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A growing sense of trepidation pooled in my heart that I had to constantly steel my resolve against. Concealing my trembling nerves with a couple of deep breaths, a knight finished tightening some leather straps for me as I was dressed in iron armor now. Shortly after that, I made sure I could properly move around as I approached the weapon rack to sheath a short sword at my side and then grab a spear. Gerbera stood at a cleared section of the field with a stoic air surrounding her as a growing crowd situated nearby. As her gaze met mine, the young woman lifted a glaive upwards and quickly spun it until she held the weapon at one side as the blade pointed outwards. Following that, Gerbera rested her other hand gently around the handle of the sword that rested at her side. I know that these are just practice weapons, but I still can't help but feel intimidated as I know I'm probably going to get some injuries from this.

“This is your final test. Your objective is to try and defeat me. The match will end when one side surrenders or is unable to continue fighting as through a simulated killing blow. Telaraya, now is the time that you put everything you've learn and give it your all. Are you ready?" Gerbera awaited.

No matter how nervous I am, I mustn't falter. I'm beyond the point of turning away now, and I know I shouldn't let all this training go to waste. This is my first big step, the first milestone I need to take if I am to survive this world, to find the truth of what happened to me. I don't know if I can beat Gerbera, but I will give it my best. This is it.

With one final exhale, I blew out the last of my jitters. “Ready."

There was no hesitation as the massive force brought by Gerbera's weapon was enough to cause my paws to drag against the ground from just by blocking it. The glaive audibly cut through the air as the young woman kept an onslaught of swings. Despite my resistance, with every blow, the pole of my spear painfully pushed into my palms. No opening was made clear as my opponent remained relentless, and even though it looked like a metal bar was wildly flying around, Gerbera's strikes held a ferocious precision to them.

Betting on with all my luck, I quickly angled my spear in a way to be able parry a blow. Upon doing so, I immediately spun myself with the momentum around Gerbera's body to get behind her, but the moment I was in position, the knight's foot met with my gut. I crashed down on my back from the power behind it, and the second I regained my visual orientation, I brought the pole of my weapon up as fast as I could as the blade of the soldier's glaive slammed into it. I then pushed it away while using my tail to help prop myself back up, and once back on my feet, I tried going on the offensive. Despite throwing out a fury of stabs, my foe effortlessly fanned each attempt away.

The young captain soon lunged forward, crossing the bar of her weapon with mine. Metal scrapped loudly as Gerbera then forced her pole upwards and into my chin, causing me to stumble back. Following that, I was quick enough to defend against a swing coming from my left, but the strength from it was still enough to push me down. On the ground, I quickly twisted myself to the right as Gerbera's blade missed me by an inch. From there, I rapidly used my left hand to snatch onto the weapon before it could be pulled away and thrusted my spear forward. Gerbera leaned back a bit while also grabbing the tip, only to yank it up along with me, and then stomp down on my chest. I may have let go of the glaive, but not without a swipe of my claw at the woman's leg. My foe hopped back and kept her distance as I managed to swing my spear outwards and directed the point at her direction.

Once back up, I instantly charged, clashing against her pole. I knew that attempt would be fruitless, but I was where I wanted to be as I quickly wrapped one arm around her waist as my tail snuck behind and made her bend a knee. I then spun my whole weight while keeping Gerbera in my grip and lifted her over and threw her onto the ground. Before I could try anything else, she twirled herself back into a defensive position while swinging the glaive up, just nearly missing my lips.

The two of us glared at each other for a mere moment until the clanging of metal resumed. I had unleashed a barrage of thrusts, each one being blocked effortlessly. With one simple parry, Gerbera brushed me away as I tripped forward, but before anything else could happen from her, my tail coiled onto her weapon and pulled the two of us closer, to where I managed to kick her side.

As I tried a follow up, my would be strike was met with Gerbera spinning the butt of her Glaive right into my face. I caught myself, but the impact still left a lot of pain that I tried shaking away. Not much longer after that, I was back to defending like my life was on the line. Even though I retreated back to try and get some distance, the young soldier kept up with me as her blade kept bouncing off my spear. In one swift movement, I managed to push her weapon downwards, but unfortunately my opponent used the opportunity to get her pole between my legs and bash it against my inner thighs. As I dropped to my knees, I was soon then pushed down on my side as a fist had quickly decked my muzzle. Again, I blocked the glaive from being slammed down as the blade was struggling two inches away from my face. I know she probably would have held back, but it still frightened me.

I turned my head away and lowered my spear so that Gerbera would miss me, I then pushed myself up to try and strike her, but she simply stepped to the side and kicked me away. I was able to catch myself by rolling as I then kept my weapon pointed at her. The captain started building up momentum in her glaive as she started to quickly twirl it. Without warning, I was met with an overhead swing that I was lucky to block in time and fell back. Unfortunately though I was left momentarily shocked as I stared at the two halves of my spear, for the young woman had split through it. Making an effort, I threw one piece at her while charging, to which I drew my sword and then threw the other half at the girl. Even though she blocked it all, I didn't want Gerbera to keep the ranged option against me.

