TFYSWG 10

Chapter 10

A tense atmosphere flowed between the two people standing face-to-face.

Aiden still looked thoroughly dissatisfied, but he hadn’t forgotten his duty as a training assistant. He quickly adopted a serious stance and prepared for the duel.

The same was true for Olivia.

This was her first official duel with live blades.

She tightened her grip on the sword hilt.

“Nervous?”

“Assistant Instructor. This may be presumptuous, but may I offer you a piece of advice?”

“Let’s hear it.”

Aiden answered with a faint smirk.

“One day, you’ll admit it. Definitely.”

Why he had felt uncomfortable watching Olivia and Bennett earlier.

What that feeling really was.

And that it wasn’t simply because he cared about his friend’s younger sister.

Olivia stared directly at him as she spoke.

For a long moment, Aiden said nothing.

Then, as though he hadn’t heard a word, he began explaining the rules of the duel.

“There’s only one rule. If you manage to wound me within ten minutes, you win. If you fail, you’ll head straight to the opposite training ground and restart basic drills.”

“…Wound you?”

“Anywhere. Any method. Even the slightest scratch counts. The duel ends immediately, and I’ll excuse you from today’s training. What do you think?”

A crooked smile tugged at his lips.

“Of course, I won’t make it that easy.”

It sounded like a deliberate attempt to provoke her competitive spirit, but Olivia’s mind had latched onto only one word.

Wound.

Suddenly, her confidence faltered.

Olivia was someone accustomed to sparring.

She wasn’t someone accustomed to injuring others.

“Well then. Shall we begin?”

Aiden casually declared the start of the duel.

There was no formal greeting, no customary exchange before combat.

Everything as if it were real battle.

That was Aiden’s training philosophy.

The spring sunlight reflected faintly in his eyes, yet those eyes carried a chilling sharpness.

His center of gravity lowered.

He looked at Olivia as though she were an actual enemy standing before him.

Instinctive fear crept up Olivia’s spine.

“Not coming?”

Aiden asked mockingly.

“Then I’ll go first.”

Whoosh.

The moment he spoke, Aiden’s figure vanished from sight.

Acting purely on instinct, Olivia raised her sword above her head to defend herself.

Clang!

A sharp pain shot through her wrist.

A sword far sturdier than the trainees’ weapons.

A blade that seemed incapable of wavering under any impact slammed directly into hers.

At the same time, their eyes met from only inches away.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of amusement on Aiden’s face.

He offered a brief piece of advice.

“Never take your eyes off your opponent. That’s the most basic rule.”

After that, everything descended into chaos.

She deflected strikes aimed at her throat as though he truly intended to take her life.

She dodged and counterattacked.

The clashing of steel rang repeatedly through the training grounds, the edges of their blades gradually dulling from impact.

She couldn’t predict his sword path at all.

All she could do was desperately defend.

As though determined to show her her limits, Aiden held nothing back.

Olivia was helplessly driven backward by his overwhelming strength.

Whoosh!

His sword sliced past her face once again.

Several strands of hair drifted through the air.

The blade was terrifying enough to send a chill through her heart.

At that point, Olivia could no longer think of him as her close older brother figure.

Nor as her fiancé.

Grinding her teeth, she threw everything she had at him.

Kicking sand into the air.

Targeting vulnerable points.

Using every trick she could think of.

Of course, Aiden avoided all of it with ridiculous ease.

Time continued to pass.

Ten minutes had never felt so long.

Olivia tightened her grip on her sword.

Her palms were already drenched with sweat.

“So you’re the top student? You’re less impressive than I expected.”

Aiden openly mocked her.

The moment she heard those words, anger surged through her chest.

It felt as though he were dismissing all the effort she’d put in up until now.

“Don’t judge me so easily!”

She charged at him.

And then—

Their eyes met.

At extremely close range.

There was no mockery in Aiden’s gaze.

No ridicule.

Nothing.

He was simply observing his opponent.

Only then did Olivia realize.

She had misunderstood something.

Aiden effortlessly evaded her attack and said,

“The fact that such a simple provocation got to you…”

“Hngh.”

“…means you still have a long way to go.”

Boom!

For a moment, she thought something had grabbed her.

When her senses returned, Aiden filled her entire field of vision.

Beneath her back was the cold sensation of packed dirt.

