From the stands, thanks to the dome-shaped barrier that protected the spectators, the arena field looked like a Christmas snowball in which far too much fake snow had been stuffed, making it impossible to see the Santa Claus hidden inside.
The wind from the snowstorm itself wasn't strong enough to hurt Katerina, and the temperature—though it had dropped considerably—was not a problem for her, since she was accustomed to the cold of her home village. But seeing her opponent was completely impossible, as the storm was simply too thick. Katerina immediately tried concentrating mana in her ears to check if she could at least hear Angre's footsteps, yet that proved useless as well. The roaring wind was far too loud, and the young man was clearly very skilled at moving as quietly as possible.
In addition, the storm itself seemed to interfere with her ability to sense mana, effectively blocking that option too. So the only thing left for her to rely on was her sense of smell, but even when she attempted to detect Angre's scent, she found, as expected, that she could smell nothing except the earth of the arena field.
This confirmed the suspicion she had developed earlier when she tried to smell Angre a few minutes before and could detect practically nothing coming from him.
"So, Angre, are you a Mana Skin possessor?" she asked, raising her voice just enough for her opponent to hear, even though she already felt certain of the answer. Of course, the question wasn't only to confirm her theory. If the boy had actually responded, it would have helped her identify his exact position.
But only the wind answered her. On one hand, she was relieved that the young man wasn't foolish enough to speak in such a situation, but on the other hand, with no effective method to locate her opponent, Katerina could do nothing but wait for his next move.
Naturally, Angre was also unable to see Katerina. However, unlike her, he had memorized the girl's scent and knew she hadn't moved a single inch since the encounter began. So, about twenty seconds after Katerina had asked her question, he prepared to attack.
He drew one of his daggers—crafted from a special kind of metal that was virtually odorless—and approached his prey's back with impressive speed yet absolute silence.
However, just before the dagger could reach her, Katerina moved her mouth at several times the speed of sound, and before Angre could even register the words, a wall of earth slightly larger than a person rose from the ground, blocking his stab. A moment later, the sound of what she had spoken finally reached Angre's well-developed ears: "Earth Wall."
Katerina had only realized that Angre was striking from behind when he was mere inches away, all thanks to the sudden shift in air caused by his movement. With her exceptional reflexes and exaggeratedly fast spellcasting, she managed to defend herself in time.
Angre smiled bitterly yet fiercely and, almost as a small reward for her successful defense, answered the question she had asked moments earlier. "That's right. I was born with Mana Skin."
But unwilling to waste the opportunity—knowing that in seconds Angre would become untraceable again—she shouted, "Impaling Cannon!" A cannon-shaped trunk burst out of the ground beside Katerina, but instead of a typical cannon's opening, it ended in a massive, extremely sharp wooden stake.
Katerina immediately directed her mana toward the construct, and the pointed stake launched at extreme speed from the trunk, striking Angre square in the abdomen. But when it hit the boy's skin, the wooden tip—denser and stronger than steel—shattered, then fell to the ground after the force behind it dissipated. The only result of the spell was a slight bruise forming on Angre's abdomen.
"I take the trouble to answer your question, and you try to impale me. That's not exactly the attitude I'd expect from my future boss," Angre said, before disappearing once more into the raging snowstorm.
'Mana Skin… a condition so rare that only one in six hundred thousand people ever develops it. A large portion of the mana in someone born with this trait constantly permeates their skin and cannot be used for casting spells. In exchange, however, it makes their skin extraordinarily hard and durable—much more resistant than I anticipated. And it also has the peculiar side effect of making the user practically odorless, since pure mana tends to erase any scent it touches.'
Katerina mentally reviewed this information, for although she already knew about the existence of this rare trait, this was the first time she had actually encountered someone who possessed it.
"Already calling me boss? You seem very confident that you've already secured the job, but I warn you, my evaluation isn't over yet," Katerina said in a calm yet slightly provocative tone. Once again, only silence answered her.
'I absolutely must eliminate this storm, otherwise I won't be able to keep the promise I made to Mr. Lucas!' Katerina shouted inwardly, then regained her usual composure. Keeping all her senses sharpened, she began to analyze the situation.
'Considering the scale of this spell, how long it's lasting, and the fact that because of his condition Angre probably doesn't have much mana available… The snowstorm he created can't be the type of spell that requires constant mana from the caster to remain active. Usually, large spells like this—if they don't drain the user's mana continuously—have some kind of core that, if destroyed-'
But Katerina's thought process was abruptly interrupted when the sound of something extremely fast slicing through the air reached her focused ears.
