Soren Arden POV
"Huff- This is stupid."
He had known from the start that it was an unwinnable battle, but seeing such a significant skill gap made Soren truly feel how far away he was from the main characters of ❰The Knight of Stellaris❱.
Thud!
Yet again, she landed a blow on his side.
Yet again, he got healed.
Yet again, he stood back up.
Repeating this cycle over and over was all he could do.
Until she got sick of it, that was all he could manage.
He was exhausted.
Until two months ago, he had been living a relatively normal life on Earth.
His only experience fighting was back when he fought against his bullies in high school.
But being transmigrated into this world had changed everything.
In the span of two short months, his entire life had been flipped on its head.
Almost dying back in Rena Forest.
He found out that his family had abandoned him.
Learning about Soren's past.
Meeting Louise.
Killing someone for the first time.
Finally meeting and talking to a main character.
So much had happened in such a short timeframe.
'The story hasn't even gotten into full swing yet…'
According to the game, he would still be located in the early parts of 'Chapter 1', which was almost laughable considering what he had gone through.
The only thing he was grateful for was the fact that he had been transmigrated as an extra.
Because of that, he at least had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, instead of being chained down to the main story.
"Done?"
Amelia's deep voice pierced through Soren's thoughts.
'Was I done?'
Soren stood up and raised his handaxe once more.
"Good." She smiled at him.
He prepared himself to attack when–
–FWAAAA!
A silver light surrounded him.
Turning around to see what was going on, Soren saw Olivia, her hands clasped in prayer, reciting something.
[To the one that is watching over me, you have seen the path I have walked, thus you know the path I will walk—]
The moment he recognised her words, his eyes widened.
"What? Already?!"
He couldn't hide his shock.
The words Olivia was reciting were the incantation for her ultimate skill.
[—To the one who is protecting me, your belief has been seen—]
In ❰The Knight of Stellaris❱, a character would have to undergo a star awakening to learn their ultimate skills, and Olivia specifically would learn hers during the final boss of Chapter 1.
But for some reason, she was using it right now.
"Haha..." He let out a dumbfounded laugh at the sight.
'What did I expect from a main character?'
[—to the one protecting me I will ask you; please be 「My Light」.]
.
[My Light (EX) has been applied!]
.
[Blessing of Stamina has been applied!]
[Blessing of Strength has been applied!]
[Blessing of Agility has been applied!]
[Blessing of Mana has been applied!]
[Blessing of Divine Power has been applied!]
[Blessing of Charm has been applied!]
[Holy Infusion has been applied!]
[Heal has been applied!]
.
[Unique Skill [Blessing of Aryn] has increased [My Light (EX)]'s effectiveness!]
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[Status Window]
Name: Soren Arden (1★)
◈ Stats
Stamina - 3.2 (0.9)
Strength - 3.0 (0.7)
Agility - 3.6 (1.3)
Mana - 3.6 (1.3)
Divine Power - 2.6 (0.3)
Charm - 10.0 (8.7)
.
"Wow…"
His stat sheet was now good enough to be compared to the lower end of class B; it was an overwhelming increase.
[My Light] was the best support ultimate in TKS, buffing all stats by 2 points, granting holy damage to every attack and finally healing 30% of a single unit's health.
It did get nerfed at one point, though, reducing the buff to only a single point after a character's stats reach an average of 5.0, but even with a nerf like that, it was still an invaluable ability.
When the warm light that had enveloped Soren disappeared, he finally noticed Olivia's condition.
Her legs were wobbling, her breathing was ragged, and her face was pale.
'She's used up her divine power.'
He was about to go over to help her, but before he could move, Olivia shook her head and smiled.
"Good… Luck…"
Soren nodded as he turned back towards Amelia, who had an expression as if she had just seen something amazing.
"Another interesting person…"
He couldn't help but agree with Amelia's words.
Thud
He heard Olivia collapse behind him, but she had already told him not to worry.
The main heroine had their awakening two months earlier than they were meant to, and it was all because of a stupid one-sided fight that had only happened because of an extra's mistake.
Amelia quickly came back to her senses and readied herself once more.
Clench
Soren gripped the handaxe tightly and ran towards her at speeds that were previously impossible.
"「Freeze」"
Kwaajaak–
Ice flowed under their feet, making it harder to make quick movements.
Crack!
He attempted to extend the ice to freeze Amelia's legs, but…
Shatter
…It shattered instantly.
Using that split second, he charged in with another spell only to jump back at the last second.
"「Breeze」"
As he flung backwards, he clasped his hands together and muttered an incantation under his breath, being careful so that Amelia wouldn't hear.
"To the one that watches over me, see my strength and give your blessing for my victory. 「Blessing of Lightning」"
It was the incantation that Soren had gotten Olivia to tell him earlier, and unlike before, the purple-ish silver light emanated from his palms, proving his incantation successful, most likely due to the increase in his stats.
