The deadlock continued for a few minutes, but eventually, the balance was broken. The man with golden hair got struck by a fireball from the back, launching him towards Charlotte, who swiftly struck him in the gut and slammed his head onto the ground. He didn't move anymore, but he wasn't dead, as his chest was still moving.
The only two left were Charlotte and the woman, although she was sweating and breathing heavily. Charlotte was in a better state than he had started. The wounds on his chest had fully healed, and although he had a few marks on his body where she had struck him, he wasn't slowed down at all.
The two stared each other down; she raised her hands and fell onto the floor.
"I surrender; I can't take you down...especially not this tired."
"...So what happens now?"
She looked at him and rubbed her face as she sat up and pointed to the guy on the ground.
He turned in time to see him turn to sparks and vanish, which made him jump and move away.
"OH MY GOD, IS HE DEAD?!"
She looked at him and tilted her head before bursting into laughter. Charlotte took a second to realize she was laughing at him as he glared.
"You really don't have a clue...it's adorable. Here is what happens now: you are going to hit me as hard as you can and knock me out...try and do it with one punch; I don't want to be in pain for long."
"s-so he isn't dead?"
"Hardly, although if he were, that would be nice."
She said with contempt as she got up and dusted herself off. She gestured for him to get closer as she put her hands behind her back.
"Don't worry, he is going to retake the test...just like I will soon, and if I pass, I will have made it."
Charlotte sighs with relief before turning to her and walking closer. He focused his Chi on his hand and swung at her.
At the same time, she brought her hands out from behind her back and swung at him. This time, it wasn't covered with flames. He didn't have the chance to stop his attack, so he committed and hit her across the face. At the same time, her fist nearly reached him and almost struck him.
She flew back as he raised her guard, but she stayed still like the other guy. It seems she went for a final hailmerry to try and beat him; it was lucky that his attack reached first. She must have focused the rest of her Chi onto her fist, hoping to hit first and win. If she had hit him though, He most likely would have remained standing.
He waited till her body turned to sparks and vanished before lowering his guard as he looked around the room, waiting to see where to go next.
A hole opened to his right, and he saw a bright light ahead. At least this time, he didn't have to fight a wolf; he walked towards it, shielding his eyes. The light only got brighter and brighter as he closed his eyes.
"What the hell is making that light."
"open your eyes and see for yourself."
He flinched and opened his eyes as he raised his hands; he wasn't in a cave. Was he in a dojo? A square ring was lifted off the ground in the center; the room was quite big, as the ring didn't even take up half the room. He looked around the smooth wooden wall covering every part of the room; a doorway was behind and ahead of him.
All of this was interesting in its own right, but the thing that caught his attention was the woman standing in the middle of the ring ahead of him. She had tanned skin, which was a contrast to her snow-white hair and eyes. Her hair was long, reaching down to her shoulders, and was well cared for. Compared to his, at least, which was wild and unkempt. She wore a simple but fancy-looking white tunic embroidered with golden silk around the collar, which seemed to spell out something. She had a belt tied around her waist that held a waterskin; she also seemed to be wearing something else underneath, as he could make out a black material around her neck.
He kept looking at her quietly, and she seemed to be looking at him, too. However, unlike her, he wasn't a sight to admire since his appearance wasn't anything to be proud of. His clothes and build weren't exactly doing him any favors.
"Are you gonna say anything or keep looking at me?"
He was removed from his stupor and opened his mouth to say something before staying quiet and looking around.
"Where am I? Wasn't I at a cave?"
"Ah, is that the setting they chose this time? Well, good job passing the first two trials; this is your final one."
He figured that, with the stage at the center, he would most likely fight her, so he focused up as he walked over to the stairs to climb up to the stage.
"Wait a moment, rest and prepare yourself...Unlike the other two trials, you only get one chance at this."
He blinked and looked up at her and back at the door behind him.
"This isn't a trap, right...I can rest a bit?"
She smiled and nodded, grabbing the waterskin on her belt and tossing it to him.
"You can take your time, although you might want to do it before the next person to pass the test shows up... I would guess you got thirty minutes."
He sat on the ground and sighed with relief as he opened the waterskin and began drinking water. While doing this, a few things finally registered in his head. First, all the damage his clothes and himself had received was gone. Second, he wore his chest plate, and his gauntlets hung off his belt.
"It feels like a dream..."
"Well, it was. Although it probably felt a bit more real than a dream. We can't have any new students dying on the first or second after all; this way, they can go all out."
He was about to ask how, but she cut him off.
"It was the power of one of the teachers; they aren't that strong, but considering you are at the first stage like the others. You guys are powerless before him."
He finished drinking from the waterskin as he tossed it back to her.
"How about you? Is he able to put you in the dream easily?"
"Of course, I barely reached the second stage recently. Don't let that discourage you now."
He nervously smiled as he got up. He was as ready as ever, both mentally and physically. As he climbed up the steps, she gave him a small smile, which made him gulp nervously.