Even though it was just a simple sidestep, it lightly and effortlessly avoided Noah's lightning-fast strike.
Right after, before Noah could even retract her move, 9527 grabbed her wrist.
Because of the huge size difference, he could easily control this little hatchling who wasn't even ten years old yet.
9527's gaze locked onto the pile of sandbags by the field's edge. Those were the buffers the academy had prepared to prevent students from crashing into the walls and getting hurt if they were knocked away during combat.
So, holding Noah's wrist, 9527 spun once in place, then used the inertia to fling her out.
Thud!
Noah "shot" into the sandbag pile, scattering quite a few of them onto the ground.
"Holy mother, bro, ease up a little, will you?"
"Dude, if you go easy on purpose, your pay gets docked, but if you're too strict, you'll get docked too!"
———
"Tsk, didn't we say in the last staff meeting that sparring difficulty needed proper control? We even ran multiple practical drills. They should already have a clear standard for strength output, so why's this still happening?"
"9527… remember this number. After the assessment's over, let's dock his bonus."
"I actually think this level of intensity is just right."
"Oh? Why?"
"Because that's Noah. You guys haven't taught her, so you don't understand, but I can tell you with absolute certainty—"
The speaker was Noah's homeroom teacher, who had guided her for two years. Watching Noah struggle up from the sandbags, she said confidently,
"She's the best student in the entire hatchling division. This level of setback won't crush her."
Noah pushed aside the sandbags on her, then slowly stood up. She bent forward, arms dangling loosely, swaying on their own.
Her hair fell down, covering her face.
The teachers outside the field didn't sense it, but 9527, standing closest, was startled to find that a faint dragon's might was gradually seeping from Noah's body.
"I'm gonna…", Noah stepped out of the sandbag pile.
"RIP YOU APART!"
Her hands instantly condensed thunder strikes, and her small figure shot out like a bullet.
9527 was so surprised he even unconsciously stepped back half a step, thinking to himself, 'Good kid, this armor of mine is the real deal you can't buy even with money, don't you actually break it on me.'
In that distracted moment, Noah had already flashed in front of him again.
This time, the twin thunder strikes in her hands could attack from two directions, completely sealing 9527's horizontal movement.
But—
"Your attacks are still a bit too formulaic," A low male voice came from beneath the armor.
Noah could tell it was deliberately lowered, altering 9527's natural tone.
As soon as the words fell, 9527 squatted on the spot. Noah couldn't react in time.
By the time she tried to retract her strike and retreat, 9527 had already delivered an upward knee strike, ramming into her stomach.
"Not to say, but… wasn't that a bit too strong?"
"Who's under that armor? Tomorrow when you come in, split your bonus with everyone!"
"Bro, didn't we tell ya, lighter, lighter!"
"No, wait, look carefully. It looked like he hit Noah, but actually—"
"He slid his hand in front of her belly first, didn't he?"
Right before his knee hit Noah's stomach, 9527 had slipped his palm in between.
So in the end, the knee strike landed on the back of his own hand, while his palm safely shielded Noah's belly.
Noah was a little surprised by this. With that kind of force, if 9527 hadn't blocked with his hand, she probably would've been hurting for a while.
While she was still taken aback, 9527 took the chance to push his palm outward, shoving Noah flying several meters again.
After staggering a few steps and barely steadying herself, Noah looked at 9527.
"Why did you just say my attack was too formulaic? I clearly wasn't using the mainstream tactics taught in the academy."
One of the grading teachers had noticed the same thing just now.
That was why Noah asked 9527 this question.
"Lightning magic quick-attack flow, twin thunder strikes to limit movement. If you think relying on that half-baked stuff will get you through this assessment, you're way too naive, little girl."
9527 still kept his voice suppressed.
Yet, even with the altered tone, Noah seemed to faintly catch a trace of familiarity.
What's more, since she hadn't used the academy's mainstream tactics, yet he still called it "formulaic," that meant this 9527 was very familiar with her fighting style and habits.
Noah frowned slightly, shook her head, and stopped overthinking. She focused fully on the next round.
"Fine, then let's try this move."
With that said, lightning condensed once more in Noah's right hand.
Just as 9527 thought his good girl was about to pull the same trick again, her left hand slowly formed a short blade.
B-Rank Lightning Magic · Lightning Sword Manifestation.
