Soren sat back down next to Amelia, his face far more relaxed than earlier.
"Well done," She said before flinching and moving away from him.
"Thanks… What's wrong?"
"You smell."
"Oh, right, 「Clean」"
In his relief, he had forgotten how much he had sweated during his lesson.
"Is that better?"
Amelia inched slightly closer and sniffed his body, causing him to feel ticklish, before nodding.
"Is your eye okay?"
"I think so, I still don't know what happened, though."
The ability to see mana and the excruciating pain that followed were still confusing to him, even more so because of the pop-up that had appeared immediately beforehand.
"「Status」"
The only way he could think of getting an explanation for what had occurred was by checking the system from which the message came.
.
[Status Window]
Name: Soren Arden
Race: Human (?)
◈ Unique Skills
- Library of Memories
- ?er?
.
"...?"
He was shocked by what had appeared.
Not only had the unique skill changed slightly, but his race now had a question mark next to it.
'I don't feel any different though?'
He checked his body and even his magic to see if anything had changed, but not a single thing had.
'I guess I'll just have to wait and see…'
There was a slight anxiety about the fact that he couldn't get answers now, but there were more important things to think about right now.
The key thing being his duel with Alex.
He wasn't as nervous anymore after being taught by Carlen, but he couldn't let his guard down.
Alex was strong, far stronger than his ranking may suggest.
'In the first place, that guy only got 125th place because of his theory scores…'
'Well, there's not much I can do for now.' He thought to himself before turning to Amelia.
"So who are you fighting?"
"...Nobody."
"Why?"
"Nobody challenged me." She said with a bitter expression.
Soren held back his laughter; it made sense that nobody had challenged her, given her reputation.
"Let's get food together after this."
It was his clumsy attempt at cheering her up, knowing full well how much Amelia enjoyed fighting.
Thankfully, it seemed to do the trick as her expression had returned to normal.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
[Soren Arden and Alex, please come down to the arena.]
– It's the Hero's turn!
– I'm so excited!
– I bet all my money on the Hero so he'd better win…
"Hahh… I guess it's time." Soren muttered as he stood from his seat.
His legs felt heavier than they should, and the cheers from the audience only made it worse, a reminder that he was about to fight someone who belonged on a stage far greater than his own.
"Win," Amelia spoke calmly.
"I'll… try my best." He forced a smile, but the words rang hollow even in his own ears.
Deep down, he already knew that his best likely wouldn't be enough.
He picked up a handaxe, now familiar in his grip, running through the motions that had been drilled into him over time.
For a moment, those actions gave him a fragile sliver of hope, but then the thought returned.
'Even with all that training, even with all of the progress I've made… I'm still me…'
He cast a minor blessing, whispering the incantation like it might break if he said it too firmly.
"I call to you, goddess, hear my name and help thy champion. 「Minor Blessing of Agility」"
.
[Minor Blessing of Agility has been applied!]
.
Unlike Olivia, he couldn't stack blessings, couldn't make them shine brighter, couldn't squeeze out anything extraordinary.
It was always the same story, him trailing behind, the distance only growing as time passed.
Then Alex spoke.
"Hello there, we haven't really had a conversation yet, have we?"
Soren swallowed, avoiding his eyes.
"I guess not."
Alex smiled warmly.
"You know Liv's always struggled with talking to people, that's why it made me happy when she told me that she'd made a friend, so I wanted to thank you for that."
"Sure…"
The words that Alex spoke should have meant something, but all Soren felt was a strange emptiness.
He couldn't even answer properly; his throat would close up every time he tried to talk to Alex.
"Sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I? I'm sure you'd rather just fight, right?"
'Of course not…'
[Duel between Soren Arden and Alex… Begin!]
Alex shot forward, golden hair blazing under the arena lights.
Fortunately, Soren had also been preparing from the moment he stepped into the arena.
He pulled his hand from his pocket and opened his mouth.
"「Gaia」"
The arena floor collapsed into a swamp, Alex's speed dying instantly.
It was a move that Soren did in almost every battle in an attempt to reduce the speed of his opponents.
Leap!
Alex suddenly stopped his sprint and jumped backwards, closing his eyes.
Seeing that, Soren cast [Shockwave] in Alex's direction, attempting to break his concentration, but…
"「Freeze」"
Kwaaajaakkk–
Ice flowed throughout the arena, rendering the muddy terrain all but useless.
Then, just as the shockwave was about to hit, Alex's sword began to glow.
「Fialova Swordsmanship - Iron Wall」
Clang!
He drove his sword into the ground and held it with both hands, defending against the incoming spell before looking up at Soren with a grin on his face.
"This is fun." Alex grinned.
His reaction was a familiar one to Soren, one he saw often; it was the expression of a battle junkie.
Soren's chest tightened.
'For him it is, but for me…'
Alex pulled his sword out of the floor and, using the newly formed ice, ran towards Soren, his sword glowing.
「Fialova Swordsmanship - Downward Slash」
Slash
Just as his sword was swung down at him, however, Soren did something strange.
He closed his eyes.
Then a magic circle was formed, and Soren moved his left leg back.
"「Breeze」"
Whoosh
Soren's figure shot forward towards Alex, catching him completely off guard.
'It's unstable…'
He had pushed himself harder, weaving the circle method Carlen had taught him into [Breeze], launching himself forward.
It was sloppy and unbalanced, but it worked.
For once, Alex was surprised.
Soren's handaxe shone brightly as he cocked his arm backwards.
