"Wait, Theo! Stop!" Hontar's voice resounded in the field, warning Theo about his current situation. Yet, at the same time, his concern became his nightmare as he dropped his guard for a split second.
For a master assassin like Phyrill, this split second was the difference between life and death. He waved his sword diagonally in order to kill Hontar, but the latter managed to react, albeit barely.
He dropped to the ground before launching himself to the side, leaving his left hand behind.
"Kh!" Hontar didn't feel any pain in the virtual world, but he was covered in sweat. This was the worst-case scenario.
"You've let your guard down." Phyrill made an excited smirk as he raised his swords for another swing.
Meanwhile, Theo was currently on the ground, laying on his belly. A huge piece of ice crystal stuck on his back, pinning him down.
"Kh!" Theo gritted his teeth and recalled what happened a few seconds earlier. When he heard Hontar's voice, everything went blank due to the freezing ice that numbs his senses and brain. The next thing he realized, he was already on the ground without being able to move his body.
It turned out Ellen could control her own magic to move according to her bidding. The spread shot earlier was just bait for him to show his back to her magic. The two on the right would turn around if he indeed came after her from the right while the left did the same in the opposite direction.
Hontar realized it at the last second and called him to stop because the path in the middle would be cleared soon, but he couldn't respond to him even with his action, reducing him to this state.
Due to the damage the body sustained, his vision became blurry as his consciousness was about to be transported back.
Before dying, Ellen actually came to him and bent her knees, patting his head a few times while saying, "You have talent, Theodore Griffith. You've made me believe it. Unfortunately, what you're lacking is experience. I don't know if you have realized it or not, but your movement is too straightforward even with your tricks. Tricks can indeed surprise a person, but when they've prepared for it, your advantage will be gone, especially with your current movement. Keep getting stronger… I believe in you."
Listening to those words, Theo's vision finally went blank. He arrived inside a pitch-black room, floating as if there was no gravity.
In this place, he felt empty as if there were no thoughts other than the battle earlier.
He recounted Ellen's advice from word to word and lamented his failure. "I see… Experience, huh… I have once again failed. I have been too complacent with my own progress even though most of my experiences came from the monsters. As for my fights against humans, there were only three attempts.
"The first was my fight against Laust. Back then, I managed to beat him by using tricks, but he was unaware of my tricks. Then, the second one was with Shella and Eric. Due to my sudden power-up, I destroyed them. But…"
He suddenly realized what he lacked in the fight against the assassins from the Lange Family.
"Ah! So, that's how it was… I managed to kill several assassins due to their carelessness. They must not have enough experience to be that careful, allowing me to kill them.
"It was different when the captain joined the battle. He literally reacted to everything I threw at him and almost killed me. Even the way they moved was vastly different."
Theo regretted why he didn't notice it sooner. He then remembered his master's restriction about his Clone and Magic Bullet.
The reason was actually not him being too reliant on them. Instead, she simply wanted Theo to lose once to understand this important problem.
And the greater the setback, the easier for him to find his fault. With him losing this battle, he would most likely lose Alea and had a low chance of getting into the competition. It looked cruel, but when he thought his master didn't want him to learn this with the result of him dying in real life, everything looked so insignificant.
"I have truly messed up." Theo let out a long sigh. "After knowing what I lack, Master wants me to continue trying to reach the opportunity. This hurdle is her test for me to overcome. The only problem will be… Can I do it?
"The answer is simple." Theo couldn't help but smile. Losing was hard and sad for him. Not having Alea in her team would lower his probability to reach it, but it didn't mean they had no chance. He would quickly reinforce his relationship with Hontar and understand him better, so they could win in the next round.
"We don't need to be embarrassed when we lose. We can go into depression after experiencing it. But what we absolutely need to do after that is to rise again and keep trying. I believe this situation is still salvageable." Theo found a new determination and a thought pattern after understanding today's loss. He would use this experience in all his future fights.
Light suddenly came to his eyes and blinded him. It soon dimmed down and he had returned to reality. He sighed in regret, "Still, I've lost. I wonder if Master actually wanted me to drop out of school, so I could follow her instead of going to the international stage?"
He opened his capsule with a sad expression. Hontar and Alea both looked down, feeling dejected. They knew Alea would probably leave the team and there was nothing they could do to change the result.
Knowing the reason they lost was him, Theo lowered his head and apologized. "Everything was my fault. I'm sor—"
"Theo…" Before he finished his apology, Alea stopped him. She gritted her teeth and grabbed his shoulders.
Her hands were shaking as she looked at him in the eyes, saying, "I will try to stop them for two weeks. You need to get me back from them, okay?"
Theo only closed his eyes because it might not be possible. He let out a long sigh before the screen showed them the other team's decision.
On the screen, there was a picture, a name, and an instruction. However, the picture was not female, but male. The name was not Alea, but… Theodore Griffith.
Everyone in the room was utterly shocked when they saw this announcement. All the assumptions were broken down by this one decision.
It said, "Theodore Griffith is chosen as the 4th team member. Congratulations. Now go to Room B-022 to meet your new teammates."
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Challenge:
Each 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter on the weekend.