I threw a few more arrows at her, but she kept running, dodging them somehow, until finally, she closed the distance and swung her sword toward my neck.
I called upon «Battle Reflex», and the Card’s effect washed over me in an instant. I was out of the path of her blade long before it could reach me.
⟨Battle Reflex — Boosts reaction speed for 5 minutes, aiding in parries, dodges, or counters.⟩
Time seemed to slow just enough for me to read her next movement as her blade shifted toward my left shoulder.
I sidestepped to narrowly avoid being cut down and fired a «Piercing Bolt» at her exposed side.
The glowing beam of energy shot forward, but Thalia twisted her torso in an unnatural motion, letting the bolt graze past her armor and fizzle out against the cavern wall.
So she wasn’t just fast.
She was reading my every move.
No matter.
Calling upon «Flame Lash» next, I conjured a blazing whip of fire that crackled with heat. With a flick of my wrist, it snapped toward her legs.
But Thalia was quick to react. She stepped back and defended with her sword, letting the fiery whip coil around it.
The incinerating heat seared through its blade until it turned a deep red and melted through the middle.
The sword dissolved into particles of light, and without missing a single beat, I fired several more rounds of «Fire Arrow» at her.
As expected, she dodged each one and summoned three more Cards in turn.
A golden kite shield and a lance appeared in her two hands as a result. Now, she looked more like a gladiator than a knight.
The final Card she cast was her Origin Card — Blessing Bestowal.
Our father’s innate power allowed him to Extract anything from anything. He once even extracted the very essence of time from a region in the Spirit Realm.
In fact, within the borders of the Golden Sanctuary he had established, no one could die — because he had Extracted the concept of death itself from that local area.
My sister’s power, however, was the exact opposite of his. Where he could Extract things, she could bestow power upon objects.
It was a formidable Origin Card. And one day, it would make her immensely powerful.
But for now, at [C-rank], she could only enhance the inherent qualities of whatever object she targeted.
For example, a sword is sharp. So she could amplify its sharpness three-fold.
An armor is meant to protect, so she could increase its durability by three times as well.
But she couldn’t make the armor sharp. And the more objects she enhanced, the more Essence she would drain.
Still, it was a dangerous power. One to look out for.
As a matter of fact, her enhanced kite shield became a problem for me almost immediately.
With it now fortified, she didn’t even bother dodging my «Fire Arrow» or «Piercing Bolt».
Instead, she barreled through my attacks like a reinforced military tank and kept charging at me.
The moment she stepped into striking range, Thalia swung her shield aside and thrust her lance straight at me.
I bent my knees and raised my guard, bracing for the hit as I activated «Steel Hide».
⟨Steel Hide — Temporarily hardens the skin, reducing incoming physical damage for 10 seconds.⟩
Her lance came speeding toward me, and I intercepted it with the elbow of my good hand.
My skin, now hardened like tempered steel, deflected the blow just enough to keep it from hitting any vital area.
And it didn’t hurt at all.
…Or at least, that’s what should’ve happened.
In reality, it hurt like hell.
It felt like trying to stop a battering ram with nothing but bone and flesh.
The pain was sharp and immediate, but I shoved the attack aside anyway, leaving Thalia wide open for a counter.
She wasn’t a fool, though. Before I could exploit her opening, she snapped her shield back in front of her.
Unfortunately for her, I had just the move to deal with that — «Barrier Breaker».
⟨Barrier Breaker — Massively increases attack power for a single strike, ideal for breaking through shields or barriers.⟩
Without hesitating, I drove my fist into her kite shield with all the strength I had, striking from a low angle like an uppercut.
The shield didn’t break, but the impact was powerful enough to send it jerking upward, leaving her completely exposed one more time.
And now she had no way to defend herself.
Sure, she was still covered head to toe in armor, but I could practically feel her eyes widen behind her visor.
And her shock only grew when I shot a «Piercing Bolt» at her face using my other hand. Her helmet absorbed the brunt of it, but the force still snapped her head back.
By the time she steadied herself and looked forward, I was already gone — vanished from her sight like I was never there.
I had used the moment she was stunned to circle her.
Without giving her a chance to react, I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind and lifted her clean off the ground.
