Part-220

  James frowned, feeling the weight of the reje. He had expected some resistance, but not ht refusal. “I’m not like them,” he said early. “I’m not here to waste your time. I won’t leave.”

  Carlos narrowed his eyes, clearly unvinced. “You say that now, but I’ve heard it before. Everyohinks they’re itted until they’re not.”

  There was a moment of tense silence as James tried to figure out how to vince him. He thought of the dungeon, of the tless times he had respawned, beaten and bloodied, only to get back up and try agaihought of the pain he had ehe lessons he had learned, and the determination that had driven him to seek out swordsmanship in the first pce.

  “I’m not going to quit,” James said, his voice firmer this time. “I’ve been through worse, and I’ll keep going no matter how hard it gets. I *o learn this.”

  James stood in front of Carlos, his heart rag after the instructor’s abrupt reje. The silen the room was thick, the four other students watg, waiting to see what Carlos would do . James could feel the weight of their gazes, but he remained resolute, his earlier words eg in his mind: *I won’t quit*.

  Carlos studied him for another moment before a faint smirk curled at the edge of his lips. "You want to learn swordsmanship?" His voice was calm, almost mog. "Then show me you're worth my time. Beat one of my students in a one-och."

  James bliaken aback by the sudden challenge. Before he could respond, a boy stepped forward from the line of students. He was about the same height as James but looked more seasoned, his posture fident and his eyes sharp. The boy gave a respectful bow to Carlos before turning to face James.

  "I'm Goni," he said simply, his toeady and measured.

  James eyed him warily. He quickly checked Goni’s stats through his interface. *biats: 410*. James frowned inwardly; his own stats were sitting at a meager *244.5*. In a normal fight, Goni would easily overpower him. But this wasn’t just any fight—James had an ace up his sleeve: **Sloth Vision**.

  Carlos gestured for them to step into the ter of the room. The other students formed a loose circle around them, watg ily. "No tricks, no ing move without sword, just swordsmanship," Carlos instructed, his eyes narrowing as he addressed both of them. "This is about skill, not power."

  James’s grip tightened on his wooden sword. He hadn’t expected a trial so soon, but there was no bag down now. If he wanted Carlos to take him seriously, he had to prove himself.

  Goni took a stance, holding his wooden bde in a practiced, poised grip. His eyes locked on James with sharp focus, betraying none of the doubt or hesitation that James felt. With a deep breath, James activated **Sloth Vision**, feeling the familiar sensation of time slowing around him. In this mode, 75 seds would pass for every minute in the real world, giving James precious extra time to observe a.