'I'm fucked.'
That was the entirety of Soren's thoughts when Amelia spoke.
"Fight? Why?"
His voice came out sharper than he intended, desperation leaking through despite his attempt to sound reasonable.
"My rank is ninety-six. Plus, I'm a magician. Isn't that a bit unfair?"
He knew Olivia was standing just behind him.
He could feel her presence without even looking, stiff and anxious, hands probably clasped together in prayer already.
Normally, that awareness would've made him want to keep some dignity, at least pretend he wasn't terrified.
But pride was worthless right now.
If throwing it away meant surviving, he would do it without hesitation.
Amelia tilted her head slightly, as if genuinely considering his words.
Then she shrugged.
"Your magic is interesting."
That was it.
No reassurance, no explanation, just a casual dismissal of everything he had said.
'Damn it.'
Soren clenched his teeth.
'Why aren't you focusing on Alex?'
'Why me?'
He had thought about this possibility before.
Back when he had chosen the [Concentration] skill, a small, arrogant part of him had wondered whether Amelia might notice him eventually.
At the time, he had dismissed it immediately.
– Don't be stupid,
He had told himself back then.
– Why would she care about you when the Hero was revealed on the exact same day?
Compared to Alex, Soren was nothing.
No destiny.
No spotlight.
Just a weak magician scraping by.
And yet.
Now that stupid thought was biting him in the throat.
Soren wanted to scream.
At her.
At himself.
At the world for lining things up like this.
But screaming wouldn't change anything.
'There's nothing I can do about it now…'
Amelia's posture had shifted, subtle but unmistakable. Her shoulders were loose, her stance relaxed, but her eyes…
Her eyes were sharp.
That look meant she was already in it.
Battle junkie mode.
Once Amelia entered that state, there was no negotiating, no clever talking his way out.
The fight wasn't a question anymore.
It was a given.
"Sigh…"
At least she hadn't moved yet.
She was still standing in the shallow crater she had created earlier, boots planted casually in broken stone and dirt; she wasn't rushing him, wasn't pressing forward.
That alone told him something.
She was giving him the first move.
Consideration.
Not kindness, never that, but acknowledgement.
A hunter allowing its prey to struggle first.
Soren noticed it, and instead of panicking further, he forced himself to latch onto that opening.
'If she's letting me prepare… I'd be an idiot not to take it.'
"Olivia."
"Y-Yes?" Her voice cracked slightly.
"Can you use your blessings on me?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Olivia froze.
She stared at him, eyes widening as the reality of what he was suggesting finally hit her.
"S-Soren, you can't be serious," she said quickly. "You're not actually going to fight her, are you?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he raised his hand and pointed at Amelia, not even bothering to turn around.
"I don't want to," he said honestly. "But… do you think she'll let us go?"
Olivia opened her mouth.
Then she closed it again.
She didn't answer because there was no answer.
Her silence was confirmation enough.
Without another word, she clasped her hands together tightly and lowered her head.
"I call to you, goddess," she whispered, voice trembling but resolute. "Hear my name and help thy champion. 「Minor Blessing of Mana」."
The prayer didn't stop there.
She repeated it again.
And again.
Each time, her voice grew steadier, conviction replacing fear as warm light began to gather around her hands.
One by one, the blessings took hold.
.
[Minor Blessing of Agility has been applied!]
[Minor Blessing of Strength has been applied!]
[Minor Blessing of Mana has been applied!]
[Minor Blessing of Divine Power has been applied!]
.
[Unique Skill [Blessing of Aryn] has increased [Minor Blessing]'s effectiveness!]
.
[Status Window]
Name: Soren Arden
◈ Stats
Strength - 2.0 (0.7)
Agility - 2.6 (1.3)
Mana - 2.6 (1.3)
Divine Power - 1.6 (0.3)
.
Blessings.
This was the reason Olivia remained relevant throughout nearly the entirety of TKS's PVE content.
From early game all the way to endgame raids, she was borderline mandatory.
Stat amplification.
The reason why blessings were so incredible, especially late game, was that stats weren't additive but multiplicative.
Even a single point increase could completely change how a build functioned.
And Olivia's unique skill pushed that effect even further, boosting every divine incantation she cast by thirty percent.
'It's a pity the base is so terrible,' Soren thought dryly.
Even with all four blessings stacked, his status window only barely crept up to slightly below average.
He had gone from bottom-of-the-barrel trash to… passable.
Better than nothing, but nowhere near enough.
"Sigh… Well, whatever. It's better than nothing."
Olivia flinched at his tone.
"D-Did I do something wrong, Soren?" she asked anxiously.
"No," he replied immediately. "You did perfectly. It's just… the person we're dealing with is Amelia."