「Einhardt Axemanship - Crescent」
It was an axe technique that he had learned from a distance.
As an arcane studies student, it was impossible for Soren to join martial studies lessons, but on occasion, he would catch a glimpse of them training.
Then, later on, he would copy the moves he had seen to the best of his abilities.
It wasn't a perfect method; in fact, this was the only technique he could use, but for now, it was enough.
The glowing handaxe sliced through the air in an arc.
Alex gritted his teeth as he tried to move his sword, but it was too slow, and, realising this, he tried to dodge…
Swoosh
For once, Soren's blade connected.
A shallow wound, but it was proof that he wasn't completely useless.
His heart leapt, but the thought followed immediately after.
'It's not enough.'
Even though his action should have been a cause for celebration, his mind dismissed it, saying it wasn't enough.
"「Ignition」"
Flames shot from Soren's palm.
Fwaaa–!
Alex swung his sword, slicing through the flames when Soren suddenly appeared.
The moment [Ignition] had been cast, Soren had run forward towards Alex, fully expecting him to deal with the fire.
"!" Alex's eyes widened as he leapt back, but it was too late, Soren was already right in front of him, swinging his axe.
Clang–!
The sword and axe collided, and sparks flew, but right as they did, Soren smiled faintly.
"「Shock」"
Yellow light shone from Soren's foot as he raised it off the floor.
Crackling–
"Keuk!"
Lightning surged through Alex's body, freezing him in place.
Wooonggg—!
Soren's handaxe began glowing once again, this time aiming to end the battle, when suddenly Alex smiled bitterly.
"I… still need to rely on it…" He muttered under his breath.
Golden light spilt from his body.
Suddenly, a cold sweat trickled down Soren's back, and he tried to create a new magic circle in his palm.
'What is this feeling?'
He looked up at Alex, desperately trying to figure out what was going on.
That was when he noticed.
'Why is everything moving so slowly?'
His circle, which should have been completed in mere seconds, dragged sluggishly.
The world was moving at a crawling pace; the crowd slowed to a standstill.
Even his own breath was heavy and thick.
'No…'
When Alex's eyes opened, they burned gold.
Soren's heart froze.
Shudder
A chill went down Soren's spine; the atmosphere surrounding Alex had changed entirely.
'No way… Is this [Divinity]?'
He had expected it to be strong, given that it was the protagonist's unique skill, but Soren couldn't help but despair at the sight before his eyes.
Soren's breath caught.
'This… this is what makes him the protagonist. This is what I can never be…'
His knees wanted to give, but he was unable to do even that in the time-stopped world.
He couldn't see a single world where he could beat the opponent in front of him.
It was as if an insurmountable wall had appeared.
"Sorry about this," A voice cut through Soren's thoughts. "I really don't like relying on this."
Soren desperately tried to speak the words on his mind, but his mouth opened too slowly to say anything.
'Damn it!'
Step…
Alex moved, and with each step, Soren's confidence withered further and further.
Step…
Carlen's lessons, his narrow victory against Amelia, and Lilliana's endless praise.
The praise he had clung to, all of it seemed laughably small compared to the wall standing in front of him.
Step…
He told himself he'd grown, that he had earned something, but in this frozen world that was filled with Alex's golden light, it felt like all he had done was crawl forward while others had soared.
Step
By the time Alex stood before him, sword raised, Soren couldn't even convince himself to try anymore.
"I'm sorry, but I need to win," Alex said as he brought his sword down with a bitter smile.
Soren gave up casting the spell he had prepared.
Slash!
Agony seared his nerves, drawn out by the warped time.
It wasn't just physical pain either, but the sharp, undeniable truth that his strength wasn't enough.
He was unable to even scream.
— — — — — — —!
Alex stabbed his sword into the ground, and the light snapped away.
"Arghhh—!" Soren's body flew back, blood spraying.
Thud!
His body hit the ground hard.
"Cough! Cough!" Blood spilt from his lips.
'Fuck, it hurts!'
He pressed his glowing hand to the wound.
"Stitch… thy flesh, I… end thy agony… 「Heal」"
Purplish-silver light dulled the pain, slowed the bleeding, but the deep cut remained, nor did it do anything about his throbbing head.
The audience was staring, wide-eyed at the arena, while Alex stood in the centre with the same sheepish grin he had worn during his first mock duel.
Seeing that Soren bit his lip.
'What the fuck was that?'
The power that Alex had just used was nothing like the [Divinity] in-game; there should've been no possible way for him to slow down time, and yet, he had.
'It doesn't make sense.'
Soren was frustrated.
He had thought he had a chance.
He had tried his best.
But it wasn't good enough.
It was then that Alex turned his attention back towards Soren.
"Thank goodness, I was worried I'd hit you too hard," Alex said sheepishly, almost apologetic. "Are we still going to fight, though?"
He was covered in sweat and breathing heavily, but Soren didn't even notice.
His thoughts were too preoccupied to even consider Alex's condition.
Soren's lips trembled.
For a moment, he wanted to scream, to claw back some pride, to say that he'd keep going no matter what, but the words died in his throat.
He was too tired, too aware of the truth.
"...I forfeit," Soren said in a quiet voice laced with defeat.
The announcement rang out, and cheers filled the arena, not a single one directed towards Soren.
He staggered to his feet, ignoring Alex, Olivia, and everyone else.
He couldn't stay, not here, not with Alex.
He left the building in silence, his jaw clenched tightly, every step heavy with the knowledge that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stand on the same stage as those he cared for, and he likely never would.
————「❤︎」————