Merry X'mas.

Shrouded in darkness, Lilith sat atop the roof of an inn. Her legs dangled in the air, as she gazed upon the floating lanterns lighting up the streets below.

Such technology was foreign to Lilith. She had never seen such a thing in any of her previous lives. Lilith could not help but let out a sigh. The lanterns were so simple, yet it held such an elegant appeal.

Even in the night time, the streets were bustling with people. To Lilith, everything felt so different. How long had it been since she saw such liveliness, and peace.

In the past, peace was but an illusion. The emotions built by the constant wars between countries, and organizations, would always lead to another strife.

Lilith eye's followed a certain pair of people, a man and a woman. They embraced each other, and enjoyed the services of the kingdoms markets, and merchant stalls. Their intimacy was beyond anything Lilith had ever experienced.

Her life was lonely. Everyone she called a friend, either died or betrayed her. They cared about their own survival more than their friendship. She didn't have a home, or even a family.

A deep emptiness grew in her chest, and she could feel her heart beating harder. She raised her knees towards her chest, and hugged them. She rested the side of her head against her forearms, and continued to observe the lively crowd in the distance.

"Not fair." Lilith murmured.

She raised her left arm and reached out towards the lively crowd, her hands opened and closed, as if trying to grasp something. After a few more attempts, her hand stopped and fell on the wooden roof beneath her.

"I'm..." Lilith whispered, but stopped her sentence. Her gaze softened, as she continued to stare at the same place.

The moisture in her eyes began to slowly overflow, and gently began to navigate its way down her cheek. Her mouth moved, as she whispered the continuation of her sentence.

------

"Ladies and gentlemen, behold! The great tournament of the Gressant continent, the Gressant tournament!" The announcer purposely stretched the last part.

The crowd went wild. The greatly anticipated tournament has finally begun. From nobles to commoners, students to teachers, warriors to farmers, everyone gathered together from around the continent to watch.

"The day has finally come, and great warriors have gathered here to compete for the position of the strongest! Who will win, and who will lose? Let their efforts and skills decide the outcome!"

"Woooooohhhhhhh!" The cheers from the crowd was deafening, many people felt their ears going numb.

The waves of people in the audience energetically cheered, as the next line was spoken.

"Today, the royal family has come to watch and cheer for the warriors!"

Following those words, a certain group of people stood up and bowed. They sat at the highest spectators seat, adorned with great chairs and assistants, along with food.

"As always, the tournament be a 1 on 1 match. The opening fight belongs to Drax, the leader of the Draxxen Mercenary group!" The announcer yelled.

The crowd went wild with cheers and delight. Drax is a powerful mercenary of the B rank, who rose through the ranks of the guild, and became successful with his mercenary group. He had a big reputation in the continent.

"And his opponent, a newComer that has yet to be noticed, Lilith!"

As the announcer spoke, everyone began to turn their heads to find Lilith. Several minutes passed, and no one showed up.

"Ugh... contestant Lilith, please show up and step onto the fighting platform!"

After a moment, a petite cloaked figure walked into the platform with a bag full of fried nuts.

" And... here she is! Fight start!"

The crowd was unexpectedly silent, the audacity to have the royal family wait, and to enter the arena with food? Even a seven year old child knew better.

With the signal to begin, Drax grabbed his claymore, and took a stance. His sword was held with both hands, and the blade pointed towards the area between Lilith's brows.

"Little missy, the fight has begun, why are u eating your fried nuts? Ready your weapon." Drax informed.

Many warriors held pride, and would find this moment very offensive. However, Drax did not really care, as it was not his style. He was more of a carefree individual that liked to go with the flow.

Lilith didn't respond, and continued to eat her fried nuts. She didn't even fix her stance into a battle ready stance, she just stood like a normal person eating their food.

Drax couldn't help but comment, "Well, if that is how it is, do not blame me for attacking."

