighting, and, naturally, roughly what level he was.

All they knew was that he had an F-tier sword and that he had already reached the finals of Class 70's class representative selection tournament.

Another curious thing was his friendship with the Snow Fairy, Iris Snowcrest.

The people couldn't help but discuss, glancing occasionally at the gorgeous young lady, who stood lonely at the back, watching alone with no one daring to approach her.

Apparently, it was she who approached Daru first.

Had she long noticed that he had this level of swordsmanship?

Why else would she train and discuss with him as though they were equals?

Everything suddenly began making sense, and the discussions became even more alive, cut short only as Lynn returned, seemingly having recollected herself.

Their excitement for the finals returned, and the wild theories were dropped for a while.

The crowd couldn't help but discuss how the forums would explode if Daru ended up winning.

Talon glanced back and forth at the two competitors.

Seeing that they were both rested and ready, he decided to cut the break short, secretly giving Sylphina a slight advantage in stamina.

It wasn't that the instructor hated Daru.

It was just that he believed the rewards would be wasted on an F-ranker, plus he would be dragged into a mess and would have to attend more academy meetings if this happened, giving him less time for his main job as a professional bladeborn of a fairly renowned affiliate guild of one of the Seven Sword Guilds.

It had been difficult for him to join despite being a C-ranker.

He was unwilling to let it go.

If only he didn't need more money and connections due to personal circumstances, he wouldn't have joined the academy as a part-time instructor.

Talon suddenly raised his arms and called:

"Finals of Class 70's Class Representative Selection Tournament, Daru Finnley, Lynn Pemberton."

He felt a bit guilty, ready for yet another cold glare from the young F-ranker, but to his surprise, no such thing happened.

Daru merely walked to the center of the dueling space without any complaints.

Lynn was a smart young woman, and she knew she was given an advantage, though she had mixed feelings about it.

On one hand, it would help increase her chances of winning, but on the other, it was yet another blow to her confidence, as it came across as her instructor thinking she needed it.

Either way, the two stretched in front of their starting lines as the crowd waited with bated breath.

Would Daru Finnley manage to go all the way and represent his class in the inter-class representative competition?

Would he explode the forums?

His opponent was a renowned Sword Princess, like he himself was during their high-school days.

If speaking plainly in terms of a pure resume, they should be fairly even.

In the end, speculations were merely speculations, and only the results were the truth.

Talon jerked his arms heavenwards, his voice echoing in the now-silent Sixth Training Field.

"Begin!"

This time, the match began as expected.

Lynn made a mad rush forward, a wooden rapier in hand. She was astonishingly fast.

A faint smile appeared on Daru's face as his eyes narrowed.

Observing his opponent's eyes, there seemed to be no hesitation in them, and she was going for the win.

This would be a legitimately fun match where he would have to utilize a majority of his techniques — one that he hadn't had since his most recent grand finals against Cody.

Gripping the handles of his wooden tachi a bit tighter, Daru, too, dashed forward, attempting to throw Lynn's distance management off.

But she had long been aware of this technique and didn't fall for it.

The moment Daru exploded forward, she was able to react, stabbing her sword decisively at her opponent.

Daru's smile widened as he felt a fair amount of pain in his left shoulder.

In the next moment, Talon vigorously raised his hands and announced with a hint of enthusiasm: "1-1!"

Lynn gritted her teeth and closed one of her eyes to resist the pain as she felt a heavy strike land on her left shoulder.

But she didn't fall back, continuing to press forward.

Everything went according to plan.

She wouldn't allow this chance she created for herself to slip away by retreating.

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