'Amazing.' Julia praised as the spar continued.
When the second round began, Alexander's movements were rigid, and there were a lot of wasteful movements.
His feints were transparent to her, as she could see through them quite easily. At times, the amount of power he exerted in his punches and kicks was either excessive or insufficient.
But now, he was adapting to his power and controlling how much was released as and when necessary. This led to a situation where they became matched in speed and strength.
Although not without its flaws, his ability to swiftly grasp what he was learning astounded her.
As Julia drifted in thought and flowed with the battle that somehow unfolded seamlessly, Alex abruptly launched a roundhouse kick at her head.
Quickly reining in her thoughts, the Knight princess stepped back, allowing the kick to soar past her face. Nevertheless, the force of the strike still generated a gust of wind that blew against her face.
Utilising the momentum created, Alex pivoted onto his other leg to execute a backkick.
Then, amid the flurry of kicks and punches that ensued, Julia calmly evaded all those she could and blocked the ones she couldn't.
In each of those attacks, she observed how Alex managed the strength he applied, resulting in powerful blows that made her hands ache slightly.
Not wishing to be outdone, Julia responded by closing in when she spotted an opening. She sidestepped to evade one of Alex's kicks and delivered an elbow to his side.
Before Alex could even process the pain from that attack, Julia finished him off by performing a manoeuvre that positioned her behind Alex.
'Checkmate…'
Julia seized Alex from behind by the head and delivered a chilling crunch to his neck that echoed around them.
CRACK!
Alex found themselves on the ground, unsure of what went wrong. Their spar concluded the moment the system determined that Julia's move was a decisive one.
As he looked up from his position on the floor, Julia smiled down at him.
'This is one crazy woman,' Alex thought, checking the condition of his neck and swallowing nervously.
Julia did not hesitate to break his neck, and, to be honest, her unwavering resolve frightened him.
'Moral lesson: never piss her off.'
"So, did you enjoy the fight?" She asked innocently as if she was not the one who, a moment ago, broke Alexander's neck like a twig.
She stretched out a hand for Alex to grab hold of, lifting him to his feet.
Sighing to himself, he responded, "It was a good fight, not going to lie. And I must admit, you're a really good fighter. Even with all my strength and speed, I couldn't beat you."
"What did you expect? As we said earlier, strength isn't the only determining factor in a fight. Experience and skills play a major role."
Alex nodded, appreciating her words.
He had truly learned a great deal from his fight with Julia. Unlike Ross, with whom he occasionally won and sometimes drew, Julia's skills were simply superior.
While he was digesting her words, Ross approached the two.
"I'm impressed. Never thought you'd be so brutal in a spar. I hate to see the person who makes you angry in real life." Ross commented, looking at Julia and feeling a bit of a chill down his back.
The last move Julia performed on Alex made him swallow nervously.
"Agreed." Alex had to chip in. "You were brutal."
Julia merely shrugged off the praise. She had been taught to never show mercy in a fight. The world out there was no bed of roses, especially among hunters.
"Well, now you know where your abilities lie. What are your plans now?" Hearing her question, Alex paused for a moment and then replied.
"There are multiple forms of martial arts simulations in the VR," he answered. "I plan to learn and practise whenever I get the chance. Then once in a while, we have a spar to assess how much progress I've made."
Ross and Julia nodded in agreement. Although the martial arts stored in the VR were basic, the variety allowed users to pick one that suited their style and complemented their skills.
The instructions were also precise enough to grasp the concept behind each movement.
And just as Alex learned through this spar, the arts included details on how to utilise strength, speed, and reaction times most optimally to avoid unnecessary movements.
"That's a good idea. Would you be doing the same?" Ross asked, looking at Julia.
"No," Julia shook her head. "I completed my training a long time ago. So, lessons on combat won't really make a difference."
She had trained in martial arts since childhood and had no further need for training.
That was not to say she would not be joining the class lessons, but rather that she would gain nothing from them, as the lessons only covered the basics.
'Indeed. With skills like hers, I bet she could take on any first year and maybe even the students in the second year,' the thought made Alex resolve to learn as quickly as he could.
"Oh, Alex." Julia suddenly called out. "Did you notice how fast you were improving during your spar with me?" The question broke him out of his thoughts.
Alex furrowed his brows slightly, not understanding why she would say something like that. He was clearly getting his ass handed to him, was he not?
Seeing his confusion nearly made Julia laugh. "Well, now you know. And it's going to help you learn quickly."
Alex glanced at Ross, curious to know if he shared the same opinion since he was the only one watching their fight from beginning to end.
"She's right." The redhead nodded. "Initially, your moves were all over the place, but as the fight progressed, your moves became more polished, and the control over your movements also improved.
"I didn't know you were a genius in combat applications." He explained, Julia nodding in agreement.
The fact that both of his friends were saying the same thing caused his mind to drift back to the fight. He realised that he wasn't taking as many hits as he did when the fight first started.
'I see… But was that really impressive?'
As far as he was concerned, he was following his instincts and trying to replicate what Julia was doing.
"Noted."
He acknowledged, already making plans to test that out. Following that, the trio opted to resume their sparring, assessing each other's skill levels.