“Wha—!” A startled cry escaped her lips, but it was too late.
I hoisted her into the air and fell backward, slamming her into the ground by executing a perfect German suplex.
The impact reverberated through the cave as I released my grip on her. She rolled away, groaning under her breath as her armor clanked and clicked.
I did the same, only I was on the verge of crying now.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The air was thick with the sound of labored breathing — hers angry and ragged, mine uneven and tired.
My arms felt like lead, and my legs weren’t faring much better. My body begged me to stay down, to let the pain have its way.
I just wanted to sleep now. And maybe eat chicken lollipops. A bucket full of chicken lollipops. And some cake.
But I still had some time before I could rest.
Thalia was tougher than she looked — and she already looked damn tough.
A suplex wasn’t going to keep her down for long.
I forced myself to roll onto my stomach, wincing as my ribs protested.
My palms pressed into the rough cave floor, and I pushed myself to my knees.
Across from me, I saw her doing the same, her movements sluggish but way more determined than mine.
“You… really don’t know when to give up, do you, Lia?” I rasped, half a grin tugging at my lips despite the situation.
Then, as if on cue, a loud announcement rang throughout the dome.
“The test is going to end in ten seconds.”
The voice began its countdown.
“Nine!”
“Well, looks like it’s time to end this,” I said, both my palms still pressed against the rocky ground.
Gathering the last of my strength, I summoned my final Card for this battle — my Origin Card.
“Eight!”
Thalia grabbed the shield that must’ve slipped from her grasp at some point, raising it in front of her.
“Come!” she yelled out, and I activated my innate power.
“Seven!”
Suddenly, the ground beneath us began to shake — or rather, the entire cave started trembling violently.
Dust and loose rocks fell from above as the walls groaned under the pressure.
And then… nothing.
The shaking stopped. The cave grew eerily still again.
Thalia didn’t lower her stance, but I could feel her confusion.
Though her visor still covered her face, I was sure she was trying to make sense of what just happened.
That confusion only grew when I got up and started running straight for the exit.
“Six!”
“H-Hey! Where the hell are you—” Thalia’s shout was drowned out by the deafening rumble as the cave suddenly began to collapse.
Out of nowhere, the walls split open, jagged cracks racing up the stone as massive chunks of rock tumbled down.
The roar of destruction drowned out everything as I stepped through the exit.
Yes, this was my not-so-brilliant plan.
Every attack I had missed earlier — those Fire Arrows, Piercing Bolts, and Flame Lashes — had been intentional.
While keeping Thalia’s focus locked on me, I aimed my attacks to weaken the cave’s structure bit by bit.
Once the foundations were unstable enough, all it took was one final push from my Origin Card to set the entire cave crumbling in on itself.
By the time Thalia realized what I had done, I was already outside, standing on the ledge overlooking the cave’s entrance.
Dust and debris billowed out like a storm as I turned back to watch her.
“Five!”
Thalia remained frozen on her knees for a moment, her gaze darting between the exit and the Essence Stone lying several feet away.
I knew exactly what was going through her head.
If she could protect the Essence Stone and prevent the falling rocks from shattering it, then I wouldn’t win.
But before she could make her move, a massive chunk of stone crashed down on her shoulder, forcing her to the ground.
She cried out, barely managing to raise her shield overhead to block the flood of debris that started raining down on her.
“Four!”
And with just three seconds left to spare, the inevitable happened.
A massive slab of rock broke free from the ceiling and smashed into the Essence Stone, shattering it like brittle glass.
Thalia looked up, her shield trembling under the weight of the falling rubble, just as the rest of the cave completely collapsed.
The entrance was buried under an avalanche of stone and debris, sealing it shut as I lost sight of her.
The countdown stopped, replaced by a triumphant announcement that echoed across the dome.
“The test is over. Squad 9 has completed the objectives and won. All Cadets are hereby ordered to halt fighting immediately! I repeat, Squad 9 has won! Halt fighting immediately!”
I let out a shaky breath as all strength left my body, leaving me a lifeless puddle of flesh sprawled on the ground.
“Well… that was easy.”
No.
No, it wasn’t.
But with that, I was one step closer to achieving my immediate goal of getting stronger.
Now the real fun would begin.