As Estelle transformed into mana, Kaelen lifted his head and locked onto the two mages watching them from the side.
Olivia, her black hair falling over her face, and Liam, grinning at the edge, were staring at Kaelen.
Liam stepped forward and spoke.
"Well, this was a bit unexpected. I didn't think you'd beat all of them. Kaelen, I know you see us as your enemies too, but you should know—we were forced into this. Yes, that's exactly what happened. Estelle pushed us, and we used Olivia's abilities. All just so we could fight you one more time. Crazy, isn't it? Haha."
Kaelen listened to Liam's explanation. The dark‑haired mage seemed to believe his own lie for a moment. He stood there with both hands raised, looking at Kaelen.
Then, a thin blade emerged from Liam's chest. A faint groan echoed through the cave walls.
As the thin rapier pierced the dark mage, Liam gave a wide grin. He slowly turned around and spoke.
"Olivia… if you're going to do that, at least warn me. It's much more annoying when you do it like this."
Liam fell to the ground after those words, still grumbling at Olivia until his face and mouth dissolved into mana particles.
Kaelen covered his mouth with his hand.
He was surprised—Liam being eliminated from the exam that way looked absurdly funny. Especially since he'd been killed by someone he thought was protecting him: Olivia.
"Ahhh, how could you kill him? I wanted to hear him talk a bit more."
"Ugh, sometimes he doesn't watch what he says."
Olivia shrugged and began wiping the blood off her thin rapier. As she tied up her hair, her onyx eyes shimmered. Her pale skin was flawlessly illuminated.
"Will Liam forgive you for this? I mean… you killed him."
"What? Him? Oh, it's fine—he'll forgive me. He always does."
"To me, your relationship looked more like master and servant rather than friends."
"Something close to that."
"Poor Liam. Life must be hard for him."
Kaelen clasped his hands together as if praying. The young mage might've been carrying more weight on his back than Kaelen had thought.
"Alright, now let's talk about you. Olivia, what exactly am I supposed to do with you?"
Upon his question, Olivia looked up at the cave ceiling. Then she spoke, her voice suddenly serious. Her sharp chin lifted as she talked, lips pursed.
"I want a fair duel. But only our blades will speak. Use your swordsmanship."
After cleaning her rapier, Sofia pointed the sharp tip toward Kaelen. The girl's onyx-black eyes glimmered with a faint darkness.
"That's all? I thought you had some other plan. So all you want… is for me to kill you?
As you wish. Hey Amanda, stop sleeping! Remove your blessing from me!"
Kaelen called out to the blonde mage hiding behind a stalagmite.
Startled by the chaos of the battle, the trembling mage finally spoke.
"Okay, I removed it. Actually, my mana ran out about five minutes ago. You don't have any blessings on you right now! Let me gather some mana first."
The mage awkwardly scratched her forehead. Drops of sweat trickled down from beneath her blonde hair.
Kaelen rolled his eyes and summoned his sword from mana.
The magic answered his call, blue mana particles gathering and merging. The spell whispered in his ear:
[Common Tier: Obsidian Sword]
Kaelen lifted the stone‑carved blade. He had obtained the black sword from a corrupted tier‑3 monster he'd killed in the rocky ravine.
Kaelen aimed his sword at Olivia.
The cave was dark. The echo of dripping water mixed with Kaelen's deep breaths, creating a suffocating atmosphere. Even in the dim light, Olivia's eyes shone sharply.
She was a seer. Someone who could see every move Kaelen made before it happened, making the duel even harder. Kaelen had fought seers in his previous life, but none strong enough to stop the person he had been then.
He remembered that seers could avoid lethal blows. Some seers could only see events affecting themselves. Others were sensitive to shifts in the world. Some gained visions of their own deaths. When he first met Olivia, he suspected she had received a vision about her own demise.
That meant all Kaelen needed to do was tire her out with non‑lethal injuries.
Kaelen gripped his sword and made the first move. He swung quickly from the right toward Olivia's shoulder, but she had already stepped back. She had even slipped under his swing and slashed at his knee—almost as if she'd foreseen it. Kaelen barely escaped the strike by jumping back.
"You're wasting your time," Olivia said as she raised her sword again.
"I see you."
"This is… annoying."
Kaelen clenched his teeth. Her reactions were too fast—no, she was a step ahead, as if his attacks were ending before they began. Olivia lunged at him again, cutting at every opening she could find. Kaelen defended, but each time Olivia parried and countered flawlessly.
