LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 2
Seria Rubetia. If you’ve played this game, there’s no way you wouldn’t know this name.
She’s basically the problem-solver for most events, so players are bound to run into her over and over again thanks to the protagonist’s knack for getting tangled up in trouble.
Whenever the protagonist somehow manages to hold on, Seria shows up to save the day. That was the early game flow.
Some people complained, “Why does the protagonist always just ride along without accepting help?” but thanks to that, the epic moments in the later game were guaranteed!
To think that in the later sections, the protagonist would be fighting shoulder to shoulder with the world’s strongest girl… it’s truly legendary. My heart swells…
Anyway, it wasn’t too surprising that she confidently challenged me to a duel, even though we were complete strangers.
Who am I? I’m not just some guy who read the settings book in the Premium Package until it was tattered. No way!
Because of that, I knew details about all the main characters—even the trivial ones.
So I wasn’t shaken at all by this sudden proposal. I could clearly see what she was thinking.
“If she’s like that, she probably wants to finish the test quickly and escape when no one else is around.”
Her status and overwhelming abilities often lead everyone to misunderstand her, but beneath her cool and aloof appearance, there rests a huge introverted soul.
She really hates being seen by others. And just as an audience arrives, what do you know? Here I am. For her, this was an opportunity. The chance to finish the test and make a quick exit.
Unfortunately for her, I had no right to refuse. What would I do instead? Wait awkwardly for the others to arrive? No way!
“Alright. Shall we go right now?”
“Oh, um, don’t act so familiar all of a sudden…”
“Miss Seria, are you ready to go right now?”
“…Just make it casual.”
Despite pretending to dislike it, she actually prefers being friendly as long as you don’t cross the line, so I purposely closed the distance by mentioning her name.
It was probably just another day for her to have someone know her name without being told, but I doubt anyone has treated her like this before.
I wanted to get closer to her as much as possible. Being on friendly terms would practically give me a strategic nuke option at my disposal.
Besides, she’s a key character in the story, and her looks are stunning. Is there any guy who wouldn’t want to be friends with a beautiful girl?
“I’ll go and let them know.”
So I took the initiative to move things along for her while the supervisor expressed concern if it was really okay. But there was no option to back down now, so I just nodded.
After some ups and downs, we went up to the Training Ground and exchanged simple introductions.
“I’m Rudion. I don’t have anything special to boast about.”
“…Seria Rubetia.”
Typical shy Seria, just blurting out her name. I bet there’s barely anyone in the entrance exam who doesn’t know it!
But I chose not to point that out and kept a safe distance.
“Let’s go one round.”
“…?”
“That’s how it works.”
With that, an awkward silence fell between us. I knew that any attacks I tried would be blocked by her defensive magic, while she felt plenty relaxed.
Neither of us made a move as we stared each other down.
The silence was broken, but not by either of us.
“Hey? I think someone’s here already?”
“Really? There’s someone faster than me who just finished the test?”
I could hear the voices of incoming examinees finishing their theoretical exam. That meant people were coming this way.
And that was enough to finally get Seria moving.
Her golden eyes flickered as she realized someone was coming, and magic started to swirl and flicker from her left hand.
Just a moment ago, she had seemed willing to concede the first attack, but now it looked like she wanted to wrap things up quickly since people were coming.
It felt a bit dangerous. If I remembered right, Seria’s stats were overwhelmingly powerful at this point.
[Seria Rubetia]
[Strength: 4]
[Durability: 3]
[Agility: 6]
[Magic: 43]
Her stats were ridiculously focused on magic, allowing her to wield incredibly powerful spells.
In the beginning, she was all about that glass cannon life, but she later found her own way to cover weaker stats with magic, evolving into a virtually invincible monster.
There was a reason she never lost the top spot.
But right now, she was still just a rookie who hadn’t even enrolled yet. If powerful magic was her only strength right now, there was still a chance for me.
Before her magic could fully manifest, I lunged at Seria.
Had I rushed in first, I would have been blocked by her defensive magic and countered promptly. But with her moving first, things were a bit different.
Offensive magic takes longer to cast than defensive magic.
Not to mention, there was a 20-point agility difference between us. That gap was absolutely significant.
“Ugh.”
Seria looked quite surprised as I suddenly closed the distance.
