The snow white princess stood before me, looking straight into my eyes with an apathetic gaze. We exchanged looks for a while, until I finally gained the courage to speak.

“S-So…it was you who’s responsible for all this mist? You’re the one who killed my squad with those ice spikes?” I said.

Although I already knew the answer, I still wanted to hear what she had to say.

Alessia looked around, with a frigid expression completely unlike the person who talked to me warmly earlier.

“Yeah, I did.”

“..........”

An awkward moment of silence. What could I even say? I felt like I knew where this was going to go.

“Do you understand your situation here?” Alessia asked.

“I think……”

“How many kills do you have?”

I didn’t respond. I was too ashamed to tell her.

“Let me rephrase. Do you think you did well enough to get a good grade for this exam?”

I shook my head. “No……How many kills did you get?”

“Hmm…..I lost count when I reached 20.”

“2-20?! That’s insane…..”

Alessia is amazing…..and to think that she can use such powerful magic too.

“Sigh, it’s unfortunate that we would have to cross paths again. I’m not one to show mercy on the battlefield.”

In the end, it has to be this way.

“I’m sorry, but you’re going to fail this exam,” she lifted her hand.

Ice blades manifested themselves around her, showing her commitment to the battle.

“No, it’s ok,” I shook my head lightly. “It’s only fair to give me the same treatment as anyone else. I won’t hold it against you. It’s probably for the best. Only the strong are worthy of becoming Enforcers. One must have strength in order to protect others, after all.”

I knelt down on the ground and clutched onto the snowy floor.

“So you accept defeat and surrender,” Alessia clicked her tongue. “How disappointing.”

This situation is ultimately unideal. I didn’t understand why, but my anxiety had suddenly faded for an instant. Maybe it’s because I’ve lost hope. It wasn’t the battlefield that I was afraid of all along. All those moments where I was scared and made mistakes, it wasn’t because I was too scared to fight. It was because I was afraid of being unable to achieve my dream. I was afraid of losing. But now that I’m pretty much doomed, I can’t fear failure anymore. Because it’s right in front of me.

But.

I remembered something very important.

I promised the Master I would follow his footsteps. I swore an oath to become a hero. I dedicated my life to prepare for this very exam. If all of that is going to go away, what use is there in living?!

Upon realizing this, I felt a fire burning inside my heart. The anxiety had rekindled within me.

“I never said I would surrender,” I said. “I’ve sacrificed my life to get here. All that time and effort, training and working hard every day grinding for my goals, if I throw that all away, then it’s all going to be worthless!”

Alessia’s eyes widened as I said those words. I grabbed some snow and stood up from the floor.

“That’s why, I’m going to become a hero!”

I threw the ball of snow right towards her face, but an ice shield had been created to protect her from it. However, it was enough to block her vision and give me a chance to run away.

I’m not going to give up that easily!

Blades of ice whizzed by like arrows, all of them with the intent of making holes around my body. They crashed into the surrounding trunks, piercing through their wooden surfaces. The fact that any of those trees could be me just adds on to the pressure!

Run! Run!

Luckily for me, we were in a forest. The trees made for good covers. I can use the environment to my advantage!

But…I can't just keep running forever. Should I just try to lose her? Or……fight back?

As I pondered on my thoughts, a blaze of orange light shone from the hazy mist. Bolts of fire flew past me and countered the icy blades.

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"H-Huh? Who?"

In front of me, appeared a brown-haired boy with a smile on his face. His fiery red eyes conveyed a sense of confidence and pride.

"Cyrus?"

"Stand back, simpleton. This fight isn't for you."

"But I can help you! We're teammates aren't we?"

"Huh? Who are you supposed to be again?"

This guy doesn't even remember me….

"Ah right….that sword guy. Well, whatever. Don't get in my way. I don't need your help."

Cyrus walked past me and stared down at the white beauty.

"If it isn't Alessia Crosswell, the prodigious Ice Princess, the best mage of our generation!"

"A fire mage….it was about time I came across one. Who are you?" Alessia placed her hand on her chin.

"It is I, Cyrus Cinder! The man who's going to burn your frosty throne to the ground!"

He extended his arms, sparks forming all around until it burst ablaze.

"Prepare yourself, woman."

Fire against ice. Who's going to win? This is the first time I’ll be able to witness a battle between mages.

