Think. Think.
And then, like a spark in the darkness, I remembered.
I wasn't bound to just my katana. I had more.
A grin split across my face as I slid the blade back into its sheath.
The sound of steel locking in place echoed across the room.
The effect was instant.
Gari's eyes sharpened, the faintest flicker of expression breaking his stone facade. The students whispered, their voices spilling over each other like waves.
"Did he give up?"
"Is he out of his mind?"
"Why would he put his weapon away?"
They were all wrong. I wasn't giving up. I was about to show them something different.
I bent my knees slightly, bouncing on my toes. One. Two. Three. Four. Five hops to wake up my body, to shake off the tension. And then I moved.
My legs exploded into motion, propelling me forward like a bullet. Air rushed past my ears as I launched myself into the swarm of machines.
The first dummy swung its sword down at me, but it never had the chance to finish.
