Nate let out a quiet breath as he stared at the girl standing opposite him on the platform. The air around them felt heavier than before, not because of noise, but because more eyes were watching today.

The guard stepped onto the stage, her boots making a firm sound against the stone. She looked at both of them one after the other, her gaze sharp and emotionless, like any other typical soldier.

In today’s continuation of the trial, the guard who had been refereeing before had been replaced, and several more guards stood around the arena alongside the chief guards, observing everything closely. The stands were more crowded, though some seats remained empty—those who had been badly injured or knocked unconscious the previous day had not returned.

"Ready?"

Her voice came out cold, the same tone as the guard from the day before, flat and cold.

The girl rolled her shoulders back and stretched her arms, bending slightly as her fingers cracked one after another. Her eyes stayed locked on Nate, sharp and focused.

Nate looked back at her, his hands still resting inside the pockets of his black coat, but his mind wasn’t fully here.

When this trial started... I really thought everything would go my way.

His eyes drifted for a second toward the guard, then to the ground beneath his feet.

I did kill the boy in front of me during the first trial with no difficulty... but it wasn’t really that easy. Not even close.

His head tilted slightly, his pupils following the motion slowly.

I didn’t even know what a revolver was, not to even talk about assembling it from scratch.

He exhaled quietly.

If they hadn’t allowed me to read those books on general guns before coming here...

The guard raised her hand deeming the two ready for battle not waiting for him to finish thinking.

"Fight!"

Her hand dropped, and she turned immediately, stepping off the platform.

The moment she left...

The girl moved.

Her hand dived into her space bag in one smooth motion, pulling out two steel bars which she threw into the air.

Clap!

Cognis surged through her body, flowing into her hands with control. In less than a quarter of a second, her alchemy was completed...

A thirty-inch sword formed.

She caught it cleanly.

Her right hand tightened around the handle first, firm and steady, while her left hand slid slightly lower along the grip, supporting the base to stabilize the weight of the blade. Her fingers wrapped fully, not loose, not stiff, just enough to allow movement without losing control.

She adjusted her footing.

Her left leg stepped forward, knee slightly bent, while her right leg stayed behind, planted firmly to anchor her balance. Her weight shifted lightly between both legs, ready to move at any moment, not locked in place.

The blade angled diagonally, not too high or low, with the tip pointed toward Nate’s midsection. Her elbows stayed close to her body, not flared out, reducing openings while keeping her strikes compact and fast.

Her shoulders lowered, relaxed, but ready.

Her eyes remained focused, watching his chest, not his face.

Tracking movement before it even happened.

A proper sword stance and concentration.

It was clear she had practiced this over and over, her body remembering the form even without thinking.

Then she rushed forward.

Her Cognis flowed into her legs and arms, boosting her strength as she closed the distance in an instant.

While Nate was still lost in his thoughts...But his body moved as the sword swung low toward his legs.

He jumped up instinctively, evading the slash neatly.

The girl’s eyes widened for a brief second.

He was definitely distracted and she had noticed it.

Yet...

He dodged her attack effortlessly, but she immediately continued attacking.

Her sword cut through the air again and again, sharp and fast, each strike aimed to pressure him, to force him into reacting late, but Nate moved lightly, barely stepping forward or backward.

He didn’t even shift too much.

He just moved within the same space, weaving around her attacks like he already knew where each strike would land with his mind still lost in thoughts.

***

In Nate’s mind, he remembered the incident that happened to him during the second trial.

Snow covered the ground, thick and uneven, crunching under every step. The air was sharp, biting at the skin, and the faint wind carried the smell of blood and wet fur from distant hunts.

He remembered clearly.

The moment he ran into four boys, standing together as a team watching him from behind.

Their eyes didn’t look hungry at first glance, but the way they stared at the stick on his hands said everything.

"Hey, you."

The leader pointed at him.

A smug smile sat on his face, the kind that didn’t reach the eyes.

Nate had just caught a snow rabbit.

Three of them, and he was tying the last one to a long stick, his fingers steady despite the cold.

Ahh...

He lifted his head slowly, his gaze landing on the four boys.

Calm, quiet and calculating in his mind, reading the situation for what it truly was.

It’s so obvious...

His eyes moved across them one by one.

These boys are starving... and they got lucky finding me... a boy they don’t recognize... easy target huh...

He smiled faintly, ignoring the boys.

He simply finished tying the rabbit, lifted the stick, and rested it on his shoulder, turning to leave as if they weren’t even there.

