The paladin's crimson eyes bored into me, her thin sword gleaming as she pointed it at my chest.
"Hand over the artifact and leave unscathed, or I'll use force," she said, her voice cold as the cave's stone walls.
I blinked, playing dumb. "What artifact are you talking abou—"
"The one in your pocket," she cut in, her gaze sharpening like a blade.
Shit. She wasn't bluffing.
"What's it gonna be?" she pressed, her sword steady, unwavering.
I didn't answer, just slowly unsheathed my steel sword, its plain edge looking almost laughable next to her polished blade.
Her eyes narrowed. "I see. This choice might just get you disqualified."
Is she threatening to kill me? The thought hit hard, her words implying a fatal strik.
I forced a smile. "Oh, really?" I snapped my fingers, and the light orb bobbing near the cave's ceiling snuffed out, plunging us into pitch blackness.
"Tch," she hissed, and I heard her shift, her boots scraping as she turned to guard the exit.
I summoned another light orb, this time right in front of her face. The sudden flash forced her eyes shut, her head jerking away on instinct.
I moved fast, my footsteps light on the stone as I darted to her right. Her sword swung blindly, slicing air, but I was already there, my blood-soaked blade hovering at her throat, the iron stench sharp between us.
She froze. My golden eyes caught the faint glow of my orb, and for a moment, we were statues in the dark.
"The light orb…" she said, her voice low, almost impressed. "You're the one who shook the stage with the Light attribute reveal."
"Yeah," I said, keeping my tone steady, my sword still at her neck.
She didn't flinch, her gaze calculating. "You're good in a fight, quick on your feet. But you forgot one thing — if you inflict a fatal wound, you're disqualified." Before I could react, she leaned forward, pressing her throat against my blade, daring me to act.
I yanked my sword back, stepping away. "Whoa, whoa, you're gonna risk your life on that logic?" My voice cracked, half in shock, half in disbelief.
She smirked, just a flicker. "Let's just say I'm good at reading people."
I sighed, lowering my sword but keeping my guard up.
"Which team are you?" I asked, my voice low, eyes locked on her.
"Red," the paladin replied, her crimson gaze steady.
"Alright, how about this? We form a party. Split the points from the artifacts we collect, 50-50."
Her brow arched, her sword still raised. "A party? With you?"
"Hey, don't underestimate me," I shot back, a grin tugging at my lips. "Those two Skolvargs you took out? Nice work. But the rest of these corpses?" I summoned a light orb, its glow illuminating the cave, revealing the scattered, bloodied bodies of the Skolvargs. "All me."
She glanced at the carnage, her expression softening, just a hair. "Fine," she said, exhaling. "Teaming up could boost our success rate"
And there we stood, locked in a stalemate. To form a party, our wristbands had to tap, syncing our fates. But who'd move first? Her sword was still up, her crimson eyes unreadable. My hand hovered near my wristband, the artifact in my pocket a silent weight
Then, a glint caught my eye, moonlight flashing off something sharp in the trees beyond the cave's entrance. An arrowhead. "Duck!" I shouted.
She reacted instantly, dropping low as I swung my steel sword, slicing the arrow clean out of the air. It clattered to the cave floor, its tip coated in a sickly purple powder. "Poison?" I muttered, my stomach twisting.
The paladin stiffened beside me, her face paling. "No way."
We scrambled deeper into the cave, ducking behind a jagged rock for cover. "That could've been fatal," I said, my voice low. "Aren't they afraid of disqualification?"
She smirked, but it was grim, her crimson eyes glinting with something darker. "They enrolled to kill me."
I stared at her, the words sinking in, painting her in a new light. "Mind if I know why?" I asked.
Her eyes widened, surprised. "You're oddly calm."
"Adrenaline, probably," I said with a half-grin.
She didn't quite buy it, but she leaned back, her voice guarded. "Let's just say some people want me dead to break an engagement without consequences." Her words were clipped, but the weight behind them was heavy.
I nodded slowly. "So you came to the Academy to be safe."
Her gaze flickered, defensive for a moment, then softened. "Yeah. My house is crawling with rats."
I glanced at the cave entrance, the moonlight taunting us. "If we go out, we're arrow fodder. If we stay, it's only a matter of time before those Skolvargs come back with their pack."
Her face twisted, tension creasing her brow. "I'm rushing out," she said, her voice fierce with determination.
"And?" I pressed, raising an eyebrow.
"And.... I'll find them... And Kill them." Her grip tightened on her sword, her eyes blazing.
I shook my head. "If they're disguised as students, killing them means instant disqualification. You'll be sent straight back to your house.. You know, rats and all."
