Unsatisfying Victory

"You will each fight one on one and whoever loses will be kicked out of the team. Summoning monsters isn't allowed. Once you're kicked out, you will no longer be a ventgard and we will remove your yutri bracelet by chopping your arm off."

This is a lose-lose situation for me. If I win, Saliza will be kicked out and without her, I'll end up exposing myself sooner or later. If I lose, I'll be homeless and starve once I spent all my money. I could get a job as a cleaner or a cashier, but I doubt the money would be enough. What am I supposed to do? I'm doomed regardless of the outcome.

"The first fight will be between Zeigel and Saliza." The two of us walked to the center of the room and stood at opposite sides. We drew our weapons and readied ourselves. None of us wanted to leave but we can't do anything to stop this.

"Start!" Saliza used blazing rush and immediately closed the gap between us. I used twin steps to dodge her attack and blink above her. She grabbed my leg before I could use the second step and slammed me into the floor.

She's not holding back knowing that Reizo wouldn't let her stay in the team if she went easy on me. I can't blame her for this.

I should also be going all out. If Reizo thinks that I'm trying to throw the match for Saliza, then he'll kick us both out. I got back up and launched an energy slash at her. She easily avoided it and used blazing rush.

I used twin steps again to blink to the side and avoid her attack. Saliza started swinging her axe around wildly. I could barely keep up with her attacks. She didn't have the technique or skill of a professional, but the speed and power of each attack was no joke. Two or three good hits in with her axe and she wins.

My sword glowed as I was about to use energy slash which gave Saliza the signal to back off. She could easily dodge my attack if I aimed it at her, so instead, I aimed at the floor below her. The explosion created by my energy slash threw Saliza off balance, giving me a chance to attack.

I rushed at her with twin steps and used my swords to slash her. She lifted her axe and blocked my swords. I kicked her leg to stop her from regaining her balance and then used one of my swords to blast her away with an energy slash.

Saliza's attack and speed stats are high, but that would also mean that her defense stat is low. Even if my attacks aren't very powerful, I should still be able to deal a good amount of damage to her if I got a good hit in.

Saliza turned away from me and placed her hand on her wounds to heal it. I quickly charged at her using twin steps while she was wide open. I got too careless and soon found out that she was trying to bait me into getting closer to her.

She used blazing rush and forced me to dodge to the side with the second step. She already knew that I was going to dodge the attack so she had prepared a spell. She immediately blinked in front of me after I dodged her attack, catching me off guard. Before I could jab her with the hilt of my sword, she blinked to my side with her axe raised. She used my skill against me. Honestly, that's pretty clever.

Saliza slashes my back in one swift motion and knocks me onto the floor. Ow, she definitely needs one more hit to win. I could barely stand up after that attack. I don't think I can handle another barrage of attacks from her, so I need to end this right now before she gets another chance to attack.

I used a spell to create a thin thread from my fingertip and tied it around the hilt of one of my swords. I made it so that I can transfer mana through the thread and cast skills as long as the thread is touching my swords.

I threw both swords at Saliza who deflected them and charged at me with blazing rush. Before I could use the string to yank my sword towards Saliza and hit her with an energy slash, I asked myself if I really wanted to win.

If I win, I'll be stuck as a ventgard while being constantly watched by Reizo. Sooner or later my lack of knowledge about this world would get me killed. If I lose, then at least either Saliza or Serith won't have their dreams ruined.

I detached the string from my fingertip and rolled to the side to dodge blazing rush. Saliza spun around and swung her axe at me. Her axe stopped an inch away from my face and she was declared the winner.

"I'm sorry that this has to happen." said Saliza as she helped me up. "I promise that even if I win or lose, I'll still protect you and your secret." Well there goes a free room, free meals and my only source of income. I should start figuring out how I can survive in this world.

Reizo gave Saliza some time to heal before fighting Serith. He made me stay and watch so that I could 'see what a true ventgard looks like.' Whatever, at least I'm no longer stuck with a life-threatening job that has a stupid name.

The duel began and the two started swinging at each other. Serith was able to keep up with Saliza better than I did, but Saliza was exploiting her slight edge in speed and strength as much as she could. Everytime he tried to trade blows with her, she would take small jabs at him and retreat before he could do anything to her.

She would also constantly feint him and deliver a swift strike to his chest. Despite taking alot of hits, Serith still kept going. It's impressive how much damage he can endure. Even if I had his stats, I wouldn't be able to stand after all that. Unfortunately for him, his resilience isn't enough to beat Saliza as he has yet to land a hit on her.

Serith used his skills to launch lightning at Saliza. He was desperate and kept casting his skills whenever he could, making his attacks predictable and giving Saliza the chance to dodge before he even casts the skill. Each failed attempt was punished by a strike from Saliza.

As the battle went on, Serith grew tired and his body was giving out. He dropped on one knee while gasping for air. Saliza felt bad for giving Serith such a beating, but both of them were fighting for their dreams and none of them would simply back down, especially with Reizo watching.

She tried to finish him with a strong swing to his side, but Serith suddenly sprang to his feet and grabbed the blade of the axe with one hand. He gripped the axe with so much force that he nearly cracked it and used his skill to cover his sword with energy.

He thrust his blade at Saliza and sent her flying across the room. Saliza was injured, but she could still get up. Unfortunately for Serith, he used up all his energy in that attack and collapsed.

Despite being victorious, Saliza couldn't help but feel guilty about winning. Serith started crying on the floor as he was about to be kicked out of the team. This only made Saliza feel more guilty.

"Quit your crying, I lied about kicking whoever loses out. I'll be in trouble for doing something like that anyway." Our eyes widened and we all stared at Reizo in shock. "Why?! Do you think it's funny to scare us like that!" Saliza screamed. Each of us had a mixed feeling of annoyance and relief.

"I just wanted to make sure that none of you would hold back. Maybe next time I'll just tell you three to go all out since threatening to kick you out of the team might not be enough to stop you from holding back." Reizo said as he glanced at me. I think he knows that I threw my match with Saliza. Hopefully he's not mad about it.

"Anyways, I did all this so that you three can see how each of you fight. Instead of copying each other, I want all of you to tell each other how to improve based on how each of you has fought."

Reizo walks to the exit and opens the door. "All three of you will start the next training tomorrow, and I better not see anyone copying each other." said Reizo as he leaves the room.

"Sorry if I overdid it in our match." Saliza says as she helps Serith up. "It's fine." While the two were busy healing themselves, I started going through the fights in my head. If I can get those two to improve, then I'll be able to rely on them more when we get into battles.

Saliza's weakness is her low defense but she's able to make up for it with her speed. Serith can take alot of hits but that doesn't really matter if he can't hit his opponent. Even if he does land a hit, he wouldn't do much with a just measly sword like that, and the skills he uses don't seem to be powerful enough to make a huge impact in one hit.

"Hey Serith, what are your stats?" I asked. Serith checks his yutri bracelet and told me that his stats are 43 Attack, 43 Defense and 43 Speed. He really needs to improve the way he spends his stat points. His speed isn't doing much for him so instead of spreading out his stats evenly, he should just focus on attack and defense.

Secondly, he needs a weapon that can hit harder. A hammer or a great sword would be more effective for him. If he doesn't want to change his weapon, then he should at least get a shield for more defense.

I told Serith about all the ways he can improve, but he didn't seem eager to make any changes. "I'm not sure about that. I'm pretty comfortable with what I have."

Yeah, you must also be pretty comfortable with the fact that you got your ass handed to you by Saliza. I don't get why he doesn't want to change. Wait a second, he's Reizo's fanboy, so he's probably trying to copy Reizo. I don't know how Reizo fights but I doubt Serith will do a good job at replicating it with good results.

"Listen to me, I know you admire Reizo but if you want to improve and impress him, stop being such a fanboy."

"I-I'm not a fanboy. I just think that maybe there are better ways to improve myself."

Ugh, I'm not getting through to him at all. "Then tell me, how would you improve."

Serith took a moment to think about it. "I can level up more." The response nearly made me facepalm myself. My level is lower than his and yet I still put up a better fight against Saliza.

"So are you saying that if you and Saliza were the same level, you would win?" Serith couldn't think of anything to say. A single increase in level isn't very noticeable, especially if you spread out your stat points evenly.

"It's time to change Serith. You won't improve unless you face your flaws."

As I went on to explain to Saliza how she can improve, Serith thought about what I told him.

He stared at his sword as he contemplates if he should change it. Eventually, he decided to stick with what he has.