"But I don't buy it, show me kid, show me what made the head commander believe in your weakness." He pointed his sword at him with a wide grin, ready to strike.
'What!?' He shouted in his thoughts.
This encounter, wasn't something he was expecting at all. Even in the original story, Takashi never went up against him, and he was lucky.
The Zarek he knew, and the Zarek that just challenged him had one thing in common — they both loved battle.
Zarek didn't become a Soul-Hunter just to save humanity, he loved it, the thrill. The rush. The shivers of a blood pumping battle that required you to put your life on the line.
To him — fighting Soul-Beast wasn't a goal, it was a choice. A choice he'd carry to his grave if it ever came to that.
"You don't want to make the first move? Well that's understandable, however, if you won't come to me." He took a step forward, tightened his grip on the wooden sword, then lunged forward with a massive step.
"I'll come to you!" He spun the sword between his two hands — so fast that it seemed like he held two swords instead of one.
'He's fast!' Kazuki's heart skipped a beat. It was hard enough to follow his movements, let alone the blur of the wooden sword. Even with Zarek holding back, taking that strike head-on would probably knock him out.
'Wait a minute.' He thought as he watched Zarek's movement as carefully as he could, and in that moment. His eyes went wide.
"You're through!"
Zarek swung the wooden sword towards the left side of Kazuki's neck, aiming to end the fight with a single, precise strike.
"Here. Right?"
CLAP!
At the last moment, Zarek shifted his strike to Kazuki's right side, but Kazuki caught the wooden blade with a single clap. The force behind the swing still drove him back a few steps, yet he managed to hold his ground.
"What?!" Zarek couldn't believe his eyes. This kid actually saw right through his attack? "How?" That's all he could ask, he was the first person to see through it.
"A sword technique that confuses the opponent by swinging it between your two hands rapidly, creating the illusion of two swords." He had seen this technique multiple times, read it multiple times, so he knew what it was, the technique he used to slay beasts. And he knew when the feint was coming.
A technique he created solely to kill Soul-Beasts.
"Twin Star Exorcist."
"Alright Kazuki!" Kirito cheered him on. And the other participants? They were just as shocked as Zerek, especially after he violated six of his men with that same sword style.
"What's this? You know of my sword technique? It's one thing to predict it, but to time it right? Well, it doesn't matter. That only means I'll have to come at you at full force!" Zarek advanced again, attempting the same technique. But this time — he gave it his all. The technique became faster. Stronger. He even added a bit of his Soul-Energy to make it more powerful.
And they all felt it.
"Kazuki! Get out of there!" Kirito warned. Zarek was not playing around. As a warrior who loved fighting with all his life, he saw this as a challenge he needed to win.
Kazuki gulped, but he stood his ground despite the odds.
"You're still willing to fight after seeing this!? You really are something kid!"
BOOM!
The pressure of his added Soul-Energy cracked the wooden floor beneath them, and gave rise to a cloud of dust which engulfed the two of them.
"Kazuki!"
Silence crept in. And for a moment, it seemed over.
Till Kazuki leapt back out of the dust and dropped to one knee, his hands bruised and his breath ragged, as if he had just run a marathon.
"H-he's okay..." One of the participants muttered under her breath, and she couldn't believe it.
'Zarek's Twin Star Exorcist has one flaw. He's far weaker in his left than in his right, he probably thought I assumed he'd go for my left this time, but I know it all.' He thought, rising to his feet.
'This is the power of knowledge. Once he spun his sword that fast, there's no way he could have struck with his left without gaining the proper accuracy. Not to mention the time he takes to strike after spinning the sword is only two seconds, allowing me to time my movements correctly. I was lucky, if it wasn't for the system errors taking me all the way to level five and increasing my agility plus the little combat training I received in my previous life, I would have lost an eye.'
"Hey kid." Zarek's voice came from the cloud of dust. "What rank did you say you were again?"
"D-rank."
He chuckled. "D-rank? Is that right? So that's why the head commander let you in."
As the dust settled, Zarek stood right on top the damaged wooden floor, with blood trickling down the side of his head. Somehow, when Kazuki managed to dodge it, he made his move.
But given the sturdiness of Zarek, he didn't escape unscathed in his hand.
A wide grin stretched across Zarek's face, and he got into a fighting stance, pointing his sword at Kazuki.
"I am the second seat of the 11th Soul Squad! Zarek Veyl! Don't bother telling me your name kid, just know mine!" His eyes carried the predatory gaze of a lion, and his warrior spirit consumed him completely.
Before he could take a step forward, a chop to the side of his neck sent him falling to his knees.
It was Hiro Kai — the captain of the 11th Soul Squad.
"Captain... Why..." He knocked him out cold.
"You were ordered to train the candidates for the second selection, not kill them you fool. Good grief."
They all stared at Kazuki in disbelief.
"Did Sir Zarek... Just introduce himself to that talentless guy?"
"But I thought he said he only introduced himself to someone he considers a worthy opponent?"
"Does that mean that..."
"Holy shit..."
Murmurs flew around, as well as insults. But no one could deny what they just witnessed.
"Alright then, I'm sure you all learnt a lot from that battle. That concludes the first two parts of the second selection, you're to return here next week for the final part of the second selection which will determine your eligibility for the final selection. That will be all for now, you may go." Hiro dismissed them.
They left chattering. Most had their eyes on Kazuki, while most mocked him. They thought that if he — a talentless brat could stand his ground against the second seat just in hand to hand combat. They most definitely could as well.
"Damn Kazuki! That was awesome! When did you learn to fight like that!?" Kirito came to him as they left the hall, heading back home.
"Oh um... I've been picking up some fighting lessons." He chuckled. He couldn't tell him that he was just fighting off the knowledge he had from the novel, he'd just sound crazy.
"That's awesome... Teach me sometime will ya? I might need it for the final part of the second selection which might definitely involve combat."
"Um, sure?"
"Alright then, I'll catch you later."
..
An hour later, Kazuki was back in his room.
He laid in his bed, glancing at the ceiling as he recalled the final moments of the combat training.
"That was close..." He sighed.
It was clear, he needed to get stronger. He needed to stronger if he was going to survive what came next at the third selection.
"That's right." He sat up fast.
"Inventory." He summoned the inventory tab of his system.
[Inventory]
[Item type: Key]
[Difficulty level of attaining: D]
[Description: A key that opens up the gate to an instant D-rank dungeon.]
"That's right, I received a key from the system as a reward for the daily quest. This is perfect. In order to grow stronger as a Soul-Hunter and survive..."
He glanced at his palm, recalling the technique he utilized during his re-awakening.
"I need to master this power, and in order to do that I need to get stronger."
It wasn't up for debate anymore.