"Oh, I didn't expect it to be black." The blonde-haired man spoke, getting his attention. "Extremely sharp too; have you used this before in a battle since you want to be a hero?

Dean, feeling the protective gear on his body, said in passing, “Yes, I encountered a slime-like monster yesterday. Sword was nearly useless though.."

"..Pft.." 

"Heeh.."

Dean could faintly hear some chuckling. He didn't mind it, as he purposely said that for them not to believe it.

“Really? And why did you encounter said monster?"

"I saw it kidnapping a woman, and I immediately sprang into action."

"Haha"

"This guy, hahah."

This time the surrounding people couldn't hold their chuckling down as some of them burst into laughter. Dean could see in the corner of his eyes that Reina while sparring shook her head.

The blonde man still a smile on his face, asked, “And since you're here, it means you've triumph over your enemy right? Who did you help?"

Dean, hearing this, showed a confident smile and said, “It's a secret."

“Tsk. What a liar."

He heard one defining voice directed clearly directed to him, not hiding his doubt and mockery. Dean just shrugged, and before the blonde-haired man spoke again, another student couldn't hold back and asked him:

"Why can't you tell who you saved? Is it because you didn't have the chance to get her name and suddenly woke up?"

"Hahahah"

"Hey hahahah"

“Really, this guy, hahaha."

His question sparked laughter among the surrounding students.

The blonde man only shook his head, while Riena just continued her sparring.

Hearing this, Dean simply, smirked as he answered.. "Because if I tell you her name, then you'd have to believe me, and then it wouldn't be a joke anymore"

"So, are we going to spar or not?"

The blonde man tilted his head slightly, hearing what Dean said, but didn't have time to ponder whether he was serious or not when Dean asked him for a spar.

"All right...." The blonde man looked at the students around him, looking for Dean's sparring partner.

"Let me do it."

"No me!"

"I can teach him!"

A couple of students tried to volunteer, like passionate students wanting to teach a junior... Or someone who wanted to teach and bully someone.

‘These students sure are enthusiastic,’ Dean thought sarcastically, seeing the look they were giving him.

"Alright you. You have the most practiced movement and have a solid technique."

The blonde-haired man chose a young man with brown hair and brown, bright eyes. The youth was about 1.8 meters tall and a bit handsome. He came into the sparring area with a confident smirk, holding a long wooden sword.

"This is just a spar to teach; remember to go easy," said the blonde-haired man after giving Dean back his sword, which Dean placed by the wall. Someone gave him a long wooden sword too; it was heavy, he thought,  he walked inside the sparring mat.

And with the blonde man as the referee, "Remember, this is just a spar... then start!"

Dean copied his opponent's stance. "Watch your opponent's stance, where he puts his weight on, and how he's going to use his range."

Just as the blonde man advised, he saw his opponent step forward and stab his sword at him. It was a clean and practiced move, and Dean responded by swiping his sword at it. His practiced sword met as it made a sound. Just as he thought the opponent's sword would get swept away, he saw it slither around, and his opponent immediately stepped forward. Dean tried to step back, but he felt the protective gear on his hand take a hit.

"Details! It's always the places you don't expect that can easily be vulnerable; take advantage of your range and keep your distance." As the blonde man kept giving him advice, the spar continued.

After his hands were hit, Dean took his distance, and his opponent circled around him as he kept poking him here and there. Dean could see that his opponent was just messing around with him.

Seeing this, Dean tightened his grip around his sword and swung it towards his opponent. His opponent calmly readied his weapon to defend and thought of counterattacking, but surprise flashed his face, feeling the power of the attack, before he let the sword be dragged by the momentum and, with fluid motion, slithered it out as he instantly took a step forward as he slashed against Dean's chest. Dean responded as he swiped his sword against the undefended side of his opponent while stepping to the side. Because of his dexterity, he was able to respond quickly but his opponents dexterity wasn't low either. At least his hand speed wasn't slow.

Dean saw a slight surprise flash across his opponent's face as he hurriedly defended with his sword.

"Have a proper grip on your sword; it must be firm but flexible. Always put your weight on the correct foot depending on the situation. Balance is an important factor." While the blonde man kept giving advice... The spar turned into a dance as Dean and his opponent circled around each other, exchanging blows.

Dean's dexterity helped in the battle, but his opponent's wasn't low either. Added with his techniques, Dean got hit multiple times while he didn't hit his opponent once. Although he had already expected it, it was pretty depressing when it happened.

His stats may be high by Earth's standards, but that was only back on Earth; in this world where humans can reach unimaginable heights by pushing their limits, his stats aren't anything to brag about. Plus… he really sucks at swinging his sword at the moment. It felt awkward to be exact.

Though of course, when it comes to it, he felt like he could use his strength to overwhelm the enemy but this wasn’t about that.

'Guess I unexpectedly became confident after just fighting a life and death battle these past couple of days...' Dean assessed himself as he defended against his opponent's blow immediately, following it with an attack to which his opponent easily defended.

But he also has the right to be proud, as he reached that level of physical fitness in less than a week.

Thud!

Their swords meet at a standstill, trying to overpower each other. In this aspect, Dean had the advantage in strength.

"Not bad, not like you just died a dozen times already, hehe." His opponent trash-talked, "If I were a monster, you'd already be dead!"

Dean rolled his eyes and replied, “If you were a monster, I wouldn't have faced you in your own expertise."

"I would have brought a gun and shot you first," Dean added, causing his opponent to stop what he was about to say as he became speechless.

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Aaand that's all for the week!

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