Soren's eyes squeezed shut as he waited for Amelia's punch to land.
He braced himself for the impact, bone-crushing force, the sensation of his insides being rearranged, the familiar pain that always followed being hit in this world.
But the blow never came.
"My shield is my weapon. My shield is my strength. My Goddess protects me. 「Divine Barrier!」"
The words rang out clearly, almost desperately, from behind him.
At the exact same moment, the air screamed.
The pressure from Amelia's punch tore past Soren's cheek, slicing skin and sending a sharp sting across his face, but before it could go any further, a brilliant silver light erupted in front of him.
Thud—!
The sound was heavy, solid, nothing like the fragile shatter of his own barriers.
'She blocked it?'
Soren's eyes snapped open.
A translucent wall of divine light stood between him and Amelia's fist, vibrating violently from the impact but holding firm.
Cracks of silver rippled across its surface, yet it did not break.
Olivia.
She was standing behind him, legs trembling, staff planted into the ground as if it were the only thing keeping her upright.
Her expression was strained, teeth clenched, sweat beading on her forehead, but her eyes were resolute.
She had stopped it.
The realisation sent a shock through him.
'She's already at a level where she can block Amelia…?'
That single thought would have normally demanded his full attention, but there was no time to dwell on it.
Slash!
Soren reacted on instinct.
Using the brief opening created by the [Divine Barrier], he lunged forward, swinging his handaxe in a sharp arc aimed at Amelia's side.
The momentum shifted.
For the first time since the fight began, Amelia took a step back.
Not because she was forced to, but because she allowed it.
Soren didn't realise that distinction.
All he knew was that he had been given space, and he intended to use every fraction of it.
He pressed forward relentlessly.
One slash became two, then three.
At the same time, magic circles flared into existence at close range, detonating almost as soon as they formed.
Bursts of wind, flashes of heat, pulses of kinetic force, he threw everything he had at her in rapid succession.
Amelia dodged or blocked each one without fail.
Her movements were efficient, almost lazy.
A shift of her shoulder here, a slight tilt of her head there.
Even when she parried, it looked effortless.
Still, Soren didn't stop.
'It doesn't matter.'
He couldn't afford to pause.
The moment he stopped attacking, the initiative would shift back to her, and that would be the end.
So he kept going.
Slash.
Cast.
Step.
Slash.
His breathing grew ragged.
His mana burned hot and thin in his veins.
His arms screamed in protest.
Then a voice pierced Soren's ears.
"Hm… Let's see…"
Her words cut through the chaos, calm and thoughtful.
Clang—!
In an instant, Amelia caught his handaxe.
This time, her grip was different.
Stronger.
The force nearly tore the weapon from his hand entirely.
Soren's heart skipped.
'I can't win this tug of war.'
He made the decision immediately.
Instead of fighting her grip, he let go.
The axe slipped free as he leapt backwards, casting [Breeze] mid-motion.
The spell detonated in front of him, propelling him further away and creating precious distance.
When he landed, skidding across dirt and leaves, he looked up…
And saw her smile widen.
"…Interesting."
The word lingered in the air.
Then she vanished.
Not blurred.
Not dashed.
Gone.
Soren barely had time to register what had happened before instinct screamed at him to defend.
He started forming a magic circle, already preparing to shout [Shield], but…
BANG—!
Her fist slammed into his stomach.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs entirely.
His vision went white as his body folded around the blow, launching him backwards like a ragdoll.
THUD!
He crashed into a tree, bark exploding outward as his back hit first.
"Ack—! Fuck!" Soren gasped, sliding down the trunk. "Why does everyone keep aiming for my stomach?!"
Pain radiated outward in waves.
Before he could even attempt to stand, footsteps rushed toward him.
"Soren! Don't worry! I'll heal you!" Olivia cried, panic thick in her voice. "Stitch thy flesh, I end thy agony. In the name of Aryn, 「Heal!」"
Fwoosh—
Silver light poured from her clasped hands, enveloping Soren's body.
The pain dulled, then vanished.
His breathing steadied.
The bruising sensation disappeared as if it had never existed.
By the time the light faded, he felt… normal.
Too normal.
Confused, Soren looked up.
Amelia was standing several metres away, watching, smiling, not attacking.
That was when it clicked.
That expression.
He had seen it before.
The same detached amusement.
The same relaxed posture.
The same eyes watching, waiting.
It was a similar look to the one the hobgoblin in Rena Forest had worn.
'She's toying with me.'
The realisation settled like lead in his stomach.
Unlike the hobgoblin, however, Amelia wasn't malicious.
There was no cruelty in her actions, no desire to humiliate or kill him.
But somehow, that didn't make it feel any better.
'If anything, it's worse.'
