After waking up, I went through my usual morning routine, even though I wasn’t in my dorm back at the academy.

The place felt unfamiliar, but habits are habits.

And just as soon as I left my room, I ran into Yara.

“What…?”

She had just told me some shocking information.

“You heard me.” Yara crossed her arms, repeating herself like she was talking to a clueless kid. “The match isn’t happening until 10 p.m.”

I stared at her, my surprise pretty obvious.

Damn it.

That was way later than I expected.

“Do you have any training rooms around here?” I asked, trying to keep myself busy instead of wasting the whole day waiting.

“Why? Bored already?” she smirked.

“Yeah.” I nodded, not even trying to deny it.

I mean, what else was I supposed to do until the match started?

I honestly can’t stay looking at my phone for a whole day.

“Well, how about sparring with me?” Her tone contained amusement as she stood up from the sofa she always seemed glued to.

‘Mhm…’

I thought it over for a moment.

That wasn’t a bad idea, actually. I could use this chance to test how much mana this gray ‘heart’ of mine could handle.

“Sure.”

“Sweet.” She grinned, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

“Follow me.” And just like that, she snapped her fingers.

Out of nowhere, a hidden passage opened up in the room.

Come to think of it, why was her house in such an obvious spot? It was literally right next to the entrance of the black market.

Who does that?

I pushed the thought aside and followed her down the passage.

After a short walk, we stepped into a massive room that looked like something out of a gladiator’s true dream.

Weapons of all kinds were neatly displayed on small stands, and a glowing green barrier encased the battle arena in the center.

“A no-damage barrier?” I muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Those things were insanely expensive to make. But knowing Yara and her wealth, she could probably buy a hundred of them without blinking.

“Go ahead, pick something.” She waved toward the weapons like they were toys at a store. “They’re way better than what you’ve got.”

Her casual dismissal made me frown.

‘If you hadn’t stolen back the morph weapon, I wouldn’t need any of this trash,’ I thought bitterly.

Of course, I kept my mouth shut.

Still, as I approached the stalls, my eyes widened. Every single one of those weapons was at least a low-grade artifact.

The price tags on them must’ve been ridiculous.

I didn’t think too hard about it.

I grabbed a taichi sword and a handgun and stepped into the arena.

The moment I passed through the barrier, a strange, refreshing sensation washed over me. It was like stepping into another world.

“Are you ready, sweetie?” Yara called out, pointing her sword at me with a smug grin. Her tone was strangely sweet tone as she addressed me.

Sweetie?

Did she fucking think I’m a child or something?

Ah… right.

I almost forgot.

She’s a crazy fucking bitch.

『 Judgement Eye (✦ S-Level Skill ✦) 』

Of course, since I was fighting her, I was using everything I had.

No holding back.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 First Move! (✦ Ice Lotus Bloom ✦) 』

A frozen lotus appeared in front of my sword, its petals twitching wildly. But instead of throwing them like I usually do, I kept them close, hovering around me like a shield.

“Oh? That’s an interesting move…” she said, licking her lips and crouching down.

Then, without warning…

Fwoop!

She vanished, reappearing right in front of me, swinging her sword straight at my head.

Clink!

The petals formed a shield just in time, blocking her attack. For a second, I felt the pressure, but I quickly swung my sword back at her.

She jumped back, just out of reach, then charged at me again. This time, her sword was glowing with her grey mana.

I leaped back to avoid her strike, seeing how she sliced through my protective petals with ease.

Then, she raised her hand, and I could feel the ground tremble beneath me, so I jumped high in the air.

Thack!

Sharp earth spikes shot up from where I had been standing.

If I was there for a single second more, my body would be pierced by then.

“Come on! Use your full power!” she taunted, appearing beside me mid-air and sending a powerful punch towards my stomach.

My eyes widened as I quickly coated my body in silver mana.

Thud!

I was sent flying towards the ground, but it didn’t make a crater or anything in that. Instead, I felt the whole pain of being thrown against a really strong floor.

“Now we’re talking, Aestrea~” she grinned, disappearing again.

Her speed was insane, and the only way I could track her was by seeing her after images, thanks to my Judgement Eye.

‘Behind!’

I spun around fast and crossed my arms in front of me, forming an ‘X’ and then taking another punch that sent me sliding back, my feet digging into the ground.

“Damn it…”

I cursed under my breath, quickly wrapping my sword in more mana and focusing on her figure.

『 Second Move! (✦ Ice Lotus Barrage ✦) 』

I unleashed a wave of crescent-shaped ice energy at her. But with a simple flick of her hand, she made them disappear into thin air.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…” she clicked her tongue continuously.

“I thought you were stronger than that,” she added as a disappointed expression appeared on her face. It was easy to know that she was provoking me.

“It seems that I overestimated you.” she shook her head.

Her words didn’t affect me at all.

After all, I didn’t have to prove myself to anyone.

Instead, I rushed forward, swinging my sword toward her left shoulder.

Fwip!

She countered with a slash that sent my sword flying, then aimed a thrust straight at my chest.

But… I was expecting that.

BANG!

The sound of a bullet rang out.

