At the moment when Claire and Yuha charged toward each other.
Min-su. No, Jeras was already getting a headache from this spar, packed with so many things demanding his attention.
'First up, Claire Anastasia. The lady of the Anastasia Duke Family.'
One of the empire's four great ducal houses, the Anastasias were known for their signature watery blue hair, and she was an indispensable talent in Otherworld Academy Adaptation Record—the perfect party member from the early game all the way to the end.
Her specialty: fluid parrying.
With the Anastasia family's signature soft swordsmanship, she could deflect even the mightiest foes' power and counter with a lethal strike. The ultimate value attacker.
If this were a wuxia novel, she'd be like a swordsman from the Mount Wudang school.
Claire boasted a high evasion rate from her own sword techniques and dished out devastating counters, making her worth her weight in any raid.
She was specialized for one-on-one duels, so she struggled a bit in swarm fights compared to others, but that was a weakness that could be covered easily enough.
Her personality was refreshingly straightforward and unpretentious for a high noble, so recruiting her wasn't tricky at all.
Thus, this chance to gauge her skills firsthand was a golden opportunity for Jeras, one of the easiest top talents to recruit.
Of course, he couldn't focus properly because of the gray-haired guy facing her.
'Claire seems about as strong as I figured. The problem is... nonexistent.'
But if there was a problem, it was Claire's opponent: the gray-haired man, Yuha.
Judging by the name, Jeras guessed he might hail from the eastern continent, but traveling with Liliss meant it could be an alias. He couldn't rule that out.
Liliss herself didn't seem keen on hiding her identity, openly using the name Lili—which was humorous, if nothing else.
The man named Yuha wielded crude swordplay matched to his greatsword, putting up a fierce fight against Claire.
No, upon closer inspection, he was being gradually pushed back.
But Claire was already at a level where she could tackle quests outside the academy.
Far beyond a mere cadet's skill, so it didn't mean the gray-haired guy was weak.
'Less raw talent, more filling gaps with experience.'
Even as Yuha labored to block Claire's blade, he seized every fleeting opening for stylish counters.
Though Claire repeatedly turned those counters back on him, leaving him in dire straits multiple times.
'Still... nothing exceptionally outstanding yet.'
In terms of skill, at least.
From the start, it wasn't his prowess that troubled Jeras most. Without the Demon God, Liliss—the strongest being on this land—was traveling with him. That was what really gnawed at him.
"You look lost in thought."
"!!!"
Startled, he glanced sideways to find Liliss standing there as if she'd been beside him the whole time.
He'd considered she might approach, but not this quickly.
And so brazenly.
"Since you helped me earlier, I'll give you a special piece of advice."
"..."
"If you don't know what to say, better to keep quiet... Not a bad choice. Then, straight to the point."
Liliss's eyes weren't on him; they fixed endlessly on Yuha. Yet Jeras felt her intangible gaze piercing him, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut.
"I don't care what you know or what you're curious about. 'Just mind your own business.' Remember that one thing."
Those words alone screamed bad-end route.
Liliss, once suspected, always delivered a bad ending without fail.
But Jeras sensed a faint trace of mercy in her tone.
If not, he'd already be dead.
"Hehe. Then I'll be off. I can't let my master see me chatting with some other man."
Suddenly, Liliss was back in her original seat, watching Yuha—as if she'd never moved.
'Illusion magic.'
Her power was immense, but this signature spell explained why Vampire Queen Liliss was the pinnacle boss of nightmare difficulty.
The phase-two illusion pattern always forced meticulous raid builds.
Realizing he'd fallen under her illusion without a clue, Jeras let out a hollow laugh.
He'd expected at least some precursor signs. Game and reality differed.
'Illusion magic manifested right in the heart of the academy, and no one noticed.'
Not even everyone present here.
'The headmaster isn't here... She might have sensed it.'
Jerass thought it fortunate she was absent.
The headmaster was strong enough, but before Liliss, merely ambiguously so.
He decided to put the gray-haired man and Liliss on indefinite hold.
Now that they'd caught him watching, any rash move was far too dangerous.
For now... he could do nothing.
Powerlessness bowed his head; the metallic tang from biting his lip too hard went ignored.
Just then, Yuha and Claire's duel neared its climax.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Honestly, I got complacent.
With her long, flowing aquamarine hair and a beauty that—while not quite matching Lili's—would make anyone glance back if they passed her on the street.
