"So, I'll be able to do that in the future too, right? She looks so cool!" ~Tayin, on Yoshelle's stage two

What in Ysvil's name is going on?

Yoshelle was convinced that she had somehow fallen into a nightmare.

It could be said time and time again, that the entire point of a duel of this particular kind was to let the challengers get a feel for a real raid. There was absolutely no way for three Advanced Class holders to hold a candle to a Double Hero Class holder.

That reason was why they were asked to get two points, in order to make them feel hopelessness when the second stage was revealed. This way, they knew what to expect when facing the real deal.

In actuality, they only really needed one point. That, alone, was enough proof of their coordination and training. The second point was never achievable. It was supposed to be their rude awakening to the real world where everything would almost never end up as they thought it would.

But Yoshelle saw no despair. No panic. No hopelessness.

Grace, Ren, and Tayin were all prepared. They looked like they were putting their lives on the line. It wasn't even pride, or desperation on their faces. Calm, collected, assertive. They knew they were outmatched, so each of them were assessing each other's situation in order to achieve the best result.

Even if only one of them 'survived', as long as they got that second point. It would be worth it.

Unhinged…

That was the kindest word she could define these three adventurers. Anyone else who had any semblance of self-preservation would've given up at this point.

These three won't stop until they've actually lost.

And the strangest part was, how they seemed to be improving with every point she took.

Just two more. They've already passed, but that doesn't mean I'll make it easy for them.

Yoshelle placed a Future Feint right beside Tayin, creating a fake future of herself using Sight Step to close the distance on the halfling. She made her imagery look like it was casting a Flashfire Strike.

Ren immediately reacted. He had been falling for that trick every time it was directed at Tayin. Grace, who had seen the Spell numerous times already, refused to budge. She trusted the Shield Knight to immediately react as long as the halfling was involved in any sort of harm.

Instead, the half-orc faced Yoshelle directly, sending Mana-Waves one after the other. They were relatively much larger than the usual sharp mana-waves, but the Elemental Archmage made no effort to dodge them. Instead, she coated her arms and legs with mana and deflected each one effortlessly. She crushed the final wave with her fist.

Within that exact instant, Grace had appeared above, slashing down with both Mana-Edges in a deadly pair of arcs.

Yoshelle had already expected it. Not just Grace, but almost every other melee combatant employed such a tactic when up against Spellcasters. It was partly the reason why she had honed her close-range combat capabilities more than any other casters out there.

But she also knew that Grace was aware of it now, and that she had lost the element of surprise. So, Yoshelle relied on her Chronoadept Skill, Moment Freeze, stretching the half-orc's time in the air for a few seconds.

Even in that moment, a short lull that would've given Yoshelle some respite to move, she couldn't help but feel a certain trepidation. It wasn't because the Spell wasn't effective. It was. But Grace's expression, struggling and shaking despite her time being frozen, was enough indicator to the Chronoadept.

She's trying to resist it!

In a rush, Yoshelle quickly cast Flashfire Strike, before anything else would happen. Her fist struck true, sending Grace out of melee range. Before she could relax, however, something struck her from behind, causing her to fall on her knees.

"Points for both teams," Maxims declared. "The duel is over. Grace, Ren, and Tayin win."

Confused, Yoshelle turned away from the half-orc to find the other two behind her. Relief was on their faces, gasping for air as they released all the tension in their bodies.

I see… It didn't register right away, but she realized what had happened.

Tayin had used Sight Step and brought Ren with her, taking advantage of Grace's unintended diversion. Unintended, Yoshelle assumed, because the half-orc was clearly trying to get the point for herself, and was clearly trying to hide her dissatisfaction.

But that means…

Yoshelle shook her head. It wasn't her position to speak about the matter. She had lost fair and square.

Grace breathed out. Both to recover and to release her dissatisfaction. They had won. That was what mattered. They were a team after all.

"Congratulations," Yoshelle said, shaking her hand. "I look forward to working together with you."

"Likewise," the half-orc replied. "Thank you for taking it easy on us."

"Technically, I didn't. But you're welcome."

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Would've been nice to get a point, at least…

"We did it!" Tayin proclaimed, jumping in celebration while hugging Grace. "We won!"

Grace silently thanked the halfling. If it wasn't for her contagious enthusiasm, it would've been difficult for the half-orc to feel proud of the moment.

Tayin took the lead, pulling both Grace and Ren towards Shallies to share the celebration. But the half-orc noticed it sooner than anyone else.

Valor'el wasn't smiling, and neither was Phey'lan.

And when they saw Shallies, despite Maxims and Coraline making their applause, her face was stoic and still.

"Grace, Tayin, and Ren," the Guildmaster of the Gaiamaxims Guild started. "We will send for someone in a couple of days to the Adventurer's Beginning for your raid contract and other on-boarding procedures before you can begin training with us. To be honest, we only really require you to make at least one point. But regardless of that, you've met and surpassed our expectations. Congratulations."

Somehow, while Tayin and Ren both accepted the Guildmaster's words without a hint of hesitation, Grace could feel the rigid choice of words in his speech. She made no mention of it, simply agreeing to him like the other two.

"Hey, Shallies," Tayin started now that the other members of the Gaiamaxims Guild had gone.

The Godkiller said nothing to that and simply turned. "We'll talk back home."

The walk back was cold. Grace noticed that the other two had finally noticed Shallies' emotionless demeanor. They even whispered with each other about Valor'el and Phey'lan, who were walking behind them.

"Did we do something wrong?" the half-orc finally asked after they were clearly out of the Gaiamaxims Guild headquarters. "Did… Did I do something wrong?"

Shallies stopped walking and sighed.

