Chapter 30: Ambitions (3)
Clothed though she may have been in her usual black kimono, Estelle had put on herself various talismans and even had a few of them tucked in her pockets. Because it was such an important test for her, a talisman was also sneaked into her cleavage, as Estelle wanted to have as much power as possible at hand.
Benjamin and her sisters would have rolled their eyes at her had they been aware of it.
Other than those talismans, however, Estelle stuffed her limbs and torso in light defensive gear to properly defend herself.
Of course, those wouldn't restrict her movement and allow her to fight just like she had practiced until now.
Also, Estelle had two small bags hanging on her hip hidden beneath her kimono in which the ink pot and pen she had received from Benjamin were shoved.
Though Benjamin would have rebuked her for it, Estelle wanted to take these two items as her lucky charm. If he had noticed, she would have insisted on keeping them.
After Moon checked the defensive gear wrapping Estelle's curves, she gave a green light for this challenge.
Estelle smiled and thanked her for all the help, then raised her hand and waved at Benjamin and Sun, who had been just wrapped in a heavy silence because of new revelations.
Her lovely smile wiped off all seriousness, and these two could cheer on their beloved without any load on their hearts.
One step before the summoning circle, Estelle sucked in a lot of air, then exhaled deeply. Her green eyes, usually storing kindness and love, were forcefully sharpened and narrowed as Estelle recalled the pain and hardships she had gone through during her training.
Resolved, the youngest wolf priestess took a step into the arena.
For months, she had been dealing with low-level phantoms, but even those were strong enough to leave her with bruises and wounds. Her talismans were exhausted one by one, and Estelle grew to hate fighting even more.
'I am the protagonist of my life… I'll be strong enough in no time to be together with everyone!' Estelle cried inwardly, hiding her concerns from the rest of the world.
At last, the summoning circle had been activated by her. The invisible wall was erected around the periphery, locking the wolf and soon-to-appear phantom within the gray arena.
Waves of black wind coalesced from nowhere and turned into a tornado of wildness. The scale of it was a little lower than during Zero's appearance, but standing so close to it, Estelle couldn't tell and was sure that someone as strong as him had appeared to challenge her for freedom.
Once the tornado subsided and converged into a male orc, Estelle clenched her hands and studied his appearance.
Like Zero, the male orc was tall and sculpted to intimidate others. His muscles were like thick armor encasing him from head to toe, and dangerous veins popped on his head and limbs. His balled hands seemed like clubs and only lacked spikes to truly send shivers down Estelle.
His eyes were inked, yet his attention had thoroughly fallen onto Estelle, wrapping her in his threatening gaze.
"I am Second Of Lilria Camp… I didn't expect to receive a trial before I became First… but so be it," the man spoke emotionlessly, taking things as given.
Estelle bit her lips and entered her guard stance. Ready though she may have been, anyone looking at her and Second wouldn't really be in favor of Estelle as she appeared so much smaller and weaker than the orc with bulging muscles.
The same train of thoughts crossed Second's mind as he took light and casual steps toward the wolf priestess. However much he wanted to take her seriously, this woman didn't have any hint of killing intent in her eyes.
In fact, a feeble light flickered in those green hues, seemingly easily to squash.
Breaching enough distance to test the wolf woman with a kick, Second tensed his muscles once in range, sending forward a kick that would have halved a thick tree.
Estelle, however, put on a much heavier guard than Second had expected, for she didn't move an inch and remained on the same spot, not wounded. He could tell he had hit something tough hidden in her sleeves, but items alone were often not enough to make a great fighter.
This woman held herself up well, and Second had given her some credit.
Still, Estelle hadn't lowered her guard and remained rooted on the ground. She hadn't initiated any move after receiving a blow from Second and only stared at him from behind her raised arms, appearing like a boxer who was waiting for the perfect chance to strike back.
Nonetheless, just like experienced boxers could peek into the future to predict their opponents' moves, so could Second. Moreover, he also could sense that Estelle didn't have any drop of killing intent in her or even a desire to fight him back.
Those were things that couldn't be faked.
"The hell you want?" Second muttered with a tone of irritation now clear in his voice. He also had given up on trying to see through Estelle and released a flurry of kicks that would have sent down any common orc sprawled and dead onto the ground.
His foe didn't fall or move, perched like a sturdy tree.
Second increased his pace. His kicks falling onto Estelle soon turned into drums as only the sound of her receiving them could have been heard around them.
Amidst straightforward and simple kicks, however, Second sneaked in much more clever moves, only to get them blocked by Estelle's impregnable defense!
Estelle repeated her beloved's words in her heart, 'Because you are quite short, most people will try to get information from you with kicks. If not, then jab. I'll teach you how to neutralize them first. Hands up.'
'Hands up!' Estelle repeated with much more emotion, her stare draping Second's hulking frame. Her first opponent was so much taller than her that it was good that Benjamin had prepared her for this kind of enemy.
During her training, Benjamin had also picked up how Estelle's disposition aligned with fighting, her good points, and natural personal things she could use in her favor to deal with opponents.
Estelle once again repeated her boyfriend's words, 'Your style can be very similar to mine, at least the core is on the same page. Keep your guard up, hide your feelings, and wait for him to…'
"ARE YOU GOING TO JUST STAND HERE?!" Second howled, rushing into Estelle's reach like a bull. He kept some composure as he let out another kick, but it was so straightforward and simple—because of anger—that Estelle's mind spun with a plan to counter-attack it!
She stepped to the side and nimbly closed the distance. Her little hand gave up on guard, spreading her fingers wide. On her palm was plastered an offensive talisman with pure raw mana stored inside!
Estelle slammed her palm onto Second's chest and whispered, "Burn."
The mana on her offensive talisman ignited… and exploded.
BANG!
Second got yanked off the floor and tossed up by the impact of that offensive talisman! His body flew as though released from a catapult, caving in the invisible formation keeping him inside the arena.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes momentarily rolled up, and all breath left him.
The orc slid down like a corpse, only to roar and rise to his feet with a piece of his flesh gone from his chest.
When his eyes rose to look at Estelle, a vein of genuine anger popped into his temple.
She stood with her guard up, ready to defend…
Benjamin's words filled her heart, 'You're very apt at adapting… just because your sisters' lives were in danger, you resolved to train to help them. I could see so much of genuine resolution that I was shocked. It means you can control your feelings and killing intent so well that it's gone off you. While I dance with my enemies and wait for the perfect moment to attack, you can keep your guard up and wait for that chance while hiding your emotions. I say you should perfect this style. What do you think?'
Estelle's reply rang out in her heart, 'I will!'
Author's note: Book has been contracted! Maybe we have a rich reader who would drop a castle for christmas xD