Ember always started her morning with a quick coffee, then meticulously took care of the saber she had received from her late mother.
She always kept the weapon on a small altar in her home, which had a stand for the sword, a photo of her mother, and some trinkets, along with other things that reminded her of that woman.
The girl kneeled before the altar and prayed for a moment. Then, carefully, she removed the sword from its stand. Finally, she slowly unsheathed it, revealing a perfectly sharp blade, so smooth it reflected like a mirror.
To complete the beautiful look of the blade, at its base was the design of a beautiful rose, inscribed with a very special magic. It was said that this weapon could feel its master's love for it. Others simply called it a relic that would be better off in a museum.
Either way, the redhead continued her ritual and began cleaning her saber with a cloth that was also special to her. She carefully wiped away even the smallest speck of dust.
Finally, she allowed a small amount of mana to flow through the sword, making it glow and heat up. Then, she carefully sharpened the blade, even though the intense heat would occasionally burn her fingers.
After finishing her morning ritual, she dressed. Normally, she would choose more elegant adornments, but for the test day, she opted for leggings and a stylish white shirt with a slight neckline.
Even though she was going to battle that day, she was not the type to neglect her appearance. That's why she spent a good amount of time detangling her long hair. She wouldn't leave the house until she was impeccable. After all, she always needed to look perfect.
She also wore a purple pendant she had bought. It was a magical item capable of creating a shield. Her sword was also special, acting as a catalyst for her powers.
Aside from that, she would carry a small bag with an exploration kit. That meant a lantern, some first-aid supplies, a restoration stone, an automatic map, smoke bombs, ropes, and a few simple materials to set up a trap.
Leaving her house, Ember took a deep breath for a moment, feeling a slight tightness in her chest. Trying to calm herself, she touched the hilt of her beloved sword. And once again, she repeated to herself:
"Be perfect, be perfect."
However, the tense moment was quickly interrupted as she saw the familiar smile of her best friend approaching.
"Lara," she called out with a huge smile as she saw the giantess coming closer.
The two hugged, and as usual, the redhead ended up suffocated in the middle of her friend's huge chest. Then, they started chatting excitedly about their favorite singer's new song, and at that moment, Ember didn't have to think about her vow.
Although they had arrived much earlier than necessary, as they got closer to the auditorium, the number of people around them grew. And, of course, there were also many men. The result was a scene that could have been pulled from a comedy film.
Lara, with her nearly 2-meter height, tried to hide behind her thin and not-so-tall friend. She held the redhead's hand, always walking behind her while trembling with fear of the people around.
Ember obviously couldn't help but worry about her friend, especially since they wouldn't always be together during the test. Her concerns grew even more when Amelia announced that the first part would be in pairs.
All she could do was hope that Lara, by a stroke of luck, would be chosen as her partner. However, when she finally opened her eyes, she discovered the worst possible outcome.
"You?" She exclaimed in irritation upon realizing that her partner would be the pervert from a few days ago. "What are you doing in this test?"
Without giving any chance for Davi to defend himself, she began to gather flames in the palm of her hand.
"Wait, wait, if you attack me you'll be disqualified," giving up on explaining himself, the boy just resorted to a lie.
It was impossible for the redhead to have had time to read the manual, so she naturally believed it. And with that he managed to stop her… at least temporarily.
By the way, the manual was a small piece of paper that was teleported into the pockets of all participants. The object contained few instructions, but it said that the first phase would have 3 stages, that the pair should cooperate and that they should choose wisely what to take from each stage.
"I know we had a rough start, but…" Davi extended his hand toward the girl. "My name is Davi, it's a pleasure to meet you."
She didn't accept the handshake and stepped back a little. Still, at least he introduced himself, saying his name with pride.
"Uh… what's your class? I think we should at least think of some plans to work together," Davi tried to be friendly again, but the girl in front of him wasn't at all willing to listen.
