“Neris Oisferen”

Kristin pronounced the fourth name in the new group of participants, and inevitably everyone's eyes fell on the owner of that name.

Maintaining a calm expression and adorned with a look full of pride, Neris stood up and advanced towards the combat platform while she was the center of attention. Technically Neris was already a Holy Maiden after being chosen by one of the Holy Swords of her kingdom, so no one really understood why she was attending the academy, and even so watching her fight would be interesting for all girls.

A single long golden ponytail swayed on Neris's back. Having been stripped of her angel wing hair clips, she had used the only thing she found on hand to tie her hair, a simple white ribbon. Such a situation was humiliating since she was a princess, so for Neris this was not only an opportunity to show the empire nobility the power of the Oisfer Kingdom but also to earn points that she would invest in meeting all the basic needs of one princess.

Neris placed one foot on the platform. A dim light enveloped her body and above her head appeared the bar that showed the durability of the magic barrier, and its level and number of skills.

The girls on the stands let out several praises full of admiration when they saw the number of skills of Neris, fourteen, the highest number of skills that someone had carried so far. As for the Neris level, she was at level four.

"Fourteen skills, as expected of someone who has been chosen by a Holy Sword" —Inis murmured this with some approval.

"For her age, it is a good number, but for someone who has been chosen by a Holy Sword it is a shame, don't you think, Raynelle-sensei?" —Aspyn surprised Inis by stating that.

Even though the vast majority of people at the academy considered Aspyn to be a happy and carefree girl, the other five candidates and some teachers who regularly dealt with Aspyn knew that this girl was not that simple.

Inis was silent waiting for an answer. She also had her doubts regarding Neris in the academy.

"That is why the Osferen King sent her here, so she gains experience and learns more skills and can become a true Holy Maiden" —Raynelle quickly responded to Aspyn without showing a single change in the tone of her voice.

Although several teachers nodded in response to Raynelle's words, Inis was not very convinced, there was not much logic in such an answer, was it not easier to ask any of the Holy Knights of Osferen to train Princess Neris?

Neris could learn various skills in the Imperial Academy, but being a princess, she should have no problem finding suitable tutors and gaining skill scrolls.

Attending the imperial academy had two fundamental purposes for every noble, the first was to try to gain the right to access the Goetia Tower and be selected by one of the holy swords. The second purpose was to stand out and promote themselves for marriage.

If it was not possible to become one candidate, the other was to stand out from the rest and thus attract the attention of important nobles. The fourth son of a Baron could end up marrying the daughter of a Duke. Similarly, the daughter of a Count could end up becoming part of the Imperial Family by being selected as a wife for a prince. This was the second aspiration of many of the academy's students, to stand out to attract the attention of high-ranking nobles and thus improve their social position.

For these reasons, having already been chosen by a Holy Sword and since her marriage would be decided based on some political agreement, there seemed to be no compelling reasons for Neris to attend the academy, and Inis was not the only one to have given account for this inconsistency.

Indifferent to what others thought, Neris chose a sword as his weapon.

I can't lose, I must be the best not to fail my mother again —Neris tightened her grip on the sword.

There was no room for failure, she had to rise as the tournament champion because she was already a Holy Maiden, if she failed, then she would fail her kingdom, her mother and she would fail herself.

"Get ready!"

The judge's scream brought Neris back to reality. The arrogance in her eyes was replaced by tenacity. She brought her gaze to her partner.

"You need not do anything, just stay behind and don't hinder me"

"Eh?"

Neris' teammate was completely stunned by those words. She was doing her own mental preparation for combat and now her partner was asking her to step aside.

"Start!"

The girl did not have time to assimilate the Neris's words. The judge declared the start of the battle.

Immediately above the head of Neris the image of a crown was generated. Neris's body was enveloped by a faint golden light.

It's my opportunity!! —Neris's mind quickly processed the activation of that chance-type skill, Royal Blood.

Neris swung his sword forward, barely taking a step forward.

"Sun Blade!"

As Neris's sword drew an arc, its blade emitted a powerful golden glow that later turned into a surge of a golden fiery that swept over the two girls from the opposing team.

Those two girls were completely taken by surprise, the golden fiery engulfed them completely and later a powerful explosion shook the combat platform. The noise and the heat produced by this reached the stands.

"The battle is over!"

The smoke and dust from the explosion had not dissipated, and the judge brought everyone out of their daze by making that statement.

Some smoke dissipated, showing the two girls lying unconscious on the ground. Even if neither of them had been injured thanks to the magic barrier, they had both lost consciousness because of the fear caused by being completely engulfed by the fire and later shaken by the powerful blast.

Two teachers had to go up to the combat platform to remove those two girls.

Neris returned to her seat once again showing her cocky gaze, she was now the target of looks full of fear, hadn't it been too brutal? There were more than a few girls who thought Neris was boasting about showing her strength as a Holy Maiden.

"Too bad she didn't show her fighting ability" —Aspyn stated this with a shrug.

