Seria Rubetia. If you’ve played this game, there’s no way you don’t know this name.
She’s the go-to problem solver in most incidents, so thanks to the protagonist’s tendency to get dragged into every mess, players end up meeting her so often they get sick of it.
If the protagonist somehow manages to hold on, Seria shows up to save the day. That was the flow of the early game.
Some people complained, “Why does the protagonist always just sit back and rely on help? Can’t the story progress without it?” But honestly, the payoff in the later parts was totally worth it.
To think that by the end, you get to fight side by side with this world’s strongest character… The protagonist is truly legendary… My heart swells with pride…
Anyway, it wasn’t really that strange for her to casually challenge me, a complete stranger, to a sparring match.
Who am I? A man who read the premium edition’s lore book so thoroughly it practically turned to rags, just in case there was some hidden detail I missed.
Thanks to that, I knew every little thing about the main characters.
So, I wasn’t fazed at all by her sudden proposal. I could see exactly what she was thinking.
“With her personality, she probably wants to get this test over with quickly and run away before anyone else shows up.”
Her status, overwhelming power, and cold, stoic appearance make everyone misunderstand her, but deep down, she’s actually an incredibly introverted soul.
She really hates being around a lot of people, and now that a sparring partner has arrived? For her, this was an opportunity. A chance to finish the test quickly and leave.
Unfortunately for me, her one ray of hope, I didn’t have the right to refuse. What was I supposed to do, say no and awkwardly wait for others to show up? Nah, that’d be too much.
“Alright. Shall we go now?”
“Uh, suddenly acting so familiar…”
“Miss Seria, shall we head out now?”
“…Just act naturally, please.”
Even if she pretends to dislike it, as long as you don’t cross the line, she actually prefers a friendly approach. So, I deliberately mentioned her name to close the distance.
It must be normal for her that someone knows her name without being told… But someone who knows who she is and still treats her like this? That’s probably a first.
I wanted to get close to her if possible. If we could become friends to the point where she’d do favors for me, it’d be like having access to a strategic nuke.
Above all, as a major character in the story, she’s stunningly beautiful. What guy wouldn’t want to be friends with a pretty girl?
“I’ll go and let them know.”
So, I took the initiative for her, the shy one, and moved things along. The supervisor was really…
I was worried, but since there was no turning back now, I just nodded.
After some back and forth, we ended up on the Training Ground and exchanged brief introductions.
“I’m Rudion. Nothing special to brag about.”
“…Seria Rubetia.”
Look at her, just blurting out her name like a shy kid. Who here taking the entrance exam doesn’t know her name? But I didn’t point it out and just kept my distance.
“One move.”
“…?”
“That’s a thing.”
With that, silence fell. From my perspective, I knew any attack I made would just get blocked by her defensive magic. From Seria’s perspective, she was just too relaxed. So we just stood there, staring each other down.
The silence wasn’t broken by me or Seria.
“Huh? Looks like someone’s already here.”
“Really? Someone faster than me, who finished everything and came straight here?”
The voices of people who had just finished the theory exam and were coming in reached us. That meant more people were arriving.
And that fact was enough to make Seria move.
Her golden eyes flickered as she noticed people coming, and magical energy began to surge from her left hand.
Just moments ago, she seemed willing to let me make the first move, but now, with people arriving, she must’ve decided to wrap things up quickly.
This was dangerous. From what I remembered, Seria’s stats at this point were overwhelming.
[Seria Rubetia]
[Strength: 4]
[Endurance: 3]
[Agility: 6]
[Magic: 43]
Her stats were ridiculously skewed toward magic, but that meant she could wield incredibly powerful spells.
Early on, she was just a glass cannon, but later, she’d find her own way to cover her other stats with magic, becoming a near-invincible monster. There was a reason she never lost her top spot.
But right now, she was still a rookie who hadn’t even started school yet. If all she had was powerful magic, I still had a chance.
Before her magic could take shape, I lunged toward Seria.
If I had charged first, I probably would’ve been blocked by her defensive magic and countered. But now that she had moved first, things were different.
Attack magic takes longer to cast than defensive magic.
And the agility gap between Seria and me was 20. That gap was no joke.
“Ugh.”
Seria seemed genuinely surprised as I closed the distance in an instant.
Honestly, I was surprised too. Possession—
Right after that, I started feeling lighter, but I didn’t expect it to be this extreme.
