“Eh? Wait! What!? I was told that it was a draw! And that you overwhelmed her! What happened!? What!?”

  Her eyes are wide open as she shouts this at Alice. Her jaw was this close to hitting the ground as her ears do their job, hearing the words coming out of Alice's mouth and of course, her face follows the same pattern as her brain fully processes what Alice said. “Unbelievable, I don’t believe it!”, that is the first thing that her mind thinks of. “Alice losing?” That’s something that she for some reason, cannot fathom to see it happening, especially against someone that looks like Kiana. However, the one saying this is no other than Alice herself, so it must be true. As she accepts reality and its harsh truth, she backs off a step or so, still in full of disbelief to what she just heard.

  Alice- Technically it was a draw since my sensei called it off. In reality my claymore broke when I was about to go all out against her. To be honest, I was also outclassed by her and by quite a bit, her skills are something else. She’s agile, strong, her decision-making abilities are top notch and she knows Sword Arts! Sword Arts for crying out loud!

  “Ahem!”

  Alice- I’m getting a little too excited, but let me tell you how it went first, you’re making quite the face right now.

  And so, Alice tells Taniah how their battle went. Her initial thoughts about Kiana, how she underestimated her, how Kiana strength surprised her, the way Kiana fought against her, Kiana Sword Arts in case no one got that it shocked her, everything that Kiana did and of course her own thought process as she was fighting her, her emotions as she saw Kiana overwhelm her, what lead her to believe Kiana story and for last, what makes her think that Kiana is a “nice” person. Ah, before I forget, she also comments about Kiana's odd choice of weapon, her scissors in this case and how strong they were.

  Taniah- Wow, that sure is one hell of a story. And I also understand why you insist that she won, if that was a real battle, if your weapon breaks, you might as well accept defeat. Unbelievable! I would never, and I mean that, I would never take her as someone that strong. However, now I’m curious, what rank would you class her as? You are right now at B-, so she should be at B rank? I’m fully aware just how much of a difference a B- is to a B but from what you told me that might seem the case.

  Alice- I forgot to mention something, but I’ve acquired a new skill when I was fighting her. Magic Sense and thanks to that, I can confidently say that she's well above that, well above. I mean, her magic aura alone was sending shivers down my spine so I would rank her at very, very least B+. If someone told me that she is above that, I would easily believe it.

  Taniah- You would rank her that high? Not only that, are you saying that there is a possibility that she can be stronger than that even? I mean if you say it, I will go with your word but wow, she really does not seem like it at all. However, she did defeat you, that alone makes her strong, which in turn, makes the bullying case much less believable as she could easily outmatch all of them easily… Or would it? Maybe she let her own strength go over her-no, if you say that she’s genuine then this does not make sense.

  Alice- The true meaning of never judging a book by its cover. I also agree with your logic, if it wasn’t for a small detail that I also forgot to tell you. In reality, when I was fighting her, I’ve noticed that someone was interfering with our battle, in this case they were cancelling her magic spells. She was trying over and over to use spells only for all of them to be cancelled out. At first, I thought she made a mistake but then I noticed that it failed right the moment it was about to be unleashed, leaving the impression that someone was interfering.

  Taniah- In that case, someone was using a dispel spell on her. Now three questions follow that; Who, why and where? Who was doing such a thing, why were they doing and where were they when they did it? However, do you think it was any of them?

  Alice- I don’t think so, they are far too weak and stupid to pull something like that. However, I really can’t tell you much else as I simply do not have a clue either. I’ve looked around the scene but as you can expect, I found nothing and I also doubt it was some student near us. Maybe it was someone from the outside? It seems improbable but, after seeing and fighting Kiana, I wouldn’t doubt it.

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  Taniah- If that is the case then, it is an outside problem coming here. I can do my best to stop it from happening here, but the moment they step outside, there is nothing that the student council can do about it. However, it does worry me that there might be someone capable of interfering with the students inside the Academy from the outside. Maybe I should have a patrol around the outskirts of the Academy? I have to think about it, either way, congrats on acquiring that skill! How did that happen?

