Confession

It was already the next day.

I went out into the forest to get some ingredients for breakfast but so far I haven't gotten anything.

I also seemed to have tripped over a trunk.

"Oof!"

I fell face flat onto the ground. Ahh crap, now I got dirt in my mouth.

Lately, I've been having thoughts that have been messing with my focus. It's all cause of Marth.

Confessing… that's the only thing that has been on my mind. Should I… confess to her?

No. Who knows what will happen. She'd probably reject me before I even confess!

"Ahh, God damn it!"

Whatever, I'm just gonna get to the task at hand.

But right when I took a step forward, a voice called out.

"Take another step and you'll be attacked."

Hmph, well, the truce is over so back to enemies huh?

"Marth. Have you been camping here the whole time?"

"Well, you could say that. Though I wasn't present when we decided to camp here, it was mostly their decision."

He replied, pointing to his subordinates.

"Though they had a good reason. It's a good thing you didn't step out of the safe zone last night. Let's just say, I took out a lot of people. I also took out an A-rank last night. To be honest, I almost lost but still won."

Hmph, can't wait to hear how many people he took out. I'll just guess now, probably twenty or so. And an A-rank huh? That sounds interesting.

"Now Seiya, are you going to continue out of the zone to continue your business? Or, go back into the zone and continue your business, but peacefully."

I looked down and I had passed the safe zone. The safe zone is marked with a line that indicates whether you are in or not.

He's provoking me, isn't he? If I take another step forward, I'll be attacked by his gang and if I don't, he'll probably mock me or something like that.

I know exactly what to do.

"So, your answer Seiya?"

"But of course."

"Hmm?"

Flash!

I transformed my legs and ran forward without hesitation.

***

Seiya's choice? He ran away.

Marth couldn't help but think,

'He really ran huh? I expected him to go back in the zone but this I did not expect. Even with all the warnings I gave him.'

Marth smiled, impressed by the witless decision that Seiya made. But he felt that something was off. His enemy wouldn't run away unless he had a reason.

And that reason would be… a trap.

"He's running away huh? Let's get him!"

One of his subordinates yelled and they all hopped out of the tree and followed after him.

At the sudden realization of Seiya's plan, he tried to stop his subordinates but he only managed to stop one.

"Huh? Darling?"

"Don't go, it's a trap."

"What do you mean? He ran awa-"

"He ran away because he's already planned a trap for you."

"W-well if you say so. But what about the others?"

Marth swallowed his dry saliva.

"We'll see them back at camp."

"W-what makes you say that? How do you know they will lose against him? It's a four against one."

"It doesn't matter how many people go after him. Sure, you guys may have devised a plan against Seiya if he did run away but let me tell you this, he'll break your plan before it even initiates."

"What do you mean?"

"Back when I first fought him, I was going to stall our fight till the moon rose so I could overpower him but that didn't happen remember? He won with entrapment."

After the first battle with Seiya, Marth could not help but praise the handiwork that Seiya had perform during their duel. It also recognized his own weakness. His short temper and his cockiness. After that, he has been training to try to turn his weakness into his strength. And if that didn't work, at least try to suppress it. That's why he's been so calm to Seiya. He didn't want to show any openings. The anger he's built up would be vented on the other students in the exam.

"And let's not forget, your target is her highness. Don't go preying on my rival, it'll hurt my pride."

"I see. I apologize."

"We should get going now. I'm exhausted from last night. Let's go to our original camp."

"Ok."

Then the two vanished.

***

I eventually stopped in a small open area and looked around.

If I guessed correctly, they'll ambush me from the trees.

I stood still and closed my eyes. I sent energy into my ears, enhancing them greatly to the point where I can hear even the worms in the ground. I need to focus on the movements of those after me.

A few seconds passed and I didn't hear anything, just leaves rustling with the wind.

Then suddenly, I heard four taps that sounded like footsteps.

Two of them were on my right and another pair on my left.

So Marth didn't follow me huh? And I bet Katelin was held back by Marth himself. Maybe he caught up with my plan. Oh well, at least I can take these four out so I don't have to worry about them.

I slowly unsheathed my Katana. The move I'll be performing will need this weapon. I would insert a small amount of vigor into my Katana just enough for me to control it.

"Come at me. If you dare."

I heard the leaves rustle and spotted four shadows coming towards me. They felt for it.

I jumped and flipped upside down. Certainly enough, there were four of his subordinates floating in front of me.

I would spin doing an infinite 360 and throw my Katana. My Katana would then begin spinning around and I moved it, striking all of them.

"Huh? What the-"

Vwoomp!

The first one vanished. My blade was near his neck and he disappeared right after that. Then it spun around like a boomerang, hitting the others.

Fwoomp!

Vwoomp!

Fwoomp!

I dropped onto the ground, landing on my feet. My Katana flew back towards me and I caught it. Then I sheathed it.

"Hmm, I should call that Boomerang Blade."

Get it? Cause it spun like a Boomerang? It even returned into my hand.

No? Alright…

Suddenly, a voice intervened.

'Attention, please!'

Already noon huh? We must've overslept.

