"Aaaand round 7!" she beamed, grinning down at me.

I panted, exhausted and tired as she held her sword to my throat again, standing above me with a smile. I was sitting on the ground, trying not to cry in frustration.

We'd been going for a few minutes now, but it felt like forever. She'd beaten me 6 times, each time getting the better of me. My invisibility felt worthless against her. There was always some flaw or weakness that she could spot. Even my illusions, which were one of the key advantages I had over other people, didn't help. She always seemed to be able to see right through them.

"What was it this time?" I muttered, my head hanging as she finally pulled her sword away. "Did you notice a flaw in the illusion??"

I'd been using my invisibility, barriers, and mirage ability in rapid succession, in tandem with my various attacks, trying to outwit her, but it didn't seem to matter what I tried.

I was getting desperate. I had no idea how to deal with her, and it was getting embarrassing. It felt like I'd lost all of my tricks. I didn't want to rely too much on Hopeful Heart Alchemy, because it was a massive drain on my mana and ultimately borrowed powers, not my own.

"Oh no," she replied, shaking her head. "Your invisibility and your illusions were excellent. You're very clever, using the environment and the terrain to your advantage. You've done an excellent job of adapting to my fighting style."

"Then what am I doing wrong?"

"You're too passive," she stated. "Your strategy relies heavily on avoiding detection, which can be effective in the right situation. But, my fighting style revolves around shadows and deception." She gave me a sympathetic smile. "Your skills are great, and your strategies are sound. You simply lack the experience to match my own."

"Experience... huh?" I muttered. "I see..."

I got to my feet. I'd barely even scratched her armor.

"I happen to specialize in shadow and light manipulation, you see. I've had to adapt to the way the world perceives things, and the best ways to trick and misdirect others."

I looked up at her as she smiled. "Do not fret. As they say, styles make fights, and our styles clash badly. You'll do much better when you get a few more training sessions under your belt. So don't take this too hard."

Melania offered me a hand to help me up, which I took. We clasped hands, and shook them, a mutual sign of respect.

"With that said, your feet left impressions on the ground when you moved, and I saw the blades of grass bend and snap back to their original position. I can tell you natural affinity for Light magic is significantly higher than mine, but you have a long way to go to refine it."

I sighed.

"I see. Thank you."

"Time!" Strike called.

Once again, a tether leading me to swap back out into the bleachers was sent down, and I followed it back to where the other students were watching.

Elysia and Raging Sparrow were both still sulking at opposite ends of the bleachers. The instructor had forced both of them to take a time-out.

As I walked back, Elysia smiled at me. I returned the gesture and sat down on a bleacher next to her, my legs sore.

"Good job Luxie," Elysia said, looking back and patting my shoulder. "I think that was the first time you sparred against a swordsman, wasn't it?"

"Yeah..." I said, taking a long swig from the water bottle she'd been holding. It felt nice to have some liquid to cool down.

"Well, you did good."

I sighed.

"No, I didn't," I admitted, looking up at her, leaning close to a whisper. "I literally couldn't do anything, while you... you know, took on their whole team. What gives?"

"Give yourself credit where it's due," Elysia insisted. "Your invisibility was very good, and your illusions were very convincing. Melania is just an extremely observant person who's more experienced than you at your approaches."

I bit my lips.

"I guess. She was also very kind and encouraging..."

It was only a five minute sparring round, but it was clear Melania was levels ahead of me in close quarters combat. And she was just so kind, and supportive, even though she'd beaten me soundly. It was completely unlike my first round with Forest Willow.

I'd done better against 'Eris' than her entire team apparently, but Elysia here had also been humoring me, fighting me at range as Eris. If she'd closed the distance right away, I would have had no chance. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

"I guess you got the white belt experience?" Clipboard commented nearby, frowning at the tether that indicated it was his turn to go into an arena. He'd gotten up to follow the cord and was standing by us. He glanced at me. "Don't worry Lux. I went through this too. I'd guess Elysia here did too as a kid. It's perfectly normal to get run over by a dojo when you're a greenhorn. I mean... It's not like you didn't try your best. And that's all you can really ask of yourself."