My lips had slipped into a small smile.

“Ah… that was a surprise. I didn’t expect you to press the trigger so fast… it’s a pity that guns are useless.” she sighed with a sly grin.

I looked at her chest, where the bullet should’ve hit, and saw a tiny crack in the shield of mana surrounding her.

Thack!

She disarmed me in a flash, taking my gun from my hand.

But of course, I expected that too.

There’s no way I’d win against her, so I need to make an impossibility turn possible.

“Explode.”

I said it quietly, but the moment I spoke, I saw her eyes widen.

BAAM!

FREEZE!

The explosion sent ice shards flying in all directions, covering the spot where she had been standing.

I waited, watching the smoke rise, wondering if any of it had hurt her.

“Phew… that was close. But, unfortunately, too weak…” her voice came from the other side of the smoke.

I didn’t expect that move to defeat her, but at least to cause some damage.

But unfortunately…

It didn’t cause her any damage.

Instead, her clothes were the only thing that took a hit. They disintegrated, leaving her outfit in tatters, for example, one of her breasts had some remnants of cloth while the other had a nipple out.

Her whole body was undamaged, but her clothes were a mess.

“…Such a pity,” she sighed, glancing down at her ruined blouse.

“That was my favorite one.”

And yeah…

She didn’t seem to care that I was staring at her either.

I quickly grabbed my sword again, leaving the gun on the ground. I just wanted to test how much damage it would cause, but it was downright useless.

“Prepare yourself Aestrea… I’ll take this a bit more seriously…” she licked her lips.

Fwoop!

She disappeared into thin air, and suddenly, I saw the flash of her sword.

It was slicing through the air so fast it created a high-pitched whistling sound as it cut toward me.

Clang!

My sword caught hers just in time, but the force pushed me back, my feet skidding against the ground.

I barely kept my balance.

Yara didn’t pause.

She was already jumping in the air, flipping over me like a predator closing in on its prey.

“Getting tired, Aestrea?” she teased, her voice smooth as silk, but was filled with mockery. “I thought you’d put up more of a fight.”

She landed behind me, spinning around to strike at my back. My eyes widened as I heard the sound of her sword slicing through the air again, this time aiming for my spine.

Whoosh!

I dove to the side just in time, feeling the wind of the blade rush past me. The ground where I had been standing exploded in a burst of dust as the force of her missed strike hit the earth.

BOOM!

I rolled back onto my feet, quickly recovering, but she was already there.

This time, she was so fast I didn’t even see her move—only the faintest blur before a punch slammed into my side.

Thud!

The impact sent me flying sideways, crashing into a nearby stone pillar.

The world spun for a moment.

I could taste blood in my mouth.

‘Fuck… wasn’t this supposed to be a spar?’

I told myself, but knowing her character…

She was going to try and damage my body as much as possible. She’s a crazy bitch and fucking sadist after all.

“Is this really all you’ve got?” Yara’s voice came from above, her face still holding the same sly and mocking grin.

I forced myself to stand, wiping the blood from my lip, but I didn’t speak.

“Haaa….”

Taking a deep breath, I shook the dizziness off and squared up again, clutching my sword tightly as my eyes landed on her figure.

“Come on, don’t tell me you’re already out of tricks.” She crouched low to the ground, then shot forward like a missile, moving so fast that I almost couldn’t track her.

Before I could react, she was there, a blur of movement, her foot slamming into my stomach with a sickening crunch.

Thwack!

I gasped, my body bending forward from the sheer impact, but before I could catch my breath, she was already behind me again, her sword coming down toward my back in a deadly arc.

I whipped around just in time to raise my sword to block. The sound of metal scraping against metal rang out in the air.

She was really taking this more seriously!

Clang!

“You’re slow, Aestrea,” Yara said, voice dripping with disdain.

She wasn’t even breathing heavily.

“Is that all the power you’ve got?” She circled around me, her eyes containing some kind of sadistic pleasure.

“This is almost pathetic.”

Her sword came for me again, aiming for my neck, but I caught it at the last moment. The impact pushed me back, making my arms tremble from the effort, but I held on.

She swung again, and this time, I couldn’t react fast enough. The blade cut across my side, leaving a deep gash.

Shiiiing!

Pain flared, but I gritted my teeth, ignoring it. I was losing ground, but I couldn’t give up.

“Pathetic,” Yara repeated, watching as I staggered back. “How did you even make it this far? Maybe you’re just lucky. I’ll give you that. But luck won’t save you now.”

I barely kept my footing. My thoughts were clear, my focus razor-sharp. But the pain was starting to get to me, dulling my reactions.

“You really are weak…” she sighed deeply, furrowing her eyebrows.

“I can see why your childhood lover died under your eyes,” she shook her head in a disappointed yet mocking manner.

Those words hit me like a blow to the chest.

My breath caught, and my stomach twisted.

I completely froze at her words.

Immediately, my control over mana started turning erratic. I looked towards her as my posture completely changed, and a bitter cold tone escaped my mouth.

“What did you just fucking say?”

Slowly, a violet aura started leaking from my body…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep