Chapter 100 Trial Combat [ 2 ]

-Asher Frostblade's point of view.

A hiss echoed as Asher's legs tensed and his muscles strengthened. A gust of wind shook the environment and suddenly, it appeared right next to Elizabeth.

Muffled sound.

His fist filled with mana, which overflowed into his hand, heading straight for Elizabeth's cheek. However, the only thing it hit was air. Elizabeth appeared three feet away, and without wasting any time, she raised her hand. Chains emerged from the ground and wrapped themselves around Elizabeth.

A smile appeared on her face and then....

Burst.

She stamped her foot on the ground and everything shook around her. The chains shattered, flying through the air as they slowly disappeared, after all, they were made of mana.

With grim movements, Asher stepped forward and came within inches of Elizabeth. Chains sprang from his hands and flew towards her, but once again, Elizabeth disappeared.

Asher couldn't... He couldn't land a single blow.

He knew full well that it was impossible for him to even touch her, but that was not his goal. Asher had not only learned to fight; he had also mastered the skill that fairies use to give mass and shape to mana.

Suddenly, two swords appeared in Asher's hands. These were made of mana, to which he had given form and substance.

The mana flowed back into his legs, tensing the muscles again and then....

Swhoss.

He disappeared and swung both swords.

Clank.

They simply hit the ground as they missed their target, but he knew Elizabeth would appear at his side. More swords materialized, filling their surroundings. Elizabeth opened her eyes, but without realizing it, some swords were inches from her head, ready to touch her.

She looked back and saw two swords. Her hands moved in an instant and the swords disappeared, but that was enough time for Asher to approach.

Wielding tighter, he moved the sword to the left side of Elizabeth's arm.

The air hissed and a white line appeared at that moment, the sword moved swiftly.

Elizabeth reacted, and in the blink of an eye, moved her head; Asher's sword passed within a millimeter of touching her.

Elizabeth appeared behind Asher.

"Tsk..."

Asher clicked his tongue as he turned his torso and swiftly moved both swords backwards, right where Elizabeth had appeared. His feet moved swiftly, but Elizabeth disappeared again.

"Shit..."

However, he moved his hand again and chains appeared around him, coiling all around the space. Then, he created a gap to pass through, and there was Elizabeth, in the middle of all the chains.

Asher then concentrated the mana in his hand and molded it into the shape of an arrow. In an instant, he launched not just one, but several arrows at the same time as he approached Elizabeth with a swing of his sword.

Burst!.

He turned his torso as he saw that he had once again cut through the air and the arrows had only touched the ground.

Then, Elizabeth pressed her finger against one of Asher's swords and....

Crunch.

Pieces of mana flew off the sword. Asher swung the other sword, but again Elizabeth pressed her finger, disintegrating the second sword.

Crunch.

Chains sprang from her hands in that instant as she ran at full speed. He clenched his fist and directed it at Elizabeth, as the chains tried to corral her.

Asher closed in, finally managing to get within inches, his fist filled with mana and the chains tightened. He was about to strike a blow.

Suddenly, however, everything disappeared. Even his fist, which was redirected to the ground, and the chains shattered as Elizabeth's figure became a blur and reappeared right behind Asher, pressing her finger against his head.

Starburst!

In an instant, Asher fell face down with incredible pressure. His head sank to the floor, and though his hands kept squeezing, nothing was possible.

Then, finally, it was all over.

"Enough."

Encrid's voice reached everyone's ears, and suddenly, everything stopped: the sound and the falling debris. The mana stopped flowing from Asher.

"Haa..."

Crunch.

Asher got up from the ground.

He had no wounds, but his face, body and hair were dirty.

He looked down at the ground and noticed the small hole he had left behind after his earlier impact.

Then, Asher looked at Elizabeth, who was simply watching Encrid.

But Asher noticed.

"I managed to scratch it."

He saw a small damaged area on the shoulder of Elizabeth's clothing.

At what point had that happened? He hardly ever tried to hit Elizabeth's shoulder; his attacks were directed more at her torso and face, while the chains were focused on her legs and hands.

So how was that little scratch possible?

"Haaa..."

He sighed and then wiped his clothes. It was the academy uniform, and since it was black in color, the dirt was clearly noticeable.

He turned his attention back to Elizabeth, who finally noticed the small scratch.

"How did you...?"

Her gaze flicked to Asher, and he returned it.

"How?"

It was the only word she uttered.

It was enough for Asher to understand the situation. She was shocked.

Although even he himself didn't realize at what point he had hit that part, there were only two hits that went there.

"That's when I hit with all my speed."

It was an idea, but he left it there. Managing to scratch, even if it was Elizabeth's clothes, counted as a hit.

***

-Scene change.

Back in the living room, a hush enveloped the atmosphere as Asher wiped his face and hair.

It was completely dirty, as were his clothes. After a few seconds, he looked at the others.

"How shall we say it?"

At that moment, they were discussing how to announce to the fairy realm Elizabeth's departure to the world of Alpheas.

"Mmm, maybe we should leave someone we trust."

"I have someone in mind."

Elizabeth and Eliza were the ones chatting. Gloriana and Asher were sitting, simply watching the two sisters, while Encrid was at the other end of the room, lost in thought.

In fact, it had been a few hours since Isabella had left the room and she had not returned.

Encrid, of course, was worried, though he didn't show it. Asher, however, knew it.

