"There was still time to back out, kid!"
Melissa stretched with slow, deliberate movements, almost showy, her body tracing perfect lines through the air. With a simple tap on the bracelet around her right wrist, a massive silver spear appeared in an elegant spin, materializing straight from dimensional storage.
"If you beg now, I promise I'll only tear off one arm. Sound fair?"
After the conversation at the table, we headed to a nearby training wing. The high-level freshmen of that dormitory had access to a private space, wide, reinforced, and absurdly well equipped.
"I appreciate the concern… but I'll take the risk."
At my waist rested the Snow Lady, exuding a subtle chill even through its sheath. There was no specific reason for bringing her today, but still, I felt more at ease with her there.
"Just to remind you… all you have to do is land a single hit on me."
I adjusted the timer on my smartwatch. Exactly five minutes. Before pressing the button, I lifted my gaze to Melissa.
"Whenever you're ready."
The smile on her face remained… but with each passing second, it seemed more distorted. The anger radiating from her was almost tangible, as if she felt I was mocking not only her talent, but every ounce of effort she had poured into it.
"Hehe… so that's how it's gonna be, huh? Very well!"
The moment Melissa assumed a combat stance, I pressed the button.
Beep!
Swoosh!
She charged.
She vanished from where she stood almost instantly. A crescent-shaped attack appeared out of nowhere, aimed straight at my torso. I leapt backward at the last possible second, the strike was so powerful it made the air whistle as it sliced through.
Interesting…
Despite wielding a spear, Melissa handled it like a naginata, alternating long-range slashing attacks with rapid spins, as if the weapon were a natural extension of her body.
Regaining her posture, she launched into another sequence.
Swoosh! Swosh!
Successive thrusts tore through the air with brutal aggression. I dodged each one with simple sidesteps, my hands still tucked casually into my pockets.
But that wasn't the end.
"HAAAH!"
Twisting her body and using all the momentum she had built up, Melissa unleashed a wide crescent strike, this time aimed at my neck. I had just finished dodging, my footing still unstable.
But that wasn't a problem.
Clink!
A burst of sparks exploded as my katana's blade collided with her spear. The impact was sharp and powerful. We both took a step back, pushed away by the rebound of force.
"Just to be clear… touching me doesn't include touching my weapon."
I sheathed the katana with a soft click.
Melissa clearly didn't like that comment. The warning, obvious as it was, sounded like a direct insult to her intelligence.
"Hehe… looks like I underestimated you, shrimp."
Two veins bulged instantly at my temple.
Normally, I didn't care about insults or nicknames. But shrimp… that crossed the line. I kept my face indifferent, even as a vein throbbed on my forehead.
"Since you're not as weak as I thought… you don't mind if I go all out, right?"
Melissa slammed the butt of her spear against the floor.
A greenish aura erupted around her, making the environment vibrate slightly. Looks like she'd finally decided to use mana…
FWOOSH!
The ground beneath her feet cracked faintly, and she disappeared.
Clink!
Another brutal collision. Far more violent than the last. The impact threw my arm backward, completely breaking my guard.
Fast…
She was stronger now. Even blocking, I felt my arm shudder violently, my bones protesting under the transmitted force.
I leapt back, creating distance.
But the instant my feet touched the ground… Melissa's smile widened even further.
"Watch your step."
Huh?!
Suddenly, with a simple swing of her arm, a violent concentration of mana formed near my left foot. Out of nowhere, a massive spike erupted from the ground, intertwined thorny vines twisting together into a brutal attack.
Tsk!
I hurled my body upward, performing a flip while bracing one hand against the floor. I spun through the air and barely escaped.
But it wasn't over.
The exact moment my hand touched the ground, several green markings flared around me. At least ten. Attacks coming from different directions.
Normally, there'd be no way to dodge all of them. So I used the few remaining moments to steady my breathing. My muscles swelled, veins pulsed beneath my skin, and a purplish vapor escaped through clenched teeth.
"Insect Breathing — Fourth Form: Goko no Mai: Hyakusoku Jabara. (Centipede Dance: Hundred-Legged Zigzag)"
Melissa brought her raised hand down, declaring the attack. In the next instant, dozens of massive spikes burst from the ground at absurd speed.