I hadn't expected this slender, fragile-looking girl, whose mind (and strikes) radiated disappointment, to be this strong.
I'd mixed in every improvisation I could, but her fundamentals were rock-solid. Was it just a skill gap? None of it fazed my blue-haired friend.
Never formally trained in swordsmanship, my sloppy style was growing familiar to her; her blade progressively honed the optimal path, pressing me harder.
'At this rate, I'm done for.'
Truth be told, even losing here probably wouldn't disqualify me from academy admission.
Blue-hair was just showcasing overwhelming talent; I'd shown plenty of my own skill.
Hey, I'm the guy who cleared dungeon floor 19.
Sure, with nonstop Ria bus rides—but a sad truth nonetheless.
Stronger now than then, I could probably solo 19 alone.
The old me would've forfeited here, admitting defeat.
'But today, I really wanna win.'
Reason? Simple.
I'd declared to Lili that I'd devour her tonight. Losing the duel and slinking back? That'd trash my master's dignity.
And I knew one surefire way to win these situations.
When my life's 'safety' is guaranteed, I get extremely strong.
"Frankly, I didn't expect you to last this long."
"Honestly, I've been too arrogant lately myself."
I matched her words lightly, buying time until my perfect chance arrived.
Botch it clumsily, and it'd backfire.
She could win for sure by pressing nonstop, but wanting a cleaner finish, she paused her assault, stepping back to catch her breath.
That meant full-power attack incoming—a preview for me.
Staking her claim on the academy, huh?
"You're definitely strong."
Hearing that, I released my left hand from the two-handed greatsword grip, pointing at her boldly with my right.
A provocation.
To lure her into all-out aggression, creating my desired timing. A petty trick.
"This duel looks like your victory."
"...You're conceding defeat? Right now?"
Nope. Don't jump to conclusions, missy who loves doing things her way.
"Huh? Nah. You gotta see it through to know."
"Right. That unyielding spirit... I can respect you more now."
Honored.
Her muscles tensed, exhaling sharply as the blue-haired girl charged again.
Where's she aiming?
I swiftly calculated the thrusting blade's trajectory—faster than before—predicting its target.
'Left shoulder.'
Quick, but a probing strike to drag me into her rhythm.
Defend the shoulder, and she'd chain into a soul-crushing follow-up.
"But, unfortunately!"
"Huh?"
Shluck.
I neither blocked nor dodged—instead accelerating into the sword aimed at my shoulder.
Her thrust speed plus my lunge made her attempt to pull back futile.
Soon, her blue blade sank deep into my shoulder.
'Tch! Hurts like hell.'
Calculated risk, but damn, it stung.
Now her sword was sheathed in my shoulder scabbard. She was wide open.
This was my gambit.
"It's over."
Panicking threw off her stance, but she snapped back, trying to yank her blade free.
No way to defend against my mid-swing greatsword.
To evade, she'd have to drop it.
She tried pulling instead—letting my greatsword reach her throat effortlessly.
"Life's about real combat, kiddo!!"
Puhahaha. Easy peasy.
My regen would heal this shoulder by tonight anyway.
Sometimes it degraded a bit, but a day fixed it.
Probably good as new by dinner.
This was true flesh-for-bone mastery.
"That's enough!"
The proctor's bellow signaled the match's end.
Blue-hair's pupils quaked, fixated on my pierced shoulder.
How's that? Speechless at my bold strat, right?
Heh. This... is... strategy.
"Failing to prepare for the worst move was your mistake."
Got it, human?
Now, proctor, announce the winner.
Uh, mental breakdown's fine, but pull the sword outta my shoulder already.
Why'd you stop midway?
Fuck, it hurts balls.
"Winner! Examinee number 144, Claire Anastasia!"
What the hell.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Argh... What a dumbass move.
Never dreamed taking a fatal blow counted as defeat.
With my OP regen unlike anyone else's, I wanted to argue it wasn't fatal—but the proctor's glare was fierce, so I dropped the protest.
Not 'cause it was a hassle! Ahem.
Apparently, Lili had warned me about that rule multiple times while we flirted.
Haha. My bad.
'Now what to do about this.'
Lili's lips smiled, but her eyes didn't—fuming, plain as day.
"Uh... sorry?"
She gave me an enigmatic look, sighed, grabbed my uninjured right hand, and dragged me off somewhere.
Lili, Lili—your foolish master says sorry first.
So, grant me some mercy?