The pain arrived a beat later.

Yet Aiden didn’t declare the duel over.

“One minute left.”

“Ugh! L-Let go of me!”

“If you ask an enemy to let you go, do you think they’ll say, ‘Of course!’ and release you? You have to escape on your own. Think carefully. Figure out how.”

One hand pinned both of her wrists.

His legs completely restricted her movements.

And in his free hand was a dagger she hadn’t even noticed him drawing.

The sharpened blade was aimed directly at her throat, precisely where her carotid artery ran.

The only parts of her body she could still move were her toes and the tops of her shoulders.

Yet even those felt useless beneath the threat of the dagger glinting before her eyes.

“Twenty seconds have passed. A real enemy wouldn’t wait this patiently.”

Frustration burned inside her.

Olivia had to defeat Aiden.

She absolutely had to.

Only by defeating him could she remain safely at his side.

That was the nature of their relationship.

And a training duel changed nothing.

Her mind raced at incredible speed.

“Monster Classification is a fascinating field. We understand monsters better than anyone.”

“Professor, shouldn’t weaknesses be part of classification criteria? Perhaps monsters with similar weaknesses could be grouped together.”

“Oh, weaknesses! Very important indeed. To discover a weakness, you must observe a monster obsessively. Every living creature instinctively protects its vulnerabilities. If you can identify those movements, finding the weakness becomes much easier.”

Olivia was exceptionally skilled at identifying weaknesses.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

Stay calm.

Only then can you see it.

She tested her restrained hands.

No reaction.

The same was true when she moved her legs or any other body part.

All the while, Aiden watched her struggle beneath him with calm, steady eyes.

Not the slightest hint of agitation.

And yet…

“Weakness. Found it.”

If he truly intended to kill his enemy…

He wouldn’t be so carefully controlling the position of the dagger in his hand, would he, Sir Oblivion?

“What?”

“I found it.”

“A way to escape.”

The moment she finished speaking, Olivia snapped her head upward.

Fast.

Fast enough that the dagger’s tip could pierce the skin of her throat.

And the strategy worked perfectly.

The instant the blade lightly grazed her skin, it jerked backward.

Olivia immediately felt the pressure on her wrists weaken.

Without hesitation, she tore her arms free, grabbed Aiden near the shoulder, and rolled.

Thud!

Then she instantly drew the dagger hidden at her thigh and pointed it at him.

The two daggers collided with a sharp metallic screech.

Their positions had completely reversed.

Their breaths mingled at close range.

“You just…”

“That was your weakness, Assistant Instructor.”

“That method only works against me. You threatened your own life?”

“That’s exactly why it’s a weakness. There aren’t any weaknesses that everyone shares, are there?”

Olivia answered with a bright smile.

Aiden Oblivion could not wound Olivia Kessier.

Now she knew that fact with certainty.

That alone was a tremendous gain.

The two daggers pushed against one another, separated, then met again in a deadlock.

For some reason, it felt exactly like their relationship.

Olivia let out a quiet laugh.

Their eyes met from mere inches away.

Their breathing remained ragged.

And despite the dangerous situation, a faint warmth flowed between their pressed-together bodies.

Thump.

Thump.

Whether from the intense exercise or something else entirely, her heartbeat accelerated.

It felt as though the entire world had become blurred—

Everything except Aiden.

Ding—

“Ten minutes are up.”

Aiden withdrew his weapon and rose to his feet.

“Escaping a restraint is commendable, but that wasn’t the victory condition. Since you failed to wound me, this duel—”

“No, Assistant Instructor.”

Olivia cut him off with a meaningful smile.

“Assistant Instructor, your shoulder…”

One of the trainees, who had been watching the duel with mouth hanging open, cautiously spoke up.

The trainee was right.

More specifically, the area between Aiden’s shoulder and neck.

Exactly where Olivia had grabbed him moments earlier.

A red scratch remained there, as though it had been raked by fingernails.

“I wanted you to think of me every time you saw the wound.”

“So I made sure to leave it somewhere very noticeable.”

“…Ha.”

“Well?”

“You’re grateful, right?”

The duel was Olivia’s victory.

As he watched her beam triumphantly, Aiden’s eyes trembled slightly.

Maybe it was because the weather was hot.

Or maybe that was why the back of his neck suddenly felt strangely warm.