Chapter 363 (1/2)

“Alright switch.” Alana’s voice sounded out, and Thea fell to her knees, almost grateful.

The person opposite her, a short woman with extremely powerful legs, lowered the huge shield that she used as a weapon. Her gaze scrutinized Thea carefully, absorbing every detail. But as she was turning away, all the woman said was, “You… can improve very quickly. Good luck.”

Thea was too exhausted after their brief duel to respond, but her eyes locked onto the IX on the back of that woman’s leather armor. So, she was part of the 9th Squad. That made Thea feel… at least some swelling of pride, even though she had been absolutely embarrassed on every front.

But that was common, in this exercise: of the 19 duels Thea had participated in, there was only one that could be even considered a draw. The level in Donnyton… was so fucking high, it hurt.

The training had started with an hour of exhausting fitness exercises with weights, the 300 people moving with remarkable efficiency to make sure everyone did everything. Thea sorta ended up swept up in the momentum, and lost herself in the weight lifting. The exercises were many and varied, and pushed her body beyond what she thought was possible, earning Thea two Levels in Physical Fitness.

Then the duels began, in Alana’s words, to determine “the final groups”.

Thea really didn’t want to know what group she had ended up in. She had gained a dozen or so Skill Levels, however, and tried to focus on this, rather than her actual performance, which left her flushed with shame. If Chrysanthemum were participating…

But Thea knew that this was just an excuse; these people were relying on their own strength, just like she was right now. The fact that she lost to them all… simply meant that she wasn’t as strong as she thought. That… that was just life.

But another voice in her head whispered that Chrysanthemum was part of her strength too.

Shaking her head, Thea stood, took one of the free potions to restore her strength, and went to find her next duel partner. This one was a black teen who was scowling and swinging a huge iron ball around, like it was nothing.

It made Thea’s stomach plummet out of her chest. That sorta strength could destroy her, System or no. That ball must weigh over 300 lbs, and he was treating it like it was nothing…

But in more positive news, the guy was covered in bruises, clearly beaten up and injured. It seemed that some of the damage from the previous duels had been so extreme that he hadn’t been able to heal in the time between duels, something that Thea identified very strongly with. She too, was still quite sore.

“Alright girls and boys, this will be the last fight.” Alana called. “Make it count.”

Thea steeled herself. It had to be this, it had to be here. Of all of her opponents, only this one seemed to have a fraction of a chance of her winning. Then, although it might be considered cheating, Thea reached for her connection to Chrysanthemum. Not to call her, but to draw some of her strength and ferocity through their bond, and get one more edge.

One thing that her opponents here had made very clear was that Thea was way too hesitant when attacking another person. Which was perhaps true, and was likely just due to the fact that Thea really hadn’t ever raised her weapon to fight against another human. She had constantly been fighting monsters, which relied on Skills or their raw Statistics in order to battle, rather than any sort of momentum or disruption.

It was a sharp gap in her knowledge, that put her in an awkward situation.

But here and now, facing this giant metal ball… Thea felt part of Chrysanthemum flow through her, settling into her bones, setting her emotions on fire, raising her hackles. It was certainly easier to treat the user of such an oppressive weapon as a monster, able to withstand her full strength. And Thea promised herself that was exactly what she would use.

“Begin.”

The man moved, exploding into motion, but very quickly Thea’s vision of him was completely eclipsed by the huge iron ball moving towards her. Growling, Thea dashed forward, spun around the ball, and leapt towards the man.

Without even blinking, he twisted the chain and pulled, using his monstrous strength to stop the ball’s advance and pull it back. Her face twisting into a grimace, the thrill of Chrysanthemum’s bloodlust singing in her veins, Thea reached out and grabbed the chain, allowing the man to pull her back towards him.