POW — POW — POW
The impact was so violent it cracked the reinforced concrete of the training hall. A dense cloud of dust rose, swallowing the storm of thorns.
But in the midst of that chaos, purplish blurs darted across the field.
By a hair.
Thanks to Insect Breathing, I managed to evade every single attack. I landed on the only patch of floor that remained intact, leaning against my sheath as I hyperventilated.
I hadn't been hit, but the cost was steep. That sequence drained far more energy than I'd like to admit.
As the dust began to settle, I noticed something strange.
Melissa looked worse than I did.
Sweat streamed down her forehead, her chest rising and falling erratically. She was dangerously close to exhausting all her mana. I thought that, seeing me still standing, her pride would finally crumble.
But no.
Even on the verge of collapse, she smiled… unnaturally wide.
A chill ran down my spine.
"Like I said… watch your step."
W-what…?!
Before I could react, my body was yanked violently. To my right, thorny vines burst from the ground, wrapping around my arm and right leg, biting into my skin like barbed wire.
"Urgh!"
Trapped.
I couldn't move. I couldn't block. The arm holding my sword was immobilized. When I looked up, Melissa was already in an attack stance, gathering the last of her strength.
"Checkmate, bastard!"
Damn it… I underestimated her.
From the very start, Melissa realized she wouldn't be able to hit me directly. When she unleashed the thorn storm, she deliberately left a single spot in the room untouched.
A perfect trap.
During the chaos of the attack, she had prepared pre-positioned vines. When I landed exactly where she wanted, I was caught. Now there was no dodging. No defense.
Melissa planted her feet, pulled the spear back, and focused every last drop of energy into a single thrust. Then she charged, aiming straight for my torso.
FWOOOSH!
But sorry… I'm not losing!
POW!
With precise timing, I used my only free leg and stomped down hard on the spear's shaft. The weapon sank into the floor, completely knocked off course.
"W-what…?!"
I couldn't dodge. I couldn't block.
But I never said anything about counterattacking…
A well-placed stomp on the weapon is more than enough to break anyone's posture.
The impact shattered Melissa's concentration. Her mana dispersed, and the vines restraining me dissolved into particles of green light.
I moved instantly.
With Melissa still unbalanced, I pressed my sword's sheath against her neck. At the same time, I raised my other arm and checked the watch.
BEEP — BEEP — BEEP
"Time's up."
Melissa's spear dissolved, returning to dimensional storage. She collapsed to her knees, completely exhausted.
In the end… I did it.
I thought that for a second. Then a sharp pain shot through the puncture wounds on my right arm.
Wait… did I lose?
The condition was "touch me." It wasn't a direct attack, but she immobilized me. Technically… that counted.
…
…
Damn it…
If Melissa wanted, she could refuse the deal. Claim victory by technicality. It'd be petty, but possible.
Cold sweat trickled down my face.
Before I could say anything, a voice full of bitterness cut in.
"Every Wednesday and Friday after classes… those are the only times I have."
"...Pardon?"
"I accept your shitty deal, you damn brat!"
Melissa knew that, technically, she had touched me. But refusing to lose by clinging to a loophole like that would be even more humiliating.
Even using everything she had, the most she managed were a few scratches. Meanwhile… I hadn't attacked her even once.
Swallowing her rage, she chose to keep her word.
"Now get out of here… before I change my mind!"
"S-sure!"
I agreed instantly.
I slipped out of the training hall, passed through the automatic doors, and disappeared into the elevator within seconds.
Inside the room, Melissa remained kneeling on the floor. Her hands trembled with frustration. The surroundings were utterly destroyed—cracks everywhere, trails of mana scattered like scars.
A servant rushed over, placing her hands on Melissa's shoulders in concern.
"Miss Melissa!"
Smack.
"Don't touch me!"
The slap knocked the woman's hand away. She quickly realized: aside from sweat and exhaustion, Melissa was completely uninjured.
Which, for her, made everything even more humiliating.
Outside the building, Yuto could only feel pity for poor Ren.
He had also planned to make a proposal to Melissa, something involving potions.
But now…
He'd be catching her in the worst mood possible.
May the gods have mercy on your soul, my friend.