"Ugh...?"
A groan unconsciously came out of my mouth. My head throbbed with a dull ache as the ringing in my ears slowly began to fade away into the quiet air of the dome.
After Zion and my weapons clashed, I briefly lost consciousness. Just for a few seconds at most.
The raw energy released from the shockwave had knocked the wind completely out of my lungs, cutting off my breath before I could even brace myself against the impact.
The blast created when our attacks collided was strong.
It felt as though a massive battering ram had slammed directly into my chest, scattering the mana around my body and throwing my senses into total disarray.
And now, I can feel myself lying down. I sat back up as I opened my eyes.
My muscles felt heavy and drained, my palms pressing against the gritty, uneven ground beneath me as I pushed my upper body off the floor.
It was a bit blurry, and the debris flying everywhere didn’t help either. I closed my eyes a few times, and as the dust cloud settled—
"..."
I saw Zion looking at me with a smile on his face. The tip of [Excalibur] already pointed at me.
Seeing that, a small smile appeared on my face, then shaking my head, I let out a quiet breath, lowering my hands completely as the final result of our clash hit me.
"I lost."
I declared that.
Zion sheathed his sword back to his waist after hearing that, then he offered me his hand as help.
The golden light faded instantly as the blade slid cleanly into its scabbard, and he reached down toward me with an open palm.
I took his hand, allowing his impressive pull to hoist me back onto my feet without putting too much strain on my tired legs.
"Thanks."
I told him, and he just patted me on the shoulders.
I brushed off the loose dust clinging to my clothes, giving my shoulder a small stretch.
"You’re really strong."
He told me, all happy.
His face was lit up with genuine excitement, completely unbothered by the sheer destruction surrounding us.
’Yeah, right.’
I thought internally.
I looked down at my hands, feeling the lingering numbness in my fingers from overusing my mana reserve in that final strike.
Although it seems like I was strong—I barely did anything.
Throughout the entire fight, I was constantly forced to react to his pace and adapt to his movement.
All of my attacks were avoided and blocked by Zion. The only thing that I successfully landed on him was when I froze his arm—I even need to catch him off-guard for that.
I had to rely on trickery, terrain control, and taking advantage of his predictable game habits just to get a single opening.
But even that; he just shrugged it off like it was nothing.
A single flex of his arm was all it took for him to completely shatter a block of high-density ice that should have taken normal fighters minutes to break.
I even summoned a humongous spike that could destroy a mid-size building in our spar—but he just cut it in half. A structure that large consumed a massive chunk of my mana pool, yet he had cleaved through it like it.
Looking at Zion now—
’There aren’t even a scratch on his body.’
His uniform was slightly dusty from the explosion, but his skin showed no signs of bruising, cuts, or physical exhaustion whatsoever.
It was a complete defeat.
I stood there in the center of the ruined arena, fully accepting the absolute gap in our raw capabilities.
I thought I did pretty good—but I guess the protagonist is just built different.
The game stats and hidden talents bestowed upon the main character weren’t just numbers on a screen; they translated into overwhelming, natural dominance in actual combat.
’The other main characters are supposed to be stronger than Zion this early in the story... I still need to train a lot more.’
I told myself, my motivation sparking even more.
If I couldn’t even defeat Zion at his starting point, standing toe-to-toe with the elite students from [Z-Class] or the family assassins would be completely out of the question.
*****
"Damn, are you two really first years?"
As we got out of the arena, the staff member overseeing our match greeted us and asked that. He was standing right outside the lowered barrier line, looking at us with wide eyes while holding his clipboard loosely at his side.
"You two destroyed a whole arena in just a few minutes."
He added, smiling a little.
He shook his head in utter disbelief, gesturing toward the chaotic mess behind us with his pen.
Zion and I looked back at the arena we sparred in, and the whole floor was destroyed. The concrete was in pieces, and the dirt deep from underground was showing.
The polished stone ring had been completely carved up, replaced by a massive crater filled with cracked boulders, pulverized ice, and exposed bedrock.
"Now, don’t worry, you two... These happen more often than you think, just not with freshmen. Anyway, the point is we’ll handle it so you can just go on your day."
The staff told us with a smile on his face.
He tapped his key-card against the control pillar, turning off the defensive field before waving his hand to dismiss us from the area.
Zion and I bowed our heads slightly, then we thanked him for his time. He just waved it off, and with that—the two of us joined up with Cindy and left the training facility.
... ... ...
... ... ...
... ... ...
"You’re going back to your dorm?"
I asked to Cindy.
We just got out of the training facility and she just told us that she’s going back.
We stopped near the central plaza, where the path split into different directions leading to the various residential towers.
"Yeah, I haven’t finished unpacking my things. I wouldn’t be staying in the dorm, but there would be times where I wouldn’t have a choice, after all."
