[Soril’s POV:]

Despite my blood dripping across the ground, despite my sword reaching its blunted point, all I could ever care for in that moment was when we were clashing with one another.

God….

What is this feeling?

Its like I’m high on something…

It was no mistake…

She was smiling…and so was I.

I could feel my entire body bursting with energy… I didn’t know it was possible at this time…but it happened.

I’m high on the thrill…

***

[Jessica’s POV:]

Whoa…it looks like I was right about him.

This is fun…he made it fun…

I’m not scared…not one bit.

I mean, despite how it may seem to the people outside, watching us fight, he wasn’t putting out the kind of killing intent that would ultimately lead to a murder, no. Instead, he was showing a sense of competitiveness againstme…and I was loving every bit of it.

I can’t help but feel like I’m in my zone right now…I’m tensing up and I can’t help but put up a smile…

Soril…You’re the best!

You’ve made me realize that meeting the right person in the right time can really make you live life to the fullest.

That’s you Soril… you have made me live my life at this moment, at my fullest.

***

[Third Person’s POV:]

The fighting continued.

Despite the fact that the students were allowed to spar of only around 3 minutes with the provided weapons by the school…the time marked passed after that.

3 minutes went for 5 minutes.

5 minutes went on for 7 minutes…

7 minutes went on for 15 minutes…

15 minutes…this was how long they had fought.

And it was clear that through their efforts, they were slowly losing pace.

Soril had his left arm dislocated, making him drop his bent and ruined shield. His face and upper body was filled with sword slashes and his head was dripping with slow folds of blood. Making him blind at his right eye.

Jessica on the other hand was also in the same situation. Her left knee has been cut, making her lose her footing to stand well enough for her fighting position. Each of them knew that this fight wasn’t going to last any longer…

And it was at that realization that play time was over…someone had to end this. And that someone was none other than Jessica herself who smiled ever so nauseously.

Both were pale, both were at their point of collapse, but both still smiled even to this end.

But Jessica had a more confident smile.

“…I’m sorry Soril, but it looks like I’m the one who’s going to win this…not you.” she said, struggling to stand at her own two feet.

“…” Soril only ever stared at her and he pointed his sword ever so willingly.

There was one thing that seperated Jessica from Soril in terms of swordsmanship. In matters of strength and speed, they were most likely at equal terms…but in terms of technique and experience, Jessica had the upper hand. Especially in the matters of technique.

A technique…a skill that would ultimately lead her to a winning end.

One that she honed with her talents as a swordsman.

So with her fighting position suddenly changing, she closed her mouth and focused everything that she had in her breathing…strong deep and focused breathing.

In that moment, Soril felt a chill to his spine as he saw Jessica put herself out in the field.

With her hands positioned in an X-mark, holding her twin swords, she looked ever so gallant with her sweat dripping from her cheeks and paired with the blood that shined from her sword.

There, she made the heaviest step that she could make and to it, the moment she launched herself to Soril, Soril braced himself from what seemed to be something that would ultimately end him.

He saw light…

He saw red…

He saw the ground.

The next thing he knew, he woke up seeing the skies up above the training centre. Along with it, the sound of a pair of medical nurses on the ground, tending to his injuries.

And with it, he also found Jessica who was also being tended to by the nurses.

“…What happened?” he asked as he looked to Jessica with only one eye open.

“Oh your awake, Great…for a second there I thought you already went to the afterlife.” said Jessica as she looked rather nervous on her front.

“ah…right, I lost. *Sigh*” admitted Soril as he sighed ever so heavily.

“That’s right. I won…you lose…this makes our record 1-1” she said.

“One to one?”

“yeah, you won at the entrance exam and I earned my win here at the training centre.”

“Okay, I guess we’re going to count that win as well I guess.” he said.

“You bet your ass we do…”

“So what happened? How did I lost?” he asked.

“…You don’t remember?” asked Jessica.

“N-no, not really.”

“Well…I might as well tell you. I used a skill.”

“A skill? What kind of skill?”

“My tutor taught me a sword skill. I would explain it to you, but I want to keep this skill all for myself when we fight again next class.” she said.

“…Hmm, so I lost to a sword skill. Great…”

“Hey, don’t feel too bad about it. After ‘I’ won, Sgt. O’riley went and gave both of us a good compliment. Or so I think…because the last thing he showed me was a very satisfied but creepy smirk…I don’t want to remember it, but its clearly embedded into my memory. Eugh…”

“…right. Still, I lost so want do you want me to do?” he asked.

“!!…” caught surprised by this, Jessica looked to Soril with a rather shy gaze.

“You know…Your already having a bad time with how our fight ended…maybe I won’t embarrass you today.”

“Huh? But I thought that you wanted me to be your personal butler?”

“Yeah…that would be great, but I can always have you do that in my next win.” she said, confident with how she then stands up from the ground.

