Divinity

--- [Shin’s perspective]

I can act tough all I like, but that punch really took the wind out of me…

Of course I had to go first too…

Well, there’s no use in complaining about it.

I have one job, and that is defeating the person standing before me.

It doesn’t matter if I’m hurt or not, and it doesn’t matter if she’s hurt or not.

It is what it is, and we just have to deal with it.

Overcoming impossible odds is essential for a hunter.

In a real fight, being hurt isn’t an excuse, so why would it be now?

When I fought Edward, nothing mattered except winning.

This exam is meant to prove if we’re worthy or not of ranking up, so if I can’t beat her, then I’m simply not worthy of becoming D-rank yet.

“Now that both fighters are ready, let the match begin!” – Leanne

I need to get a feel for her fighting style, and if possible, figure out her specialty, before I reveal too much.

Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but with the damage I’ve taken, I can’t afford to take any unnecessary hits.

Even if it gives me an informational advantage…

Especially when my opponent is a proper D-ranker.

An ice sword materializes in each hand…

I’ll use these from the get-go; it’ll make fighting her significantly safer than just using my hands.

At the same time, I’m still not revealing everything I’m capable of.

If I can catch her off guard, my fire sword will hopefully be enough to finish her.

“Interesting…” – Zoe

Let’s put some pressure on her; I need her to reveal her specialty as quickly as possible.

I rush in and frantically swing my swords around in an unpredictable fashion.

Somehow, she dodges every slash.

Even with a mask on, I can still clearly see her eyes tracking the paths they take.

She’s so fast…

There’s no doubt that she’s a proper D-rank hunter.

I tried not to let it happen, but she found an opening between my attacks.

With no hesitation, she steps into the paths of my blades, but delivers a quick blow to my chest before she’s hurt.

The punch knocks me backwards, but she quickly follows up by grabbing my arm and swinging me over her head, slamming me down into the unbreakable ground.

I cough up blood, and it feels like my body is falling apart.

She lets go of me, thinking I’d give up…

That’s a mistake she’ll soon come to regret!

As I swung my swords at her earlier, I noticed something…!

She doesn’t seem to have any peripheral vision with that mask on.

She’s always turning her head to look directly at my sword before dodging it.

I don’t know why she’s wearing that mask, but if I’m lucky, I might be able to win by exploiting the weakness it gives her.

It takes all the strength I have left in my body, but I manage to get up on my feet again…

“You’re not surrendering?” – Zoe

“Of course not! Why would the winner give up?” – Shin

“… Listen man, you’re just an E-ranker… You should give up before you sustain any more injuries. It’s in your best interest.” – Zoe

Instead of wasting my time responding, I instead for the second time rush directly at her.

With my left arm, I hook my sword around her, and swing it diagonally downwards, making it almost impossible for her to get away.

She realizes that, and promptly turns her head to look directly at the tip of my blade.

As she faces the completely opposite way, I try to stab her with my other sword.

She can’t dodge both attacks, it’s simply not possible!

Just like with every other attack I threw at her before, she just barely dodges the slash…

The stab on the other hand…!

It’s hurtling right towards her, with no chance of her getting away.

Just as it’s about to make contact, she puts her arm in the way, protecting her body.

With all my power, I push it into her arm as deep as I can…

Four millimeters…

That’s all.

After just a mere four millimeters, the sword completely stops…

Not only is she fast, but she’s also extremely tough!

Just as the freezing effect is about to take place, she quickly pulls her arm away, and kicks me across the arena.

“I see… It seems fighting you with the mask on will be more trouble than it’s worth.” – Zoe

She takes her mask off, and her eyes turn into what looks like diamonds.

“You see, I can’t manually turn my specialty off; it’s quite draining. The only way to turn it off is by restricting at least 80% of my field of view.” – Zoe

My legs shake, and my breathing is heavy, but I still get up again…

“I assume your eyes turning into diamonds means it’s active.” – Shin

“Correct.” – Zoe

“I see… Would you mind explaining what your specialty is then?” – Shin

“Oh, sure.” – Zoe

…

What…?

I didn’t expect that to actually work…

“I mean, it’s not like you’re going to win now that I’ve activated it anyways.” – Zoe

We’ll see about that…

First, she hesitates to finish the fight when I’m down, and now she gives up vital information…

I’ll make sure she doesn’t get away with making dumb mistakes like that.

Underestimating me just because I’m not D-rank yet will be her undoing.

“My specialty gives me perfect vision.” – Zoe

“Perfect vision?” – Shin

“360 degrees vision, the ability to see through obstacles, viewing the world in slow motion, and more. Basically, there is no way in hell you’re ever hitting me.” – Zoe

Wow…

Well, it sure won’t be easy getting through all that, but…

Everything has a weakness; everything can be exploited.

I just need to figure out how…