In the next round, I was up against the female version of Dubois — Sophia Mitchell. A wide-bladed rapier and four daggers. Unlike Dubois, her weapon had a clearly defined edge. It was obvious that from second year onward, she intended to pursue the path of a classic swordswoman — Point-Blade.Like me, she hadn’t taken any damage in previous fights. On top of that, she had a formation built specifically to counter Fist. There was no chance I’d surprise her with Iron Head again. That was my thinking, and Kate’s as well, so I didn’t place any bets on that technique.Most likely, she’d dodge, and I’d end up with a dagger in my back or a rapier in my side as the technique recoiled.For dealing with Ponit cultivators, I had a simpler and well-practised tactic of disarming. Turgunov had done the same to her in the last tournament. I’d done it to plenty of others too, including Dubois, though it hadn’t gone entirely to plan with him.This time, we got grass terrain with a large, thick concrete arch in the middle. Not a classical arch, just two chunky concrete pillars with another slab laid across the top.It looked like the organisers were trying to diversify the arenas, but weren’t exactly bursting with creativity.Still, I cared less about their creativity than the practical side of things.You could definitely hide behind those pillars to block incoming attacks. As for getting on top of the arch… technically possible, but was it worth it? It was around two three metres high — too far for a clean jump. I’d have to pull myself up. And then what?Mitchell could still easily reach me from the ground."Fight!" called the judge.I ran, mimicking the approach from my last match.Mitchell moved at a walk, lazily launching two daggers into the air. They drifted not toward me, but off to the right and left, curving wide to circle around and strike from behind.Only after that did she draw her rapier (...)