In her eighth-floor residence, which belonged to the Rank 3 Student, Alyssa wore the ring-type artifact they found in the C Rank Dungeon after Asher defeated the C Rank Boss.
There was a reason she had requested a spar, one of them being her inability to fully exert herself in front of others.
Asher had told her not to reveal that she was fully cured, and she also understood that doing so would not be beneficial to her.
Even though she had two powerful advanced elements, one would eventually lead to her death.
Given that she consistently used Gravity Magic and her frail health, it was evident she was not destined to live long.
Nobody approached her because everyone assumed that Alyssa couldn't maintain her rank for an extended period.
This prevented her from practicing with others, as doing so would expose her true strength.
***
Asher was standing in the Training Facility present on the Tenth Floor of the Ranker's Dorm.
He was waiting for Alyssa, who wanted to spar with him.
Alyssa arrived after a few more minutes as Asher was swinging his sword. Then, Asher received a notification that a guest had requested entry to the room.
After clicking on his ID bracelet, the elevator opened, and Alyssa ascended to the topmost floor that belonged to Rank 1.
Asher proceeded to the lobby and saw Alyssa waiting at the entrance.
"Come this way," Asher said, and Alyssa followed him into the training facility.
Upon entering the Training Facility, Alyssa removed her mask, revealing her facial features again.
Her previously lifeless pink hair transformed into a vibrant cherry blossom pink, and her eyes turned a light shade of pink.
"I am ready," Alyssa announced, looking at Asher.
"You can go all out on me," Asher replied, revealing his mana.
'C- Rank!!' Alyssa was both surprised and shocked.
Achieving a C- Rank at this age was astounding, considering that even those considered prodigies were still striving to reach D- Rank.
"I was not going to go all out, but," Alyssa materialized two ice daggers around her.
And Asher unsheathed the black blade he wielded.
If he were sparring with Damian, he wouldn't have used an actual weapon, but doing so with Alyssa was different.
He knew her current goal was revenge, but she also realized she wasn't ready for it.
However, there was another reason she requested this spar.
'I will confirm it this time,' Alyssa told herself.
She threw the dagger toward Asher, but they changed the trajectory as the daggers got affected by her Gravity Magic.
*Clang* *Clang*
Asher blocked both daggers and destroyed them as his aura covered his blade slightly.
"Ice Spears," multiple spears appeared around her, visible to Asher.
Asher dashed towards her, not giving her time to react.
"Descend," Alyssa waved her hand to the right.
'So she took the advice,' Asher felt the gravity around him shift to his left.
It was one of the moves that Alyssa learned in her Second Year, but she had already mastered it.
In his previous life, Alyssa didn't spend much GP on the great library as it was extremely costly for those who weren't Rankers or Year Representatives.
But this time, Asher had advised her to visit the Great Library if she wanted to learn more about Gravity Magic.
'But this is not enough,' Asher thought as he used mirror steps to change his position.
Alyssa quickly scanned her surroundings, seeing Asher, who had moved outside the altered gravity zone.
"Ice Bind," Alyssa commanded as various spikes emerged around Asher.
Asher quickly backstepped as Alyssa increased the distance between them.
She knew it would be over if Asher got close to her, but she wasn't finished yet.
Asher saw a large needle-like structure forming above Alyssa.
Alyssa's hair started to flutter as a light shade of violet energy materialized around her arms.
"Pierce," Alyssa gestured downward, and the ice needle darted straight for Asher.
"This will be useless," Asher declared as he adjusted the grip on his sword.
And Alyssa recognized this skill; she had seen him perform a similar attack on monsters enough that it was etched in her memory.
'Swift Strike,' Asher's sword met the Ice Needle, but just as they were about to touch,
"Shatter," Alyssa used gravity energy to fragment the needle into multiple small shards.
"Spiral Attack," countless shards sprung from the ground, assaulting Asher.
Alyssa was so focused that she forgot that such an attack could have severely injured any other student.
'Mir Steps,' Asher used a burst of mana to change his location.
And as Alyssa watched him disappear, the gap in their ranks became apparent. Asher's speed was significantly higher than what Alyssa could currently handle.
"Lighten," Alyssa lightened the gravity around her body.
Then a claw-like structure began to form around her hands.
She looked up and saw Asher approaching her at a great speed.
'Descend,' she used Gravity Magic to slow down Asher just before his next Mir Step.
And she herself entered that Gravity Zone.
"Change Shift,"
As she stepped in, she altered the direction of her gravity toward Asher while doing the same with the Gravity Zone around her.
This allowed her to drastically increase her acceleration, boosting her speed to that of a D+ Rank Hunter for a brief moment.
The Ice claws reaching toward Asher's neck halted as Asher used his sword defensively once again.
Alyssa's eyes locked onto the black blade breaking through her ice claws, and she was now within Asher's range.
She had taken a gamble, but now she was utterly defenseless.
But at the last moment, the violet energy around Alyssa amplified, and its shade darkened.
"Spin," Alyssa murmured as Asher felt the ground beneath him disappear.
Alyssa had closed the distance enough to utilize her current most potent Gravity Magic.
She altered the entire gravity around them, causing Asher to lose his footing, which is crucial for Mir Steps.
But she was still a D- Rank Mage and was already pushing herself.
"Encase," she touched Asher, and he could feel ice beginning to encase his body.
'It's not enough,' Alyssa knew that Asher could still attack her. So she manipulated gravity to pressure Asher further, immobilizing him.
Bam!
Suddenly, both crashed into the ceiling as Alyssa lost control over her gravity.
But at the last moment, Asher grabbed her hand, pulled her closer, and saved her from crashing into the wall.
Alyssa regained control of her magic and altered the gravity as she slowly floated both down.
"My bad, I lost control," Alyssa admitted as a mild headache formed from her use of Gravity Magic.
Asher used his aura to melt the ice encasing his body.
"Do you want to continue?" Asher asked.
"No, thanks for your time," Alyssa responded,
"I will leave for now," After expressing her gratitude, Alyssa wore her mask once again before exiting the Training Facility.
Asher watched Alyssa leave his floor and went back to his room.
He reflected on the duel he had with her.
'She is improving,' Asher thought.
'We could have had a proper duel if she was C Rank as well,'
***
Alyssa entered her room on the eighth floor and looked at the blank canvas before her.
"He is weird," Alyssa mused as she picked up her brushes.
She hadn't noticed it when she first met him, but she could feel it from the moment she was cured.
"Is it his eyes?" She questioned herself.
His eyes resembled hers when she looked in the mirror.
She started to paint on the canvas, attempting to capture what she felt during that duel.
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