SAINTESS [Chapter 155: Personal Experience] (Patreon)

“So it's that Aesphyra?” Fred exclaimed. “The number-one beauty in our academy, and the top student in our year.”

“Hey, Fred, hold on. Isn't Princess Isatia the academy's number-one beauty?”

“Bullshit! It's Lady Aesphyra!”

“All right, you two, stop arguing.” Fred rolled his eyes at Aiden and John. These two fanatics were about to start bickering again.

“Winnie, you seem pretty confident in Aesphyra, huh? Come to think of it, you're quite close to her, aren't you? When you went missing last time, she even brought Dell here to look for you,” Fred recalled.

"I guess."

“Oh, right! Winnie!” Aiden's eyes instantly sparkled as he leaned closer. “You're on really good terms with Aesphyra, aren't you?”

The sight reminded Winnie of those starstruck fanboys from his previous life meeting their idols.

“It’s all right,” Winnie said casually, lounging in the spectator stands as he happily munched on Fred’s snacks, looking completely relaxed and carefree.

“What kind of answer is that?” Seeing Winnie's nonchalant attitude, Aiden could tell he had no intention of answering directly and had chosen a perfunctory response instead. “Winnie, don't you already have Princess Isatia's favor?”

“What favor? Aiden, watch your words! Didn't Winnie already say they're just friends? Friends!” John retorted immediately from the side.

After the announcement that the first match was about to begin, it wasn't long before the arena floor had been completely cleared.

The contestants from each year cast one last glance at the greatest rival they feared, then strode away.

Next, specialists began inspecting the arena with magical instruments to eliminate any potential hazards. Meanwhile, the contestants had already entered their respective preparation rooms to wait.

They were also registered. Enchanted items and weapons, magic scrolls, and alchemical potions permitted in the arena all had to undergo strict inspections and be officially recorded. Anything that fails to meet the rules will not be allowed.

The spectator stands buzzed with conversation, everyone seemed debating who had the better odds of winning.

Aesphyra's fame wasn't limited to the second-years. She was extremely well-known among the other years as well.

After all, beautiful girls attracted attention wherever they went, especially one who wasn't merely a pretty face, but a gifted genius with both talent and virtue.

With Aesphyra's looks, she would be the center of attention anywhere. Forget the second-years; plenty of third-years and fourth-year upperclassmen were fans of hers, and even many first-years who had only recently enrolled had already joined her fan club.

Who could dislike a beautiful girl who was flawless, composed, and polite to everyone?

Being pretty on its own might not have been enough, but she was exceptionally beautiful. And when beauty was combined with other admirable qualities, it became utterly irresistible. It was only natural that boys were drawn to a girl like her.

Winnie suddenly thought of something.

Because he was so close to Aesphyra, he had overlooked just how mysterious, sacred, and unapproachable she seemed in everyone else's eyes.

In the game's storyline, the love letters Aesphyra received could have been stacked high enough to punch through the classroom ceiling.

What about in this life?

There was no need to think about it. Aesphyra must have received plenty of love letters in this life too. Although Winnie knew she would have rejected them without even reading them, for some reason, he still felt a little sour inside.

Especially when he heard the shouts around him.

Apart from the card players, quite a few upperclassmen, third-years and fourth-years, had gathered around Winnie.

Logically speaking, they should have thought the third-year Ronald had a better chance of winning and cheered for their fellow third-year.

But instead...

“Do your best, Junior Aesphyra!”

“Junior Aesphyra is sure to win! Take him down!”

"Aesphyra! Aesphyra!"

Winnie nearly lost his composure listening to them.

Seriously, the match hasn’t even started! She hasn’t even appeared yet! Why are you screaming? It’s not like she can hear you, anyway!

She was clearly just as popular as ever!

“Tch!” Winnie crossed his arms. He had even lost his appetite for snacks and handed the bag back to Fred.

“Huh? What's wrong? Got tired of them?” Fred stared in utter shock when Winnie suddenly returned his snacks.

This guy never spat out anything once he'd gotten his hands on it. Fred had already resigned himself to losing the entire bag, yet Winnie had suddenly handed the spoils back.

It was simply inconceivable.

“No.” Winnie turned his head aside with a huff.