Guess nothing beats real-life experience, huh? Even while my mind wandered, my body kept moving.
I grabbed Seria’s left hand, which was channeling magic, disrupting her flow. Flustered, she tried to gather her magic again, but I moved faster than her spell could complete.
Whoosh!
“…?!”
Before she could regain her composure, I yanked the hand I was holding. The residual magic she had left scattered completely.
‘Got it!’
If she had reacted just a bit faster, I would’ve been helplessly bounced off by a defensive spell. Thankfully, the sneak attack worked better than expected.
“Huh?”
But I must’ve pulled too hard because she kept coming toward me without stopping. At this rate, she’d end up in my arms.
With so many people already gathered at the practical exam site, holding Seria in my arms here?
That’d be a legendary entry into Seria’s blacklist! I could already see a future where she’d run away at the mere sight of me, haunted by this cringe-worthy memory.
So I quickly tried to dodge to the side… but Seria, who seemed to finally grasp the situation, twisted her body too.
And our movements didn’t sync at all, resulting in a chaotic crossover.
-Wham!
My elbow landed perfectly on her temple.
The gasps of the spectators were crystal clear. Or was that sound coming from me?
Let’s take a moment to talk about my strength.
[Strength: 17]
17 is definitely above average. A few punches would be enough to knock out a thick-skinned wild animal.
In other words, it’s borderline assault if used on a regular person.
Now, let’s talk about Seria’s durability.
[Durability: 3]
3 isn’t even average. It’s worse than that.
You know that friend who’s always getting hurt and ending up in the hospital? Yeah, their durability is probably around 3.
And I just elbowed that fragile body. Even though it wasn’t intentional and I didn’t put full force into it, the impact from the difference in stats was no joke.
So, without even a scream, Seria passed out on the spot. Instead of creating a blacklist-worthy moment, I ended up cracking her skull. All I could do was catch her before she hit the ground, her eyes dazed and unfocused.
“To hit a woman, ugh, what a trash.”
“To knock someone out in one hit during a skill evaluation test… what a ruthless guy.”
“Uh, I really don’t want to spar with someone like that.”
“By the way, doesn’t the girl who just collapsed look familiar? Like we’ve seen her somewhere before?”
“My social status has already hit rock bottom and plunged straight into the abyss, but even I think I’m trash right now, so I humbly accept it.”
“All I wish for now is one thing.”
“Please let Seria not remember anything when she wakes up. And even if she does, please let her forgive me.”
“Even if she forgives me, I was already thinking of going over and smashing her head in, but what she thinks is the most important.”
“I carefully carried her out of the training ground, but if Seria hears about this, she’ll be absolutely horrified.”
“Somehow, I ended up carrying her out in a princess carry.”
“The guys who were calling me trash suddenly started whistling and saying how manly I was, blushing and making a fuss. What’s up with that?”
“Anyway, I handed Seria over to the supervisor nearby. She had a very familiar face, and her expression was already full of teasing, so I made it clear that this situation wasn’t my intention.”
“Hey, you know this was a mistake, right?”
“It seemed too clean to be a mistake.”
“No, it’s not…”
“Haha! I know. I know, so don’t react so seriously. It just makes me want to tease you more.”
“This supervisor has a completely different vibe. Thinking that she’s going to be in charge of the first-year lower class is pretty dizzying. Of course, if things keep going like this, I won’t end up in the lower class, so that’s a relief.”
“I’ll take responsibility for this girl and make sure she’s treated without any aftereffects, so don’t worry and just do your thing.”
“Despite her personality, she’s definitely skilled, so I wasn’t worried. I bowed lightly, gave a polite nod, and walked back into the training ground.”
“By then, the theoretical exams had already finished, and the inside was packed with examinees, all of their eyes fixed on me.”
“This is really nerve-wracking.”
“Since I’ve already beaten Seria, I can’t lose to anyone else. That would be like defeating the boss and then dying to a random mob.”
“Of course, there’s the option to finish the exam here and run away, and in the game, Seria did that too, but…”
“How could I miss out on this fun event? And I can’t even grow anymore. Gotta enjoy it while I can.”
“Heh heh. Later, when they’ve all gotten stronger than me, I’ll hit them with, ‘Hey, didn’t I totally wreck you back then?’…”
“Completely unaware of the evil thoughts I was having, challengers started coming down one by one.”
