[Caren's Pov]
I'm a failure. That was what I had been called all my life. My life and my upbringing weren't the greatest.
Born from the Celeste family, I had my name stripped. My mother and I were born within the main branch of the Celeste family.
During my mother's pregnancy, she suffered an injury that caused her to lose her mana. Thus, she became an average human.
But because of that, there was an issue with my birth. My mother had died during my birth, and an elder of the family took me in.
My mother had a fallout with the prominent family, and that was the cause of her mana disappearance.
The only reason I was taken in was because of my potential use of being a tool to the family, but once it was discovered that I wouldn't be able to control my magic, I was kicked out of the family.
At first, I loathed them. That all became useless, seeing that I wasn't strong enough. Growing up in an orphanage, my life had turned for the better.
While I was timid and quiet due to how the prominent family treated me, my friends in the orphanage were lovely.
But as we grew older, we had to make choices. Initially, I wasn't planning on becoming a mage due to my upbringing.
Seeing that I had talent in absorbing mana gave me hope. One day, I wished I could get an apology from the central family that had wronged me.
I wanted to break free from my past, leaving nothing behind. My first step was to make it to the Youth tournament.
Here, I would gain momentum and fame for the resources of my journey in strength. Many ups and downs had happened on the way, but I had made it happen.
But now I'm going to fight the most formidable opponent I have ever fought. And this was a battle I couldn't lose.
I'm scared. Charlie, our team captain, had warned me about my opponent. Looking at my opponent, I could see her staring at me, analyzing everything about me.
Charlie, our team captain, was someone whom I deeply respected. She is prideful and unwavering, just like the sun.
Even if she was a bit disconnected from the rest of us, she still tried her best to look out for the rest of us.
Gold, who was my opponent, should be strong. Otherwise, Charlie wouldn't have warned me about her.
Thinking about it, I couldn't help but be nervous about fighting against someone strong. My magic is considered defective by my family and friends.
Looking at my teammates, I could see Teresa trying her best to support me. Noelle was the same as usual, but I could see her wanting to cheer for me.
Maddison was there cheering me on while shouting. Despite her quick temper, she was someone easy to talk to.
Serena was looking at me, waiting for the results. Sometimes I couldn't handle her. She was from the Celeste family and was similar to them in many ways.
Then I looked at Charlie. Charlie was unexpressive, and sometimes I couldn't even tell her thoughts.
"Let the match begin!"
Ahh... I wasn't ready. I was lost in my thoughts. Gold, my opponent, was already using her magic to enchant her physical abilities running toward me as fast as she could.
Doing my best, I tried to slow Gold down, making her back away from me. What I had summoned was a sticky fluid capable of melting the ground.
Gold had stopped her track when confronting the venom around me. With what was given to me, I had a few shots before she could get near me.
I wanted something substantial, imagining what I wanted. I wanted something powerful and fast. Shooting what I could do, I sent a razor wind.
Gold had made armor lightning similar to Charlie. And because of it, she ran past the venom around her and dashed toward me.
It was nerve-racking knowing she was comfortable fighting me in close-quarters combat. Her lightning armor and weapon were charging at me at a ridiculous speed, one faster than Noelle.
I had to deploy a defensive maneuver before she could attack. Gold was already near me with her spear, ready to strike.
My shield, made of ice, was prepared to block an attack. Having defensive magic, I prepared a second spell.
Sometimes I wished I could control the magic I could choose. But right now, I am trying my best to do my best to win.
Doing what I could, I launched a heavy strike made out of a diamond hammer. The attack had launched and made Gold take a few steps back.
My magic had little effect, but it wasn't enough to take her down. I couldn't help but be nervous. I needed to win. Otherwise, my past will continue to haunt me.
In a normal situation, there was no chance for me to beat her. Gold, who was pushed back, charged at me again.
I decided to put everything into this one move using everything I got. I then used all my mana in this one move. Summoning my magic, I blanked out.
[Charlie's POV]
"What a shocker! The match was only for a minute, but it was a tie!"
"Each team will get two points for being a tie!"
I couldn't believe it. Caren made a suicide bomb and knocked herself and Gold out. How will this work out?
Caren, who had fainted, was on the ground. Maddison, who was closest to Caren, ran toward her grabbing her.
"Serena, heal her. We need to make sure she is okay for tomorrow's match."
While the results weren't the worst, it was still bad. We had managed to get some points, but at the anger of team Igarde, we were uncertain of Caren's situation.
Team Igarde looked pissed. What Caren did was extreme, some would say unnecessary. Her uneasiness was easy to tell, but I couldn't help but wonder what her goal was to go this far.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