Kara recorded the details of the test enthusiastically. This served as record, but also as a way to gather information on the adventurers. Using appraisal on intelligent beings required a ridiculously high level for the skill, so instead Kara used her other skill, [Analytical Eye] to draw conclusions from what she’d seen.

  With a satisfied smile, Kara closed her notebook. She prepared to depart and finish adventurer Verity’s advancement upstairs, but to her surprise, adventurer Felicia was now standing in the center of the training hall, facing Verity.

  A grin curled Felicia’s lips, one she had never seen herself make. If she had a mirror, she might have been shocked at the sight.

  Her hand instinctively reached for her sword as her eyes met Verity’s. “Can I go next?” She asked, pulling her long sword out of its sheath and pointing to Verity.

  Verity looked down at poor Davion before answering, as if to ask for permission. The blond man pushed the tip of his spear aside, and stood up dejectedly. “...Do whatever you want, you monsters. I don’t care…” He said before walking over to where Kara stood and sitting on one of the benches.

  Verity sighed. “Can I refuse?” He asked.

  There wasn’t really a point in fighting Felicia. Verity knew he could not win. He felt it in his very bones. If he wanted to spar with someone who was impossible to defeat, he had his Master.

  Plus… Her face was slightly scary at the moment.

  Felicia firmly gripped her sword in both hands. “Nope,” She said as she began circulating her own Aura. “I wouldn’t let an opportunity like this slip by.”

  Felicia enjoyed fighting against her Master, but she felt similarly to Verity, in the sense that her Master was still unreachable. Yet, when she’d left the forest to explore the world, she had found no one that could even hold a candle to her skills.

  Whether it be monsters, humans, non-human species, even adepts who had mastered Sword Aura, they had all disappointed her.

  That may have been an arrogant thing to think, but it undeniably was true – Felicia was a once in a millennia genius. Her most thrilling battle had been against the goblins and orcs of the first trial, when she knew nothing.

  Since then, much unlike Verity, she had never had the chance to engage in a battle where she felt she had to put in any effort, much less in a battle where her life was on the line.

  Her world had changed when she had first picked up that sword, and yet, the only one who could fuel it was her Master – Until now.

  Verity spun his spear, and it snapped through the air as he pointed it to Felicia. “Alright, but remember that this is a spar.”

  Kara’s eyes gleamed at the sight. This was something she wouldn’t miss for the world, and it’d allow her to gather more information. She clapped her hands. “Adventurer Verity, Adventurer Felicia, do you wish to duel!?” She asked.

  It still had to be a formal, sanctioned duel.

  “Yes!” Felicia replied immediately.

  “...Yes.” Verity answered with a sigh.

  Kara beamed. “Fantastic! Then let me explain the rules of duels within the Guild!”

  Kara continued. “The rules are simple! Killing is strictly prohibited, and even ‘accidents’ will be severely reprimanded, potentially leading to an investigation by the Kingdom. Then, due to this hall being exceptionally resilient, all skills and magic are allowed, but should Guild personnel find an attack to be unreasonably destructive, they are within their right to stop you!”

  She smiled. “Is that clear?”

  Both Verity and Felicia nodded.

  A familiar voice echoed in Verity’s head.

  [You are engaging in a challenge where the odds are stacked against you.]

  [You have gained experience toward your class.]

  Verity scoffed.

  Clearly, he was in for a rough time.

  “Great!” Kara exclaimed as she began the countdown. “THREE!”

  Verity and Felicia said nothing as there was nothing to say.

  “TWO!!”

  Their grips tightened around their weapons.

  “ONE!”

  Felicia’s grin had not faded, her anticipation palpable. Verity, by contrast, remained unreadable, his focus absolute.

  “GO!”

  Verity immediately lunged forward, raising dust in the wake of his charge.

  There was no point in allowing Felicia to attack to study her style. He’d just be defeated instantly. Instead, he played to his strengths, and immediately pressed on the offensive. He hoped to overwhelm her before she could seize control.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The first strike came instantaneously, a thrust aimed at her chest. Without a single gap, tens of others would rapidly follow suit.