.
[Blessing of Lightning has been applied!]
.
[25% Increase to Lightning-Element damage!]
.
By the time the incantation was finished, Amelia was already in front of him, as expected of the strongest student, but thanks to [Concentration], Soren already had a spell ready.
He raised his left hand right as Amelia was about to punch his abdomen.
"「Shock」"
Crackleee—!
At the same time, the lightning shot out of the magic circle. Soren sliced his handaxe towards her side to force her on the defensive.
"Ugh!"
Due to her quickly pulling back from a punch to block, she made a minor mistake and attempted to block the lightning with her metal gauntlet, which further amplified the electricity, causing her to be briefly stunned.
If it were before, Soren wouldn't have had enough time to do anything in the short window that Amelia had been stunned, but now, thanks to Olivia, he could do it.
Slash!
He swung his iron handaxe at Amelia's side whilst preparing another [Shock] spell when…
Drip… drip…
They both froze.
"Huh?"
"What?"
Both letting out exclamations of surprise, they looked up at each other, then back down at Amelia's waist.
'Did I just land a hit?'
It was hard to believe, but from the tiny blood droplets and slight tear in her uniform, it was clear that he had.
Upon closer inspection, it was hardly an actual wound, a scratch at best, but that wasn't what was important; what mattered was the fact that Soren had landed an attack that made Amelia bleed.
He was momentarily worried that maybe he was going to get beaten up for it, but…
"Nice!"
Amelia's voice stopped his train of thought before they could even depart.
"Nice?" Soren said questioningly.
"Yep!" She grinned at him.
'Oh, right, she's insane…'
"Well done."
"Uh.. thanks?"
She ran behind him and patted his back before taking a few steps back.
Soren thought that it was a bit strange to be praised by the person who had just been beating him, but weirdly enough, he found that it felt pretty nice…
"Come here."
He followed her instructions and walked closer to her when..
Grab!
She grabbed his arm before he could even react and…
Ding-♪
"Huh?"
[30 Points have been transferred from Amelia Indras Einhardt to Soren Arden]
"???"
He couldn't hide his confusion at her actions.
'What's she doing?'
She suddenly grabbed his arm, then transferred all the points she had accumulated so far, all with a huge smile on her face.
"It's a reward."
"Ah…"
'I don't know how to deal with this woman…'
"Oh, wait!"
It was then that Soren belatedly realised something and turned around.
There, slumped against a tree, Olivia was fast asleep.
'Before I forget.'
He gently lifted Olivia's wrist, careful not to wake her and raised his bracelet to hers.
Ding-♪
[15 Points have been transferred]
'With that, we should easily make it into the top 10.'
"Hahhh.."
He let out a sigh of relief.
It was over.
Step.. step..
'Oh right, she's still here.'
Turning to Amelia, Soren waited for her to speak.
"—"
'Huh?'
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
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▶ Main Quest Complete! [First Steps (2)] ◀
[Difficulty: A-]
[Reward: Random Magic Talent, 150 Points.]
.
[Status Window]
Name: Soren Arden (1★)
◈ Stats
Stamina - 1.0 (E-) [Increased by 0.1]
Strength - 0.9 (F+) [Increased by 0.2]
Agility - 1.3 (E-)
Mana - 1.4 (E-) [Increased by 0.1]
Divine Power - 0.5 (F+) [Increased by 0.2]
Charm - 8.7 (S-)
◈ Skills
- Life Magic
- Basic Magic
└ Ignition (C-) [Increased by 1]
└ Shock (D-)
└ Gaia (E+)
└ Shield (E+) [Increased by 2]
└ Shockwave (E) [Increased by 1]
└ Breeze (E-) [Increased by 1]
└ Bloom (F+)
└ Aqua (F+)
└ Freeze (F+)
- Concentration (E) [Increased by 1]
- Blood Magic
└ Hemokinesis (F)
.
The midterm practical had ended almost immediately after the battle between Soren and Amelia, leaving Olivia in second and Soren in third.
The first place went to Raylin, the top student in the magic major.
Upon hearing the news, Olivia started crying while holding Soren's hands, thanking him for everything.
She then ran off to find Alex with a wide smile, promising to hang out again in the future.
'She's so cute.'
Obviously, with those results, Soren had completed his quest with flying colours, giving him the rewards he had been so desperately fighting for.
"It's unexpected, though." He muttered as he looked at his status window.
Blood magic was new territory even to Soren, someone who had played TKS for over half a decade.
Of course, he was aware of its existence, but unlike other elements, it wasn't an element that players could use.
There was a very obvious reason for this, though, blood magic could only be used by vampires, and since vampires were almost all considered demons, it was basically impossible to meet a friendly one.
'From what I've seen when fighting vampires, though it seems dangerous…'
Blood magic, like the name suggests, is a magic that literally utilises blood in its spells.