“…then what do you want me to do then?”

“How about your number.”

“What?”

“Can I ask you for your number?” she asked, with a tint of red in her cheeks, she stared at Soril straight in the eye, filled with courage but also a nervous knee that wouldn’t stop shaking.

“…Huh…okay. Bu-”

“Great!” before Soril could even finish his words, Jessica reacted quite joyfully in his acceptance. A reaction you would expect from a young teenage girl.

“B-but, I have to tell you that I don’t have a phone…” said Soril…finishing his sentence.

“…What?”

“I lost my phone while I was hunting in a dungeon.” he said, with a white and straight lie.

“Oh…oh, I see. That’s too bad…” she looked rather disappointed after hearing that.

“I did plan to buy a new phone at the market today…maybe tomorrow I can give it to you.” he said.

Hearing that he was going to buy a phone this day, she was suddenly filled with an excited reaction.

“!?…Today.” she said, ever looking so demanding.

“What?” he asked.

“Today…give me your phone number today.”

“I just said that I don’t have a phone.” he explained.

“No, I mean,….oh god….I mean, lets go buy you a new phone! Lets go!” she said, implementing that she wanted to join him on his run to buy a new phone.

“You want to buy a phone with me?” he asked for clarification.

“Yes!” she said, excitingly so.

“O-okay…” taking aback, by her excitement, he was rather shook by this.

As she looked ever so happy by this, all of a sudden, Sgt. O’riley approached the two.

“Soril Jessica. Well done with your match today. I didn’t expect that you would actually take it to that level…but nonetheless, I am proud.” he said to the two of them.

“yeah…but this wouldn’t have happened if you had stopped us at the 3 minute mark.” said Soril.

“Yeah, but will you actually listen to me by then? I mean the way I saw it, you two were enjoying yourselves…who am I to interfere in a fight between two driven warriors.” he said.

“…I guess we did take it a bit too far.” said jessica.

“In some ways you did, but in some ways you didn’t. either way…you showed me something today that will ultimately motivate me to teach you and the rest of the Class-C students to something even further beyond with what I originally planned to.” he said.

“Okay…I guess that’s a good thing.” said Soril.

“Oh, and by the way…I was supposed to give this to you after the class ended. Here, the hunter watches designated to the two of you.”

There, the Sergeant gave the two of them the hunter watches. In it, Soril was a bit surprised to see such a high tech looking item given to him. To his ignorance, he saw jessica put on the watch and to it, the watch reacted to her ID.

“The moment you put on the watch, it will tally the progress of your physical changes…just like how I explained it in the introduction of this class.” said the sergeant.

“And if I remove the watch, will it still be capable of recording the changes?” asked Soril.

“No, it won’t be able to record your progress when you take it off, but once you put it back on, the watch will notice the changes of your body and its growth.” said the Sergeant.

“Oh…that’s pretty cool.” said Soril.

“It is, now…the rest of the class has already left, you two are the only ones left in this center. I suggest that you two make your way home. Its getting dark.” said the Sgt.

“Right…Yeah, thank you Sir.” as Soril and Jessica thanked their teacher, they made their way out of the school. Injured and bandaged, one could tell that both of them had a rough day today.

“…The sun is setting, do you still want to join me in buying a phone?” asked Soril.

“Hey! I said that I would…so I’m coming with you!” said Jessica as she pushes her needs to Soril.

“R-right…lets get going. How about we go to a mall? I’m sure they sell phones there.” said Soril.

“Okay, lets take a cab there…wait better yet, we can just take my car.” said Jessica.

To it, she called on her phone and not a minute later, a blue car came stopping in front of us.

“…Whoa. That’s a neat car.”

In front of them was a blue luxurious car that was capable of withstanding bullets from snipers and slashes from B-ranked hunters. It was a super car that was only limited to a few wealthy people.

“Yeah, my dad gifted it to me on my fifteenth birthday.” said  Jessica.

As she walked forward, the car automatically opened itself for her and to it, she invited Soril in.

“Is it okay for me to get in?’ he asked.

“Yeah, come on.”

As Soril hesitantly entered the luxury car, the driver upfront then looks to Jessica with a rather calm and soft gaze.

“Where to miss?” asked the driver.

“To the mall.”

“As you wish.” to it, the driver drove at a moderate speed.

And as they drove, Jessica then looks to Soril with a rather happy smile.

“W-what is it?” asked Soril nervously.

“Nothing much…this is just fun. I’m excited for us going to the mall today.” she said.

“I guess it is fun…” admitted Soril.

In that moment, Soril looked to her and thought…

Is she my friend?

And although this question was rather hard to ask a friend, he silently pondered and to it, he admitted and accepted it to himself that maybe…maybe they were friends.

In this life…he gained someone who he could call a friend.