The Laughing Swordsman

A clear tap rang out.

Apollo had struck the man's chest with the tip of his bokken once more. A nasty expression appeared on the man's face. He didn't understand what just happened. For whatever reason, he felt the force behind his strike shift to the side, making it look like he missed horribly.

Because of that, Apollo was given the easiest win ever.

All he had to do was swing at him!

The crowd was also displeased. They shot disdainful looks at the man.

"How did he lose so fast again?"

"The founder of the dojo missed entirely... and I thought the previous round was a blunder."

"Even I could do better than him and I'm pretty bad at using the sword."

Eden blinked a few times, holding the figurine of Serosh close to her chest.

"Eh? How did that happen?"

The man was able to hear those voices of dissent pretty easily. They made him feel very embarrassed. For whatever reason, he had bad luck with these rules.

Apollo smiled.

"I win again!"

Then, he turned around.

With a bit of exasperation and desperation, the man called out to Apollo once more.

"Wait?"

Apollo turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"I had another spar with you like I said, right? Or do you think that you won?"

The man took a deep breath, forcing out the words with a twitching smile.

"Yes, yes you won. There is no need to harp on that. Once again, this fight was far too short. It appears to be a flaw with the rules we set."

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"The rules? Isn't it just because you aren't very good?"

The man's face twitched. He was offended simply by the fact Apollo had the audacity to say that. However, the man kept silent about that.

"Haha, you are a good swordsman, that's for sure. You might even be better than me! However, since you only have to get hit once to lose, that means it ends up being over too soon."

He cleared his throat.

"That is why we should try again, but this time we will use more realistic rules. Getting hit will not cause one to lose. Instead, we fight until one side says they give up or they are unable to continue fighting. Stepping out of bounds still applies though."

This kind of rule wasn't exactly the most sensible for a spar. Despite being in a floating city detached from the earth, this fact remained true. However, nobody questioned it, mostly because the fights really did end too quickly.

Perhaps if this rule change happened before, nearly everyone would protest against it. But now...

"I think these rules are good!"

"Yes, it will be a more realistic spar."

"Now it won't end in one single move!"

The man felt satisfied hearing this kind of response. He decided on this kind of rule so that even if his opponent got 'lucky' he would not lose immediately. Instead, they would have to hit each other multiple times, thus the person that was truly more skilled should win most of the engagements.

Then, that person would win.

The man also still believed his strength was higher along with his endurance. From his perspective, even if Apollo hit him many times, he should be able to bear them pretty easily. On the other hand, if Apollo was hit a few times, it should hurt pretty bad considering his childish body. And because of how young he was, Apollo should be in tears and give up after a few hits.

Maybe even just after the first hit.

The man definitely thought that this way was both unfair and shameless, but he wanted to win some of his pride back, even if it was done in a way like this.

The two of them got into position once more. Apollo appeared casual like last time, but also a bit annoyed. On the other hand, the man was far more serious, holding his wooden sword tightly.

But there was still a confident smile on his face.

"Go!"

Thinking that Apollo wouldn't move, the man took a slow step forward. However, Apollo did move this time, and did so quickly.

He was so fast that he reached the man by the time he finished his first step, catching the man completely unprepared. Apollo's bokken shot forth like a spear.

As for the man, he couldn't process the situation fast enough. As such, he swung his sword in a random direction.

A sharp clack rang out.

To his surprise, he blocked Apollo's bokken. Although the man thought it was essentially luck, he still got more confident. Finally, his bad luck was turning around!

...Or so he thought.

That initial clash was quite rough. Despite the fact the man was holding onto his wooden sword tightly, he nearly lost his grip.

This wasn't too concerning by itself, but before the man could recover himself and retaliate, another strike hit his wooden sword in a different spot. The man was about to lose his grip on the sword, but just barely held on.

He took a step backward to give himself a bit more breathing room and stabilize himself. Apollo similarly took a step, but it was forward.

A sharp clack rang out. 

Then another one.

And another one.

Apollo relentlessly rained down his attacks, hitting a different spot on the man's wooden sword each time. As for the man, he didn't have a single second to catch his breath. He kept getting forced back time and time again.

The man felt like he was drowning, but barely holding on because of a life vest.

He was frustrated, thinking that this was happening because he didn't get the first strike in.

Apollo's bokken continued to dance through the air. In reality, he didn't actually care that much about winning this fight. Instead, he wanted to try and hit each part of the man's wooden sword, which was proceeding on smoothly.

And once he did hit every part...

The man was at the very edge of the wooden stage.