"Here I come!"
Noah's third attack was just as fierce. She closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
9527 leaned back a little, carefully watching the thunder strikes and the short blade in her hands.
Dodging twin thunder strikes wasn't hard. Since it was the same spell, the attack routes were limited and easy to predict.
But the thunder strike and short blade combo offered many more attack variations.
Even 9527 couldn't help but take it seriously.
"I see. The thunder strike is the feint, while you wait for a chance to stab with the broken blade, right?"
Once he'd seen through Noah's plan, dodging became much easier.
He was already considering how to give his good girl a lesson with the next move without actually hurting her.
Unfortunately, he misread the feint.
The lightning short blade came first, and 9527 barely dodged.
But before he could settle, a thunder strike was already blasting at his chest.
"So fast…"
Turns out the real attack was still the thunder strike. A reversal of expectations.
Relying on his strong core, 9527 twisted his body hard, just barely dodging the strike.
Still, the arc left a faint mark across his breastplate.
Thanks to this move, Noah got closer to 9527 than ever before.
She glanced sideways at his armor, and her eyes unintentionally landed on his chest.
There, slightly to the left, was a small gap.
"That's…", Noah's eyes widened.
'Uh oh. This really is turning into "fatherly love and filial piety."'
———
No wonder Noah thought the armor looked so fine and exquisite the moment she walked in. Turns out the real deal had shown up.
She didn't know why her old man had snuck into the assessment field, but since he was here, she wasn't about to waste such a golden chance.
From the exchanges so far, it was clear Daddy wasn't holding back too much.
He was way more serious than when they played that final bell-snatching round during the live-action werewolf game back in Sky City.
That suited Noah just fine.
Finally, she had the chance to properly spar with her father.
She'd been waiting for this day for a long, long time.
Though she knew her strength still had a big gap compared to Daddy's, if she never crossed blades with a true master, how would she ever know her limits?
"Not bad. Shifting your offense mid-battle, very flexible, this girl."
"Noah does have adaptable tactics, but limited by her underdeveloped body, her lack of height puts her at a disadvantage. Many moves can't reach their intended effect. A real pity."
"I don't think it's a pity at all. For a kid this age to already reach this level, even with those physical shortcomings, it hardly matters. Treat it as accumulation. It could be a good thing, no?"
"Mm, true. With unmatched combat talent plus years of buildup, once she grows up, she might quickly reach Dragon King level."
"..."
The teachers all had high hopes for Noah. Saying they were full of praise wasn't an exaggeration.
But what they didn't know was that the examiner facing her was her own father.
A daughter-spoiler he might be, but Leon was a clear-headed one.
He knew this was a trial, and he knew Noah held herself to very high standards.
If she couldn't "go all out" in this trial, she'd definitely carry regrets.
The other examiners didn't know Noah well enough. Not knowing her true limits, they'd probably hold back everywhere, turning this assessment into a watered-down "swimming pool."
That left only Leon, the one who'd first taught her everything, the father who knew her best. Only he could control the intensity properly, pushing Noah to her limit in this assessment with no regrets left behind.
In the practice arena, Noah studied her Daddy's stance.
From his initial upright posture, he was now leaning forward slightly.
Looked like her last attack had made Daddy take her seriously.
Father and daughter stood several meters apart, locking eyes.
"Well then… since it's you, it's no wonder you know my attack style. To land another effective strike like just now, I can't use those dumb routines you taught me anymore, Daddy."
Beneath the armor, her father was also thinking about his next move.
"Careless of me, almost got hit by my darling daughter. Looks like I'll have to get more serious now. So then, from where will you attack, Noah?"
After a short standoff, Noah once again launched the first move.
But this time, her charge was noticeably slower, and she didn't gather any lightning magic along the way.
"Trying hand-to-hand, huh. Good. Without magic, she can focus more on observing her opponent's moves."
As Leon thought, Noah was indeed attacking while observing.
"Left side… or right side… neither works. That dumb old man definitely already has defenses set up. I can't reuse the same tricks."
"Then…"
Noah's gaze shifted to Leon's legs.
Turn her lack of height into an advantage, strike at the lower body, and try to throw Daddy off balance?
But his current guard clearly accounted for his lower body's center of gravity. So that sneak attack likely wouldn't work either.
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