Good, at first...

The first couple of students to take their shots had the unfortunate impression that the Ralli they had just seen spitting out increasingly perverted suggestions of what she could offer them must be intentionally stoking their imagination, and so they attacked with unusually high confidence. That left them unusually open to strikes from Ralli's wooden sword that were even more violent than normal, leaving them collapsed with the wind taken from them. Anyone could see the sergeant was in a terribly foul mood.

The next few students who attacked did so with greater trepidation, but also, greater conviction, certain that each of them was the hero of his own story, finally in a position to overcome Ralli and claim a generous prize... Each of them received a swift blow from the sergeant before they could mount any kind of offense. "As usual, all of you are so pitiful. Today, you are even distracted. Never become distracted on the battlefield. Each of you has been slain. Next. Harvey Dustaine."

The young man stepped forward, looking her in the face as the only student she had that could do so without looking up. He readied his sword, grimacing. "I ain't got a clue what's going on, but when I knock that screwed-up head off your shoulders today, ma'am, you're gonna wish you wore a helmet... Then, you're gonna tell me what the fuck is goin' on!"

"Give it a try," Ralli told him, readying her own. To her surprise... Harvey didn't attack with his usual crushing (but predictable) overhead blows. Instead, he really did try a powerful swipe for the head. Training sword or not, it was easy to imagine such a blow from a man with his wild power leading to a concussion. However, the deathspeaker skillfully sensed it and dodged it, ducking and delivering a strike to his gut with her pommel. The young man doubled over, gripping his stomach. "New tactics are good. A clear goal is good. All the goodness in the world is worthless without results. Find what you are lacking, Dustaine."

The huge knight trainee knelt in the dirt, staring at his knees in disatisfaction.

"Next. Harley Dustaine."

Harley stepped forward, flourishing the light training sword she'd grabbed that morning in place of her daggers. "Today... is different! A knight won't let an innocent suffer in silence, ma'am! I'll defeat you... and then, whatever it is... I'll take care of that problem for you, whether you want it or not...!"

"Hah... A veteran killer of the battlefield is an innocent now. Give it a try," Ralli told Harley as well, reading her weapon.

Harley's footwork was very impressive. As opposed to the others, Harley seemed less distracted than normal, her focus sharpened to a razor point. All she had to do was score a single glancing blow with her weapon, which she utilized in a fencer's stance. Her weapon shot out and retracted like a scorpion's tail. Ralli felt herself sweat as she twisted her form to dodge. This was the best of them, by far.

And yet... Ralli moved like a mirage, and when she hit, she hit like a demon. After barely dodging about ten blows from the agile trainee, she swung her own weapon and struck Harley's lighter piece with the **** of a cannon, sending it flying from her hands. She swung her sword back around for Harley's waist... and stopped short, barely tapping her for the victory. "Dustaine... Not entirely worthless. You have found a rope to pull you from the dark pit of mediocrity. You have far to climb, however. Suffer, but persist."

Harley collapsed on the ground of the arena, even though she hadn't been hit.

"Ms. Ralli... is somethin' else," Harvey told her, clumsily trying to comfort his sister, keenly aware that she had pulled out every stop and still come up completely empty. "Hard to believe she's really been blind this whole time..."

"I guess there's a lot we don't know about her," Harley admitted, clutching her knees.

Ralli turned from them, facing her last opponent. "Baldwin... are you actually going to try today?"

"... I think I just might, Teach," Liam responded with a smile, flourishing his sword in mid-air (pretty much the only part of swordsmanship he'd ever gotten impressive at). "Those two were so inspiring, after all. I feel like I could really do it, today!"