I smiled softly, nodding. That did help me feel a bit better. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Clipboard turned away and jogged over to the arena. As the barrier rose up around him and his opponent - Azraq, he looked at her and nodded. She grinned, giving him a thumbs up.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Good luck everyone!" Elysia shouted.

I leaned back in my seat, stretching.

"Dude, the emergency contract dudes really have no chill, huh?"

An unfamiliar voice said from nearby.

"Right?! Like... they're powerful but damn, I'm not gonna get crushed like a tin can," a different voice said. The pair were just barely in earshot of me and Elysia.

I looked over down our row to see a pair of scuffed boys with bags under their eyes talking, wearing white and blue bodysuits and matching white capes. The boy who spoke first was a lanky dark-skinned boy, with a short bushy afro. He had a silver half-mask around his neck, with a white star in the center.

"Man. Let's not exaggerate. They've been through a lot. It makes sense that they've learned not to pull their punches, you know?"

"True, true... still, that one guy was a total toolbag," the other boy responded. He had blue hair tied back into a small ponytail and dark, baggy circles around his eyes. His face was narrow and sharp.

I stared at them quizzically, but Elysia was the one who responded.

"Oh come on, guys," Elysia spoke out loud, rolling her eyes.

They turned around and saw me, and immediately froze. I blinked and gave them a small wave.

"Oh shit. We didn't mean anything by that!" the second boy with the ponytail exclaimed.

"Relax," my sister beamed. "I kinda agree. And some of us who weren't ECs can't talk either. I did lose my cool a bit in my first bout."

She placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to her with a confused expression.

"Lux, the way you and Forest Willow went at it in the first round was... a little much for sparring. I'm not gonna fault you for it since you didn't have a good idea of the expected intensity of a sparring session here, but the Academy's sparring sessions don't have to be like that. Your round with Melania just now was much better. I think you did a lot better with understanding the pace and tempo of how things work. But you and Willow were fighting like it was life or death in the opening round. That's a little... much. Especially because the whole point is that you should go just hard enough that you both learn something from each other in sparring."

I blushed.

"Oh. Uh. Well..."

"Anyways. Who're you guys?" Elysia asked, smiling brightly.

The boy with the afro and mask around his neck spoke up. "Ah, I'm Nightstrider, and this is Starlance."

The other guy gave us a two-finger salute. "Yo."

I gave them both a small nod. "Nice to meet you. I'm Harmonia Lux and this is Elysia Veritas."

"Oh we know who you are al—"

The boy with the blue hair elbowed his friend.

"Dude!"

"What?" he snapped back, rubbing his ribs with a pained look on his face. "I was going to say 'we saw your fights!' Jeeze!"

Elysia laughed.

"Right. Well, I would love to spar with you both some time," she said.

"Oh!" they exclaimed, their eyes widening. I could practically see the sweat drops on the back of their necks.

"That's uh..." Starlance started.

"That's totally not necessary!" Nightstrider exclaimed.

Elysia giggled and I just smiled awkwardly.

"Hey, look at those two," she muttered, nudging my side and gesturing towards a pair of students who had just walked into an arena in the center.

I looked up to see Luna Noirette and Aurora awkwardly fidgeting as they stood across each other in the arena. Luna had a simple European short sword, and Love Angel had a white staff this time. She had a simple white and baby blue angelic dress with a heart shaped pink jewel on the top of her collar, and Luna wore an all black costume with a black cape.

"Um..." Aurora visibly mouthed.

"Um..." Luna mouthed, waving awkwardly.

The two were both blushing awkwardly as they stared at each other. It looked like two shy girls who were about to go on stage for the school play and had no idea how to start.

"These two are so adorable!" Elysia squealed.

I chuckled. "Yeah! I think those two will get along very well."

