Chapter 150. I’m Supposed to be Here
“Stop.”
Rhys stopped obediently, always a rule follower when it was convenient for him, anyways. A figure approached him from dead on, a slender woman who narrowed her eyes at him. “Who are you? Where did you come from?”
He thought for a moment. This was a unique opportunity. He was already in the camp, and there wasn’t as obvious a need to question him. Snake Robes had run off. Maybe he could bluff? It wouldn’t make sense with his backstory, but… eh, whatever, he decided. It was convenient in the moment. He’d let the woman come up with the explanation of why a righteous schoolboy would do it later.
“I’m here to join the Syndicate,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you.”
Nope, that’s a failure. Without another word, Rhys drew his sword and rushed her.
She had seen through his obvious lie, so it was no surprise that his ‘surprise attack’ was handily blocked. She had the attitude and the strength of a swordsmaster, though she fought with the stiffness of the Empire’s sword style. Definitely a military dropout. They only traded blows for a split second when she pressed the attack, fighting harder than before. Rhys had to flare his trash star to the limits of Tier 2 to keep up, and in so doing, was forced to drop the little he understood about the Empire’s swordstyle. Instead, he fought with the inelegant, savage style he’d learned from Bast and Straw, treating the sword more like an object than the delicate, precisely balanced tool it was. He couldn’t use sword intent, and this sword wasn’t trashed, so when her eyes shone and the edge of her sword blazed like a cold star, Rhys angled his sword so she’d cut through its blade without harming him.
“You aren’t a student. Who are you?” she challenged him.
“I am a student. Full of pent-up sexual confusion and righteousness!” Rhys declared.
She squinted at him. “What?”
“And I’m going to defeat you!” He tightened his grip on the broken sword and activated Trash Intent on the beleaguered thing. The woman’s eyes widened as the blade reappeared, almost slicing through her stomach. She jumped back at the last second, or else he would’ve spilled her guts without even trying.
“That’s not something they teach you in the Empire’s sword school,” she accused him.