Mia stood there, just as surprised as everyone else.
"Whoa", Atchi knelt down on the stage, "the effigy, it's completely shattered". She picked up a couple of the pieces, confusion crossed her face, "hmm, if I were to guess this wasn't a low level effigy".
She thought to herself, "this one is a lot more round, and has what looks like broken horns. If it was a low level effigy it'd be more square, or if it was a mid level effigy it'd be a triangle". Atchi grasped her chin, "was this intentional? If so, Mia was able to defeat a high level effigy, and usually only captain level huntsmen are able to do that...".
Over the course of a few minutes everyone's shock subsided, Mia's transformation quickly becoming the norm.
"Alright!" Alli put her hands at her side and had a smug look, "I knew you'd be able to do it(even if I did amp up the difficulty). Now, Mia, it's time for part two of your training".
"Part two?" Mia had a puzzled look, she assumed that since she was able to get huntsmen powers that she'd be all set for the future ahead. One fact slipped her mind, Just because you hold a sword doesn't mean you can wield it. When everyone is a child they play with sticks as weapons, it's natural for a child to do this, but just with walking, you can't be a pro right off the bat.
"For the second part of your training, I'm gonna have Gurren fight you, sword to sword. Now Mia, there's only one way for you to pass this test, and it's rather simple... You have to hit him with your blutklinge. You can hit him anywhere, head shoulders, knees and toes, hell you could give him a vasectomy and you'd win".
He piped up, annoyed in his tone, "hey! I'd like to have them in pristine condition. Thank you very much".
Alli continued, "one hit is all it takes, do that and you'll be set".
In Mia's mind, "Alright, this will be a piece of cake, I won a battle a few minutes ago, now I just have to win this one". Mia walked forward, and placed her hand on her sword, grasping the hilt. She felt calm, almost excited, with each thought of fighting the Captain her excitement grew.
He took position across from her, with a serious look on his face.
Mia thought it was odd, she looked at his waist and his sword was nowhere to be found. "Captain... Your sword?"
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He smiled and reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver ring, he then placed it on his left middle finger. "I guess I haven't told you this have I? All huntsmen have this ring". He spread his fingers and a small sharp blade popped out of the side of the ring. "With this ring we can activate our blutklinge, after all, we don't want to scare the public with our weapons". The Captain flicked his thumb to the bladed ring and a spew of blood shot out.
Rather than falling and staining the ground, the blood swirled around into the shape of his blutklinge, with the same fancy curved guard as Mia saw before. As it formed, the Captain grasped it tightly, and it finished its transformation.
"Alright Mia, show me whatever skills you may have. I expect to be impressed", He said smugly.
They both took their stances and prepared, the tension felt deep as they gripped their blutklinge.
Everyone else watched as they're about to begin.
"Doesn't this seem odd? Why would the Captain go against her?" Hikaru murmured, to him it seemed odd that such a huge hurdle would be thrown at Mia. After all, she'd just achieved her blutklinge minutes before. In his mind he thought of the typical training new huntsmen go through. From the beginning they'd have to go to a school and learn everything, then have multiple years of training. The more he thought the more confused he became.
...
They began.
Captain Yakusuke lunged first, his hand wrapped tightly around his blade, his eyes fiercely stared at his target. He released a flurry of strikes, each slash tore up the ground beneath him. Each strike Captain Yakusuke delivered was difficult to dodge, but Mia somehow managed.
She dodged and dodged, each time her blade clashed with his she felt immense pressure. With every time their blades crashed the impact made indentations on the ground, it's as if with each blow an incredible amount of weight shot down on the ground. In retaliation to his powerful onslaught of swings she striked back, unlike the Captain, who had refined his swordsmanship and achieved its mastery, Mia slashed her sword in a berserk state. With each slash she moved erratically, twirling, jumping, and flipping about. Her fighting style was beastly, each movement held an extraordinary amount of animosity. To anyone unaware that it was a training match, they'd think that it was a fight to the death.
They both jumped back a fair bit of distance from each other.
Ah ah ah ah, Mia's breathing was ragged, "dammit, he's so fast, and he dodged each strike. No matter what he does, I have to win, one hit she said. I just need to hit him once, then I'll be ready". Mia stood still, and collected her breath. Her eyes fixated on her opponent, and her face showed the utmost calm.
"One more strike, I'll put all I've got into it. I know I'm inexperienced, but I'll use the same thing I used against that guy. All my rage, all my emotion". She regained her stance, and the air around her changed. Moments before she held her blutklinge in two hands, but now she let it rest loosely in her right, her left hand laid empty.
"Here we go, let's just not overdo it".