'It is currently 12:00. Day 2 of the exam has now ended. Currently, out of the 78 of you, only 51 of you remain. And out of the monsters, 113 D-ranks, 39 C-ranks, 5 B-ranks, and 2 A-rank have been wiped out.'

I just took out four so since there are 51 of us left, looks like Marth did take out around twenty.

'That is all for today. Good luck and be safe.'

I haven't encountered any A-ranks, and I'm a bit interested in what monsters they are. If I were to guess, one of them should probably be a dragon.

I want to see a dragon with my own eyes. I don't count because I can't become one, yet.

Suddenly, a large shadow flew by. I looked up the only thing I saw was a tail.

Well look at my luck, looks like one just flew overhead.

I didn't get a clear view since all I saw was the tail, but I can tell that was a dragon. I could still hear its wings flapping as it flew in the air.

Anyway, I think I should return. There is absolutely nothing out here for me to use as ingredients.

***

When I returned to the others, I managed to convince them to follow me. I want to find that dragon and battle it. I want to test my strength. If Marth was able to fight it on his own, then I can as well.

The dragon was going somewhere east, so we headed east.

A few hours passed by and it was getting dark. We were walking through the forest and took out a few D-ranks on the way.

There were a few times where we almost got ourselves killed.

We were being cornered by a pack of saber-toothed wolves. And by cornered, we were on the edge of a cliff. A river just below us.

Eventually, we took out the wolves. But while fighting them, we kind of forgot that the cliff was there.

"Well then, that was a bit of a workout."

"I agree."

Me and Ordos said as we drank from our canteen. I glanced at Aurelia who was having a chat with Mia. Damn it, I can only manage to not get distracted when I'm alone. But whenever I'm around her, she's the only thing on my mind. During the battle I almost got my eye clawed off because I was thinking about her.

Still… confessing…

Marth really got into my mind and I hate it.

As I was distracted, Aurelia suddenly yelped.

"Kya!"

I immediately turned to see Aurelia slipping off the cliff. Mia tried to catch her but missed by an inch.

Normally I would leave her since she has wings but I didn't think of that.

A feeling in me told me to jump forward. And before I could think, I was already moving.

I didn't even care if my wings didn't stretch. I just dashed forward and dove.

Catch!

I managed to catch her before she hit the river.

"Whew… you ok?"

"Y-yeah…"

Hmm? Why was she red?

It took me a second to realize, but I was carrying her like a princess! No wait, she IS a princess.

"U-uh…"

I looked away and flew us back up.

"Umm thank you."

Aurelia thanked me and I nodded my head. I looked around and realized Mia and Ordos weren't here.

We're... alone.

Suddenly, the word confessing echoed through my head. I can confess to her right here. I-I can do it... right now.

"Au-Aurelia..."

"Yes."

"I..."

Aurelia tilted her head and looked at me curiously. D-damn it, this is even more embarrassing than I thought.

Just do it Seiya, it doesn't matter if she rejects or not, you'll finally get that distraction out of your head.

Then you'll be able to concentrate.

"I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!"

I shouted. I don't know how loud I shouted, but it was loud.

I didn't realize it but I was holding my breath in.

"Umm...I...uhh..."

She stammered and looked around, sweat dripping down her neck.

That's when I realized that what I said was just absolutely crazy. My gut felt as if it was twisting.

"I-it's ok if you reject me. It doesn't really matter, I just had to get that out of the way."

I said calmly but a feeling inside me was trying to force tears out of my eyes. Even though she didn't answer, I already knew...

I was rejected.

"I'm sorry if I asked, I'm just a little... crazy."

I shook my head and walked away.

Aurelia muttered something behind me but I didn't hear her.

Along the way, Ordos caught up with me.

"Hey Seiya. Whoa, why are you...?"

"Huh?"

"N-nevermind."

What did he want to say? What's wrong with me?

That's when I realized that I was crying. My eyes started becoming watery tears fell down my face.

God damn it Seiya, why are you crying? Someone like you... shouldn't be crying by such a stupid reason like this.

"Seiya, are you-?"

"Yes, I'm alright."

I wiped my tears away and looked ahead.

"Let's go."

***

A few hours later, I was just about to give up until I heard a loud roar.

"GAAAAOOOOOO!"

Crackle!

Lightning streamed through the clouds in the sky and within a few seconds, it began to rain.

Looks like I found it.

I walked out of the bushes and in front of me were empty fields and standing in that field was the dragon.

Lightning coursed around its body and it glowed a brilliant blue color. If I remember, these things were called-

"A Blazing Azure Wyvern."

Mia said as she took out her wand.

Wyvern? Well now that I see it, its arms were fused with its wings.

"A Wyvern, huh? Well then, let's see how much damage we could do to this thing."

I turned around and looked at Ordos and this time, he actually didn't look scared for once.

I then turned to Aurelia but she was already ready.

I don't think I'll have to check on her. Actually, I think she'll be able to handle herself.

But when I looked away from her, I suddenly had the urge to cry again. But even if I did, the rain would cover up for me.

Anyway, enough of the distractions. There is a dragon for me to kill.

Then, I rushed forward.

.

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