"Yes, because you're not focused enough," Daru responded in a somewhat reprimanding tone, causing Barkhalkhu's eyes to constrict into vertical slits.
"You shouldn't stand around expecting all your attacks to hit your opponent."
The Vyrrkan representative slowly stood up, trembling.
Barkhalkhu wasn't so talkative now, bursting into a raging, azure aura.
"Human…you dare look down on me as if you're superior?"
"Huh? What are you saying? I'm not looking down on you." Daru's brows furrowed as he answered in earnest without a shred of hesitation.
"I'm just pointing out the areas where you can improve to better yourself as a bladeborn. And yes, I was superior to you in that last exchange. I dealt damage to you, while your attack missed."
Barkhalkhu desperately wanted to retort.
However, the darned human said nothing but facts. It was only the way the bastard said it that was infuriating.
The Vyrrkan representative seethed, turning to face Daru.
"Let's see if you'll still come out superior this time, then…"
With an extremely furious gaze, Barkhalkhu rushed, lunging at the final moment and chopping down.
"RAAAGH!!"
It was obviously not a wise choice to block such a fully-charged attack, so Daru smoothly dodged to the side, though he didn't expect a follow-up horizontal slash to come swinging towards him so soon.
His opponent didn't even look at him, as if Barkalkhu was sure he would be there.
The Vyrrkan representative's terrifying combat instincts proved effective, as this time, Daru had no choice but to confront the blow with a strike of his own.
His eyes momentarily widened at the results of the first head-on clash.
Daru felt the wind brushing on his back as he was sent flying, his forearms slightly numb and shaking just a moment after the ear-piercing clanging sound echoed in the abyssal arena.
A red damage value then floated above him:
[-25]
Daru was able to stabilize his footing just a second after landing, but he was now dangerously close to the endless darkness.
"Now, why don't you tell me how superior you are, huh?! Hey, Onimaru Kunitsuna!!"
Without even giving Daru a chance to think about how stupidly strong Vyrrkans were compared to humans, Barkalkhu was already rushing him again.
But this time, the azure aura enveloping him was gone, and the Vyrrkan representative's speed suddenly became rather average.
Daru had fought a lot of Swordspawns in the past few days that were faster than the current Barkalkhu.
Still, it was dumb to meet the huge cleaver head-on, even though it was quite obvious that this attack was considerably weaker than the previous one.
The Vyrrkan representative slashed wildly, hoping to push Daru to the abyss.
But the latter easily dodged his straightforward attack with a neat lean and sidestep.
Daru then quickly circled, swapping positions with Barkhalkhu.
"RAAAGH!"
The Vyrrkan representative wildly spun as he swung his cleaver, using the momentum of his spin to increase the power of his attack, but Daru already somewhat saw another clumsy attack coming and jumped back in advance.
He was slowly becoming used to Barkhalkhu's crude yet overwhelming fighting style.
In the next moment, however, the azure aura returned, and the Vyrrkan representative's movements became faster once more.
The ancient stone floor cracked slightly as Barkhalkhu transitioned into an explosive dash, arriving in front of Daru in just a single second and chopping down at him.
Daru's muscles bulged as he was forced to block the swift and powerful blow.
Their swords clashed, a loud clanging noise echoing once more, followed by a skidding and a humming noise as another massive crescent-moon slash—this one vertical—pushed Daru to the edge before dissipating.
A red value then floated up above his head:
[-130]
Despite managing to block the attack, the Vyrrkan representative was able to deal damage that surpassed the clean hit of his Somersault Slash, though perhaps a part of this was because equipment wasn't allowed in the duel.
They were both wearing the basic tunic sets.
The tougher and more powerful bodies of the Vyrrkans would naturally be a huge advantage in such a setting.
Barkhalkhu clearly won the past few exchanges, so the anger in his heart diminished quite significantly, replaced by an eagerness to talk.
"Hah! Now what, Onimaru Kunitsuna?" taunted the Vyrrkan representative. "Time is ticking down, is it? Then you'd better give yourself advice because you'll never deal damage staying on the defensive!"
Daru didn't hear a single thing Barkhalkhu said. His mind was fully focused on another matter.
'Killing intent, yes…that should be it…'
In the next moment, he performed strange, short zigzagging steps before rushing in an arching path from the left.
And right…
[Congratulations! You've learned the sword skill: [Havoc Rush (B)]!]