“Uh…” Fred scratched his head at Winnie's reaction.

No, he really wasn't imagining things. Winnie's reaction reminded him of a certain girl he had once admired.

Winiya.

No, this was way too similar, especially that flawlessly executed, tsundere head turn. Not even an award-winning actor could fake that particular flavor.

This was bad. Really bad!

Fortunately, Fred's emotional intelligence wasn't particularly high. Once he realized what he was thinking, he immediately sensed that something was terribly wrong and nearly slapped himself.

No, just how repressed was he? How could he have such fantasies about one of his brothers?!

Terrifying!

Fred was starting to feel frightened. He wondered whether something had gone wrong with his orientation, or whether he was simply so desperate for romance that he had become indiscriminate.

Yeah, it was terrifying in every possible sense.

Better eat some snacks to calm his nerves.

The arena inspection was completed, and the last grains of sand once again trickled through the hourglass.

The match began.

Clack!

The gates on either side of the grand arena slowly opened, revealing the two contestants who had long since been waiting behind them.

"Aaaah! Junior Aesphyra!"

“Do your best! Beat him to death, Junior Aesphyra!”

The moment the silver-haired girl carrying a holy sword appeared, Winnie felt as if his eardrums were about to explode.

Those upperclassmen who had been cheering for Aesphyra before she even appeared now looked as if they had been injected with stimulants.

Winnie almost felt that this wasn't the Chosen One Contest at all, but some celebrity meet-and-greet or concert from his previous life. Everyone in the stands seemed to be her fan.

His section was relatively quiet, since the card players weren't making much noise. Unfortunately, the upperclassmen cheering for Aesphyra nearby were simply too fanatical.

Winnie even started wondering whether the spectator stands had always been this noisy before and he had merely been too far away to hear it so clearly.

“Isn't this a little too exaggerated?” Fred asserted.

As for Aiden, he seemed to have been assimilated, joining the upperclassmen in cheering Aesphyra on.

“All right, all right, stop shouting, Aiden. She can't hear you cheering anyway,” Winnie finally said.

“Winnie, it's not about whether she can hear us. It's about showing our support! Do your best, Lady Aesphyra!”

‘Seriously, I give up.’

Winnie covered his ears and pursed his lips.

"The first match of the finals will now begin! Aesphyra Galactus, the second-year Chosen, will face Ronald, the third-year Chosen! Contestants, please step up to the starting lines."

At those words, both contestants left their preparation zones and officially stepped onto the vast arena floor.

Winnie swept his gaze across it. The arena was at least several football fields in size, more than enough space for the contestants to fight to their hearts' content.

The two arrived at the white lines on opposite sides of the arena and took their positions.

Winnie also got a proper look at Ronald.

Compared with Aesphyra's calm and effortless composure, Ronald looked rather nervous.

The natural order has been completely reversed. For a moment, it was hard to tell who was the third-year and who was the second-year.

“Aesphyra, eldest daughter of House Galactus. I hope Senior will offer me plenty of guidance~” Aesphyra drew out the final syllable and whispered softly.

“Ronald. I hope you'll offer me plenty of guidance too, Aesphyra.” Only after Aesphyra introduced herself did Ronald snap out of his daze and hastily responded.

No, this guy...

Winnie was beginning to understand.

Who among those capable of reaching the Chosen Tournament finals wasn't a genius among geniuses? How could someone like that suffer from stage fright?

Apparently, this fellow wasn't nervous because he was fighting in front of so many spectators.

He was probably excessively nervous because it was his first time being watched by Aesphyra from such a close distance.

Could this guy be one of Aesphyra's admirers too?

Had he also sent her a love letter?

Tsk, tsk.

Winnie pursed his lips.

Aesphyra herself was probably the only one who knew the answer.

“Both contestants are in position. Awaiting the referee.”

At that moment, an instructor wearing a black robe trimmed in white leaped down from the chief seating area.

Was that the referee?

Winnie suddenly recalled one of the tournament rules. Any instructor qualified to serve as a referee in the Chosen One Contest had to be an exceptionally powerful senior instructor, capable of forcibly stopping a match and rescuing the students so an emergency occurs.

The minimum strength requirement was intermediate master rank.