It was then that he stood up.

"Where are you going?"

Gloriana asked, and Asher looked at her.

"I'll be back in a few minutes."

"It's... fine."

"..."

Asher noticed Gloriana's sudden change in attitude.

Why was she suddenly like this just because he was leaving?

However, he paid no attention to her; his thoughts were more focused on finding out where Isabella was.

He left the room and wandered down the halls, checked each room and she was gone, then went to the balconies of the rooms and couldn't find her either.

Finally, he saw a slightly different door.

Asher, following his instincts, walked to the door and turned the handle.

"Isabella."

Soon he saw Isabella sitting on a soft, spacious bed. The room was decorated with furniture, and a balcony was directly opposite. However, Asher focused his attention on Isabella.

She then looked at him and stood up, heading towards him, but seemed ready to quickly leave the room.

"Wait... Where are you going?"

Asher reached out his hand and stopped Isabella from leaving. He looked at her, but she avoided making eye contact.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Why is she acting so strangely?"

Encrid was right; Isabella was acting strangely, and she didn't seem inclined to respond.

Asher then looked at her with cold, indifferent eyes.

"..."

Finally, she looked up at him. Her eyes quickly swept over his face, but she soon averted her gaze again. However, Asher noticed that she was biting her lips; her eyes seemed filled with sadness.

What's the matter with her?

Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?

Why does she look like she's about to cry?

It was really strange. Asher had never seen this side of her. She had always been aloof and cold, emotionless. However, when she talked, she seemed different, especially with Encrid.

What's wrong with her, Asher thought quickly.

Then, Asher remembered something that once in his past life had calmed him down.

His friend Amelia was always by his side during difficult times in his previous life, and she used to do something that somehow calmed Asher down.

That's when he decided to put his arms around Isabella and hugged her.

Of course, he had never done that before. This was the first time he had hugged someone on his own, as he had previously been hugged by Isabella, but it was she who hugged him, not him.

Amelia used to do this with Asher, and now he thought he had to do it too.

Then Asher heard something....

Drip, drip, drip.

Tears fell to the floor, making a small echo in the silence of the place as he held Isabella in his arms.

And so he continued.

"I'm sorry..."

His words reached Asher's ears.

"..."

"It's okay... I don't know what's wrong, but..."

However, his words stayed there. Asher wasn't the type to usually have these kinds of feelings, nor was he the type to try to comfort someone.

But, of course, he more or less knew what to do.

And that was keeping Isabella hugged for quite a while, as her tears fell to the floor echoing.

***

-Scene change.

"Huam..."

Finally, Asher had left the fairy world. He had now returned to the academy along with Gloriana and a new member.

Elizabeth was at his side. Asher looked at her; her size was about the size of his open hand, and he noticed that Elizabeth was sitting on his left shoulder.

"That's strange."

He just didn't know what to say. Before they had returned, Elizabeth had left control of the kingdom in Cephir's hands as temporary queen.

She, of course, didn't understand why, but Elizabeth explained the situation, though Asher didn't know exactly what situation they were talking about; he didn't pay much attention to it, however.

He quickly left the room where the teleportation door was and headed for the disciplinary committee room.

Like Elizabeth, Eliza was also on Gloriana's shoulder; both sisters were on the shoulders of their contractors.

They left the room and walked through the halls of the academy. Soon, Asher and Gloriana left the academy and finally arrived at the dorms.

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

With nothing more to say, they said their goodbyes. It was night, exactly midnight.

Creak.

Asher opened the door and finally saw his room. He turned on the lights and sat down on his bed. Then, he looked at Elizabeth, who was still on his shoulder.

"Why don't you get off?"

"..."

She looked at him, but said nothing.

Then she stood up, rose into the air and positioned herself right in front of Asher. Her dark eyes stared at him.

"Ahem... Not that I mind, but you've been sitting on my shoulder since we left your kingdom."

"So what?"

"No, nothing else."

She stopped looking at him, looked around and spoke.

"You're a tidy person."

"Of course, I don't like clutter."

"..."

She looked at him with a slight frown.

"Kind of an odd human."

She muttered, though Asher heard her, but said nothing.

It seemed Elizabeth wasn't entirely in the mood at the moment. She had left her realm and her world to be at Asher's side, but it was necessary.

The Dimensional Rift would open in a few years, and she needed to be of help.

"I'll make this clear to you."

She then looked at him sharply.

"If you are in danger or your life is in danger, I will not help you. Fairies do not help humans solve their problems, understood?"

"I understand."

However, it's not like Asher is going to be in danger all the time? Right?

"Haa..."

Sighing, Asher lay down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.

Tomorrow... Tomorrow the real academy classes begin, and starting tomorrow, credit points will be handed out to the cadets. Of course, that means they will have to get credit points to make their necessary purchases, such as food or other things.

However, they will also be able to enter the dungeons to get credit points. Tomorrow starts the real thing and what the teachers really teach the cadets.

Then, the lights went out and Asher closed his eyes....

_________________________________________________

End of volume 2.

I finally made it to chapter 100. It has been quite a while since I started this story.

I tell you this time that this story was intended simply to learn and improve my writing in web novels.

I would appreciate if you could leave your opinion on whether my writing has really improved a lot compared to chapter 1 of the novel, and also what you think of the second volume, if you like it or not. Depending on your answers, I will decide if I will continue writing this story with Asher.