  Alice- Thank you, to be honest if I wasn’t enjoying the battle so much, I don’t think I would’ve got it. She made me go to my limits and that was what allowed me to acquire such skill. I lost her in the steam cloud and that fact made me look for her desperately. I desperately looked in all directions but of course I never found her, the steam cloud was far too dense and big but, at that very moment I learned that skill. However, at the same time that was also when I learned how weak I am compared to her and to those that are as strong as her, let alone stronger. The magic aura that I referred to a little back, I could physically see it and let me tell you, the sheer amount of magic energy she has, it was out of this world, I’ve never seen anything like that. I’ve never expected that magic could be so vivid, let alone that dense, and yet, it felt smooth, controlled at the same time. On the other hand, the sheer amount it straight was horrifying, so much so that it made me quiver with fear. The thought that she could easily win the battle if she wanted to, the thought that she could eliminate me in a blink of an eye, it made me panic, and with it, I tried to use one of my strongest spells, Inferno Burst. Since the claymore I was using was old, it didn’t withstand the pressure from the spell.

  Taniah- I have no words for that, I can only imagine what you went through. If I was in your shoes, I would’ve probably quit right there and there at that very moment. But, what about her weapon? Wasn’t it a little unfair for you? I mean, the fact that she can split it into basically two swords makes it unfair? Maybe? How the heck did she get her hands on something like that? I can’t even imagine the price of such!

  Alice- She actually only used one half against me but, I have no clue and I also don’t know what those scissors were made of. They seemed light, or at least she made them seem, but at the same time they seemed sturdy, as hard as diamond I would say. Just like my claymore the blade was dull, especially at the tip however, in my case, I was using a specific one for that type of battle, something that in her case tells me it’s not. Maybe she modified them? The moment that she summoned them I was taken back by it and just like I said, I underestimated her. I started the battle weak and slow, but quickly noticed that she had some skill and strength. Over time I increased my speed and strength only to be matched right after and before I knew it, I was basically going all out. Another thing that surprised me was those Sword Arts. I never expected to meet someone that could use them.

  Taniah- Sword Arts? I know you said something about them, but are they really that good? I don’t think I know anyone who can use them but, that’s it really. Anyway, she did tell me that she has done adventurer work in the past, so that could explain her skills and strength.

  Alice- Well, Sword Arts are quite complex and hard to pull off, that is why very few people know how to use them however, they are extremely strong, so don’t forget that. From how skilful she was at handling everything, I would not doubt it at all if she did adventurer work. On that front, we can always ask the guild for proof if you want it.

  Taniah- Ah no, no need for that. If you say that she’s strong then, she’s strong. There is no need to pry on others' privacy just because I’m having trouble accepting the truth. But we should get going, we’ve been at this for a little too long.

  Alice- Is that so- Oh my, time really flies by. Do you know where Miss Pandora might be though?

  Taniah- From the information that I’ve gathered about her, she should be in the main building. It seems there is a lab there and she’s the “owner” of it. Or more, got the rights for it.

  Alice- A lab? That is the first time I’m hearing something like that exists at the main building. How did that happen?

  Taniah- Apparently, she got invited because of her science and magic research and from that, the administration decided to “award” her with a lab so that she can do her research and experiments. Quite the feat, wouldn’t you say?

  Alice- Of course it is, it’s amazing in fact. Quite the opposite of those pests, not only does she actually deserve to be here, she also worked hard for such to happen. She didn’t buy her way in, didn’t do some financial favour and so on. Hard work and pure talent brought her here and that alone, it makes her far better than any of them could ever wish to be.

  Taniah- Alright, alright, don’t go on a tangent! I know that you don’t like them and that she’s better than them, I agree with all of that but, we should get going. Let’s start by the lab, if she’s not there then, we will figure something out.

  And so, with this well thought of plan, one that surely is not bound by fate, one that surely has a flow to it whatsoever, they get moving towards the lab in hopes that Anya is there.

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