Thirty seconds passed in a flash, and soon the stopwatch reset to zero.
When Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stopped, his heart pounded, his palms burned, and he felt as if his blood was boiling.
He felt very exhilarated, and a sense of accomplishment arose within him.
Although a reinforcement buff was applied, it was still he himself controlling his body; every time he plunged the knife tip down, his heart beat intensely.
If he were to lose focus even slightly, a large hole could appear on his hand. He had to maintain full concentration throughout, achieving a high degree of unity between mind and body.
But he did it; he truly managed to dance on the knife tip without a single mistake.
His movements were executed with very high completion, and apart from the injury during his training, there were no wounds on his hand.
However, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression was somewhat displeased.
No… this speed isn't enough.
"Ayanokoji completed seven rounds in the first turn," the Dealer reported Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's score.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka completed seven and a half rounds, averaging just over four seconds per round.
As a newcomer, being able to achieve this level on only the fourth attempt at this game was already good enough.
No, it should be said that it was an incredible score; this might even be able to challenge a Guinness World Record.
However, to contend with Ikishima Midari, it was still not enough.
"First round, nine rounds to seven rounds, the winner is Ikishima Midari," the Dealer announced the result of the first game.
"Not bad, much better than at first. How could you improve so much in such a short time?" Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lost, Ikishima Midari still looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in a new light.
The speed Ayanokoji Kiyotaka displayed in this game was completely different from the beginning; if it weren't for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's cautious demeanor during training, Ikishima Midari would have thought Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was an old hand.
However, there was one thing she was very dissatisfied with.
"Why didn't you stab down with full force? Wouldn't that be faster?" She yelled angrily, "Speed up! Wouldn't it be better to be faster!?"
"…" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka rolled his eyes and ignored her.
During the game, he also knew that there was a slight pause when the dagger was thrust towards his fingers.
But as a beginner, such hesitant pauses were unavoidable. After all, the hand on the table was his own; of course, he would hesitate for a moment to avoid stabbing his fingers.
He had already tried his best to shorten the duration of his pauses.
For example, when you are driving and see pedestrians crossing the road ahead, you will subconsciously step on the brakes to slow down.
And Ikishima Midari's meaning was to tell him not to care about these pedestrians, to step on the gas pedal directly, and not to stop even if he ran over someone. Moreover, the pedestrians on the road were also blood-related relatives.
Her statement was simply absurd.
If Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could do that, he would simply stop being human and drive directly on the sidewalk, which would be even faster.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could not meet this demand. He understood that, based on pure strength, he absolutely could not defeat Ikishima Midari.
But… if he were to deal with the coach sitting in the passenger seat, there seemed to be a chance?
A plan gradually emerged in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's mind.
Ikishima Midari looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka with great anticipation: "You start the second round first. I hope you can be faster, even faster!"
She had high hopes for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, wanting to see him achieve better results.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not answer her, placing his hand back on the table, ready to begin the second round.
Ikishima Midari watched Ayanokoji with anticipation, and the moment the Dealer called out "Start," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka swiftly plunged the dagger downwards.
With the results of the first game, this time, during the stabbing process, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's initial speed was even faster; his speed even reached three seconds per round at one point!
However, halfway through the time, something happened to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka; he actually lost focus, and the dagger cut his index finger when he stabbed down!
Instantly, the tip of the dagger was stained with his blood!
His left hand tensed, clearly experiencing intense pain, but he did not stop, continuing the cycle.
It was just that with this mistake, his speed in the latter half clearly slowed down.
Because of this pause, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka only completed six rounds when the time ended.
While Ayanokoji was performing the challenge, Mikura did not dare to get close to Ayanokoji, fearing she would affect his performance.
After he finished, she wanted to hand him medicine, but Ikishima Midari was faster than her. As soon as he finished, she snatched the hydrogen peroxide and poured it onto Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's hand.
As she poured, she blamed Ayanokoji like a strict coach, disappointed: "No, absolutely not! How can you get injured at this speed? Even if you're injured, why did you pause? Can't you be faster!?"
Mikura couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but retort: "Hey, Ikishima Midari, you're going too far! Ayanokoji is just a beginner; getting injured isn't what he wanted to see. If you hadn't insisted on this challenge, how would he have gotten injured!?"
Ikishima Midari clicked her tongue in annoyance, not refuting Mikura. She angrily put the hydrogen peroxide bottle aside and placed her hand on the table.
"Watch closely, it's my turn to challenge now!"
After the Dealer gave the start command, Ikishima Midari began her second challenge.
Her initial speed was very fast, reaching three seconds per round right from the start, and she was still accelerating; her speed was already too fast to be seen with the naked eye.
Unlike Ayanokoji's challenge, she seemed very confident that she wouldn't stab her fingers; she plunged the dagger down without any hesitation, stabbing firmly between the fingers!
The dagger in her hand was like an extension of her body, flexibly stabbing down and lifting up again.
She seemed to infuse her will into the dagger; each strike conveyed her excited mood, like an arrogant pianist playing an intense piano piece, infecting the onlookers.
Twelve rounds.
This was the number of rounds Ikishima Midari completed this time.
The result of this round was obvious: on one side was Ayanokoji, who made a mistake, and on the other side was Ikishima Midari, who performed perfectly.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's scores from both attempts combined were only one round more than her score in this single round.
This guy… is indeed very skilled.
In this game, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knew that even with the buff, he couldn't easily win against her.
Ikishima Midari was panting heavily after finishing, her face flushed, but she didn't forget to instruct Ayanokoji: "Hey, did you see that? You have to be like me, stab down hard every time!"
"You're very impressive," Ayanokoji nodded calmly. "In this game, I indeed have a big gap compared to you. If you still get this score in the next round, I don't need to compete; I concede."
Hearing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka say this, Ikishima Midari's cheeks instantly turned pale, bloodless, as if she were the one who had lost in gambling.
She had already won two games. If she won the next one, the match, originally planned for five games, would end in just three.
No, absolutely not!
It was so hard to find someone who agreed to play Quick Knife Finger Stab with her; how could it end so easily?!
Ikishima Midari showed a pitiful expression, as if she was about to cry, squatting on the ground and holding Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's hand, encouraging him: "Don't give up! It's only been two games! You have to believe in yourself, you can win!"
Ikishima Midari's appearance made Mikura unable to even look.
One couldn't tell which side was about to lose.
"...Do you really want me to compete with you?" Ayanokoji was silent for a moment, then asked.
Ikishima Midari nodded repeatedly: "Yes, very much! Please, you must continue to compete with me. I believe in your strength, and you shouldn't give up on yourself!"
She seemed to have thought of something and quickly pulled Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's hand to her chest, looking flustered: "Don't you like girls very much? As long as you win, my body will be yours tonight. Please, you must win!"
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