“The match officially begins!”

Once the referee was in position, he gave the order.

At that very instant, Aesphyra moved.

With the holy sword in hand, she lunged straight at Ronald. In the blink of an eye, her blade was already mere inches from him.

Caught off guard, Ronald froze in nervous surprise, his reaction a fraction too slow. He had never imagined that the sword wielded by the girl he admired would be less than half an inch from his neck in the space of a single breath.

Whoosh.

At the crucial moment, however, the holy sword suddenly changed direction, narrowly missing him.

Ronald finally reacted and hurriedly withdrew.

Watching Aesphyra elegantly withdraw her sword, Ronald realized what her previous strike had meant.

Of course she hadn't missed it.

She had deliberately swung wide to warn him, to make him focus.

Ronald's face turned red, and he felt deeply ashamed.

His earlier behavior had been disrespectful to his opponent, as well as to himself after he had worked so hard to pass the preliminaries and two official rounds. He hadn't taken the match seriously at all.

Now that he had come to his senses, Ronald was so ashamed that he wished the ground would swallow him whole.

Aesphyra had noticed his attitude and deliberately deployed wide to remind him to get serious. She didn't want him to leave with regrets, nor did she want to feel that this match was a waste of time.

As expected of Junior Aesphyra.

Ronald pulled himself together and took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening as he finally became serious.

He removed the longbow from his back and expressed his gratitude and thanks to Aesphyra. Then he signaled that he was ready to fight and would no longer leave himself with any regrets.

Aesphyra didn't reply. She merely smiled and slightly swept her blade forward, releasing a razor-sharp wave of sword energy.

[Void-Breaking Slash]

That move?

Seeing Aesphyra's technique, Winnie recalled the time in the dungeon when he had redirected trouble toward her. Those enemies had been taken care of with this very spell.

It was just that Aesphyra's spell pool was absurdly deep, and she almost never repeated her magic, so he hadn't seen her use this spell in a long time.

This should be a wind-element spell.

Ronald raised his longbow. The arm holding it rapidly turned translucent as a line of crimson energy coiled around it.

Was that... [Bow Arm]?

Winnie recognized Ronald's Soul Armament.

Wasn't this the same Soul Armament used by the Wrathful Dragon Knight's retainer in Winnie's very first battle?

Winnie remembered it vividly. After all, that was the first time he had experienced being bombarded by magic. He had been blown up by the small fireballs fired from [Bow Arm].

But [Bow Arm] was only a two-star Soul Armament.

In terms of grade, it was only one star above the bottom-tier [Armor Fortress]. Although it allows its user to cast magic, its low grade imposed severe limitations, making powerful spells inaccessible.

Winnie instantly felt a measure of respect for Ronald.

He had never heard of this third-year's family. They were probably some obscure minor noble house.

A minor noble with a two-star Soul Armament, an utterly unremarkable, even somewhat inferior configuration by Carillian Academy's standards, had somehow made it all the way to the finals.

That alone was truly impressive.

Winnie knew better than anyone how difficult it was to use a low-grade Soul Armament.

Before [Armor Fortress] underwent its qualitative transformation, it had been virtually useless beyond the initial stages. Even the handful of ice spells he frequently used had nothing to do with it. He had mastered them entirely through his extraordinary affinity for the ice element.

Sometimes activating [Armor Fortress] had even been detrimental. It offered no real benefit while drastically increasing his burden, turning him into a living target for enemy spells.

After seeing that Ronald's Soul Armament was [Bow Arm], quite a few spectators scoffed and told him to surrender immediately rather than embarrass the third-years.

Of course, some remain silent, such as the card players.

“That Ronald guy is pretty impressive,” Aiden remarked, even stopping his cheers for Aesphyra.

“Indeed. He reached the Chosen Tournament finals with only a two-star Soul Armament,” John said admiringly.

Not a single person among the card players mocked him.

Their talents were all mediocre. None of them possessed a Soul Armament above three stars, while most had two-star Soul Armaments.

As for Winnie, he was even more remarkable.

His was only one star.

Because they had all experienced it firsthand, they understood just how severely an Soul Armament's grade limited one's strength.

Those who had never experienced it for themselves naturally wouldn't understand.