Honestly, I was surprised too. I had felt light since the moment I possessed this body, but I didn’t expect it to be this much.
Is this the most effective way to experience a real battle? Even while I was lost in thoughts, my body kept moving.
I snatched at her left hand where she was channeling magic, disrupting her flow. Startled, she desperately tried to gather her magic again, but I was quicker than her spell’s completion.
Woosh!
“…?!”
I yanked her hand before she could regain her wits, scattering the residual magic she still had in the process.
‘Got it!’
If she had reacted just a fraction faster, she’d have sent me flying with her defensive magic, but thankfully, my surprise attack worked better than expected.
“Huh?”
But maybe I pulled too hard because she was coming towards me, and I didn’t stop her.
With the number of people gathered in the practical test area now, does the sight of me catching Seria in my arms count as a scandal?
Seria’s infamous black history list is about to get a new entry! I could easily envision her running away at the very sight of my face reminding her of this moment.
So, I quickly twisted my body to avoid that disaster, but she seemed to finally realize the situation and panicked.
THUD!
And that misalignment with my movements led to a chaotic cross-up.
My elbow went straight into her temple.
I could hear the gasps of disbelief from the onlookers. Was that me making that sound?
Let’s take a moment to review my strength.
[Strength: 17]
With a strength of 17, I was definitely not at a typical human level. Even thick-skinned wild animals would be knocked out with just a few punches.
In other words, I was striking at a level that could be classified as attempted murder when dealing with an average person.
Now, let’s check Seria’s durability.
[Durability: 3]
A durability of 3 isn’t even at a normal human level. It’s a worrying figure that falls below that.
If you have a friend who always seems to get injured and end up in the hospital, there’s a good chance their durability rating hovers around 3.
And I just landed an elbow on such a fragile body. Even if it was unintended, the impact from the gap wasn’t negligible.
Because of that, Seria fainted without even letting out a scream, and all I could do was brace myself to catch her as she crumbled to the floor, my expression blank with confusion.
“To hit a girl, ugh, scum.”
“A single blow to take her out during a test to evaluate skills? Truly a dreadful fellow.”
“I don’t really want to duel with a guy like him.”
“And don’t those look like a fallen girl we’ve seen before?”
My social standing had plummeted so low it felt like I was buried deep underground, and even I admitted I was acting like a piece of trash, so I accepted it humbly.
Right now, my only wish is simple.
That when Seria regains consciousness, she won’t remember anything. Or if she does, she’ll forgive me.
Even if she forgives me, I was already planning to bow my head in regret, but what mattered most was how she would perceive the situation.
I successfully carried the fainted Seria out of the Training Ground, but if she hears about this, she’ll be appalled.
How did I end up carrying her out in a princess carry?
Those who mocked me as scum suddenly seemed to whistle and blush, acting all starry-eyed. What’s going on here?
Anyway, I handed her over to a supervisor who looked quite familiar. She had that gleeful expression as if she was just waiting to tease me, so I endeavored to make it clear that this situation wasn’t of my making.
“Um, you know that this was a mistake, right?”
“Doesn’t seem like it when you made such a clean hit!”
“No…”
“Ahh! I know. I know! So don’t give me an entertaining reaction. It makes me want to tease you more!”
This supervisor had a completely different vibe. The thought of her being the homeroom teacher for the first-year junior class sent shivers down my spine. But if things continued this way, I’d be sure not to end up in that junior class, so I was relieved.
“This girl is under my responsibility, and I’ll make sure she heals perfectly with no aftereffects, so don’t worry and focus on your own business.”
Despite her quirky nature, she was certainly skilled, so I had no worries there. I lightly bowed and greeted her and then walked back into the Training Ground.
Before I knew it, the theoretical exam must have ended because the place was already packed with examinees, all eyes directed firmly at me.
“This is so nerve-wracking.”
Now that I had won against Seria, there was no way I could lose to anyone else. That would be the same as defeating a boss only to get killed by minions.
Of course, I could choose to finish the exam here and bolt, as Seria did in the game…
But how could I let this hilarious event slip away? Besides, I could no longer grow. I had to enjoy while I could.
Hehe. Just wait until they get stronger than me. I’ll bust out, “But you totally got wrecked by me!”
Unbeknownst to me as I was plotting these villainous thoughts, challengers began stepping down one by one.