Both fighters coated their bodies in aura, and Amelia began the fight by launching a wooden arrow imbued with her aura at Mikael.
The arrow flew fast, but not fast enough that Mikael couldn't dodge. It whistled past his ear as he charged toward her through a hail of arrows.
He dodged most of her arrows with ease until, unexpectedly, one of the arrows curved mid-air and hit him from the side.
"Argh!" he grunted as the impact sent him flying. Fortunately, he'd sensed the threat just in time and increased his aura output before the arrow hit, but even so, he was thrown back several meters.
He skidded along the ground before regaining his footing, only to see three arrows already hurtling toward him—aimed at his head, chest, and legs. He quickly ducked his head, slashed the arrow aimed at his torso, and used his aura-coated leg to kick the last arrow away.
Even with his defenses, Amelia's arrows—enhanced by her higher E- rank—still packed a punch, and he was knocked back again. Despite the impact, the force was far more manageable this time.
Dodging her next arrows, he charged at her, weaving through the projectiles. Within moments, he was close enough to strike, sending a vertical slash toward her. She calmly raised her bow to block, and the two wooden weapons clashed with a loud "Thwack!"
But Mikael didn't stop there. The moment she raised her bow, he aimed a swift kick at her ribs. He wasn't the novice who'd just started training with Kiara—his unarmed combat skills were solid.
"Ugh," she grunted in pain and surprise as his kick connected, briefly disrupting her focus. Mikael seized the opportunity to throw an uppercut with his left hand.
Amelia saw the punch coming at the last second and tried to pull her head back, but it wasn't enough.
"Wham!" Mikael's fist struck her jaw, sending her flying back. It almost looked like something out of a movie, except this was all too real. She landed on her back with a loud "Thud." Before she could rise, she felt the point of his weapon at her throat.
In the next moment, the barrier enveloped her, signaling her defeat. Amelia sighed and looked up at Mikael with a determined glint in her eyes. "I lost. Well played, but next time I'll wi—"
Before she could finish, she was teleported away.
Understanding her unfinished words, Mikael thought to himself, 'Well played, huh? Honestly, this small area favored close-combat fighters over an archer like her. If I hadn't won, I'd really be trash.'
Mikael's thoughts were interrupted by a voice from his bracelet. "Congratulations. You are the last one standing in the second test. You'll be teleported shortly."
[The quest "Aim for the Top" has been completed. Rewards: 3K LP]
As soon as he read the notification, Mikael was surrounded by the familiar blue barrier and then teleported out.
As the teleportation began, he once again found himself in what seemed like space, moving at an incomprehensible speed before he finally touched down. He stumbled slightly but quickly regained his footing, already adjusting to the teleportation and feeling less nauseous.
Just as he was about to take in his surroundings, a foul odor hit him. "Ugh!" he muttered, wrinkling his nose. "What is that smell?" He looked around and noticed traces of vomit on the ground a few meters away.
'Seriously, some people actually threw up? Well, I can't blame them—teleportation is nauseating, and it's probably worse for those with weaker bodies.'
Returning to his thoughts, he took a more detailed look at his surroundings and noticed Amelia crouching nearby, looking sick.
He took a step back, not particularly interested in being her target if she was about to vomit… However, she seemed to just be queasy rather than that sick, and she quickly stood up, a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth from the strong uppercut she had received.
As she rose, she noticed him and looked momentarily stunned before turning to head toward the infirmary, clutching her sore ribs.
Just as she was about to leave, a voice interrupted, "Miss Amelia, congratulations on your win!"
The speaker was a refined young man dressed in luxurious blue clothing that showed no signs of having just been in a forest battle. With black hair and brown hair, he was relatively handsome and was accompanied by several other young men who looked like his lackeys.
Amelia gave him an irritated look and sighed. "Wernon… I didn't win. He did," she replied, nodding toward Mikael.
Wernon took it as a joke and said, "Surely you jest. How could a commoner beat you, the proud heir of the Mournsky family, one of the two Duke families?"
Hearing his words, Amelia grew doubly irritated and replied dryly, "If I say I lost, it means I lost!"
Amelia was about to leave, but when she noticed Wernon's expression change from stunned to angry, she warned him, "Oh, and I don't want you causing any problems for him just because he beat me! I lost, and that's all there is to it. But next time, I'll be stronger and I'll win."
After saying her piece, Amelia turned and walked toward the infirmary. The noble Wernon shot a murderous glare at Mikael but didn't dare do more than that. Obeying Amelia's orders, he left without causing a commotion.
Mikael, who had been quietly observing the scene, found his opinion of Amelia rising a notch after seeing her actions. He thought, 'She doesn't seem to be the spoiled noble type. Compared to the two other nobles I've encountered so far, she's... different.'
'The first one, Eric something, caused a commotion by abusing his status just five minutes after the vice principal explicitly forbade it. A true display of high intelligence. And the second? A supreme simp for Amelia, angry at me for winning fair and square just because I was better? What would have made him happy? If I intentionally lost? That's ridiculous.'
Just as Mikael was about to leave, a screen displaying the test scores appeared on the wall, drawing the attention of the remaining groups of people.
