Divinity

--- [Alex’s perspective]

Isabella just killed that guy…

She decapitated him with no hesitation…

As soon as she pulled her sword out, it’s like her entire personality changed…

I’ve completely misjudged her; I never thought she’d do anything like that.

That guy didn’t exactly seem like the nicest person ever, but he didn’t deserve to die…

“That was a short, but intense match… Let’s find out if the next one will be just as exciting!” – Leanne

She spins the D-ranker wheel…

“And the one who will be fighting this time is Lia Ludus! Oh…! This match will definitely be exciting!” – Leanne

Her reaction is strange again…

Just hearing her name excited her…

What does she know that we don’t?

“And the one who’ll go up against her is Lett Lepus!” – Leanne

--- [Lett’s perspective]

So it’s finally my turn then…

“You got this!” – Alex

“I know.” – Lett

“Hey, don’t get too cocky now. If you underestimate them, you’ll lose in a heartbeat.” – Shin

“I know that too…” – Lett

The D-rankers have proven their worth by beating both Shin and Lucas, but if I go into the match thinking I’ll lose, that is exactly what will happen.

I’ve trained harder these past few months than I ever have before; I’ll show them all that it was worth it.

I hop into the arena at the same time as my opponent.

“Good luck.” – Lia

She’s wishing me good luck…

Is she genuine and nice, or is she looking down on me?

I can’t tell, but either way, I won’t make it easy for her.

“Let the sixth match begin!” – Leanne

I should try to knock her out as quickly as possible; I won’t hold back, even at the very beginning of our match!

I teleport right behind her, and kick her in the side of the head.

She stumbles over, but before she can recover, I immediately do it again from the other side.

She’s hurt, but still conscious…

“I challenge you to a game!” – Lia

…!

Right when she said that, I suddenly found myself bound to a chair.

I put all my strength into it, but I can’t get free.

I try teleporting out, but for some reason, my ability won’t activate…

What’s going on?!

“Calm down. I can’t move either, see?” – Lia

She’s tied to a chair of her own right across from me…

What kind of ability is this?

I can understand it holding me down, but why her too?

“While in these chairs, our Divinity manipulation is sealed. We can’t use BDM or SDM. There’s no way to break free. You can only get out if you follow the rules of my ability, so listen to what I have to say.” – Lia

“Fine…” – Lett

“Great to hear that you’re being cooperative! It makes everything so much easier for the both of us.” – Lia

It’s not like I have a choice…

If I can’t get out, I can’t win.

“After I challenge someone to a game, these chairs instantly appear from underneath us, and tie us down. Like I said, our Divinity manipulation is sealed, so escape is impossible. The way we get out is by agreeing to play a few games. Three to be exact. I make up the rules for the first game, you make up the rules for the second game, and the final one is always the same. It’s a best of three where the loser gets a massive penalty.” – Lia

“And what if I refuse?” – Lett

“If after five minutes one of us still hasn’t picked a game to play, that person will be considered the loser. The loser will fall asleep for one full hour, with no chance of waking up before that. Basically, whoever loses the games, loses the match.” – Lia

“What if I don’t follow the rules and just beat you up instead?” – Lett

“You’re free to try, but breaking the rules will also reward you with the loser penalty. Additionally, if the rules of the game you decide are too unfair, it will also be considered cheating. That means you can’t make a game where the winner is the one whose name is ‘Lett Lepus’. Do you understand?” – Lia

“Yes… I think so…” – Lett

I’ve never encountered an ability like this before…

I need to make up a game?

I put so much time and effort into training, all for it go down the drain as soon as my opponent was chosen…

Without fighting her, I can’t truly prove my worth…

Even if I somehow win, it won’t feel like I earned it…

Should I make my game combat oriented to counteract that?

But she knows my ability now; I won’t be able to catch her off guard like that again.

There’s no guarantee I beat her…

I can’t make a game completely unfair, but I can still rig it heavily in my favor.

Should I go for a game that maximizes my chances of victory, or one that proves my worth as a hunter?

“Perfect! Then I’ll tell you the rules of my game while you think of yours. The first game will be similar to the second round of the exam; we’ll both throw an attack with as much power as we can possibly muster. Roxy over there can measure them for us. She can’t hit us back like in the actual exam round, so there’s no reason not to use charged attacks. Whoever hits the hardest, wins the round.” – Lia

Another strength test?!

I get that she knows about the different tests in this year’s exam since she’s part of it, but she wasn’t here during the second round.

She couldn’t possibly know that I was one of the weakest ones here…

Is she just that confident in her strength…?

No…

She does know…

Before she used her ability, I directly attacked her.

Even if she was caught off guard and my attacks therefore hurt her more than usual, she still got a pretty good idea of how strong I am.

Attacking her was a mistake…

“What about yours then? What will your game be?” – Lia

I highly doubt I’ll beat her at her own game, and I still don’t know what the final game will be.

I can’t afford to pick a combat-oriented game just to soothe my ego.

I will win, no matter what it takes!

“Yes, and it’ll be a very simple game. A race. A race from one side of the arena to the other. Leanne can give us a countdown. Is that allowed?” – Lett

“It’s allowed. Had it not been, you would have already been asleep by now.” – Lia

The games have been decided, and the chairs disappear…