"You!"

One of the boys rushed forward, boots digging into the snow as he blocked Nate’s path.

"Can’t you see we’re talking to you?"

His voice carried anger, but there was tension mixed into it too.

"Calm down, calm down."

The leader stepped forward, raising a hand slightly.

He walked up to Nate, his expression softening into a smile, but it was forced.

Nate saw through him immediately but didn’t say anything.

He just looked at the two in front of him, then slightly shifted his gaze.

Behind him...

The other two were already moving slowly and carefully, trying to surround him like prey.

A faint smirk touched Nate’s lips, finding the whole situation funny, but his expression didn’t show it, he just stared at them blank and cautious.

"I apologize on behalf of my friend."

The leader stepped closer, placing a hand on his chest as he bowed slightly, polite and respectful.

Would you look at this kid... Nate narrowed his eyes just a little.

"We just saw you alone, and as you can see..."

The leader gestured toward the others.

"We are just four and are trying to build a group of seven so we can survive better. So, I’m giving you a chance to join us and guarantee your survival."

His voice carried confidence, as if he truly believed what he was saying.

That was it.

Nate couldn’t hold it in anymore with how absurd the boy sounded.

A laugh escaped him, low at first, then louder.

He raised a hand, covering part of his face as his shoulders shook slightly.

The four boys stared at him confused and starting to get annoyed with how long Nate laughed and how the laugh sounded.

"Why are you laughing?"

The leader frowned.

Nate slowly lowered his hand with the laughter fading.

He sighed once, wiping his face lightly before looking at the boy again.

This time...

His eyes were sharp.

"You’re not fooling anyone boyyyy..."

His voice changed into an arrogant tone.

He lifted his hand and ran it through the back of his hair, tilting his head slightly.

"Stop wasting my time." His gaze hardened. "And come at me... idiots."

Silence.

Then...

The leader’s face twisted.

"You lowly maggot... how dare you!"

He rushed forward; his fist shot toward Nate’s face.

Nate, easily reading him like a book, tilted his head.

The punch passed him clean, then... His left fist moved straight and direct, slamming into the boy’s face.

A dull thud echoed.

The leader’s body lifted slightly before dropping onto the snow, rolling once before going still.

The other three didn’t hesitate immediately when they saw their leader down, they rushed him.

All at once.

But Nate... countered cleanly.

He dropped the stick of snow rabbits, letting it fall into the snow, then he stepped forward.

His right fist driving into the stomach of the nearest boy in front of him.

The air left the boy instantly, before he could fold...

Nate’s fist rose fast, hitting him with a clean uppercut.

The boy’s head snapped back as he fell.

Behind him...

He felt a presence closing in, then without looking back his body reacted.

His left elbow shot backward, striking hard.

The third boy’s face twisted from the impact as he staggered holding his stomach.

Then...

A sharp movement from the side.

A wooden spear aimed straight for him.

Nate turned fast.

His hand caught the shaft just before it pierced him, gripping it tight.

His eyes met the last boy’s, who looked back at him in shock and fear.

"Wai..."

The boy tried to speak.

But Nate didn’t wait to hear his words.

He pulled the spear forward, dragging the boy off balance, then...

Punch him on his right cheek then followed swiftly with another punch on the left and like that in a flurry.

His fists moved again and again, striking the front of the boy’s face without pause.

Each hit landed clean.

Until...

He ended things with a final uppercut.

The boy’s body lifted and dropped, blood spilling from his mouth and nose into the snow.

Silence returned.

Nate stood there, breathing in and out.

His fingers flexed with a dull pain lingered in his knuckles.

"Tsk..." He clicked his tongue softly. "Why are my fists hurting..."

He shook his hands slightly, cracking his fingers, then walked back picking up the stick of his food stock and rested it on his shoulder again.

"Argh..."

A voice came from behind him.

The leader of the four boys was still conscious, barely.

"Get back here..."

The boy pushed against the snow, trying to rise.

Nate turned his head slightly.

"This is surprising."

He raised a brow.

"You didn’t lose consciousness like the oth..."

He paused, seeing another movement, one more boy was struggling to stand up.

"Make that two."

His voice remained calm, almost bored.

"Hmmm... you really did a number on my boys."

A female calm and authoritative voice suddenly came from above.

Nate’s eyes lifted instantly to a tree.

And on its branch...

Priscilla sat there, swinging her legs slowly, watching him expressionless, just observing.

"So..."

Nate adjusted the stick on his shoulder with his gaze steadying.