"She took the opportunity presented to her quickly conclude the battle, no one is here to create a show to entertain the public"

Raynelle stated that and Aspyn shrugged once more while smiling nonchalantly.

Neris had used his most powerful active skill to end the battle abruptly.

Skill: Sun Blade
Type: Active (Learned)
Rarity: ★
Lvl: 1/1
Effect: Creates a powerful wave of fire that explodes devastatingly upon contact with the target
Mana: 300
Skill Tree: Paladin

Using a skill with such a high mana consumption seemed to be something as reckless as what Nadyia had done however, what the candidates and some teachers could point out as reckless in Neris' actions was that she ended up showing that powerful skill only in its first battle.

Neris didn't really spend a single mana point.

Skill: Royal Blood
Type: Chance (birth)
Rarity: ★★
Lvl: 1/1
Activation: 3% chance to activate at the beginning of the battle
Effect: Eliminate the consumption of mana in an active-type skill once
Skill Tree: Royal Tree

Royal Blood, this was the chance-type skill that had been activated in Neris at the start of the battle. Neris took the opportunity to dissipate any doubts that existed about her strength.

"A single attack, this how a perfect victory is achieved and not causing an unpleasant spectacle full of barbarism"

Behind Leto and Nadyia, someone said that in a mocking tone of voice. That person was comparing Nadyia's combat with Neris's.

"These dumb spoiled girls..." —Nadyia grumbled to herself, the effect of her victory on the noble girls did not last too long, they were already mocking her once more.

"No matter the method, the only thing that matters is the result"

Nadyia looked slightly surprised to hear Leto declare it. The reason for her surprise was that Leto had said that in a coldness tone.

For Leto this was an absolute truth, or at least it should be that way. Leto was a man, and he was in the girls' section. He carried three curses that had been given him by some skills and he had been hard trained by his mother. The wrong and the right had no meaning for Leto. He has the result from several contradictions. How could he judge the methods that other people used to achieve their goals?

With the Neris team claiming victory, the battles continued until...

"Leto Lyndell..." —Kristin narrowed her eyes as she says the first name of the next group of fighters.

"Lyndell?" —for a second Aspyn's smile disappeared.

"She's Kristin's younger sister" —Inis answered Aspyn's question.

"So she was the second daughter of that woman..." —Raynelle said it in a tone that mixed bitterness and hate, something that even surprised Aspyn.

After taking a deep breath, Leto stood up.

"Good luck"

Leto smiled at Nadyia's words.

The eyes of all present were focused on the small and slim figure walking towards the platform. The color of her hair gave her away like a Lyndell, the pure white characteristic of this unique Marquis House.

"She is beautiful..." —someone declared this and countless people nodded.

Leto could not pay attention to the surrounding reactions. His mind was completely saturated with that imposing figure standing on the combat platform, his older sister. Two years had passed since the last time Leto saw her older sister directly, and despite the enormous discomfort and pain caused by his feelings of guilt, he had to climb onto that platform and see his sister head-on.

Once at the foot of the platform, Leto took a deep breath. His sister's cold gaze on him was suffocating.

Leto stepped foot on the platform and what had already been seen so many times before happened, a faint blue light enveloped his body, the bar that showed the integrity of the magic barrier appeared above his head, and finally, an overwhelming silence filled the combat arena.

In gold, Leto's level was shown, four. However, the silver number turned out to be shocking enough to stop everyone's breathing, and this included Raynelle and the teachers.

Neris's mouth opened wide. She forgot her pride as a princess out caused by dismay.

Nadyia stopped moving and her mind froze completely.

Even Kristin couldn't stop her eyes from widening when she saw the number of skills that her 'little sister' possessed.

Nineteen... yes, above Leto's head, this was the number had caused time to stand still.

"I-is there a flaw in the platform's enchantment?" —Raynelle was the first to come out of the daze by asking that question to the teacher who was managing the operation of the combat platform.

"T-there is no a failure, the enchantment works properly..."

Because of the level of deep silence, the conversation between Raynelle and that teacher could be perfectly heard by everyone in the combat arena, and immediately the commotion erupted on the stands.

"Silence! Silence!"

As Kristin tried to get the girls under control on the bleachers, Leto flashed a faint smile filled with discomfort.

Raynelle's gaze stayed fixed on Leto, 'absurd' this was the only thing that was repeated over and over in her mind. She, as a Holy Maiden, had twenty skills, that a girl was recently entered the academy had nineteen skills was something absurd.

Leto not would show a bit of pride for carrying nineteen skills, he had had to pay a huge price to get six of those nineteen skills, three curses.

With the teachers' help, Kristin finally restored order and called the other three fighters.

With his presence being openly ignored by his older sister after all the commotion ended, Leto could not decide whether he should feel happy about not having to face his sister, or sad about being completely ignored.

Leto could only see with a mixture of bitterness and relief at seeing his sister's back moving away as she descended from the combat platform.

After Leto and the other three fighters chose swords as weapons, the judge moved to the center of the platform.

It was no surprise to Leto that the two members of the rival team focused their eyes on him. Given his high number of skills, they undoubtedly considered him their most dangerous adversary.

