--- [Illian’s perspective]
Before we started training for this exam, Luna helped us figure out our weaknesses, and what we needed to improve on the most.
In my case, it was the fact that I could only use my ability once per day.
It’s powerful, but anything that can only be used once has a major flaw.
Once my shadow clone is destroyed, that’s it…
I’m left with just BDM; it’s like I never even had a specialty in the first place.
So my training mostly focused on trying my best to increase that limit as much as possible.
I succeeded.
Now, my limit is three clones per day.
If I were to use them all in a single fight, my opponent would have to kill me three times before they could even start hurting me for real.
By that time, they’ll probably have sustained enough damage to be out of commission.
Trading blows is what I do best.
I hit them, they take damage.
They hit me, I do not.
That’s how it goes.
Unfortunately, I’ve already used up one charge during the second round, but two should still be enough.
If I can’t finish the fight by the time I’ve gone through two clones, I would have probably lost either way.
“Let the seventh match begin!” – Leanne
With no time to waste, I charge right at them.
At the same time, my shadow grows larger and larger; there’s no point in waiting to use my ability.
He reaches out both his hands, like he’s trying to grapple me…
I slug him in the face…
He makes no effort to dodge it, and instead grabs my waist with both hands.
Nothing seems to happen…
Is he using his specialty?
If so, what is it doing?
I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it’s not affecting me right now.
As both his hands are holding me, he can’t defend…
I attack him over and over and over again.
His nose breaks, one of his ribs snap, and a tooth shoots out of his mouth…
Just when I’m about to hit him once more, my shadow clone suddenly fades away, and a violently intense burning sensation emanates from his palms.
“GUahH!” – Illian
I quickly push him away from me, but that short moment was all it took to completely sear the sides of my body.
It even left some of my skin boiling and melting away…
Stolen novel; please report.
“What the fuck was that?!” – Illian
“That’s what I was thinking too… I held onto you for so long, yet you were completely fine. I was starting to think my ability wouldn’t work, and was moments away from giving up…” – Iggy
So that’s what he was doing to me this entire time…
I couldn’t feel it because my shadow clone was absorbing all the damage, but eventually it accumulated too much and disappeared.
So this is an endurance match then…
Can my next shadow clone hold long enough for me to knock him out, or will he take it out before then?
He already tanked so many hits; I really don’t know who will end up on top.
I bet this sort of thing happens to him a lot, so he has probably tried to increase his stamina and durability as much as possible.
Well, let’s not waste any more time.
The more time he gets to recover, the worse my chances are.
I activate my last shadow, and yet again rush at him.
He grabs my ribs, and I yet again start whaling on him.
I desperately try to hit him as hard and as fast as I possibly can, knowing any second that overbearing heat might return…
He grits his teeth and does everything he can to stay awake…
“GUAAHHH!!” – Illian
It’s back!
I desperately try to get myself away from him, but he uses all the power left in his body to dig his fingers into me, holding me tight.
The skin touching his palms has already evaporated, my ribs are starting to melt, and the entire surrounding area is getting fourth degree burns.
If this keeps up for even a second longer, I will die!
I kick him as hard as I can in his stomach, and out of pure desperation, it’s somehow many times stronger than usual.
He coughs up blood as he’s launched away from me.
It lands on my face, but wiping it away is the least of my worries…
I kneel over in pain; desperately gasping for air.
Should I just call it…?
I look over at him, and his entire body is shaking.
He has taken so many hits he’s barely even conscious…
No…
Not yet!
If I can land just one more solid hit, he’s out for sure.
I get back up, and yet again rush towards him.
I can’t make any more clones, so I’ll have to take him out before he gets his hands on me.
I muster all the strength left in my body, and spend it all on one last attack.
It’s so slow…!
The pain is simply too much; I can’t concentrate at all, making it impossible to manipulate Divinity…
That punch is just a regular punch…
Before it can land, he grabs it with his left hand.
I try to pull back, but without Divinity, it’s like I’m a toddler fighting an adult.
The moment he grabs my arm with his other hand too, the burning begins.
So it only works when both of his hands are in contact at once…
Unexpectedly though, it doesn’t hurt nearly as much as before…
It starts out as a light warm feeling, but it quickly ramps up and gets hotter and hotter for every moment that passes.
Very quickly, the pain becomes too much.
I have no choice…
“I surrender!” – Illian
He doesn’t let go.
Wait…
Can he not hear me?!
He’s not even looking at me.
I think his head is spinning so much from all those hits he took that he’s staying awake through sheer willpower.
I try to get him to stop by screaming even louder.
“I SURRENDER!” – Illian
He still doesn’t let go.
The panic sets in as the skin on my hand is starting to scorch…
Suddenly Leanne appears!
She forcefully pulls his hands away from me, and looks at him with an angry expression.
“He surrendered already.” – Leanne
“…” – Iggy
As expected, he’s unable to respond.
Just moments later, his body stops being able to support itself, and gives out.
Leanne signals the healers to come, and they quickly start healing us both.
I feel myself passing out…
…
…
…
“Alex, Shin! He’s awake!” – Lett
They rush over to me…
“Are you okay?!” – Alex
I look down…
The healers managed to mostly fix me up, but large swaths of my body are still scarred from the burning.
It stings a little, but I think I’m okay…
“Yeah… I think so. How long has it been?” – Illian
“Almost 30 minutes.” – Shin
“Is the exam over?” – Illian
“Nope. The final fight hasn’t begun yet. We’re still waiting for the results of your match.” – Shin
“Wait what? Why? I surrendered…” – Illian
“Right, but the opponent also broke the rules by not letting go. That’s grounds of disqualification. If that happens, you might win by default.” – Shin
“I see…” – Illian
“Oh, you’re both awake! I’ve had some time to think about what happened, and I’ve made my decision… Illian, you surrendered by your own will while the match was still ongoing. Iggy, you didn’t let go even after he did. Had this been a match between two candidates instead, I would have ruled this match as a loss for the both of you.” – Leanne
That seems fair, but he’s not a D-rank candidate…
What’s the ruling then?
“Considering Iggy was on the verge of fainting and could not let go even if he wanted to, the fact that Illian surrendered before the match was over, and that Iggy gains nothing from neither winning nor losing… I will consider Iggy the winner, and Illian the loser.” – Leanne
I see…
That’s fine.
When I surrendered I did it knowing I would lose.
And honestly, had she disqualified him and given me the win by default, that would just feel worse.
I want to earn my rank, not get it handed to me for free.
I suppose I’ll return with Shin next year!
Or at least I would if it wasn’t for that…