"The number one cause of death from my students that I couldn't—didn't—save was self-sacrifice," the Godkiller started. She turned towards them. "The last point you got back there was because of your self-sacrifice, Grace. The first one was effective, but in the second one, you were clearly leaning on your desperation. If Yoshelle had been a real Raid Boss, you would've been dead."

"Oh…" Grace's face fell. "I see. Sorry, I got carried away."

Shallies sighed further and scratched her head. "Look, I don't mean to downplay your achievement. Getting approval into the sub-raid is worthy of a celebration. We'll get to that. But I've been trying to hammer it home from the very beginning, from even before you became my students, that I won't be always around to save you.

"With what happened with you, Tayin, I'll admit, I would've jumped in at the very last moment to save you. I wouldn't have let you die from something like that, if I could help it. And it wouldn't mean that you'd fail. I'm sorry that I had to make you go through all that. I did what I did because if that happens again while I'm not around, then you'll only have yourselves to help each other.

"I know that the idea of me not being around seems impossible, because I'm doing nothing else but running a tavern, but believe me, I'm usually more busy than any Chronolord or Time Lord out there. If I'm out there nurturing Abyss Dungeons or Towers or clearing them, I won't have time for any of you."

"Won't Stachie be around to help us?" Ren asked. "Not saying it as an excuse for us to get ourselves into trouble, but it could be a fallback option in emergencies, right?"

"Stachie can help guide you, if there's a way out of trouble," Shallies admitted. "But for her to physically help you is next to impossible. You know her title, and that shouldn't need any explaining. Like I said, if I'm able, then I'll expend every effort to come save you. But I would rather that you all not depend on me for that and save yourselves instead.

"But this, Grace. The way you're going, you'll eventually get yourself killed. I want you, I want all of you, to be strong enough that I can afford to rest easy, knowing that you'll survive any dangers out there. I can't bring you to that level if you're already dead."

Grace didn't know what to say. She couldn't even explain herself as to why she always wanted to be at the forefront. Her body just moved by itself. And she had never really thought much about it until now.

She couldn't even justifiably accept that she was in the wrong.

Shallies sighed a third time.

"I'm sorry…" she said. "I know I'm being difficult and contradictory here. I just get a little heated when I see something like this. I know it was just a duel, and the real thing is always different, but I can always see you taking the same direction regardless of whether it was a mock-battle or the real thing."

"I just…" Grace paused, confirming with herself if what she was about to say was true. Ironically, she realized that she hesitated more when speaking, than when taking action. "I just feel like it's the right thing to do. I might have some messed up instincts. During the duel with Yoshelle, I just know that I have to do my best and get that second point. I didn't know we only really needed one, and I didn't want our chance to slip away. I didn't think of anything else but winning."

"I don't think it's a bad thing, Miss Shallies," Valor'el said, interjecting. "The desire to win at all costs, is a quality that's usually something you struggle to teach your students. It's an important quality that anyone who participates in a Divine War must have. But in the case of these three, your struggle is quite the opposite, I think."

"I know," Shallies admitted. "There are times when we're left with no choice but to lay it all on the line. That duel back there, in your perspective, was one of those times. I'll respect that decision. Looking at it from that lens, you three have won. And that's all that matters."

"That just means they have to be stronger, right?" Phey'lan asked, putting her arms around Ren and Tayin's shoulders. "Make them strong enough so that they don't have to sacrifice themselves."

"Yeah!" the halfling said, pumping her fist. "If we're stronger, we'll be able to beat our opponents without being on the backfoot all of the time."

"It's technically my fault that Grace had to make a self-sacrifice back there," Ren said, apologizing. "If I hadn't fallen for the same trick over and over again, we could've defeated Yoshelle in a better way."

"Technically, you're right," Shallies said to Ren. "But your misgivings didn't have to result into something like that, so it's technically both your fault."

Once more, Shallies sighed, but she was smiling this time.

"I suppose getting stronger is the only solution. Dinner's on me. Tomorrow, we'll continue training your Perpetual Method."

Grace agreed with that wholeheartedly. If she could make herself stronger and faster, she wouldn't have to feel so desperate all of the time.

Shallies spent the rest of the night with Apple and Stachie, who she had invited over for a little meeting. The Godkiller spent it all talking to them, speaking the entire time about her discoveries and issues.

"Reincarnated god, huh…" Stachie mused. Apple was on her head, mimicking the same gesture. "Why now, after all this time? Sorry. Just one question before we let it go."

"It's nothing like that," Shallies began. "I don't mind talking about it, if it's with you two. But I'm not sure why and how, either. I wasn't as strong as I am now back then, so maybe that's part of the reason."

"We should definitely keep an eye on Grace, then," said the Goddess. Apple nodded her agreement, floating down to her teacup.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Does this have anything to do with how you reacted to her today?"

"What do you mean? I'm like that with all of my students." Shallies crossed her arms. "I don't like them throwing their lives away more than they have to. It's a good thing that Yoshelle's a well-mannered lady. She could've really hurt Grace if she wanted to."

"I suppose that's true."

"What about your end?" Shallies asked. "Any updates with Thrush'ven Alir?"

"It's gathering up a storm, as expected," Stachie said, smiling at her own pun. "From here and other realities, if that's what you're asking about."

"I am," Shallies said, stone-faced. "Which ones?"

"Karuphra was kind enough to let us know that The Great Storm's gathering from Horror and Chaos Realities. That's the most unusual bit as far as I know. Of course, it's gathering from the Abyss as well, that one never changes. Oh, and the Forever Frozen Reality, too, as usual."

"Gotcha. I need you to check in with the Mirror Reality and the Great Conflagration Reality as well."

Stachie raised an eyebrow at the mention of those realities. "Just a hunch?"

"Yeah. Just a hunch."

"Alright. I'll send a word out."

That left them with Apple's side of things. They both turned to the teacup fairy as she grinned from ear to ear.

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