  “Oh!!” Kara exclaimed, watching with excitement.

  Verity had never seen Felicia fight, but she had seen fight. She already understood that being forced on the defensive would put her at a disadvantage. She did not know why, but Verity did not seem to tire no matter how much he pushed himself.

  Instead, she exhaled sharply, and a glint seemed to cross her deep dark eyes. As though a stream infiltrating the crevices of stone, Felicia twisted her body and slipped through Verity’s attack, her sword flashing toward his neck.

  Startled, Verity barely managed to duck beneath the strike, but he did not relent. He thought as he swung his spear at her from the left.

  Felicia responded in kind. She evaded gracefully and this time, and her sword slashed at his side.

  The same result.

  Again, and again, it ended the same, with Verity receiving a new wound each time. He frowned. The wounds were shallow, but they were accumulating.

  He leapt back and clicked his tongue.

  Kara clasped her hands “So exciting!!” She looked at Davion. “Who do you think will win!?”

  Davion sighed, still bitter from his crushing loss. “...The brat’s got no chance.” He said.

  Kara raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say so!?”

  Davion ran a hand through his hair. “Look at them. She’s not even taking this seriously.”

  Kara tilted her head as she looked back at them. It did not look that way to her [Analytical Eye].

  Back on the battlefield, Verity groaned. He knew it would be difficult, but not like this.

  Fighting Felicia felt like fighting water itself. With fluid movements, she swirled around his spear, and slowly moved to suffocate him.

  She grinned. “I know you’ve got more than this, Verity.” She lowered her stance. “Show it to me.”

  The corner of Verity’s lip twitched. “...Sure.”

  Verity’s feet shifted at a staggering speed, and in intricate pattern, so that his body split into three. He lunged forward, each afterimage following after him.

  This time, Felicia was forced to use her sword to block, but she knew there was only one real body.

  As she blocked and evaded his attacks, she listened closely.

  Then, as her sword stood in the path of Verity’s spear on one side, she caught the faintest disturbance in the air. Behind her, her foot slammed into Verity’s chest, sending him crashing into the wall of the training hall.

  Davion sighed. “See?”

  Kara ignored him, much too engrossed in the battle.

  Verity groaned as he stood up. Even with his high pain tolerance, that one hurt.

  Felicia grinned as she watched. “Yes.. that’s it! Don’t give up! Show me more!”

  He sighed.

  He then wiped a stream of blood from the corner of his mouth, and circulated his Aura once more.

  He could feel the intense strain on his body as he rushed forward, but he grit his teeth.

  His entire body screamed in protest, but he paid it no mind.

  Felicia beamed with excitement at the sight. “Yes!” She exclaimed.

  This was exactly what she’d wanted. Something that would push her further than she’d gone in the last three months. A smile curled her lips even wider.

  She dreaded an outcome where Verity had shown her all he could do.

  In the audience, Davion’s fist clenched, unnoticed. Despite what he let Kara think, he’d become more invested in the battle than he would have liked to.

  As for Felicia, she gripped her sword tightly, and at last, unleashed one of her own techniques.

  Verity and his after images attacked from six angles at once, each blow carrying enough power to carve a crater into the earth.

  Yet, as though taken by the stream of a ferocious river, his attacks were swept by Felicia’s defense. Effortlessly, gracefully, each and every single one of his blows was submerged by the endless ocean of talent that was Felicia Harbridge.

  He grit his teeth, and continued to attack, the corner of his lip trembling even more.

  Felicia moved at a staggering speed, but her movements almost seemed slow and unhurried as she defended against Verity’s assault. Under tens of blows, Felicia prevailed. Each parry was perfect, each deflection flawless, and each movement irreproachable.

  As though she was teaching a child who’d picked up a weapon for the first time, Verity’s attacks would never reach her. Felicia analyzed his condition. She understood.

  She realized his body would fail him sooner rather than later.

  She bit her lip.

  But she felt deep down that it was.