"Don't come near me," she glared at him with aggression. "Don't worry, you're really lucky to have me as a partner. I'll win on my own, just watch me." She declared with confidence.
Then, the door of the white room opened, revealing a circular arena with about 8 meters in height and 30 meters in diameter. At the center stood a massive stone golem, its eyes glowing with a greenish hue, its presence overwhelming.
The redhead's eyes lit up with a fierce flame, and she repeated her mantra in her mind, be perfect. She drew her saber, channeling a large amount of mana into it, making the blade ignite. Flames began to dance around her.
The golem took a step forward, causing the ground to tremble. Its stone fist rose into the air, ready to deliver a crushing blow.
Ember, with agility and finesse, dodged by rolling to the side and seized the moment to attack. She slid her sword toward the golem, the flames cutting through the air with a sharp hiss, but the blade merely scratched the creature's hard surface.
Without giving her enemy a moment to breathe, she summoned her flames and fired a torrent of fire toward him. The golem raised its right hand, using it to block the attack, though it began to melt slowly.
The girl continued breathing out flames relentlessly, believing her technique was proving very effective against the opponent. However, she failed to notice that the golem's eyes were starting to glow red.
As for Davi, he was merely enduring the flames thanks to the
He was also looking for an opportunity to get closer to the fight, but there was nothing he could do as the girl launched a series of exaggerated blows. Still, he analyzed all the options he had.
Luna had given him three magical items: an armor that she was developing, three mini drones shaped like insects that served to gather information, and the last item was a pistol that could convert mana into powerful shots.
The gun attack was very similar to the mana blas Davi used against his father, The difference was that the weapon was able to hold on much more energy, then a normal human could by himself, creating a way stronger blast. Because of this, the longer the boy accumulated mana in the weapon, the more powerful the shot would be.
Naturally, he took advantage of the time he had to channel much of his power into the weapon, but he knew that would likely be insufficient. Even all his power accumulated, was still too little. He needed to find the golem's weak point, or else it would be impossible to defeat it.
While running around searching for the creature's core, he noticed something terrifying. That being seemed to be absorbing some of the incessant firestorms being shot at it.
But how? No, more importantly, why was it doing that? The absorption was so small that it wouldn't really serve as defense, so it was probably a preparation for an attack.
Davi had always wanted to be an adventurer, so he studied a lot about the different monsters found in rifts. And seeing what that golem was doing, he couldn't help but remember a certain monster he had read about once.
Gelatinous fish had a somewhat clumsy appearance and often seemed harmless, since their basic attacks were weak. This led novices to attack recklessly, thinking they were safe, not realizing that the creature could store part of all the damage it suffered and release it in a powerful counterattack.
Davi then noticed that the absorption stopped, and the golem finally decided to advance, toward the girl who, recklessly, also went for the attack. She probably wanted to finish everything with the next blow, but…
Suddenly, the stone creature, which appeared to attack only with slow punches, shone brightly, and for a moment, its core was exposed, from which a hellish torrent of fire was unleashed.
Ember, caught off guard, barely had time to react, activating her pendant as her entire body was burned by the attack. And before she could feel relief because the torrent had stopped, she was hit again, this time by a punch that sent her flying through the air.
The second blow almost made her lose consciousness, but she still had a lot of power left. Perhaps if she used her most powerful strike, she could annihilate the enemy, but… She noticed that her sword was no longer in her possession. When she was hit by the golem, she had accidentally dropped her weapon.
In that moment, she forgot everything, and her chest tightened as a sense of despair clouded her judgment. The girl quickly located the precious object and rushed with all her strength to recover it.
Such a reckless act left her completely exposed, allowing the golem to fire another fireball that this time would hit her squarely without any defense.
And when she finally grabbed her sword and looked around, the fire was already closing in, ready to take her life.
But at that moment, Davi managed to get close, kicking the redhead out of the way of the attack, only to be consumed by the flames himself.