No matter which angle I struck at, my blade was repelled each time. I refused to let up or to back off, but regardless, my opponent had no issue with me. Every blow was blocked, and for the ones that she parried, Gerbera gradually gave herself some space between us. It got to the point where she managed to shift about three feet back now.

I spent my time now dodging and jumping away from every swing since I didn't have the confidence to block her with just a sword. Gerbera extended her arm out, and with one strong spin, she cleaved the air around her. I managed to duck in time as I could feel the metal graze my hair. I lunged forward, slashing towards her, only for steel to meet steel. She met each strike of my sword, and then finally she twirled her pole as she slapped my blade away, only to quickly jerk the glaive and bat me with the bar. I stumbled back a bit, but before the knight could continue, I swung again at her. She was able to block in time, but I used this moment to drag my weapon towards her arm. The young captain quickly shifted her limb out of the way, only to get snagged by my free hand as I passed her. I was unable to finish the fight since Gerbera retaliated by jamming the butt of her pole into my stomach, but since I wouldn't let go, she then immediately pulled on a leather strap and detached her chest piece, causing the two of us to stumble away from each other.

I hopped back, but soon moved the armor in front of me as my opponent quickly banged against it. When she tried again, I used the chest piece as a shield to slap away the glaive, only to then swipe my sword. Following my slash, pain reverberated through my hand as I could hear some of the observers make some exclaims as they backed off from where Gerbera bashed my sword to. As she was about to follow up with another swing, I moved my temporary shield in place to absorb the blow, but soon found myself without that too as that was knocked flying as well.

With my heart trying to beat out of my chest, all I could do was constantly jump out of the way. I couldn't go for the sword due to Gerbera placing herself between me and it, and even if she didn't, I doubt I could make it without getting struck. There was brutal power behind every swing of hers, and because of how precise she made them, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep avoiding her. I can feel I'm burning too much energy, and I can sense desperation welling in the back of my head since I'm considering taking my armor off just to have something to act as a shield again. I know these weapons are dull, but I'm not sure what I can do now to keep fighting without losing or getting hurt. That desperation finally took hold as I started to come up with a dumb idea.

After jumping back a bit to avoid being hit, I quickly pulled on one of the straps on my side and slipped off my chest piece. Still moving as fast as I could, I was able to block as slash in time and charged forward before the woman swung again. Iron clunked against her pole, only for the soldier to try and jerk the bar rapidly into my side. I awkwardly bashed my would be shield back at it until the knight side stepped as I lunged forward. Before my foe could react further, I instantly chucked the armor at her. Without issue she swatted it away, but I took that moment to latch onto her glaive while pushing my weight forward. Immediately, pain welled up on my cheek as Gerbera decked me, but I refused to let go as I continued to wrestle her for the weapon. I pushed onwards as she fell back, but to my dismay, she was ready as I felt a foot press itself into my gut as I soon found myself flying off and over her when she hit the ground.

We got up at the same time, but a cold sweat dripped down my spine as I witnessed my opponent begin twirling her weapon around. As it picked up speed while being spun around from side to side, dirt was slashed about as it loudly cut through the air. She took one step forward as I nervously took one back. Like a predator, she slowly approached me.

Once she reaches me, it's all over. I'm going to lose, and from just how fast she's spinning that thing, the amount of force from it is definitely going to hurt. I'm not even sure I've impressed her enough to even have her consider me passing. What am I going to do? What am I going to do!?

Once Gerbera was in range, I'm not sure what happened. It was like time slowed down as I could clearly see her weapon's full movement. My body began to move on its own as if it was my very own instincts controlling me. I stepped to the side as the blade missed me, reaching my hands out. Once the pole hit my palms, I forced the glaive to spin in the opposite direction and out of Gerbera's grip. I twirled it along with my body, causing my tail to whip the back of the young woman's legs and sweep her off her feet. With one hop, I granted myself some distance by a few feet as the knight narrowly missed me as she quickly drew her sword outwards. In a final flourish, I spun the weapon around to properly hold it as the blade was pointed at my opponent.

It felt like I had full control of my body again as Gerbera stared at me with shock while a stunned silence took hold of the crowd. Even I felt surprised as I'm not sure just how I did that, but regardless, a new sense of vigor and determination filled me. My foe stood back up, pointing her sword at me as I could see her try and regain her stoicism.

I wasn't going to let this newfound energy go to waste. I made sure to keep my pace, to have every movement stay fluid against hers. Wherever Gerbera tried to swing, I made sure to strike back. When I slashed, the moment she blocked, I made sure to twist the pole in order to catch her on the side. If she got to close, I would twirl away with the blade out. Her expression is showing uncertainty. That one moment let me shake her up, I know I have a chance now.

Clash after clash, each attack now equally competing against each other. She wasn't letting up. I refused to falter now. As steel rung out, some in the crowd began to cheer with words of encouragement reaching my ears.