Leto tightened his sword hilt. It was time to put to the test that brutal training regimen to which he had been subjected. It was time to get a victory. Yes, since Leto only practiced with Jilliana and Gabriel, he only knew defeat.

"Start!"

As soon as the start signal for the battle was given, Leto's body emitted a faint pink glow and above his head, the image of a heart appeared.

"Another chance-type skill?" —since Leto hadn't pronounced the name of any skill, that pink light that only lasted a second must have been the product of a chance-type skill, this was Aspyn's quick conclusion.

"It seems, what kind of effect...?" —Inis could not finish asking her question when Leto's two rivals fell to their knees to the ground after releasing their swords.

"Leto-sama∽" —the faces of both girls were completely flushed, they spoke Leto's name in a tone of voice bordering on lust.

Leto, who had mentally prepared for combat, dropped his shoulders as a faint smile full of discomfort was drawn on his lips.

"Leto-sama∽" —both girls stood up, their legs tightening as if they were resenting the desire to go to the bathroom, something their bodies seemed to confirm by continually shuddering.

The two girls seemed drunk, and with some awkwardness advanced towards Leto who continued smiling with discomfort.

For Leto, this was the worst outcome. The most troublesome of his chance-type skills had been activated. He could imagine everyone looking at him with displeasure and rejection for carrying that skill.

"What's happening?" —no one among the stands understood what was happening, and in fact, even among the teacher's none seemed to understand.

"They pupils... the pupils of those two turned pink!" —someone in the stands pointed at this in amazement and his scream reached the teachers.

"It's... Fascination..." —Raynelle could barely pronounce the skill's name, she could only come to this conclusion because of the unusual color in both girls' pupils.

"F-Fascination?" —disbelief and amazement spread among the teachers and quickly reached the stands.

A chance-type skill that was only described in books and which was lost, Fascination.

Skill: Fascination
Type: Chance (Curse)
Rarity: ★
Lvl: 1/1
Activation: 10% chance to activate at the start of the battle
Effect: Capture the opponent's heart. Odds of success and duration of effect vary based on the opponent's level and their mental endurance. The affected person's pupils turn pink.
Skill Tree: Succubus

It should be noted that the Fascination skill described in the books is just a less powerful variation that humans gained centuries ago by mixing with the extinct Succubus, the power and effect of Leto's Fascination skill were at the same level than that of a true Succubus.

"I knew it, that annoying woman has Succubus blood running through her veins..." —Raynelle muttered this to herself angrily. She quickly stood up and from one moment to another was already on the combat platform behind the back of the two girls affected by Leto's skill.

"The battle is over" —after declaring this, Raynelle hit the nape of both girls to knock them unconscious.

Under the effect of Fascination, those two girls were totally at the mercy of Leto's will. If Leto ordered those two girls to surrender, they would do it without thinking.

However, such a defeat would humiliate for any noble, therefore Raynelle decided that course of action not only to safeguard the honor of both girls but to prevent Leto from becoming the target of the rancor of a large part of the girls. The effect of Fascination could be described as terrifying, the girls could end up trying to keep their distance from Leto and hate her.

Two teachers went up to the platform to take care of those two girls while the judge declared Leto's team as the winner.

"She has a lot of skills, but that's not a big advantage at such a young age" —Aspyn stated this while trying not to laugh.

The more skills a person possessed, the more complicated it was to improve the level of skills because the experience gained was distributed equally across all skills. Therefore every noble family had strict training regimes for their children.

Inis did not offer any answers to Aspyn, she agreed with her. As for Kristin, she completely ignored Aspyn's words.

After imagining the expression of rejection her sister might show, Leto turned to get off the platform.

"Leto Lyndell, how did you gain that skill?"

Atter hear Raynelle ask her that question, Leto who was already with one foot off the platform froze for a second.

"I-I was born holder it... Heyward-sensei" —the shame caused by wearing such an embarrassing skill caused Leto's cheeks to redden, and this shook the hearts of all those who could see such an event. There was no way Leto would say something like, 'I got it from the succubus curse.'

"I see..."

After hearing Raynelle's ambiguous response, Leto let out a light sigh and then resumed his way.

"I knew it, that woman is a succubus..."

For a second Leto seemed to hear Raynelle add something, but he paid no more attention and returned to her place under the watchful eyes of the other girls.

"That was... interesting..."

Nadyia showed a bit of discomfort on her face when saying that, and in her mind, Leto thought her roommate had thought he was unpleasant for carrying such a skill.

"Sorry, I'm not good with words, congratulations on your victory" —Nadyia added and then showed a smile.

"D-don't you think it's unpleasant for me to carry such a skill?" —Leto was anxious. Nadyia was trying to pretend?

"No matter the method, the only thing that matters is the result"

Leto blinked a few times in surprise as he listened Nadyia answer him with his own previous words.

"It is true"

Leto let out a faint laugh filled with relief, Nadyia seemed to have no problem regarding at least one of his quirks, and this alone was a source of joy for Leto.