Sword Art Online: X

Competition of Blades - X

I started living in the church at the insistence of the people who worked here. I had to do some service to help out, but I'm free for most of the day. The sisters of this church taught me how to use the Sacred Arts, or really, just system commands in this game.

I was just there, enjoying my day, walking down the streets of Zakkaria, when I spotted an arena.

After asking around, I found that the arena was for a swordsmanship tournament in a few days. 

I signed up, because why not? And found that, surprise, surprise, I wasn't allowed to use a bow.

I turned my bow into a set of dual short swords, and asked again. This time, I was begrudgingly let through.

And then, I found him.

There he was, talking with a blonde.

I couldn't call out to him, it would attract too much attention, so I quickly and quietly slipped through the crowd and tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey."

He turned around, "Uh, who are you...?"

I sighed, "Kazuto, you really don't remember? It's me."

He froze, and relaxed, "Oh, it's you."

The blonde next to Kirito stared at me, "Kirito, you know this guy?"

I laughed, "Well, I wouldn't say he knows me, per se, but we do have a history."

"How? I thought you were a Child of Vecta." The blonde asked Kirito pointedly, "Didn't you say you didn't remember anything a few years ago?"

Kirito shrugged, "My memory sparked just now when he used my nickname."

I nodded, "I'm gonna be honest, I didn't even remember you until a few minutes ago when I saw your face."

The blonde turned back to me, "You're a Child of Vecta too?"

I nodded, "I don't actually remember my name, so I just go by X."

"Oh, uh, I'm Eugeo." The blonde, now known as Eugeo, muttered.

"Pleased to meet you. Are you aiming to get into the Sword Mastery Academy?" I asked.

Eugeo nodded, "We want to become Integrity Knights."

I laughed, "Good luck with that, then. Personally, I don't really care about becoming an Integrity Knight. I'm just doing this competition because I feel like it."

Kirito sighed, "Yep, same old X I remember."

"Come on, unless I'm fighting for my own survival inside a goblin cave, I don't really care much about responsibilities." I joked, referring to when I first 'woke up.'

Kirito quirked an eyebrow, "You woke up in a goblin cave?"

I chuckled, "Yep. I literally almost died upon waking up. I'm glad I had my weapon with me."

I stretched my back, hearing the satisfying crack in my neck and spine, "Well, I'm going to go back to the Church. I'll see you two in a few days."

Kirito and Eugeo waved goodbye as I strolled back to where I was staying.

I won't win the competition, since Kirito and Eugeo are aiming for the reward, so I'll let either one of them win if I face off against them, but I won't hold back against anyone else.

...

Well, that was the plan.

But the first round is simply swordsmanship demonstration. I didn't think that would be a part of it.

I discarded one of my blades and performed every action and stance that I had to with the other. 

The judges seemed impressed, especially after learning that I primarily use a bow.

Well, not that it's true, but my weapon is usually a bow, so I just made up that lie to earn me some brownie points.

That part of the tournament wasn't all that interesting, so I didn't pay much attention to the other contestants.

...

Well, time to kick ass. 

My first opponent was a dude with a longsword. I don't understand why people use longswords, but meh. 

I produced my bow and and transformed it, getting into a low stance. 

We were just watching each other, but when we were allowed to move, I instantly rushed towards him, blades poised to strike. It was against the taboo index to harm another person, but as long as I don't draw blood, it should be all good.

My arms moved at a furious pace as my opponent struggled to deflect my strikes. My blades were bouncing off the longsword with a repeated clanging sound, if it were anyone else, I'm sure they would have gone deaf already.

With a quick cross slash, I was able to disarm my opponent, catching his handguard with both of mine, and kicking him in the chest, vaulting off his falling body and stabbing the longsword into the dirt.

Once I landed back on the ground, I blitzed behind my opponent and put my blades to his neck.

"You're dead." I said calmly.

He raised his arms, "I concede!"

I lowered the blades and joined them back together to form the bladed bow once again.

"Good attempt, but you need to work on your reactions." I told him, patting him on the shoulder as I walked past him.

...

My next match was against a girl who had dual blades like I did, and I grinned.

This was going to be very interesting. 

We were allowed to move. Unlike last time, I stood still and observed her movements.

The girl seemed to have the same idea.

We stood there, watching each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

I got tired of waiting and rushed in first, preparing my blades to disarm her.

When we clashed, I caught both of the girl's hilts with my handguards, and with a simple twist of the arms, her blades skittered out of her grasp, but she wasn't done yet.

She kicked me in the chest and grabbed one of her blades, swinging it down on me whilst I was scrambling to recover my balance.

I smirked, and allowed myself to fall to the ground, flipping over my back and kicking the girl in the chin.

The shock of the impact caused her to drop her short sword once again, and I took the opportunity to lunge at her, dropping one of my blades. 

I grabbed the girl by the front of her tunic and snaked around her, holding her down and touching the back of my remaining blade to her throat.

"You're dead." I stated.

The girl raised her hands, "I concede."

"Right idea, but polish up your skills a bit more. Also, you gotta think on your feet a bit more. Don't stick to a specific style, and be unpredictable."

A/N: Well then. A late update, but it should be fine.

I don't actually remember how the fights are supposed to go, so I just pulled these fights out of my ass like everything else I write here.

Anyways, if you enjoyed this chapter, consider voting and following for more. Peace out, everybody. Goodbye.