The problem, however, lay there.
The reason why only vampires could use blood magic effectively was because of an organ they possessed that humans didn't: a true heart, where blood made of mana was stored and could be utilised at will.
Not only that, but vampires also possessed hyper regeneration that made it so that there was hardly a risk, even if they used the blood flowing in their bodies instead.
This meant that for a human like Soren, blood magic would likely be a death sentence if misused.
And because of this, he was stuck in a dilemma.
'I'm not sure what to do about this…'
The blood magic in the game was potent, whether used defensively, supportively, or offensively.
"What's up?"
"Hahh…"
'There was also this problem.'
Right before the practical had ended, Amelia had asked Soren a question that left him stumped.
– Can we be friends?
'It was a straightforward question but…'
He looked over at the girl sitting right next to him.
Gone was her gleeful grin; now it was replaced by her familiar languid expression.
'...I don't get why.'
It was one thing that she randomly asked to fight him, another when she handed him all her points just for landing a blow, but this?
Asking to become friends?
It was too sudden.
This didn't even happen with Alex.
If things had gone the way they were meant to, then Amelia would have hunted down and fought Alex, similarly testing his skills as she did with Soren, then once she had gotten her fill, she ended the battle and left, opting to follow him at a distance to learn more about him before approaching him any further.
This was seen as a big deal to not only the students and staff of Stellaris Academy but also Amelia's family, as it was the first time that she had taken an interest in someone for reasons outside of their fighting ability.
'That's why this is so strange.'
He could have understood if he had simply replaced Alex in those events due to his mistake, and he did, but for some reason, instead of just keeping an eye on Soren for a while, she took this step.
The worst part was that even though Soren was agonising so much about it, he still felt happy.
'I mean, who wouldn't?!'
Amelia, being one of the three main heroines, was beautiful, so much so that if they were still on earth, Amelia could have easily been a model.
'Scratch that, she's better than most models.'
And although she was his least favourite out of the three main heroines, he was still a relatively big fan of her.
'But does this count as NTRing the protagonist?'
He didn't know.
Back when he first transmigrated, he said he didn't want to do such a thing, but now that he had been placed into a situation like this, it was nearly impossible for him to refuse.
He didn't have the self-restraint to say no to such a fantastic offer.
"Ugh…"
"What's wrong?"
'Then there's that voice.'
It was hard for him to tell earlier during all the fighting, but now that she was only inches away…
'...It's the best.'
It hit his tastes perfectly.
'No! Stop! Behave!'
"Hoo…"
He chastised himself internally before letting out a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself before replying to Amelia.
"I was just thinking about a new spell I learned."
"What is it?"
A crimson magic circle formed in his hand as he felt the blood drain from his body.
"「Hemokinesis」"
Then a small ball of blood appeared above his hand.
"Huh?"
Her lips curved upward as she started muttering the word 'interesting' to herself over and over again before turning back towards Soren.
"So what's wrong?"
"I'm human."
"Oh, right."
She closed her mouth and nodded in understanding.
"Hmm.."
He was trying his best to figure out what to do with this new skill when a cute voice that he recognised called out to him.
"Hello, Soren."
Upon hearing that voice, Soren came to a realisation and shot to his feet, surprising Lilliana and pushing Amelia away, which left her with a slightly annoyed expression.
He then walked over to Lilliana and grabbed her hand.
"Soren..?"
She looked at his hand awkwardly before Soren finally responded.
"Please teach me blood magic."
He wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of such a thing sooner, but there was a simple solution to all the worries Soren was having.
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[Lilliana Roseblood]
Age: 22
Gender: F
Race: Dhampir (Beastkin)
.
The key part here was 'Dhampir.'
This meant that, although not a pure-blooded vampire, she still had enough vampire blood inside of her to be considered a dhampir, giving her the ability to use blood magic freely.
But unlike usual, Lilliana's face looked pale, even paler than normal, and she looked up at Soren with an almost fearful expression.
"I'm sorry, but I can't, Soren."
"Huh? But why?"
It was an answer he hadn't been expecting, given Lilliana's track record, so he was caught off guard.
"..."
Instead of responding, however, she just stared at Soren for a moment, specifically at his eyes.
"Is something wrong?"
"Soren… you're human, aren't you?"
"I'd like to think so?"
"Then… It's dangerous, I'm sorry…But I can't."
Leaving those words, she turned and left with the worst expression Soren had ever seen on her.
"This is hard…"
He felt like he knew what she was worried about since they were similar worries to his own, but that didn't matter to him.
'I need to learn it.'
'I worked my ass off for this skill, I'd rather die than leave it unused.'
Soren slumped back down next to Amelia, who shifted closer to him, and asked what she thought of the entire thing.
"Can't you just learn?"
"..."
Hearing her response, Soren pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.
'Ah, right…I almost forgot, she's a genius.'
————「❤︎」————