Awakening: Starting With The Villain System-Chapter 66 - 65: Training (3)

I suddenly sensed something was aimed at me, or rather yet, was already on me.

The feeling was a raw, instinctual warning system that went beyond sight or sound, something the Domain seemed to amplify.

It was a violation of my space, an incoming foreign object.

It entered the range of my domain.

The moment it crossed that invisible threshold, my body was already moving.

My katana, an extension of my will, swept backwards in a fluid, almost casual arc.

There was no time for a powerful swing, just precise placement.

A loud wood-hit-wood sound resounded, sharp and startling in the training section.

A polished wooden bullet, meant to simulate a sniper's round, dropped to the ground, spinning harmlessly before coming to a rest.

I didn't have time to process the close call.

My arm moved again, my wrist flicking, deflecting another one that came from a different angle. Then another.

The impacts were jarring, sending sharp vibrations up my arm.

Each deflection was a calculated minimal movement, my technique guiding my blade, making the impossible parries merely difficult.

I wanted to rush towards the shooter robot, eliminate the long-range threat. But unfortunately, I couldn't.

The moment I was pinned down by the bullets, the five remaining robot dummies seized their chance.

They charged as one, a coordinated wave of synthetic muscle and deadly intent.

They all struck in unison. A horizontal slash at my neck, a thrust at my gut, a low sweep at my legs, an overhead chop, and a jab from the side.

It was a perfect, murderous synchronisation designed to overwhelm any single defender.

But I wasn't just defending. I was defending within my Domain.

My katana became a blur. I deflected the neck slash outwards, twisted to guide the gut thrust past my hip, dropped my hilt to block the low sweep, raised the blade to meet the overhead chop, and sidestepped the jab.

It wasn't five separate blocks; it was one continuous, flowing motion, a dance of deflection where my body and blade were everywhere at once.

Thanks to my domain and the ingrained reflexes of the 'No—Pass' technique, I was able to handle all five weapons.

The air around me was a cacophony of sharp cracks and thwacks.

They didn't let up. They continued striking, a relentless storm of programmed violence.

And I continued deflecting, my world shrinking to the next incoming attack, the next micro-adjustment of my blade.

I was a fortress, and they were the endless tide.

Then, suddenly, I began to notice their strikes becoming more faster.

It was incremental at first, a slight increase in the tempo of the impacts.

But it was consistent. They were adapting, learning from my defenses, pushing the limits of their own programming to find a speed I couldn't match.

The pressure mounted. The comfortable rhythm of deflection broke.

I was suddenly getting at a huge disadvantage.

My parries became more desperate, my footwork less sure.

A slash grazed my shoulder, a sharp sting of impact.

A thrust came too close, tearing a line in my training shirt.

My speed wasn't able to keep up with the strikes.

I was operating on pure, frantic instinct, the Domain's guidance the only thing keeping me from being instantly shuttered.

My instinct suddenly kicked in. This was a losing battle. To stand still was to be worn down and dismantled.

I feigned a block against a high strike, gathered my strength, and instead of meeting it, I used the dummy's own forward momentum as a springboard.

I leaped back, pushing off hard, and landed a good ten feet away, skidding to a halt on the mat.

My chest heaved, and I could feel a thin sheen of sweat cooling on my skin.

And that's quite a disadvantage. The truth was as cold as the floor beneath me.

If my opponent is faster than I am, distance is no sanctuary.

I would be overwhelmed sooner or later because my speed is less than theirs.

They could close the gap in a heartbeat, and I'd be back in the same deadly blender, only more tired.

Two of the robots didn't give me a moment to breathe.

They dashed at me together, their movements a mirror image of coordinated aggression.

As the first one lunged with a thrust, I didn't deflect.

I slashed diagonally across its weapon arm, knocking its blade aside and leaving its chest wide open.

At the exact same time, I pivoted on my back foot, my body twisting, and thrust my katana into the second dummy's chest as it tried a horizontal cut. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Two movements, one fluid motion. Both robots seized up and collapsed.

But the reprieve was over in a second. The remaining three, smarter and more cautious, didn't charge blindly.

They started running towards me, but in that process, they were spreading themself.

One went left, one went right, one came straight on.

They were practically rounding me. Circling. Hemming me in.

Then, they all suddenly dashed to me at once.

No more circling, no more testing. This was the final push, a coordinated assault to break my defense.

The air hummed with their synchronized movement.

I steadied myself, knees slightly bent, my katana held in a middle guard.

My Domain was a fragile shell around me, and my magic power was draining fast.

I was waiting for their attacks, my entire being focused on the split-second decisions to come.

One broke formation, leaping high into the air, its sword held in a wide arc for a devastating downward slash.

It was a telegraphed move, designed to draw my attention upward.

I didn't take the bait fully. I sidestepped the landing zone, and as it began its descent, committed to its attack, I didn't wait for it to land.

I slashed upwards, my wooden katana connecting with its head in mid-air with a sharp crack.

It went limp and crashed to the floor, a puppet with its strings cut.

Then, instantly, I felt two swords enter my domain range.

The sensation was like two cold needles pricking the edges of my awareness.

One was coming from my left, a horizontal slash, and the other from my right, a mirror image.

They had timed it perfectly, attacking my blind spots while I was dealing with the jumper.