Riku looked at the arena, his grip tightening on his dual pistols as he saw Leonie Richard stepping forward confidently.

“Wait… you’re… you’re a girl?”

Riku couldn’t hold his surprise seeing the curvaceous young lady with long dark curly hair beautifully adorned in the usual school uniform.

She had an air of determination around her, and Riku could sense that she was going to be a tough opponent. As the nanomites continued to disperse, the battlefield transformed once again.

“So what if I’m a girl? Laath said it would be even funnier if a girl kicked your ass.”

Her words came out rough and coarse, completely at odds with her striking appearance. It was an odd juxtaposition, like a beautiful painting housed in a weathered frame.

Riku felt a little disheartened. He wasn’t by any means the most chivalrous person but fighting a girl still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The surroundings shifted, and now they stood within the ruins of an ancient temple, its pillars and archways creating a maze-like structure. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation, and Riku's hands tightened around his pistols as he focused on his opponent.

Leonie was armed with two sleek, curved blades that shimmered in the dim light of the arena. She had an elegant yet formidable stance, exuding an air of calm readiness. Her black hair cascaded down her back, and contrasted the silver armor plate she wore that was giving her an otherworldly appearance that added to the mystique of the battle.

Riku's heart pounded in his chest, and he felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness. He knew he had his dual pistols, The weight of the pistols in his hands gave him a sense of familiarity and confidence.

Riku trusted his skill but still felt a bit nervous since he now understood why the second years were so dangerous.

As the countdown began, Riku and Leonie assessed each other, their eyes locked in a silent exchange of determination. The tension in the air was palpable. The countdown began, and the crowd's roars faded into a distant hum. As the bell rang, the battle was set in motion.

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Riku wasted no time, his feet carrying him swiftly through the temple ruins. He dashed behind a crumbling pillar, using it as cover while he tried to formulate a strategy.

To Riku’s surprise Leonie didn’t chase after him and only remained standing in the same position with her dagger in hand.

Riku peeked out and was surprised that she wasn’t pursuing him.

‘Why isn’t she trying to close the distance? isn’t her weapon those curved swords? She’s supposed to be a close range fighter right?’

Riku questioned her sanity and decided he would act first.

Riku dashed around the ruins firing a hail of bullets from all sides.

Leonie, without moving her feet, used only a single blade to cancel out all the attacks.

Riku watched his bullets scatter harmlessly, and a touch of self-deprecating sarcasm slipped into his thoughts.

‘It looks like deflecting bullets was a standard class or something for these second years.’

Riku thought to himself with a hint of sarcasm. It was only a pity he didn’t know how right he was.

Riku continued to run circles around Leonie, still raining down bullets. He would have loved to keep this up as long as possible but his subpar physical fitness levels would beg to differ.

He continued to circle Leonie, firing off rounds, but his stamina began to wane. His breaths grew heavy as his physical fitness struggled to match his determination.

"If this is all you have,"

Leonie taunted, realizing that Riku was slowing down. She raised one of her curved swords in an awkward manner.

"Then I'm very disappointed."

Riku's gasping breaths were drowned out by his retort.

"Shut up, witch! You haven't seen anything yet!"

But the truth was, Riku couldn't keep up this relentless assault. A minute of constant movement and firing had taken its toll. He sought refuge behind another pillar, catching his breath.

Riku took a few deep breaths trying to get his heart rate back to normal until he felt his hair stand on end and danger bells ringing in his mind.

In a split second through the corner of his eyes he saw a faint glim moving at the speed of sound.

Almost instinctively Riku jumped in the air and a blade whizzed past where his feet had been. But before Riku could breathe a sigh of relief another blade came whizzing from the other direction this time aimed for his head.

Riku twisted in mid air and watched as the blade narrowly missed his nose.

Riku landed and realized that if both of Leonie’s swords were thrown she must now be defenseless.

Riku popped out at the side of the pillar that now had two deep slashes and fired two rounds.

But to his surprise the curved swords behaved more like boomerangs and were already in her hand ready to deflect his bullets.

Riku inwardly realized why she didn’t need to chase him down. He came to a quiet but obvious revelation.

‘So she is actually a ranged fighter afterall… How the heck am I supposed to beat her then?’