'I wish she'd just tell me why she's taking it this far.'
If it were merely mild curiosity, this would be excessive.
She had already seen everything he had.
His magic.
His tactics.
His limits.
Back in the game, Alex's prolonged fights made sense; he grew stronger mid-battle, constantly adapting.
Soren wasn't doing that.
Even with the support of a class B priestess, he was barely hanging on.
He glanced down at his bracelet.
The time read just past half-five.
His heart sank.
'The plan's fucked.'
Even if Amelia walked away right now, there wasn't enough time left.
The top ten placements were out of reach.
"All done!" Olivia said brightly, as if trying to reassure herself more than him. "Do you feel better now?"
"Yeah. Thanks," Soren replied, accepting her hand as she pulled him up.
He straightened and turned his attention back to Amelia.
"Ready?"
That was all she said.
There was no explanation, no taunt, just expectation.
"Wait a second," Soren said quickly.
She stopped.
If he was being given time, he intended to use it.
"I call to you, goddess, hear my name and help thy champion. 「Minor Blessing of Stamina」."
Nothing happened.
No light.
No warmth.
He frowned and tried again.
"I call to you, goddess, hear my name and help thy champion. 「Minor Blessing of Stamina」."
"…?"
Amelia's gaze sharpened, dissatisfaction flickering across her face.
Behind him, Olivia looked worried.
"Uhm… Soren?" she said hesitantly. "Can you use divine power?"
He nodded.
"Yeah. But for some reason, the blessing isn't working."
"That's… probably because there's a limit to blessing your body," Olivia explained. "You can only reinforce it so much before it stops responding."
"Oh."
"But! But!" she added quickly. "There are other blessings you can use! You can bless magic or weapons directly! I'm still learning that, though, so I can't do it yet."
"How does the prayer go?"
She told him.
And warned him it probably wouldn't work.
Soren nodded, and by the time he did, a magic circle was already forming.
'I'm not sure how much mana I have left…'
With his increased pool, his usual internal tracking was useless.
All he could do was hope.
With that, the one-sided fight started once more.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Olivia POV
'Soren…'
Olivia clutched her wooden staff tightly to her chest, eyes never leaving the battlefield.
At first, she hadn't known what to think of Soren.
A stranger.
Someone who approached her out of nowhere, claimed she was trustworthy, then handed her a high-ranking placement in the exam as if it were nothing.
It felt unreal.
Too good to be true
Olivia was naive; she knew that, but not as much as Soren seemed to believe.
She hadn't agreed because she was foolish.
She had agreed because she was good at reading people.
She could tell that the enchantingly pretty girl standing before her harboured no malicious intent.
As they wandered together, Olivia noticed how carefully Soren acted around her.
Polite to a fault, almost restrained.
It was strange.
She wanted to understand her.
A noble who hid it.
Someone unashamed to be polite to a commoner.
Someone ranked ninety-sixth who wielded strength that didn't fit that number.
Before she realised it, her guard had fallen completely.
She had even shared her secret love story that she had never told anyone.
Her actions even surprised herself.
Then Amelia appeared.
And everything changed.
When Amelia arrived, Olivia had been terrified.
She had given up hope immediately, even offering the mana beads she desperately needed.
But then…
– Can you use your blessings on me?
Soren had asked for her help.
Even knowing who Amelia was, Soren had agreed to fight her.
At first, Olivia was confused.
'She's planning on fighting her?'
It sounded unbelievable to her.
Even someone like Olivia, who lived out in the sticks, had heard of Amelia many times before enrolling in Stellaris Academy.
The youngest princess of the Einhardt Kingdom, though that was her formal title, the world knew her by a different one:
Wild Wolf.
It was a title bestowed on her when she was only fifteen, after she participated in a duelling tournament held in Einhardt and won first place, even beating her eldest brother.
If anyone asked who the strongest first-year was, without a doubt, everyone would say Amelia.
Yet Soren had agreed to fight her.
Amelia had asked, but the fact that Soren even agreed amazed Olivia.
She even had the thought that Soren and Alex would probably be great friends, breaking through the worry she would have usually had about introducing a girl to Alex.
And now Olivia watched helplessly as Soren fought desperately.
'She's trying so hard…'
But Amelia was overwhelming.
No matter what spell she used or how she attacked, Amelia would always block or dodge without fail.
It was too much of a skill gap to be closed with just a few blessings.
'I wish I could help more…'
All Olivia could do was heal, protect, and pray.
Long gone were Olivia's thoughts of ranking high; all she cared about right now was supporting the girl fighting so desperately in front of her.
'Please, Goddess, lend me your strength.'
Olivia turned her gaze to the sky, clasping her hands together and praying desperately.
Hoping the white-haired girl would win.
————「❤︎」————