Excerpt from part 1 of chapter 5 of Asterion Academy
He raised an eyebrow and said "Why'd you take off your shirt?" I smiled slightly and said "It's to constricting when I move and I have a feeling your an experienced fighter. So, I think I want the extra mobility." He stared at me then laughed and said "You didn't take your shirt off when facing Lady Shandi from what everyone says." I smiled and said "She didn't take me seriously, so I didn't fight as hard as I could. If she wanted to I think that she'd have killed me at the speed I was moving." He stared at me trying to see if I was joking then caught the glint in my eye that usually meant a person was telling the truth and said "Interesting, so you could tell your opponent was playing with you." I nodded and he smiled then said "I won't hold back, if I see an incapacitating blow's opening then I'm taking it." I nodded and the two of us took stances watching each other." The two girls watched us then Nina walked forward and put her hand between us. We glanced at her and she said "When I tell you to go, you can do whatever it is you're going to do. You guys obviously don't plan on making any moves on your own so I'm giving you a reason to go." We nodded in understanding and she sighed then said "Go." while jumping back out of the way. We both waited until she was out of the way then rushed at each other. Lance slammed a blow into my stomach while ducking under a punch I aimed at his face then brought his knee up as I doubled over and nearly broke my nose. I closed my eyes as blood started flowing and trained to regain my bearing then lashed out as he got close and clipped his cheek with the tips of my fingers. I opened my eyes and saw he had gashes going across his face in the same direction my hand had gone.