Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

The sharp flash of a sword edge vanished into the night, turning into an ethereal straight line that would have been impossible to capture without the advanced high-speed, high-definition camera technology of today.

Grasping the hilt, Bennett moved like an afterimage, rushing towards his opponent. As the sword light flashed briefly and without flourish, speed became the greatest skill.

Facing this sudden close-up ghost image, Dan Ke's pupils still showed unscattered astonishment, her hand not fully raised before the sword edge bore down upon her neck.
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"Thump." A low pulsation echoed at her chest.

Her heart, like the core of a giant dragon powering up, contracted and expanded once, rushing blood through her veins fast enough that Dan Ke managed to react 0.3 seconds faster, barely getting her fingers in front of the approaching sword edge.

The sharp sword edge cut through the metal claw on her hand, spraying hot blood that splattered on Dan Ke's face, staining it red, and her eyes that opened wide gradually transformed into golden vertical pupils with a terrifying rage.

After slicing two of Dan Ke's fingers, the sword edge, hindered and veering off due to resistance and a shift in force, landed on her collarbone, leaving a bloody slash. At that close instant, Bennett could even see the white bones beneath the skin.

But it wasn't over yet. Bennett's hand holding the hilt twisted at an unthinkable angle, the sword almost whipping back in the same motion and slashing again, this time in an upward diagonal from the right, avoiding the face and chin, aiming for the vulnerable neck.

In just one second, with no time to catch his breath, Bennett executed numerous continuous slashes, not even the tough body of the Dragon Sequence could find a gap to fend off the successive blade flashes.

The glowing green sword edge grazed An Ke's neck, spattering a large amount of blood, along with the sounds of gurgling blood and choked pain, Dan Ke knelt on the ground holding her grievously wounded neck. The intense magic power emanating from her body rapidly cooled down, and without immediate aid, she was likely to die quickly.

Wiping the blood off the blade, Bennett walked past Dan Ke's side and slowly sheathed his sword.

"Thanks for the match," he said softly.

In fact, in terms of overall strength, Dan Ke was not inferior to Bennett, perhaps even had a more versatile ability. Given a few more seconds to activate the magic power in her body, to partially transform into a dragon, even Bennett's slash wouldn't have breached her defenses so easily with the secret techniques of the Dragon Sequence.

But alas, there are no ifs in reality, having underestimated her opponent due to the tremendous advantage of having a Songstress on her side led Dan Ke to commit a misstep, followed by a passive defense against the relentless strikes, exposing her to Bennett's decisive breakthrough.

"First match, Edith Academy, Bennett wins!"

The floating Autonomous Unit converged the spotlight on the victor's figure, while in the shadows of the corner, rescue Autonomous Units, already on standby, swarmed in. One Autonomous Unit employed a Time-Delay Device to slow the flow of time around Dan Ke, another promptly sealed her wound and stabilized her condition, while several others projected a hexagonal containment sphere around her, ascending towards an invisible flying craft suspended above the river, where a medical team had been waiting.

"Is it... over?" The audience on both shores hadn't recovered from the announcer's declaration when the first duel ended.

"Too fast."

"Slashing Blade Sequence is known for that, famous for its sharp, expedient combat, making it extremely dangerous. Before you know it, a tactical squad could be completely silenced," several Agency members commented, still in shock.

"That girl from the other side, she suffered from lack of experience. Her usual training partners probably weren't so fierce and decisive, not giving her any time to breathe or respond," someone observed.

The unexpected outcome shocked the live and broadcast audience, with some feeling that Bennett lacked gentlemanly conduct by not going easy on a girl, while others felt it appropriate for such a significant inter-Academy contest, not to be treated like child's play.

"Now, let's proceed to the second duel." After a brief few minutes of rest, the host announced, regathering the audience's attention to the large icicle stage.

"Swarm's Reign Academy, Alice, Primordial Sequence 5, Red Heart Swordswoman."

"Edith Academy, Tuo Wei, Withering Sequence 5, Wire Strummer."

As the host finished announcing, a girl from Swarm's Reign Academy leaped onto the stage, clad in a red and white battle skirt, gripping a variable large sword with a broad, straight blade and a hilt inlaid with a red crystal.

"A fairy tale card series? What a rare advancement path," someone commented as soon as Alice appeared.

The fairy tale card series represents a unique progression route—unlike other Transcendent Professions where you can choose a wide range of advancements and different professions, it locks the direction from the start with Primordial Sequence 1, Red Heart of Hearts, Primordial Sequence 2, Red Heart Rookie, Primordial Sequence 3, Red Heart Warrior, Primordial Sequence 4, Red Heart Halberdier, Primordial Sequence 5, Red Heart Swordswoman, each step leading to the next down the line.

This was a progression template tailored and developed by the famous mega-corporation 'Fairy Tale Fantasy.' Although the career path was fixed, each stage provided a unique and powerful ability that accumulated until the pinnacle, Primordial Sequence 8, Red Heart Queen.