She froze, her jaw clenching, frustration boiling over. "Then what am I supposed to do—"
I stepped closer, cutting her off. Her eyes narrowed, her sword twitching in her grip. "What?" she snapped.
I grinned, letting a cunning edge creep into my voice. "Or… I could just hand you over to them. They'd probably let me walk away."
Her lips curled into a matching grin, sharp and defiant. "That's an option, but you'd have to—"
I snapped my fingers, summoning a light orb right in her face. She flinched, groaning, "Ugh, not this again!" Before she could recover, I struck the side of her neck with a precise chop.
Her body crumpled, unconscious, hitting the cave floor with a soft thud. No teleportation triggered. Good to know unconscious isn't fatal, I thought, exhaling.
I cranked up the light orb's intensity, its golden glow flooding the cave.
Stepping toward the entrance, I caught another poison-tipped arrow mid-air, its purple sheen glinting ominously.
Time for some real business.
****
"Yes, my lord," a voice murmured, distant and muffled, like a dream slipping away.
"She's teleported near you, as you wanted, and placed on the same team. Yes… the same girl." My head throbbed, fog clouding my thoughts as the words faded.
A cold breeze sliced through me, snapping my eyes open. The sound of a river gurgled nearby, its rhythm steady but unfamiliar. Where am I? I thought, my heart racing. I reached for my sword, my fingers grasping at my waist. Nothing. My breath hitched.
Then I saw him, leaning against a tree, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. Half gold, half crimson, like a predator caught mid-shift.
Wait. My memory surged back, sharp and stinging. He knocked me out to hand me to the assassins. I scrambled to my feet, my legs shaky but my voice sharp. "What did you do? Why am I still alive?"
Caelumis blinked, his crimson fading to full gold, a disarming warmth in his gaze. "Oh, you're awake!" he said, his tone almost too casual. "I brought you here from the cave."
I narrowed my eyes, my pulse still racing. "From the cave? I thought you were saving your own skin."
He shrugged, a sly grin tugging at his lips. "Well, I lied. The Skolvarg pack was coming back. I figured they'd make a perfect distraction to get us out."
My brow furrowed. That didn't add up. "Then why knock me out?" I demanded, stepping closer, my hands itching for a weapon.
He didn't flinch, his voice calm, almost infuriatingly so. "If you were awake, they might've tracked your mana after dealing with the pack. But they don't know me, so they can't trace mine."
His logic was… oddly sound, but it felt too neat, too calculated. I studied him, his golden eyes glinting with something I couldn't quite place. Confidence? Deception?
"Are you still doubting me, Miss Lirien?" he asked, his tone teasing but sharp.
I froze. "How do you know my name? Who are you?" My voice cracked, a mix of suspicion and curiosity.
He chuckled, leaning back against the tree, utterly unbothered. "I took the liberty of forming our party, like we planned. Your name popped up in the wristband's info."
I glanced at my wristband, its screen glowing faintly. Sure enough, we were partied up — Caelumis and Lirien. My stomach twisted.
"Hey, can you change that look?" he said, mock offense in his voice. "It's like you regret being stuck with me."
I crossed my arms, a small smirk tugging at my lips despite myself. "That's because I do."
"Tch," he muttered, loud enough for me to hear. "Should've handed you to them."
"What was that?" I shot back, pretending I hadn't caught it, my tone lighter now, teasing.
"Nothing," he sulked, his golden eyes glinting with a playful pout.
I sighed, the tension in my chest easing just a fraction. "Fine. You can give me my sword now. I won't attack."
He raised an eyebrow, pointing to a tree beside me. "It's been there the whole time."
I blinked, spotting my long blade propped against the bark, its polished surface catching the moonlight. "Oh," I mumbled, grabbing it, my cheeks warming. "How long was I out?"
"An hour, maybe two," he said, shrugging. "We should move. They might catch up."
I nodded, sheathing my sword. "Yeah, let's go." We started walking, the river's murmur guiding us through the dark forest. I glanced at him, his figure steady despite the chaos we'd just escaped.
"Do you even know where we're going?"
He grinned, a spark of something cunning in his eyes. "The artifact I found? I got it by blindly following that Skolvarg pack. This time, I've got a strategy."
"Strategy?" I echoed, my voice tinged with intrigue, my guard dropping just a bit.
"Yup, strategy," he said, his grin widening, all confidence and mystery. He launched into an explanation.
This guy's strange, I thought, my lips twitching into a reluctant smile. Strange, but clever... maybe too clever.
His every word seemed to weave a web I was already caught in.
Yet I couldn't help but feel a spark of trust, or at least curiosity, blooming between us.