He quickly closed the distance and thrusted his claymore towards the hand Lilith used to hold the bag of fried nuts. The attack was so quick many people found it hard to keep track. Skilled fighters amongst the audience nodded their heads in approval.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

What happened next shocked everyone. With but an empty hand, Lilith stopped the blade, and caught it between her thumb and index finger.

Drax tried to pull his sword back, but it did not budge. Lilith held an iron grip on the sword, with only two fingers. Visible shock appeared on his face.

Lilith continued to chew on the nut in her mouth. When she swallowed it down, she let go of the sword to grab another fried nut. At this moment Drax pulled back his weapon and increased the distance.

He had under estimated the opponent. He had to think of another way to fight her. He slowly closed the distance, and took on an offensive stance.

"You have some skill! Here, try this attack!" Drax roared.

He swung his claymore from below. A thick concentration of mana followed the sword's path., a sword skill. Lilith caught sword with her two fingers again. The mana on the blade fluctuated and burst, causing a huge explosion.

The true essence of the strike was to severely damage the opponent on impact, explosive strike. Drax smirked, the opponent had taken the strike head on, it was his win.

Drax tried to pull his sword back, once again, only to find it impossible. He couldn't believe it, for someone to block an explosive strike from a claymore was unheard of. Explosive strike is a very powerful attack that can even break walls of stone, and the weight of the claymore should have added more power to the strike. As the dust cleared, the crowd went silent.

"A strong one has appeared." A man with red hair spoke.

"Indeed. I wonder if she is stronger than the higher ups." A woman beside the red haired man spoke.

"Hmph. Do not question their power." The red hair man replied.

Drax pulled back his blade, as Lilith released it. She was no longer eating her fried nuts. The bag and the nuts were destroyed from the explosive attack.

"Formidable, why don't you fight me seriously. From now on I won't hold back." Drax warned.

Lilith drew her weapon, and took on a defensive stance. She was a defensive swordsman. Lilith calmly waited for Drax to make his move.

Drax made his move, only to have all his attacks useless. Lilith blocked every single strike with ease. He did not want to waste too much energy, so he took on a defensive stance, and prayed the opponent will lose her patience and make a mistake.

Drax noticed his opponent's reaction towards his strategy. Lilith's eyes narrowed, and she slowly closed the distance.

When she was a meter away from Drax, her sword suddenly struck out towards Drax with frightening speed. He could barely see it, he tried his best to parry the strike, as it was too late to dodge. As his claymore met the Lilith's blade, a heavy force pressed down on Drax, and immediately dissapeared when he thought it was too much for him to handle.

Drax felt something cold lightly tap against his neck. Lilith's blade touched his neck, but she did not bother to cut it open. Beads of sweat ran down Drax's forehead as he realised he could have died.

"Compared to your offensive capabilities, your defense is lacking." Lilith spoke.

Drax slowly replied, "That attack! What was that attack? Weren't you a defensive swordsman?"

"Amateur..." Lilith replied without any care.

"Victory, Lilith!" The announcer spoke.

Drax and most of the spectators didn't understand, the final move Lilith displayed. A defensive swordsman using offense strikes? In truth, Lilith's technique could be considered an offensive technique given its nature, but it was actually a defensive feint.

If both the swordsman waited to defend against the opponents strike, how will they win? Many people would ponder and find several conclusions, but the most effective way is to perform a feint. If they won't attack you, you make them attack. Lilith pressured the opponent with her strike to make him try and stop it, and countered Drax's move. From the start, Lilith was always defensive, she only gave the illusion that she was on the offensive with that feint.

In theory, such a technique sounds easy, but it was actually very hard to pull off. It is very hard for swordsman to follow their offensive or defensive styles to the utmost limit. Some people would learn both styles to accommodate for the 'gaps' in the styles. Only master of the sword can create offense with defence, and defence with offense.

It was only natural for Lilith to call Drax amateur in the way of the sword. He gave up his offensive style to go into defence. There were many ways for an offensive swordsman to defend, without going into a defensive style, and it can only be mastered with enough experience. Many new techniques and possible strategies come with experience, and careful analysis of the results of battle