"Ah…" Olivia swallowed. "Uhm—good luck! I'll support you!"
"Thanks…"
He meant it.
'I really don't want to do this, but it's unavoidable,' he thought, gaze fixed on Amelia's unmoving figure.
"「Inventory」."
Soren reached into his inventory and pulled out the handaxe he had used against the thieves.
The dried blood was still there.
Dark, crusted stains clung to the blade and handle alike.
He had passed out after that fight and never gotten around to cleaning it.
The sight alone made his stomach twist.
Suppressing the urge to gag, he inspected the weapon carefully, holding his breath to avoid the metallic scent that made his skin crawl.
'Luckily, it's still in good condition.'
The blade hadn't chipped.
The handle was firm.
There were no cracks.
It was functional.
That was all he needed.
"Haah…"
He exhaled slowly, forcing his heartbeat to steady.
His left hand slipped into the pocket of his cloak, fingers tracing the familiar pattern as a magic circle began to form; he wasn't fooling himself into thinking Amelia wouldn't notice, but even the illusion of secrecy helped.
Every advantage mattered.
Woooonggg—
The moment the magic circle stabilised, Amelia spoke.
"Finally."
She grinned, sharp and feral, eyes lighting up as if she had been waiting for this exact moment.
"I'm ready," Soren whispered to himself. "I'm ready."
It was a lie.
He wasn't ready; he could never be ready for this.
But that didn't matter.
He kicked off the ground and sprinted forward.
The acceleration startled even him.
With the blessings active, his body felt lighter, faster; it was like night and day, but…
'It's still not enough.'
His highest stat had barely scraped into D-rank.
Amelia's lowest stat at the start of the game, excluding divine power, had been D-rank mana.
The gap was obscene.
As soon as he entered range, he yanked his left hand free from his cloak and pointed it forward.
"「Bloom」."
Rumble…
The earth responded instantly.
Thick vines and twisted roots erupted from the ground, coiling around Amelia's legs and anchoring her in place.
She didn't even flinch.
Still smiling.
Soren didn't pause.
The moment [Bloom] finished casting, another magic circle was already forming.
"「Gaia!」"
The ground beneath Amelia softened, stone and dirt liquefying into a heavy quagmire.
Any sudden movement should've been impossible.
And yet…
She remained utterly calm.
Still smiling.
Now only a few metres away, Soren prepared his final ranged spell.
"「Shockwave」."
Kwaaaaanggg—
The invisible force tore through the air.
Amelia raised her gauntleted fist and blocked it with absurd precision, as if she could see the shockwave itself.
"Weak."
The word landed flat.
It would've wounded most people's pride, but Soren didn't care.
'I know.'
If there was one lesson this world had hammered into him since transmigrating, it was that he was weak.
He pulled his left arm back, a new magic circle completing in his right.
The moment he reached her…
"「Shock」!"
Lightning burst from his palm, crackling violently as it struck Amelia head-on.
Whoosh!
In the same instant, Soren swung the handaxe downward with everything he had.
Clang—!
"…?"
Amelia caught the blade barehanded.
Her left hand closed around the axe head effortlessly, while her right still twitched faintly from residual electricity.
But Soren hadn't expected anything less.
Another magic circle had already formed.
"「Ignition」!"
Ting—♪
Fwaaaa—
Raging flames erupted from his palm, far stronger than anything he had ever cast before.
.
[Congratulations, [Ignition] has risen from (D+) to (C-).]
.
The sudden jump in power startled him for a split second, but only a split second.
When the flames cleared, Amelia was still standing.
Unharmed.
The only thing that had changed was that the sleeves of her shirt were slightly tinged; her skin, however, was still pristine.
"Crazy…"
'It's impossible to win.'
It was a fact that he had known from the start, but now that he had hit her with everything he had, he felt it even more strongly.
Step.
Her foot hitting the ground snapped him out of his thoughts.
She began walking forward.
Despite the altered terrain, the vines, the mud, she moved as if none of it existed.
Casual, unbothered.
Each step brought her closer.
Sweat trickled down Soren's forehead as he forced another magic circle into existence.
Wooonggg—
Grey light gathered around his palm.
Step.
With every step she took, his breathing grew shallower.
Step.
It was terrifying not knowing when she would act.
"Whew…"
He exhaled slowly, trying to steady himself.
Then…
Dash—
"「SHIELD!」" he shouted instinctively.
She moved.
The barrier shattered before she even hit it, collapsing under the air pressure alone.
'I should've raised the proficiency further.'
He had focused too much on offence.
It was just unfortunate that this realisation came too late.
He closed his eyes, waiting for the blow that would inevitably end the battle.
But the impact never came.
————「❤︎」————