Two Darus rushed towards the Vyrrkan representative, who was caught off guard by the sudden, tricky attack.
Barkhalkhu's aura wouldn't be up for two more seconds.
He had to rely on his instincts alone.
"You damned humans are good at nothing except trickery and deceit! Die!!" The Vyrrkan representative roared, slashing at the Daru on the right.
Hesitation and overthinking were never good—this was one of the core teachings of the veteran bladeborns of their race, fully aware that their brains aren't their strong point.
Thus, Barkhalkhu simply chose a target and went all out against it, slashing with all his might:
"RRAAAGH!"
He unfortunately chose wrong.
His cleaver easily destroyed the intent mirage, but there was simply no more time to react to the real body.
With all his might, Daru slashed at the Vyrrkan's neck.
All Barkhalkhu was able to do was move his head slightly to avoid instant death.
"K-Kuhh..."
His desperate move proved effective with the help of his tough scales, delaying Daru's tachi for just enough time for him to survive the attack.
Daru's blade cut a moderately deep wound through Barkhalkhu's neck, leaving the Vyrrkan representative bleeding red cubic particles as a deep red damage value written in bold text and an exclamation point floated up:
[-315!]
Barkhalkhu, by instinct, knew that unlike other races, they could benefit from even such a disadvantageous situation.
How?
By immediately retaliating without caring about the damage they suffered.
They were significantly tougher than the other three races; they could take a lethal hit or two and strike back with one of their own.
The Vyrrkan representative suddenly disappeared, turning into an azure blur that rose to the skies.
Daru's unwavering focus and presence of mind proved extremely effective once more.
Had he dropped his guard after the vital hit, he wouldn't have noticed that Barkhalkhu jumped.
In the next moment, the Vyrrkan representative had once again turned into an azure sword comet that descended upon him.
But like earlier, Daru was able to quickly jump back to dodge, plus he was able to observe the movements of the sword skill for the second time.
"You damned slippery human!" cursed Barkhalkhu as ancient stone shards flew everywhere.
The Vyrrkan's attack wasn't over yet, however, and he quickly charged forward, halting mid-rush, then firing a vertical crescent-moon slash this time instead of a horizontal one.
"Let's see you dodge this one!"
Daru, like he did earlier, somersaulted and slashed a red mark, though it could only clash with his opponent's crescent this time.
Naturally, Somersault Slash only lasted a second before losing, being only an F-tier sword skill.
"Hahahaha! Now die!!" roared Barkhalkhu in triumph.
But the moment he shifted his focus back to his opponent, his eyes widened.
Daru…had turned into an azure sword, which then descended upon him, easily piercing through and destroying his vertical crescent.
The only words the Vyrrkan representative could mutter in bewilderment were: "Impossible…how could you also have this skill…", before he was cleaved vertically in half by his own sword skill.
[-670!]
But Daru wasn't done yet.
The moment he landed, he pivoted his foot and charged at Barkhalkhu, who was now bleeding red cubic particles in sure-death volumes, halted mid-dash, and slashed his sword in the same wild manner and horizontal angle the Vyrrkan representative did in his opening attack.
To Daru's surprise, a red damage value floated above him after he performed the sword skill:
[-50]
But the damage he inflicted upon himself was nothing compared to the one that floated up above Barkhalkhu's head shortly after the first:
[-440!]
Slowly standing up, Daru didn't even look at his dissipating opponent.
He had been keeping track of Barkhalkhu's hitpoints. He was sure that he had defeated the Vyrrkan.
Instead, he smiled as he closed the notification that appeared in front of him:
[Congratulations! You've learned the sword skill: [Azure Swordfall (SS)]
He had a feeling that his execution would work, noticing that Somersault Slash and Azure Swordfall were executed using the same jumping motions, and he was naturally delighted that it did.
It was quite a risky maneuver that could've ended in his instant defeat, yet Daru didn't even think twice about attempting.
"That was a great, memorable fight, Barkhalkhu. I'll remember your name…" he said, finally turning to look at the dissipating red cubic particles.
It was unknown whether the Vyrrkan representative heard his words.
**
*
Meanwhile, on the skies of the continents of Valmaris and Ignarok, a massive notification appeared right after the battle concluded:
[The trial event: Clash, Pillars of the Next Generation! Humans Versus Vyrrkans have ended!]
[The representative of the human race: [Onimaru Kunitsuna], has claimed victory!]
[All humans would receive a 50% experience and 10% drop rate boost for [7] days.]