  Her grin receded, and she let out a bitter sigh. As the seconds passed, and Felicia felt the threat of Verity's assault diminish, it became clear to her that Verity had already been trapped in her current.

  All that was left now was for him to drown.

  She shifted her grip, ready to put an end to the battle and-

  Verity finally smirked.

  All this time, he had not been attacking mindlessly. He was aware that in a contest of skill, he could never beat Felicia, but who said he had to fight on her terms?

  Again and again, he had attacked her with the same techniques. He had pushed himself past what his body could handle, giving the impression that he was giving it his all, that he possessed no other alternatives.

  His muscles screamed, his bones creaked under the pressure, and his entire body gave the impression that Verity had reached his limit.

  And he had. The best way to make sell the illusion was for it to be real, after all. Still, thanks to his schemes, Felicia’s finishing strike had created a gap. It was so small that it might as well have been non-existent, but that was enough for Verity.

  He, too, shifted the grip on his spear, and used his fastest technique.

  Felicia’s eyes widened.

  In that moment, his spear pierced the air and shot not for her heart or neck, but against what she expected, it shot for her hands.

  CLANG

  Felicia was disarmed, and the world slowed down as her sword flew through the air. Verity did not plan on letting this one opportunity go to waste.

  For the first time, the tide had turned.

  A single, incredibly powerful strike aimed straight at a defenseless Felicia.

  Davion, the examiner, stood up, his eyes wide.

  Kara covered her mouth, her excitement seeping through.

  By all means, this should have been the end... but the opponent was Felicia Harbridge, the genius.

  Instead of fear, as Verity’s spear approached, she felt joy.

  She smiled.

  There was nothing in her arsenal that could save her. In her complacence, In that fraction of a second, she’d been pushed beyond what she was capable of.

  So, she expanded her arsenal. At that moment, she used a technique she’d only seen a few times. She used the seventh stance of the Nine Hells Spearmanship, Fraud, and she disappeared from sight. The training hall trembled as Verity’s spear crashed into the ground.

  Behind him, Felicia reappeared, and she caught her falling sword. “Nice try... but now what?” She whispered.

  A soft glow emanated from her sword as she readied her swing. “[Heaven Cutting Slash]”

  Space itself shuddered. The strike was absolute — Inescapable

  There was nothing that would save Verity from this attack.

  And yet, he grinned.

  [The skill is being activated.]

  As the strike would have torn him apart, his body wavered between the boundaries of the material world. The slash instead carved a deep incision on the wall behind him, its impact shaking the entire Guild.

  Both Verity and Felicia leapt back, smirks tugging at their lips.

  Verity exhaled sharply as he looked behind him. A deep sword mark was now etched into the wall. “That would have totally killed me... This a friendly duel, you know?” He said.

  Felicia’s eyes fell to the crater that Verity had left behind and she chuckled. “Like you’re one to talk…” She rolled her shoulders as she eyed Verity. “This seems like a good place to stop but… I’m not quite satisfied.”

  Verity scoffed. “You know what? Me neither.”

  A quiet tension settled between them.

  Felicia’s legs trembled as sweat rolled down her temple. As she looked at her hands, she chuckled.

  Verity’s teeth clenched. He shook his head, and he smirked.

  Both of their thoughts converged.

  

  

  Verity’s burning desire was recognized and his eyes gleamed brighter, sharper.

  [The skill is being activated. Your stats have been increased accordingly.]

  Felicia, who had told herself she wouldn’t use it for the sake of fairness, activated a skill of her own.

  [You have activated ].

  Her blade flared with deep blue energy, its lethality surging.

  Both Kara and Davion held their breaths, not daring to interrupt this duel. A battle at this level was a rare sight – Something only seen at the platinum rank and above, the ranks of anomalies.

  Verity spun his spear. “Shall we?”

  “...Certainly.” Felicia replied.

  BOOM

  They disappeared in a blur.

  But before they could clash, a voice resonated from the entrance of the training hall. “That’s enough!!”

  CRASH

  Instantly, an invisible, crushing force, slammed both Verity and Felicia into the ground, ending the fight in an instant.