"The big boss shows up."

He spoke with no fear in his eyes.

***

"Ahhhh!!"

The girl suddenly stepped forward, her boot coming down hard on Nate’s right foot, pinning it in place.

At the same time, her sword shot forward in a direct thrust.

Close range.

Cognis surged through her arms, tightening her muscles as she pushed all her strength into that single motion, making the thrust faster, sharper, and heavier.

The sword cut through the air...

It was already close to his stomach area, so close it almost brushed against his clothes, but...

Nate turned slightly, body shifting just enough and his hand came up.

Two fingers.

Caught the sword right on the sharp edge, but it didn’t cut him...

The edge stopped.

Held tightly between his fingers as if the blade had lost all force the moment it met him.

The girl’s eyes widened as she pushed harder.

More Cognis flowed into her arms, her muscles straining as she tried to force the sword forward.

The blade trembled slightly, but it didn’t move.

"Calm down, lady."

Nate’s voice came out steady, almost relaxed.

"We’re both from the same cloth... there’s no need to be this hostile."

He looked at her finally, really looking at her.

Her expression wasn’t just anger, there was panic in it, frustration and annoyance.

She poured more Cognis into her arms, her grip tightening, trying to free the sword from his hold.

Nate felt the violent increase, the shift in strength.

So, he quickly let go without further resistance.

He stepped back lightly, hopping once, then again, creating distance while his hands moved behind him casually.

"Your mind hasn’t been on this fight from the start," the girl said, her voice sharp as she steadied herself, glaring at him.

"And you say we’re from the same cloth?"

She scoffed.

"You’re just a typical noble who thinks he’s above me."

Her teeth clenched. "Fight me properly!" She rushed forward again fast, but...

Clang!

A dagger flashed in front of her.

She blocked it instinctively, then another.

Clang!

And another.

She stepped back, her sword moving quickly, deflecting each incoming blade as Nate’s daggers came one after another, forcing her to adjust her footing.

"My bad..."

Nate said calmly, lowering his right hand after throwing the last dagger.

"I was just thinking about something interesting."

He tilted his head slightly.

"But do I really look like a noble to you?"

A small smile formed on his face, there was a hint of amusement and pride in it.

"Sadly, I’m not one... or at least that’s what I used to think."

He shrugged lightly.

"But I guess I am, since they consider lowlines as nobles too."

His tone stayed casual, as if the fight didn’t matter, even though she could attack him at any moment.

He pointed at her.

"You..."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"You look strong."

He paused for a moment.

"And I need a subordinate after this trial ends."

His voice stayed polite and calm.

"Since they already said we can take those we defeat as servants..."

He looked straight into her eyes.

"I’d like you to become one for me."

Silence.

The girl froze.

Her sword trembled slightly in her hand, eyes widened, disbelief flashing across her face.

"This bastard..."

She muttered under her breath.

"You already think you can beat me? Easily..."

Her glare intensified, her thoughts already picturing stabbing him again and again.

"Isn’t it obvious?"

Nate replied immediately, tilting his head, genuinely confused.

For a brief moment...

The platform went quiet with the girl’s eyes darkening from clear embarrassment.

Then...

"If you really want me to be your servant that badly, then you’ll have to beat me, you motherfucker!"

She screamed.

Her voice tore through the air, Cognis burst out from her body, rising to its limit, blood began to drip from her nose and her breathing grew rough.

"I did want to end this with you forfeiting though..."

Nate smiled faintly, moving his body.

In the next instant...

He was in front of her, so fast that her eyes barely caught it, her body couldn’t even react

He’s fast... too fast...

Her mind registered it, but her limbs stayed frozen.

"Making you forfeit on your own accord would’ve been more stylish for the boss lady."

Nate glanced briefly to the side.

Priscilla stood there smiling proud at him.

Then his attention returned.

"I don’t enjoy hitting girls," he said calmly.

For a split second, his expression changed, just slightly.

"Because of the sacrifice my mother made for me."

Then it disappeared.

"But when it calls for it..."

His fist moved straight and clean in the air.

Boom!

It connected with her face hard.

Her expression distorted under the impact as his fist drove through, guiding her body downward, not even getting the chance to resist.

Her body slammed into the platform.

The sound echoing loud in the arena.

Her head hit hard, blood and spit burst from her mouth as her body went limp instantly.

Unconscious.

Nate stood there quietly, looking down at her, nonchalantly he slid his hands back into his pockets while behind him the guard stepped onto the stage announcing him as the winner.