It was a jet of high-pressure water, reaching her at lightning speed. It was the effect of a spell called Water Ray, a well-known but difficult-to-master water spell. Normally, Katerina would have been able to block it with ease, but because of the howling wind masking the sound, she noticed it too late—and unlike Angre himself, this attack moved far faster.
The best she could do was turn slightly so that the water only struck the outer part of her shoulder. The pain struck instantly, and then crimson drops of blood began to stain the right sleeve of her waitress uniform red.
But Katerina remained stoic and immediately commanded, "Root Chrysalis!"
A dozen long, woody roots erupted from the ground, twisting and coiling tightly together to form an elongated oval barrier around the lynx girl.
Another jet of water shot toward her from a completely different direction, but this time it was completely blocked by the cocoon she had created.
Taking advantage of her temporary protection, Katerina returned to thinking about how to dispel the snowstorm without simultaneously defeating her opponent in a single blow. Even if she managed to end the storm, if Angre were defeated before her queen could even witness the match, she would still fail to show Lucas the spectacular battle she had promised him—and in her eyes, that would mean disappointing his expectations.
A few more seconds passed, but no further attack struck the cocoon. This made Katerina nearly certain that Angre had little mana left and that the White Storm spell must indeed have a core hidden somewhere within the arena. Becouse she felt confident that Angre realized that if he continued attacking the chrysalis with Water Ray, he would eventually pierce it without much difficulty.
So she decided that the moment had come to finally execute the plan she had devised while sheltered inside the cocoon, allowing the real battle to begin at last.
"Branch Porcupine: maximum range!" exclaimed Katerina.
From the various roots forming the chrysalis, a myriad of razor-sharp thorns sprouted enough to submerge the entire arena field, shooting outward at great speed in every direction. In an instant, all those branching spikes reached the walls of the arena or the protective barrier with considerable force. Angre was struck as well, but once again the thorns shattered harmlessly against his skin.
However, when several of the thorns reached the left side of the magic barrier, a powerful sound like crystal shattering echoed throughout the entire arena, even louder than the roaring wind. A few seconds later, the snowstorm that had battered the field since the start of the match dissipated completely, as though it had never existed. Katerina's plan had worked.
But it had still been a gamble. The spell she used to strike the core of Angre's magic without needing to locate it directly had far less penetrating power at such a long range, even though the mana cost remained much higher than normal. Because of this, there had been a significant risk that the core was too resilient, causing the thorns to fail to pierce it and thus fail to grow inside it to break it apart. Yet to keep any promise she had made to her queen, Katerina was prepared to do anything— even risk her own life without hesitation.
The accumulated snow produced by Angre's spell was already beginning to melt, and Angre finally became fully visible. But he didn't look discouraged at all; his wild smile still glowed boldly across his face.
"What do you say—did I pass the test, boss?" Angre asked, confidence flowing in his voice.
Katerina walked toward the young man calmly and said, "I can tell you that from the perspective of magic and battle strategy, you have definitely passed. You fought like a fearsome hunter who has eliminated a large number of prey without ever being injured." Her tone began calm, then shifted. "But you won't be able to use your White Storm spell frequently to protect the queen. It isn't suitable for enclosed spaces such as the queen's chambers or the palace, and I understand that it consumes a large portion of your already limited usable mana. So now show me how you perform in close combat without relying on that spell!" she added with a serious edge.
"That's fine by me, but your spells don't seem to be very effective against my skin," Angre replied confidently.
Katerina ignored the tiger beastkin's comment, continuing her calm but steady approach. Yet that calmness hid something far more frightening—more beastlike. The feeling she radiated was the same one Angre had experienced during one of his earliest hunts, when he had unfortunately encountered a Superior Over Beast far beyond his capabilities and had survived only thanks to his father's intervention.
Katerina opened her eyes wide, revealing bright orange irises and sharp black feline pupils. Her expression resembled not a predator about to strike, but wounded prey prepared to do anything to eliminate the predator threatening her life so she could continue surviving.
"Wooden Claws," Katerina declared. Her hands became coated in rough wood, armored with bark so hard it resembled steel—though in truth it was much stronger than steel—ultimately forming extremely sharp, deadly claws.
Angre already held both daggers in his hands, his wild smile still present despite the sweat beginning to roll down his temples.
With a sudden, explosive movement, Katerina lunged at Angre, and a clash of what felt like an endless flurry of slashes erupted between them.