Alex barely had time to register the glint of steel before Elara's sword came slashing down.
His body moved on pure instinct, arm snapping up, the flat of his own blade meeting hers with a sharp clang that vibrated all the way to his shoulder.
He held the block, feet braced, surprised that he had actually stopped it.
Elara's eyes widened for half a second. Then her expression shifted, something sharper and colder settling in.
"You actually blocked it," she said, almost like she didn't believe the words herself.
Alex didn't answer. He was too busy breathing and trying not to let his arm shake.
Her gaze hardened. "You just made killing you harder for me."
Before he could process that, she attacked again.
The next strikes came heavier, more committed, more vicious.
Each clash rang louder in his ears, and he felt the difference immediately. She wasn't playing around anymore.
Every swing carried real killing intent, the kind that could end things if he slipped even once.
Still… he could handle it. Barely. His blocks were ugly, his footwork messy, but he stayed alive.
As he parried another overhead, something clicked in his head. *Fourth layer.* That's where she was. In the game, Elara had always been described as a genius of the fourth layer at this point. And him? High fifth layer now, thanks to whatever messed-up shortcut his transmigration had given him. No matter how talented she was, raw cultivation difference like that wasn't something even a prodigy could just ignore. The math didn't lie.
Around them, the crowd of Rover family relatives had gone completely quiet. Alex could feel all those eyes on him, wide, disbelieving. The same people who used to sneer and call him trash behind his back were now watching him trade blows with Elara, blocking her attacks while she visibly strained harder with every exchange.
His father's face was unreadable, but Alex caught the way the older man's eyes narrowed, studying him like he was trying to solve a puzzle. *Did he use some forbidden technique?* Alex could almost hear the question hanging in the man's head.
His mother, on the other hand, looked… excited. Like this was the first time in years the duel hadn't bored her to death.
Alex risked a glance at Elara. She was breathing hard now, shoulders dropping, sweat on her brow. Her glare could have burned holes through him.
"What did you do?" she shouted, voice cracking with frustration.
He blinked. "I didn't do anything."
"No!" She gripped the hilt tighter. "You must have done something!"
As she yelled, a thin black mist began to rise from the blade. It coiled around her hand, then her arm, then her whole body like smoke. Alex's stomach dropped. He knew that visual effect. He'd seen it in cutscenes.
A low, ugly voice whispered inside her head, he couldn't hear the words, but he saw the change in her eyes. They went glassy, then furious.
"Kill…" she mumbled. Her fingers tightened until her knuckles turned white. Then she lunged again.
This time it was different. Faster. Heavier. The corrupted sword was feeding her strength, twisting her decisions. Alex went all out just to keep up, dodging, parrying, retreating when he had to. He was losing ground, and he knew it.
*How do I stop this without killing her?* His mind raced. He couldn't just keep blocking forever.
Then an idea hit him.
He stopped retreating and met her head-on, trading blows in a frantic exchange. Elara's talent as an archmage kicked in hard, she started coating her sword with a shimmering magic aura. The blade glowed dangerously, each swing leaving trails of light. Things had just gotten worse.
Alex gritted his teeth, timed his next move, and went for the only opening he saw. His sword whipped out in a desperate arc, not at her body, but at her wrist.
The flat of his blade cracked against bone and metal. Elara's grip broke. The sword flew out of her hand, spinning through the air before clattering to the dirt.
She crumpled a second later, unconscious.
The referee's voice cut through the stunned silence. "The winner is Alex Rover!"
Alex ignored him. He dropped to one knee beside her, fingers pressing against her neck. Pulse, steady, if a little fast. Relief hit him like a wave. She was alive.
Footsteps rushed toward them. A woman in maid clothes pushed through the crowd, face pale. Alex recognized her instantly. Lia. One of the heroines from the original game. The one the protagonist was supposed to seduce later.
*Wait… she was a maid here?* In the game timeline, Lia had already left the Rover estate after the original Alex killed her mistress. Guess things had changed.
Lia reached Elara, gently lifted her so Elara's arm draped over her shoulder, then turned a glare on Alex that could have curdled milk.
"My mistress won't forget what you did to her," she said, voice low and venomous.
She supported Elara's weight and the two of them slowly walked away from the dueling area.
Alex let out a long breath. *Great. First impression with a heroine, and she already hates my guts.*
He felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder. His father.
The older man looked down at him for a long moment, then spoke quietly.
"You're the count now."
Alex swallowed, then nodded once.
Two days later he sat behind the big oak desk in what used to be his father's office. Sunlight came through the tall windows, catching dust in the air. Spread out in front of him was a map of the border region, the Rover family estate sat right on the edge, uncomfortably close to contested land.
He traced the line with his finger and mumbled to himself.
"I never forgot my promise to that knight. I'll do it. But… just after a little preparation."