Suddenly, the knight threw her sword at me, causing me to bat it out of the air. From there, Gerbera was already on me, grabbing the glaive to try and wrestle it back into her possession. Instantly, before she could continue, my arm cocked back as the punch I soon threw landed on her left cheek. I tried again so I wouldn't lose the weapon, but this time my fist was caught by the soldier. She soon directed my arm down and immediately glided her punch into my jaw as the two of us still had one hand wrapped on the pole. Gerbera tried to deck me again, but I jerked the bar between us and slammed it against her chest to throw her off. When that happened, I used my right arm to block her attempt and followed it up with a quick jab. Gerbera pulled towards herself, and when I fell in her direction, I could feel her knee then ram into my side. I lost my grip on the glaive, but before the blonde could retreat back, my left arm rose up as I landed an uppercut, I then latched onto the pole again. No matter how much we shook and fought each other, the two of us remained glued to the weapon until by an accidental effort, we threw the thing away.

I then reacted quickly as I brought both my limbs up as the captain soon tried striking me. No matter how much she punched at me, I kept my guard up. With one strong blow, my body was sent leaning right, to where my face was met with a left hook. I used the momentum from my body being deck to throw one of my own and caught the woman. From there, I threw another and another, managing to land four hits before Gerbera caught me with a cross up. Her whole body then spun briefly until my vision was sent flying leftwards from her foot dragging against my face. I stumbled a bit, but remained standing as I brushed my muzzle against my arm and left a crimson stain on my pink fur.

I then charged and tried to tackle her, but Gerbera immediately caught me, spun us around, and slammed me into the ground. She then got on top and pressed her arm against my throat. Before I could black out, I threw a quick jab into her rib and rolled us so I'd be on top. My wrists were instantly grabbed as the knight pulled her forehead up into my nose, forcing me to fall away. I was the first to get back up, and once I did, I had thrusted forward and leapt up, planting both my feet into her and kicking her back down as I crashed into the ground a second later. I clawed into the grass into a quick sprint and dove towards Gerbera, but she then cocked both her legs up and bucked her feet into me and pushed me back. Luckily I managed to land on my paws and keep my balance so I wouldn't tumble over.

Gerbera had already reoriented herself back up as she then resumed throwing one blow after the other. Even though I couldn't get as many strikes in, I would managed to sneak in one trade occasionally by using the power from the momentum built up from her hits. My arm soon grazed along hers, her fist scrapping against my cheek while my knuckles planted themselves against hers. Once she stumbled back from the hit, I quickly spun my entire body as I whipped my tail at her. Once I could feel her fingers latch onto my appendage, I tightly coiled the tip around her wrist and jerked it to pull her forward and so I couldn't get thrown like the first time. Using as much strength I could muster, I yanked the girl off her feet as I spun myself and lifted the captain off the ground. It was draining my energy, but I twirled as fast as I could, keeping Gerbera suspended as I could feel her fingers dig into my tail. With a sudden stop, I unwrapped myself from her as I could sense the knight slip off as I was able to throw her maybe a good nine feet away.

After landing, she quickly rolled herself into a kneeling position, to where she kicked off and sprinted at me. Seeing what she was about to do, I quickly opened my arms wide and luckily caught her leg slamming into my side. It still hurt, but I took the chance to twist us down as I landed on top of her. Following that, I pressed my arm against her neck as I leaned my weight down. Pain shot into my chest as Gerbera managed to ram both her fists into my ribs, to which she then decked me off of her. Once she slipped away from me, her right foot soon hooked under my chin and kicked me with enough force, Gerbera actually brought me standing back up. Before I could do anything else, I briefly saw her twirl until my face was met with her foot again.

I kept my position, only to then lunge forward at the charging girl. Our hands locked into each other's as the two of us put all our might into trying to overpower one another. The claws in my paws dug into the dirt as we refused to budge with us glaring into determined eyes. Without giving any indication, I let go of all my resistance, letting Gerbera fall forward full force as our foreheads crashed into each other. The pain repelled her, but I quickly tightened my grip and pulled her back as our heads met again. I ignored my pain as much as I could and threw myself into Gerbera as we fell, wrapping my arms around her as fast as I could. Once we landed, I unhinged my mouth, baring my fangs as I went for her throat.

A silence blanketed the crowd as Gerbera was still. The only sound was my heavy panting as my teeth barely pressed against the flesh of her neck. There was shock in her gaze that momentarily held a little bit of horror, to which it soon faded away as she shut her eyes. There was a small sigh from her as I could then feel her pat my side.

“You win. Well done."

After flopping off of her, I took a couple huge breaths as my chest rapid rose and dropped. With my adrenaline washing away, throbbing pain flooded over me like a roaring wave. She may have some bruises after this, but for me right now, I had to wipe off more of blood from my snout.

“So…does this mean…you'll approve of me being an adventurer now?"

“It does. You've passed your test, Telaraya."

With a sense of pride, I managed to grow a smile as a light chuckle left me. With a sense of accomplishment, I felt like I could survive whatever awaits me now in this world.

“Hey wait, guys! Wait, I'm still in pain!" I giggled as I was lifted up by a few knights as they were congratulating me. I was at their mercy as they carried me away, but despite the discomfort my body was telling me, I powered through it with the cheers as the crowd carried me away.