"Oh my goodness gracious, yes they will," Elysia said. Her eyes sparkled as she looked down at the two of them, clapping her hands together. "Oh, they're so cute!"

"ALRIGHT!" Stike shouted, putting his hand over the console. The field below the arena started shifting into the empty streets of a city complete with small buildiings.

"Begin!"

Lunar Noirette slowly drew her blade, and Aurora raised her staff. Both girls stared at each other awkwardly.

"Dude," Starlancer muttered, watching them closely. "They're so awkward. It's painful to watch."

"I mean, it's a sparring match, and they're probably not very used to it. I'd probably feel the same way," the boy with the beetle armor from earlier said with an awkward smile.

"True," Nivalis nodded next to him.

Aurora slowly backed up and then suddenly leaped backwards, putting distance between herself and Lunar to land next to a car.

"Okay, here we go," I muttered. "Get it together girls. Just try to have some fun."

Luna Noirette looked almost uncomfortable with her short sword, her movements rigid and awkward as she began to move towards Aurora at a walking pace.

Aurora raised her staff, glowing a brilliant gold. She began to levitate, floating up and above the cars around them.

"Come, o light! Purify!" she called, pointing her staff towards Noirette, who raised her cape to cover herself as a golden ray shot out towards her.

The beam was too fast to avoid and slammed into her.

But it did nothing.

Several things happened at once as Aurora's beam hit her.

Aurora whipped her wand in a wide arc, and then suddenly the area was bathed in bright golden light.

Noirette, the area around her completely untouched, whipped her cape open to reveal a frilly purple corset as her bunny hood flew back, her eyes wide.

The glint of metal caught the light.

She flinched as Aurora's light flared and the angelic dove forward, a ball of silver light in her hands that formed into a distinctly metal construct as she flew down.

"You seeing this, Starlance?!"

"Y-Yup."

"So uh, you know what I just said about the emergency contract dudes not having any chill? I uh..." Nightstrider muttered. "Yeah I'm not gonna take it back, but these girls have got to be on something, man. What the heck is with our year?"

Both combatants were staring each other down with intent, the tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. The glint of metal from their weapons and armor sparkled visibly as they stared at each other.

Luna Noirette had drawn an assault rifle, which she was aiming directly at Aurora's chest halfway down the simulated street from a half-crouched stance. The gun had a dark and sleek black barrel that was adorned with red runes, with a glowing red crystal in the middle. She was dressed in a dark purple dress with an intricate black and violet bodice that hugged her thin, waif-like figure.

Aurora had her own rifle drawn and pointed at Noirette's head, her body angled slightly away from her. It was a white hunting rifle of some kind with a silver tip, the barrel shining a bright silver and decorated with ornate, angelic engravings.

"Guns?! Seriously?!" Nivalis shouted.

"Oh hell yeah," Neo Dymium gasped. "That spell was a feint!"

The sight of the two smallest girls in our class besides me pointing guns at each other's heads made me flinch, and I saw Elysia stiffen too. It was surreal to watch two of the most petite members of the class in a stand-off with weapons that were as large as their bodies.

"Ahhh... yeah... I don't think they have any chill at all." Starlancer said.

"Right, well, at least they're having fun?" Elysia offered with an awkward smile. "But uh..."

I winced.

"I mean... yeah."

Instructor Strike sighed audibly.

"Good grief..." Strike said. "I'll say. It's not every day I get two firearm users in one first-year cohort."

A woosh of wind swept across all ten arenas, blowing dust and debris everywhere. Aurora's golden locks and dress whipped about her as Luna's raven-black hair flared in the breeze.

Aurora had an expression of pure determination on her face, while Luna Noirette's expression was cold, her eyes sharp.

I couldn't help but shiver as the air around us crackled with tension. Even though multiple other sessions had already started, the calm standoff had drawn everyone's attention.

The two girls stood motionless, staring each other down as the wind picked up, whipping their clothes around them as the air between them grew heavy.

And then, they fired.