It should have been an easy victory

Oliver looked at the dense fog and felt dumbfounded.

A normal person would not be able to see anything in front of them.

Thanks to his special abilities, he was able to navigate these roughly made stairs of rocks.

He could feel a pressure bearing down on him. As he climbed higher, the pressure slowly increased.

Was this some sort of tempering of the body or mind?

He thought deeply; he had read about such things but never thought he would experience one in his life.

It felt like the gravitational pull was increasing with each step he took upward.

He deliberately allowed Bella and Nadia to overtake him and followed behind, just next to Evelyn.

Right now, they had to reach the top ideally. But naturally, it looked almost impossible to achieve, considering they were not even halfway up.

"This is long…" he muttered as he racked his brain to think of a way out but couldn't find anything useful.

Just like that, he sped up behind the two girls, trying to catch up.

Thanks to his level 5 strength, he had not felt exhausted or sore even under the pressure so far.

He knew, however, that mental fortitude would be as crucial as physical strength in the journey ahead

_____________

On the other hand, Evelyn, who was also climbing the mountain just behind Oliver, could not help but stare at his moving back intensely.

Her eyes were deep as she remembered her experiences so far and how she got to this stage.

She could not help but reflect on how she had reached here…

The memories of her rigorous training sessions flashed before her eyes.

She had been working hard since the time she could remember.

Her goal was to become a strong exorcist to help those in need, providing a place where everyone could live comfortably without worrying about their lives.

She had heard of the terror demons always spread—killing children, committing all sorts of taboos one could think of. They were the worst beings alive.

She disliked them and wanted them to disappear.

She wanted every child to live in comfort without worrying about demons, to never live in fear of their lives.

She had always wished to see a future where they could live in peace without any wars or bloodshed.

Of course, she knew such a thing was impossible as of now.

Her parents had taught her from their experiences that being an exorcist was not easy. She didn't believe everything could change on its own.

Exorcists are people who live on the boundary between life and death every day.

They have hearts of steel and wills of stone.

It was only through the great efforts of ancient exorcists that humanity had the peace they were enjoying now…

Otherwise, the lands would have long been consumed and destroyed by demons, and humans would have gone extinct.

She wanted to be strong and achieve a stage where she could make changes that would bring peace to every part of this world.

If people in ancient times could do it, then what was stopping her?

Talent? She had it all.

Resources? She had them all.

Encouragement? She had it.

There was nothing she lacked, and thus she devoted herself to following the footsteps of her parents. Her mother was her greatest motivation.

In the future she dreamed of, she wanted to be on a level where she could work together with her mother, restoring the peace everyone longed for.

Next to her mother was her older sister, whom she admired the most.

She was strong, talented, extroverted, and smart—everything a role model could be.

Bella was the role model for her. The first step to rising above was to catch up to her sister.

If she could not even do that, then how could she dream of helping her clan?

She worked harder than anyone, learning from her sister and following her everywhere.

If Bella was training, so was she. As Bella grew stronger, the difference always persisted.

She often wondered if she would ever be able to close that gap.

She could never defeat her sister in a proper duel or basic spar.

Her sister always thought two steps ahead of her. It was always a surprise when she learned something from her sister's actions.

There was a calmness Bella always maintained no matter the situation or the pressure she faced.

She had never seen her sister being impulsive despite her craze for strength.

Bella was not a muscle-headed maniac. People often misunderstood her as such, but she knew better, observing her daily and practicing with her.

She was someone who maintained an equilibrium that seemed almost unattainable.

Bella was definitely her role model as well as her rival… she didn't think anyone among her peers could match her sister…

That was until they were invited to meet the heirs of the other five major clans.

Honestly, she was not expecting much other than some formal pleasantries that she was used to when she got to the location.

And things were going as she had expected. No one spoke much and just observed the others. There was an eerie atmosphere around the table.

Then came the people from the infamous Mystic Purge Clan.

She was secretly expecting the heirs to be cold and sharp, representing the nature of their clan.

However, she was once again taken off guard when she saw the laid-back guy in front of her.

He did not look like someone from the deadly Mystic Purge Clan. He seemed quite relaxed and… normal?

His casual demeanor was disarming, a stark contrast to the crazed reputation that followed his clan.

She watched as he quickly started the conversation and easily assimilated with others.

To some extent, he felt like her sister—extroverted and cheerful.

He felt mature for his age to her—the way he talked, the way he carried himself.

Not only that, when she observed his features, his face, the one thing that stood out the most to her was his eyes.

They were charming, intimidating and mysterious… she could not point it out, but they were captivating. She liked them.

She felt depth in those eyes.

On the other hand, his twin sister was a more accurate description of someone from the Mystic Purge Clan.

A word she could describe her with was…

Cold.

However, she did not speak to her much.

Afterward, things went from a peaceful meeting to slightly aggressive, where they decided to have a duel to familiarize themselves with each other.

But she was left behind since the participants were an odd number, so she just observed others. A bit disappointed, but nothing She would see how others would do, being the heirs of major clans in the world.

She observed each match intently, analyzing strengths and weaknesses, storing away knowledge for future encounters in case it was required.

Nadia won one-sidedly. She was strong.

But what truly interested her was her sister's match.

It was against that silver-haired guy, Oliver.

Bella was the oldest among the bunch by age, so it was understandable for her to be the strongest given her talent.

It should have been an easy win…