Verity stood in the training room, facing the doll, and considered his options. His spear, which he had never let go of, was still in his hand, so he had no need for the myriad of weapons on the walls. He had had his fill of food thanks to Thragnuk, and he was pretty much in top condition as far as he was concerned.

He stared at the doll, and it stared back, or that’s what it looked like. It had no eyes, so it was hard to tell.

‘She said I had to force it to take a step… As in take a step outside of the circle, or did she mean it literally?’ He stroked his chin. ‘In a lot of sports… pivoting isn’t considered ‘taking a step’, is it the same here too…?’ He wondered.

Verity approached Doll cautiously, until he stood an inch from the circle it was forbidden from leaving, which seemed pointless now that he thought about it. If it couldn't move anyway, what was the point of keeping it confined inside of this circle?

“Aren’t you going to attack me?” Verity asked, but Doll did not reply. As a matter of fact, it did not react at all. If he didn’t know any better, Verity could have very well confused Doll for some sort of contemporary sculpture.

‘I see… So it probably won’t do anything to me as long as I don’t enter its zone.’

He then had an idea. Stepping back slightly, Verity lifted his spear, and pointed it toward the human-like doll. “That feels like cheating…” He muttered.

Since almost a day had passed, his spear’s powerful enchantment, Vow of Fire, should be usable again. From what he remembered, the conjured flames could not be taken lightly, even giving Ash some trouble, given he was caught by surprise.

Plus, wasn’t this thing made of wood? Even if said wood was of a special kind, fire of that strength should at least do decent damage. Since Doll couldn’t leave the circle, or move, It had no choice but to endure Verity’s attack. Then, Verity could use that same attack every day for as long as it took to bring it down.

‘Genius, if I do say so myself.’

In the gaming community, which he’d been an avid member of, this kind of strategy was referred to as ‘cheesing’. Surely, Evangelina wouldn’t expect something so shameless from someone trying to become a Spearman but… who cared!? She should have made the rules clearer if she truly wanted him to fight Doll properly.

“... Besides, she did say I could use any method I’d like!” He whispered to himself as he channeled mana into the spear’s enchantment.

‘[Vow of fire]!’

As he thought of activating the effect, Verity’s inner energy drained, flowing into his spear. Soon after, a large spiral of flames was released form his weapon, comparable to the one he had shot in the forest. It was power that did not match Verity’s level, and was entirely due to the skill of the blacksmith who’d forged the spear, but since the spear was his, it was now his power.

The flames burst forth in Doll’s direction, merciless and with the intent to scorch everything in their path. Still, Doll did not panic, not that it could even if it wanted to. No, instead, it lowered its center of gravity, and it raised the spear Evangelina had given it. With a firm grip, its hands held the wooden spear with the blunted tip high, and it watched as the flames approached it.

Verity could only frown as he observed the clash. He was still fairly confident the attack would do some damage, but the doll’s calmness made it uneasy, even if it literally could not display any other emotion.

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When the inferno was but an inch from Doll, the magic artifact flexed its artificial muscles, and at a speed that made the air whistle, it swung.

BOOM

The attack had literally split the air apart, and everything with it. In an instant, the flames had been extinguished like the fire from a candle and worst of all, Doll was utterly unscathed. Verity’s eyes widened. To him, it didn’t even seem as though Doll had put any real effort behind that attack.

“Well sh*t…” Verity whispered as he gripped his spear tighter.

“You didn’t think it’d be that easy would you…” Evangelina said as she watched him through one of the magical devices planted in the room.

Evidently, this trial would be much more difficult than Verity had initially thought it to be.

Left with no other choice, for the first week, Verity entered the circle, and attempted the trial as it was meant to be. Tens of times per day, he’d face Doll… and be immediately defeated. At the end of the day, he’d be riddled with bruises, cuts, and a sore body.

By the end of week one, Verity had faced Doll at least five hundred times, and not once had he lasted more than one move against the opponent. Verity could barely understand what it did at first, much less react, but after putting half of his free points into dexterity, strength, and agility he began at least understanding what was happening to him

It was simple, really. Doll was much, much better than he was. No matter what angle he came from, no matter what he did, Doll simply brushed his spear aside, and countered flawlessly. There was simply nothing he could do, and even if he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a way to respond.

On his last attempt of the seventh day, Verity dropped to the ground, and sighed. Doll looked at him indifferently, its spear in its hand, waiting for Verity’s next attempt.

‘I guess I’m really not talented with the spear…’ Verity thought.

On the other side, Evangelina, who had been following Verity’s progress, closed her display. She’d wanted to monitor the first few days, but she’d seen what she needed to. She sighed. “It’s as I expected.” She mumbled. “This kid won’t be able to defeat Doll.”

Even though she trusted her judgment, she still held a glimmer of hope in her heart that Verity would prove her wrong. That he would show her something unexpected, or awaken his talent for the spear through real combat experience. In fact, somewhere deep within her, she had wanted such a thing to happen.

But she had to accept reality. Mindless repetition wasn’t a way to learn, and she knew that Verity would not overcome her trial.

She stood up from her chair, put her magical cloak on, and left her apartment. She’d put her business aside for Verity, but there were still many things she needed to do. Plus, many people had decided to offend her lately, perhaps forgetting who she was. These people needed to be put back in their place. ‘Starting with that Gunter kid and his foul mouth…!’

Feeling an inexplicable heaviness in her heart, she slammed the door behind her, and left her lodging, leaving Verity behind. She’d be back in three weeks to let him out.

Verity, who was still sitting on the ground, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and smiled. Evangelina was no longer there to see it, but Verity was far from giving up. Rather, he felt as though he had to overcome this challenge, and the system’s voice which buzzed in his ear only emphasized that feeling..

[You are engaging in a challenge where the odds are stacked against you.]

[You have gained experience toward your class.]

Everytime he stepped into the circle, this message played in his mind.

So what if he couldn’t do anything to Doll yet?

So what if an immovable wall stood before him?

So what if Evangelina herself didn't believe in him?

Verity had already decided he’d pass this trial, and so he would.

When he set his mind on something, it was very hard for Verity to let go, and he had set his mind on being Evangelina’s disciple.

It was clear he had no talent for the spear, that much he could not deny. Yet, his combat prowess was never his selling point in the first place, and that was not why he had been given the Fool class. If facing Doll a hundred times per day was not enough, then he would face it a thousand times. If that was not enough, then he would do so then thousand times per day.

Imperceptibly, his eyes shined brighter, a fire dancing in them. “Let’s see which one of us will fall first…!!” He shot at Doll.

He dumped the rest of his points into stamina, his stat with the greatest multiplier, and he stepped into the circle.

And so time passed.

Two months later, somewhere far away, an exquisitely beautiful fairy with viridescent hair, and a large scar spanning both of her eyes sat next to a tree, watching over a human woman swinging her longsword. A wolf spirit lay down beside her.

“What do you think, Erilsa?” The fairy asked.

“....She’s a monster.”