Roland soon joined the instructor in the practice room, a room that was much sturdier and bigger then their classroom. That was so that they could reveal their powers to the fullest extent, without damaging the surrounding environment.

He looked at Ms. Viridian who was across from him and noticed the smile etched onto her face. This was definitely going to be a hard battle.

What advantages did he have in this situation? 

One was that she had handicapped herself to staying at his level, so no [Werewolf Transformation] . She also doesn't know his true capabilities which means it was very possible for Roland to hide part of his strength and take her by surprise.

On the other hand. Vienna was an much more experienced combatant, experienced in large scale and one on one battle. Roland's only experience in a fight was a few scraps he had back in high school. Trying to beat her in close range combat was practically suicide, so it was best for Roland to attack her from a range and keep himself from her zone of attack. Of course, she had probably experienced such a tactic before, and know how to dodge said said ranged ability, but maybe I can use that to my advantage?

As for the fact that his shadow was capable of it's own movement, he planned to keep it as a trump card just in case. 

"Ok shadow, I don't who is controlling you or whether you can understand me or not, but if she goes overboard, try to protect me okay?"

"Who are you talking to, Roland?" Ms. Viridian suddenly asked.

'Shit, did she just hear that? But I was whispering and everything! Expected of a werewolf!'

"No one Ms. Viridian, just muttering to myself out loud." Roland responded, trying to ignore the weird gazes that the crowd were giving him.

"Then if your done talking to yourself, lets began. Roselia, why don't you began the countdown."

Roland felt a shiver down his spine as soon as Roselia emerged from the group of spectators. 

'Just ignore her Roland, it'll only affect your game if keep on thinking about her.'

Taking a deep breath, Roland returned to his usual stone faced self, his initially fast beating heart returning to it's original state.

Roselia gave both of them a smile, one that looked endearing to everyone else and hell to Roland. With that, she started her countdown.

[1]

Vienna had already gotten into her battle stance, with her both her legs and feet on the ground, her right leg slightly lower than her left leg. She looked like she was about to run a marathon and not a battle, but considering the fact she could run on all fours, this type of battle stance was actually deadly.

[2]

Roland's shadow had enlarged to a certain state, surrounding the area around him, ready to attack at a moments notice. Roland did not take a battle stance, as he realized that with his lack of combat experience, such a thing could be detrimental. Also, he didn't plan on taking her on close range either, so he didn't really need it.

[3]

The battle started.

Vienna immediately launched herself towards Roland, utilizing both her arms on legs to continuously dodge the tentacles of shadow that he sent towards her. However, Roland had already expected this, and made certain counter measures.

The constructs of shadow made by Roland split apart, turning into tiny threads that spread throughout the battlefield. 

[Shadow Web] was the name that Roland gave this move. It was an original move he created based on his prior battle with Atlas, when his shadow split apart to bind him in multiple areas.

The effect was immediate, as Vienna had obviously never seen such a move before. Whenever she cut or shredded the various shadowy threads impairing her movement, the nearby strings would form into a giant shadow tentacle and strike at her with astonishing speed. 

Dodging another tentacle, Vienna looked at Roland with a look of respect.

"That was a good move. Did you make it yourself? If you did, as your teacher, I feel proud that such a student has joined my class. But since I am your teacher, I also need to show you where your technique is wrong!"

She suddenly stood up, and started to sprint towards Roland, and this time, she didn't try to dodge the threads that Roland sent at her , but instead started to use them as footholds!

Running from thread to thread, she approached Roland at a speed that he didn't think was possible. By the time Roland had responded, it was already too late and she was already within close range of him.

"It's over Roland, although your ability is good, in close combat, you don't stand a chance!"

"Your right, but I don't need to fight you directly, since you've already fallen into my trap!"

For an instance, a confused look appeared on Vienna's face, and before she had realized what was going on, tendrils of red had grabbed onto her body, stopping her from moving at all.

"[Blood manipulation]! But how? I would have smelled it if you let yourself bleed before the match" Vienna whispered.

"I know, and that's why I waited until you were hit by my attacks and started to bleed. Then you wouldn't realize that I was bleeding myself out to use [Blood Manipulation], since your keen nose would be blocked by the scent of your own blood." Roland responded with triumph. 

You see , in mid battle, when his attacks managed to draw blood from Ms. Viridian, he had stabbed himself with his own shadow and was hiding the blood underneath his clothes. 

The moment she had approached near him, the blood under his clothes responded and had her locked in. It took all of Roland's braincells to come up with this plan, and he couldn't help but praise himself for his genius.

Honestly, the plan relied on a lot of assumptions and coincidences. For example, what if he didn't manage to land a hit? Or what of her sense of smell was much stronger then he thought?

These thoughts had crossed Roland's mind, but he decided to take a risk anyway for a chance to win. Of course, if Vienna had access to more of her strength, she would absolutely crush him.

But that didn't stop Roland from enjoying his first, true battle at Nightmare Academy.