Second Test Leaderboards:
1st Mikael Angelini - 11569 Pts
2nd Amelia Mournsky - 5321 Pts
3th Lucas Henker - 3200 Pts
…
34th Wernon Dirgeglide
…
58th Eric Saurdane
"Is there a noble family named Angelini, or is he a commoner?"
"There's no noble family with that name. He's a commoner!"
"Damn, the top scorer is a commoner! I'm posting this on social media. The views I'll get..."
Hearing the chatter around him, Mikael smiled internally. And why wouldn't he? This was a step toward becoming more famous or, at the very least, better known—progress on his quest to achieve widespread recognition. Additionally, fame offered a layer of protection against assassination attempts. After all, it's much easier to kill a nobody than someone in the public eye.
Ignoring the rest of the chatter, Mikael turned his focus inward. After assessing his condition, he decided to walk home. His injuries were superficial; nothing was broken. At most, he had some small cuts and an aching body, nothing more.
He removed his bracelet and handed it back to a staff member, making sure to state his name so the Academy would know he had returned it. He did the same with the wooden sword before leaving.
Mikael exited the Academy by following the clearly marked signs and passed under the still-impressive arched gateway. He walked home and entered his house. Once inside, he took a quick shower. After all, he had been fighting in a forest for hours, and his clothes were dirty.
Afterward, he changed into grey sportswear that originally belonged to 'him' in this world. Once dressed, he checked the time and saw it was July 5, 23:12. Knowing he needed to be at the Central Academy by 10 AM the next day, he still had plenty of time.
Having recently gained 3K LP, Mikael decided to purchase the Skill Evolution System, as it would be extremely useful for various purposes, such as upgrading his swordsmanship skill to the next tier by potentially incorporating aura into it.
"Records, I'd like to buy the Skill Evolution System."
[Request possible for a small fee of 100 LP]
Seeing the response, he sighed. 'I was half-expecting this, but I'd rather take the small detour of leaving this world to save those 100 LP.'
Having made his decision, he waited the customary five minutes before leaving this world. He reappeared in the Hub, where he immediately searched for the desired system upgrade.
[Skill Evolution System. Requirements: Skill System, Skill Leveling System
Your skills can evolve when they reach the maximum level of their tier. Price: 3K]
He purchased it, reducing his total LP to 1170. Once the transaction was confirmed, Mikael wasted no time and quickly re-entered the world of Dirarnia.
He appeared in the bedroom where he had left the world. Once back, he prepared to retire the limiter on his stats but paused, thinking, 'Maybe I shouldn't remove the limiter. I'll need to hold back in most situations, and I can't predict when I might need to push myself to my absolute limit. Under pressure, I might even exceed what should be physically possible, and that could draw suspicion.'
'Hmm, yeah, it would be safer to keep the limiter for moments like those. But what if I get ambushed? In that case, I could just command the Records to remove the limiter on the spot. It's not perfect, but it's the best solution I can think of.'
After he finished thinking he decided to sleep and rested for the next two hours. After this short 'nap,' he no longer felt even remotely tired. While he still had some light injuries, they had significantly improved during his rest.
Once awake, he noticed it was a little before 2 AM and decided to train until the Academy officially began. Moving from his bedroom to the training room, he prepared himself.
The training room was a large space with a floor covered in black carpeting, designed to cushion falls and prevent injuries. The room was divided into two parts: the first resembled a modern-day gym, equipped with all the necessary machines.
This section also contained a safe holding his mid-tier gravity ring. On the other side of the room was a large open space, next to which stood a rack holding multiple wooden swords and a training dummy.
Mikael headed toward the open area. Once there, he began to reflect.
'Today—or was it yesterday? I'll just call it today—I realized I'm seriously lacking in long-range options. Against Amelia, I had to close the distance between us, which left me wide open to all her attacks… Yeah, not the most efficient solution.'
'But how can I create a long-range attack? Amelia was using a bow and crafting aura arrows. Could I make something similar using my aura? Let's give it a try!'
He began emitting his aura outward, though he wasn't particularly skilled at it. During his week of training, he had focused more on reducing the time it took to control his aura rather than expanding its range.
Concentrating, he created a thread made from his aura and attached it to his finger. He then extended the thread to its maximum length. However, as the thread reached beyond ten meters, his control began to weaken, so he stopped at that distance.
'Ten meters isn't amazing, but it's definitely better than the range of my sword. It could serve as a mid-range option. Now, the question is, what can I use it for?'
'Hmm, maybe I could use a thread to control my sword and turn it into a mid-range weapon. But if I do that, I'd need two swords—one for my right hand and another connected to the thread from my left hand. Using the thread, I could extend my attack range to ten meters, and when my control improves, even further.'
He approached the rack and picked up two training short swords. Placing one on the ground, he created another aura thread, this time linking it to the index finger of his left hand. The thread extended and connected to the sword.
He lifted the sword into the air, but it wobbled unsteadily. Even as he tried to hold it still, it wriggled under his control. Despite this, Mikael remained focused, gradually learning how to maneuver it.
When he raised his finger, the sword followed. When he lowered his finger, the sword obeyed.
"Nice. Pretty sick," he murmured, genuinely impressed by what he was achieving.
"Swish, swish." The sword moved through the air under his control at a slow but steady pace. It wasn't fast, but it worked—and that was what mattered most.