Chapter 169: Winning Is All That Matters
"Winning is all that matters," Livana shrugged.
Alice didn’t reply—because her brother always told her the same thing. That was his mindset, too.
"Whatever. What makes you think teaming up will help you against me?" she said with disdain.
"Together we have a chance. Alone? We’d get completely destroyed," Airon admitted, even though he didn’t like it.
"Good that you know," Alice didn’t waste another second and charged at them.
Her sword clashed with both their punches and forced them back with a single blow. She kicked Airon in the face and then deflected Livana’s strike with her blade.
"Even ten pieces of trash like you couldn’t beat me," Alice growled and immediately activated [Ruined Sword].
Her sword glowed as she launched herself at them with even greater power. Unlike her previous fights where she held back, this time she was going all out.
Every strike was heavy and overwhelming, and even Airon and Livana’s defensive skills couldn’t stop her attacks.
"Damn it! How did that slut get so strong?" Livana muttered in panic and quickly activated her defensive skill [Golden Shield].
A large golden military-style shield appeared in front of her to protect her from Alice’s terrifying blow.
"You really think that piece of junk skill can protect you?" Alice growled with contempt and attacked again with even more force.
"What the hell?!" Livana was shocked when the shield broke. It was too late to react, and the hit landed, sending her flying dozens of meters.
She coughed blood and could feel the bones in her arm shattering.
Once again, fear surged through her mind.
"How? Why is she so strong?" Livana whispered, her voice a mix of fear and jealousy.
In truth, the hatred between her and Alice stemmed from an insult Alice once made toward her brother. Back then, she had mocked Daniel, calling him useless trash.
It led to a fight between her and Alice—Alice had beaten her up like a wild animal. Although Alice was reprimanded for her behavior, the academy didn’t push the matter too far since both of them were considered to have great potential.
But Livana never forgot that grudge. Her goal had always been to stay above Alice, and sometimes, she actually managed to do it. But sometimes, she didn’t.
Still, it had never been this bad. She couldn’t understand what had happened to that girl in such a short time to become this powerful.
She even wondered if maybe that girl had cheated. Otherwise, it made no sense at all.
And if she did cheat, then how? How could she cheat with the academy director watching? Maybe the director himself helped her cheat?
She was so angry that her mind wasn’t working properly anymore, and she didn’t even know what nonsense she was thinking about.
She couldn’t accept the truth—that she had completely lost the competition to Alice, a humiliating defeat.
"Hm?" Alice then turned her attention to Airon, who felt a terrifying chill in his bones under her gaze.
Without hesitation, Airon activated [Fierce Tiger Fists] and began to attack. His fists clashed with Alice’s sword.
But from the very first hit, it was clear he was being overpowered. Alice didn’t let up, her blows heavier and more ruthless with each swing.
[Blazing Crusher Strike]
Flames engulfed her sword as she launched a terrifying strike at Airon.
He couldn’t endure anymore, and before he could activate a defensive skill, the hit landed. Fire engulfed his entire body and began to burn him.
Fear flickered in Airon’s eyes. Pain shot through every inch of his body, and he couldn’t do anything.
he was automatically defeated and teleported out of the test zone. His flags were added to Alice’s tota
"Useless trash," she growled and turned toward Livana.
"I’ll give you one chance to walk out of here. If not, I’ll beat you till you wish you were dead."
Livana stared at her with a mix of fear and anger, but she didn’t dare say anything that could provoke Alice. She accepted her loss.
"This isn’t over! I’ll make sure you pay for this humiliation a thousand times over!" she shouted before being teleported out of the test area.
Alice ignored her completely and looked around.
"So? What now? Don’t tell me there are still people left?" she was a bit confused about why she hadn’t been teleported out yet.
But suddenly, light surrounded her as well, and she was sent out of the test zone.
She found herself standing on a platform with nine others, including Kayderon, Tryon, Livana, Airon, and Tiana. The platform was directly in front of the spectators.
"As I thought, you ranked first," Tiana said excitedly as she ran up to her.
"Of course. No one can beat me," Alice said proudly.
"You should say that to your brother," Tiana smirked.
"What were we talking about again? Oh, right—about the importance of sleeping early," Alice quickly played dumb.
Tiana just burst into laughter. The only person Alice actually feared was Daniel.
"Well, congratulations to all students who made it into the top ten," Philip’s voice echoed above, drawing everyone’s attention.
He appeared in the sky above them, looking at them with pride—though there was a hint of surprise in his eyes too.
’I didn’t expect Alice to win. What the hell was she doing during those two weeks?’ He had known Alice’s strength and assumed she’d place third at best.
But she had taken first place easily. The same went for Tiana—if she hadn’t run into Alice early on, she would’ve definitely taken second place.
’Wait a second. I’m the headmaster—I can rank them however I want.’
"Well, I guess it’s time for rewards, right?" he said with a smile.
Suddenly, platforms rose from the ground and elevated the top three.
Alice at the highest level, followed by Tiana, and then Tryon. The top three of the tournament.
The audience was surprised—most of them had expected Livana to take second and Airon third.
But after the initial shock, they were happy. Because this ranking felt completely right.
"Congratulations to the three of you for earning the top spots. For the top two, since you far exceeded my expectations, you’ll also receive bonus rewards," Philip announced.