Cyrus charged forward and swung his arms around, throwing waves of fire against the Ice Princess. Alessia responds by summoning forth shields of ice that resembled the shape of lotuses against the flames, nullifying them as best as they could. The boy continued to launch his flames, unleashing a barrage of fire balls to keep her on the defensive. The attacks kept coming and eventually, cracks began to form over the icy surfaces.

“What’s wrong? Can’t handle my power?!” Cyrus yelled.

The princess stayed quiet and focused on her defenses, keeping up a rather stoic look on her face.

“Might as well just end this for you!”

The flames on Cyrus’ arms grew brighter and proceeded to swirl them around like mini cyclones.

“BURN!”

He pushed his arms forward and shot out a blazing ray of fire incinerating everything in its path. The flames enveloped over the shields, covering Alessia completely. There was no longer any sight of her anymore.

Did she end up turning into ashes?

Cyrus grinned as he continued to push the flames onto her.

No, I have a bad feeling about this. There’s no way it could be that easy.

“Weak.”

“Huh?”

His flames slowly started to dwindle off, losing all of its burst of power before completely fading into the mist.

Alessia stood there unscratched, with her shields of ice still intact.

Cyrus tried to spark his flames once more, but nothing was able to manifest.

“H-How can this be?! What happened to my flames?!” His arms started to tremble.

“Don’t you get it?” Alessia said as she walked closer to the boy. “All this mist belongs to me, you’re in my domain. Did you really think your flames could last any longer against such cold temperatures?”

“That’s ridiculous! As if you’d be strong enough to completely nullify fire!”

“No…it’s not that I’m strong enough. It’s that your flames are too weak for me.”

Alessia lunged towards the boy and grabbed him by his face, frost leaking out from her fingertips as she froze his body into a statue and shattered him into pieces.

N-No way.

I stepped back instinctively, gulping down my throat as I watched the cold-hearted scene that had taken place before me. My body turned around and started running in the opposite direction almost automatically.

If even Cyrus can’t beat her……how can I? What am I supposed to do?! She’s way too strong! I’m screwed…..it’s over for me. It’s over. IT’S OVER! IT’S OVER! IT’S OVER! IT’S OVER!

I can’t get enough air, my breathing’s growing erratically by the second. It’s like there’s a rope tied up tightly on my chest and my heart being played around by the devil. My limbs feel numb like it was never a part of me. The freezing cold continues to get into my shivering skin.

No, I don’t want to accept it. I can’t. I can’t let her crush my dreams. But……I’m too weak. I’M WEAK! I’M WEAK! I’M WEAK! I can’t get away anymore. I should just accept defeat! GIVE UP ALREADY!

Stop trying…..it’s only hurting my body even more. But….why do I still bother running?!

All I have is some stupid sword!

Wait.

Sword.

All I have is a sword.

Yes. That’s the point. It’s always been this way. I can’t use magic. I can’t use guns. I’ve tried. But it was no use. I was talentless. However, my master still believed in me. He taught me the way of the sword for this very reason.

“Breathe. 1…2…3.”

His voice echoes in my head.

“Stop thinking about things you can’t do. And focus on doing what you can do.”

I can only use a sword. All I have is a sword.

And a sword I shall use to accomplish my dreams!

Focus, Lars.

I stopped in my tracks and turned around.

“Breathe. 1………2………3……..Exhale.”

The only thing I can do is do my best. There’s no point in thinking about anything else. My body still feels tense. But this time, something felt different. Like something clicked in my head. I held my sword with both hands. And surprisingly, they stopped shaking for once.

The Ice Princess caught up with me and tilted her head.

“Strange. Why did you stop running, Lars?”

“It’s pretty much almost impossible for me to pass this exam.”

“So? You’re giving up this time? Now that you’ve seen the extent of my power?”

“No. But I’ve decided. I don’t have a kill yet. And there’s an enemy right in front of me.”

I stared right into her cold eyes and forced a smile.

“It’s not like I can escape any longer. So I might as well take the chance.”

A slight grin had drawn on her face.

“You have some nerves. I respect that. But that won’t be enough to stop me.”

“Maybe. But there’s no harm in trying.”

I pointed my sword towards her and stood my ground, ready to fight against the impossible.