She told us.
She crossed her arms, adjusting her bag strap on her shoulder as she explained her plans for the rest of the day.
"Then, I would accompany you back."
I said to her.
I stepped forward slightly, offering to walk alongside her toward the female dormitory complex.
"Really?"
She raised an eyebrow, looking at me with a surprised expression on her face.
"I’m done sightseeing as well, I’m pretty tired too from the sparring earlier—I used too much mana. I want to rest."
I nodded my head as I said that.
My head was still feeling light from depleting my reserves during that last lance transformation, and my body was practically screaming for a bed.
"How about you?"
I looked beside me and then asked that to Zion.
I turned toward the energetic protagonist who was bouncing on his heels, seemingly unaffected by the intense bout we had just finished.
"Hmm...? The sun is still alive so I will continue looking around."
He replied with an enthusiastic look on his face.
He looked up at the bright afternoon sky, pointing a finger toward the commercial district down the road.
He really doesn’t look that tired or even bothered after fighting me.
His stamina recovery rate was absurd, looking like he could go for three more rounds without even breaking a sweat.
Anyway, after that—we said our goodbyes; then we split up.
Zion waved his hand cheerfully as he walked off toward the main shops, while Cindy and I turned toward the western side of the campus grounds.
*****
"You’re really cool earlier!"
Cindy said as we’re walking back. I would pass by her dormitory before I get back to mine anyway so I’m accompanying her back.
The cobblestone path was quiet, shaded by tall trees that lined the walkways connecting the academic buildings to the residential areas.
"Yeah, but I still lost."
I said, shaking my head and smiling.
I let out a small laugh, keeping my hands in my pockets as I kept pace with her.
"But you were really strong!"
She said. Cindy turned her head to look at me directly, her voice carrying a strong, firm conviction.
I looked at her, and her face was telling me her words were true.
There was no mockery or false comfort in her expression—just genuine admiration for what she had witnessed inside the ring.
"That Zion guy was just abnormal—most freshmen would’ve lost to you."
She added.
"Really? Including you?"
Then I teasingly followed with that. Though, outside my expectation—I glanced at her with a light smirk, expecting her to brush it off with her usual competitive pride.
"Yes! Even me!"
But Cindy declared that.
She stopped in her tracks for a brief second, looking me straight in the eye without any hesitation.
"..."
I was speechless, I was surprised that I momentarily stopped walking.
"I knew you were suppressing your ice abilities when we were sparring because you don’t want to cause trouble back in the house. But after seeing you go all out earlier with your ice powers—I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to avoid or defend myself against that."
She explained.
"Although it was obvious that I’m better in terms of close combat—I can’t do anything against such attack—so yes, I would’ve lost to you as well."
And then Cindy finished with that.
"..."
I still don’t know what to say. Cindy continued walking after that, and I just followed behind her.
Her words lingered in my mind, giving me a quiet boost of confidence that I desperately needed after taking such a clean loss from Zion.
Then as we were walking again—
"Though, don’t be complacent—I will get even stronger and defeat you again!"
She suddenly turned around again and stated that.
She pointed a sharp finger directly at my chest, her eyes flashing with a competitive fire that instantly replaced her earlier seriousness.
I smiled.
The familiar, stubborn side of her character was back, making me feel a sense of warmth in my chest.
"Haha, then I guess I need to continue training to prevent that from happening."
I chuckled softly, shaking my head as I accepted her unspoken challenge.
"Hah! You can’t stop me."
"Sure sure."
Cindy and I exchanged small talks on our way back to our dorm.
We chatted casually about our homeroom teacher, the strange layout of the campus, and our expectations for tomorrow’s classes until we reached the front doors of her dormitory.
... ... ...
*****
I got back to my room not long.
And as soon as I was back—I jumped on the bed. Lying flat on my chest.
FWAP!
I didn’t bother taking off my shoes, turning on the main lights, or even pulling [Frost] from my belt before collapsing onto the mattress.
I was really tired.
My body felt like lead, every single muscle aching from the sudden burst of physical exertion and heavy mana usage.
It was my first time using a lot of mana in such a short amount of time since I came to this world.
Pushing my output to summon that massive ice spike and transforming my rapier into a heavy lance had completely drained my reserves to their absolute limit.
I was supposed to study this time around, but just for today—I will skip it to give my body a breather. A lot of things happened already.
Between the dangerous encounter with the Frostguard member at the gate, meeting Zion, getting chosen by a bound artifact, and going all out in a spar, my mind was utterly exhausted.
This all happened on my first day... wow.
I closed my eyes and let myself rest.
I pulled the soft pillow under my head, letting the quiet dark room envelop me completely as my breathing slowed down into a steady rhythm.
And just like that, before I knew it...
The day came to an end, and the next day arrived.