A low slash, then a sudden overhead strike—Kaelen blocked them all, but Olivia never slowed.
"Seeing the future is quite an advantage, isn't it?" she whispered as she knocked Kaelen's blade aside and left him open.
Kaelen held his sword tightly. Olivia had the advantage, but every ability had limits. And she was getting too confident.
And confidence… could be the greatest weakness.
As Olivia attacked again, Kaelen deliberately left an opening—
his left side exposed.
Olivia moved instantly but froze.
She couldn't move.
"What happened? Did you see the result of that too, sweetheart?"
Kaelen spoke with victorious calm. He wasn't using mana abilities—this was pure swordsmanship.
Olivia hesitated. She tried another strike, and again Kaelen deliberately exposed his shoulder.
Olivia froze once more. Every outcome she saw ended badly.
"Seeing isn't enough, Olivia. You must react. Let's see… how balanced are your instincts and your visions? Will you trust your senses, or your gift?"
Kaelen dashed forward. His sword scraped the ground, scattering red sparks.
He stopped right in front of Olivia without swinging.
She could either react and attack…
or rely on her vision and stand still.
The black‑haired girl hesitated. Then instinctively slashed.
Just as her blade reached Kaelen's ribs, Kaelen stepped back, spun his whole body, and struck her wrist hard.
"What?!"
Olivia's sword flew into the air, clattering onto the stone floor. Kaelen stepped forward and pressed his blade to her throat.
Olivia froze for a moment, then smiled as she pulled back. "I suppose you really did earn this victory."
Kaelen lowered his sword, breathing deeply. Silence reclaimed the cave as Olivia's body fell.
Kaelen dissolved his sword back into mana. It was finally over. Even little kids had managed to injure him like this—young mage looked down with frustration.
How was he supposed to save the world in this state?
"Hey Amanda! I need healing. Where are you hiding now?"
Amanda hurried toward Kaelen, trying—and failing—to look competent.
She silently clasped her hands as if praying.
Mana focused in her palms, glowing faintly.
Golden mana flowed across Kaelen's body, slowly closing his wounds.
Amanda stuttered.
"Kaelen… are you going to kill me too? Am… am I a threat to you?"
Kaelen stared at her. Sweat trickled down the girl's cheek from her blonde bangs.
"No, I'm not going to kill you. Unless you're planning to betray me too?"
"Ugh, I actually don't want to die. This could traumatize me. Especially when it comes to annoying boys who try to help me. Specifically the black‑haired, red‑eyed ones. Oh, and probably guys who seem mentally unstable on the inside. Also… orphans with no last names—those too."
Kaelen narrowed his eyes.
She was describing him perfectly.
"Amanda… you're getting closer to death with every sentence."
"No no! I didn't mean you! I'm not talking about you. It's just… deciding how I'd die felt kind of comforting. Like tripping and—oh no, I died!—that kind of thing."
As Amanda excitedly explained how she wanted to die, Kaelen smiled.
"I can make that happen. If you want to die by falling, we can climb to the volcano's peak and I'll throw you off. Then I'll say to myself, 'Ah, now she's dead.'"
"Ugh, when you say it, all the charm disappears. The whole island would burn anyway. I'd rather fall and crack my head open than be swallowed by magma. Wouldn't you?"
"Actually, I'm not planning to die. But yes, falling would be easier. If you weren't a mage."
"Wait—so you're not dying? Did you find a way out?"
Amanda's face paled as she began sweating even more.
Stress was her greatest enemy. And she had already reached her limit.
"Yes and no."
"What kind of bullshit answer is that?—ahem—what kind of… vague answer is that?"
"I don't have much of a plan. I'll just stay here and try to survive the last day. I don't know what will come for us. So I might… need your help. Will you help me?"
"…Fine, count me in. But only under one condition: if we fail, I want you to kill me the way I choose."
Kaelen extended his hand.
"Deal."
After finishing his healing, Amanda stood up and stretched.
"Well, I'm going to sleep. Today was exhausting."
Kaelen stared at her, stunned, thinking:
For the love of gods… she didn't do anything.
Amanda turned around.
"If the exit opens on the last day, we should have around twelve to fourteen hours. What will you do?"
"My mana's almost gone, and every muscle fiber in my body is screaming. Resting a bit won't hurt. But if some annoying little fly buzzes over me while I sleep, I'll kill it. Specifically… a clumsy healer with blonde hair."
"Got it. I won't try to kill you."
Kaelen smiled at Amanda's answer, turned his back to the girl, and fell asleep.
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