Volume 1: Re:Zero -Starting Life as a Samurai Chapter 30: The in-house competition begins!
"……ah?"
Yuanshan turned his head and looked at Asi beside him with cold eyes.
At this time, Ash also added hurriedly:
"Didn't you two end up in a tie in the competition a few days ago? If the two of you can really face off again at the festival, are you sure you can beat Ogata at the festival?"
Bang.
Yuanshan simply loosened his grip and let the wine glass in his hand fall onto the tatami.
The sound of a wine glass falling to the ground startled Ah Shi.
"You...are doubting my ability?"
Yuanshan's face was covered with shadows of displeasure and anger.
"I, I'm not doubting your strength!" Ash's face began to sweat due to anxiety, "You tied with that Ogata in the competition a few days ago, I'm just... simply worried about you..."
Snapped!
Before Ah Shi could finish his words, Yuanshan slapped him directly on the face with a crisp "pop" sound.
Ah Shi, who was kneeling on the ground, fell to the ground. She screamed and raised her fair hands to cover her cheek which had a bright red slap mark. She looked at Yuanshan with tears in her eyes who suddenly jumped up and slapped her.
"Do you know what you just said?!"
Yuanshan shouted loudly.
"How dare you doubt my ability just now?"
"The reason why I didn't quickly decide the winner with Ogata a few days ago was simply because I didn't expect that Ogata concealed his strength and underestimated him!"
"Next time I fight that Ogata, I won't make this mistake again! As soon as the match starts, I'll just go all out!"
"As long as I give my all from the beginning, defeating that Ogata will be a piece of cake!"
Asi, who was knocked to the ground, was sobbing.
"You promised your fellow apprentices before...that you would definitely win this year's God Sacrifice Competition..."
"You and your fellow apprentices have also agreed on the punishment you will face if you lose the god-sacrificing contest..."
"I'm just worried that you'll lose the God Sacrifice Contest..."
As soon as Ah Shi finished speaking, Yuan Shan snorted heavily:
"All your worries are unnecessary!"
"There's no way I could lose the God Sacrifice Contest!"
"So the punishment that my fellow apprentices and I had agreed upon for losing the god-sacrificing contest will definitely not happen!"
…
…
June 15, 1789
Hirose Domain, Sakakibara Sword Hall.
The air in Sakakibara Sword Hall today is filled with a tense atmosphere.
The reason is simple - today is the day when Sakakibara Sword Gym holds its in-gym competition which is only held twice a year.
From a certain perspective, the competition within the academy is a test that Hanbei Sakakibara leaves for his disciples - to test how well the disciples have practiced sword skills over the past six months.
In fact, only a few people don't care about ranking.
Almost all the disciples of Sakakibara Sword School are at the age of full vigor and vitality.
Most people hope to get a good ranking.
Almost everyone was standing outside the dojo, stretching their muscles and making final preparations.
And Xu Fang is one of the few exceptions.
Ogata finished warming up early and then sat cross-legged in a corner at the edge of the dojo.
Ogata, who was sitting cross-legged in the corner, was not in a daze.
Instead, he was checking his own personal interface.
[Name: Ogata Noriyoshi]
[Level: Lv9: 240/800]
Personal attributes:
Strength: 5
Agility: 8
Reflexes: 8
Stamina: 5
Vitality: 5
[Martial Arts School:
Sakakibara Ittoryu: 5th stage: 260/900】
[Remaining skill points: 0 points]
【Sakakibara Ittoryu (5th dan):
Climbing: Beginner
Water Fall: Intermediate
Bird Thorn: Advanced
Dragon Tail: Primary
Since the competition with Toyama, Ogata's experience points have not increased much.
Because the disciples in the sword hall are not very willing to compete with others in sword fighting these days .
In previous years, there have been many idiots who accidentally injured themselves while sparring with others on the eve of the competition in the gym.
This is ancient Japan, and there are no protective gear or anything like that in the sword hall. Everyone just practices with wooden swords.
Although everyone usually does this during sparring, occasionally they may accidentally hurt someone.
In order to avoid such stupid things as getting hurt before the gym competition begins, the disciples of Sakakibara Sword Gym are not very willing to practice with others.
Since there was no one to practice with, Ogata's experience points naturally increased very slowly.
After all - if he wants to level up quickly, the only way he can do is to fight with others.
Ogata was not particularly interested in the competition within the museum.
Because Ogata can practice with his fellow disciples on a daily basis, he is not very interested in the competition within the academy.
For Ogata, the in-school competition was just a different way of competing with his fellow apprentices.
However, although he was not interested, Ogata had no intention of playing passively.
…
…
In a moment, their master, Sakakibara Hanbei, walked into the dojo with slow but powerful steps.
Ogata and the others hurriedly stopped everything they were doing and sat down at the edge of the dojo.
After kneeling on the main seat in the dojo, Sakakibara Hanbei muttered a few words about "everyone should give their best" and then directly announced the start of the competition.
The format of the competition in the hall is very simple - when Hanbei calls out the names of two disciples, these two disciples must immediately step out and compete.
The winner advances and the loser drops out.
What’s very coincidental is that the first pair to come on stage are Ogata and Makino.
Ogata and Makino, holding their wooden swords, walked to the center of the dojo with wry smiles on their faces.
“Ogata-senpai…” Makino smiled bitterly as he raised his wooden sword and took a mid-range stance. “I never thought… my first opponent would be you…”
"I didn't expect that either." Ogata also slowly took up his middle stance.
"Recently, when I dueled with you, Senior Ogata, I almost never won. I'm likely to lose miserably this time as well."
"But no matter what! I will also do my best! At the same time , I also hope that you, Ogata-senpai, can also do your best!"
"No problem!" Ogata said cheerfully, "I won't hold back at all. I will just do my best to defeat you."
The two men were in a mid-range stance and were in a stalemate for a long time.
However--
"Aha--!"
Makino let out a terrifying roar, then stepped forward and swung his sword at Ogata.
Now, Ogata's Agility and Reflexes are 8 points each, and the other attributes remain unchanged at 5 points.
When the attribute value of the reflex nerve reached 8 points, Ogata felt that Makino's sword was extremely slow.
Ogata's eyes could clearly follow the speed and trajectory of Makino's sword swinging.
And his agility of 8 points also allowed Ogata to dodge Makino's sword easily.
