The Measure of Will
The constellations are not a measure of strength, but a measure of will. Having a constellation does not guarantee power, yet it grants a resolve and conviction that is harder to break than most. Such people recover from mental shocks far more quickly than ordinary folk. After all, they always have a voice that believes in them and supports them.
— The God of Purity and Tenacity has sponsored you 2500 coins. —
“Rustilla, let’s try one more time.”
Rustilla had already lost to Zernya more than fifty times. She felt it clearly. In her current state, she could not defeat Zernya in a direct confrontation. The realization struck her like a wall, and despair followed. Yet the wound that cut deeper than any defeat was the venom Zernya spat at the end of every match.
Just give up.
People tend to remember a single word of criticism far more vividly than ten words of praise.
With skills like that, you think you can beat me? Listen well. I have zero intention of becoming a swordswoman. If even someone like me can’t be beaten by you, you’d better abandon that pathetic dream.
To Zernya, it might have been sincere advice. In truth, half-baked swordsmen were torn apart the moment they faced even slightly stronger monsters or avatars. The Federation wouldn’t bat an eye if they died like ants. The population was overflowing, and the number of people desperate for money and jobs was as countless as grains of sand on a beach.
But Rustilla was different. Long ago, when Laplace’s legions invaded the planet where she lived, it wasn’t her parents who saved the young girl amid the roar of battle. It was a swordswoman. That woman sacrificed her own life so Rustilla and her family could escape to the very end. In the fading silhouette of her back, Rustilla had sensed a tragic beauty. She wanted to become someone like her.
“You’re challenging me again? Don’t you ever get tired?”
Zernya frowned and tried to shoo her away.
“If I win this time, it’s good for you too. You’ll earn more points, right?”
“Sorry, but I’ve already earned plenty. I don’t want to waste any more time fighting an idiot whose outcome is already decided.”
Rustilla clenched her teeth. Zernya continued.
“Get lost.”
“No.”
“I said get lost.”
“Just fight me one more time.”
“You idiot. I knew from the moment you threw five cards at once. If you really want to win, you’d be better off using that challenge ticket on someone else.”
Zernya stubbornly refused. Rustilla needed a different approach. What did Zernya hate most? After a moment of thought, a spark of electricity flashed through her mind. It was a slightly underhanded method, but if she used it, she would undoubtedly strike Zernya’s reverse scale.
“What, are you scared?”
She tossed the words at the back of Zernya’s head as the girl tried to walk away nonchalantly.
“…What?”
“I asked if you’re scared.”
Zernya’s face twisted as she whirled around. A fierce fighting spirit ignited in her amethyst eyes, as savage as a rakshasa. It worked. This was it.
“Structurally, if I beat you, you’ll lose a ton of points, won’t you? Then you’ll fall behind Eidel again and end up in second place this time too. You’re refusing my challenge because you’re afraid of that, right?”
“What kind of bullshit…”
“Now that I think about it, Eidel’s score is insanely high. He even took first place in the written exam again. At this rate, you might not be able to catch up. Is that okay with you?”
“You fucking bitch! You done talking?”
Thud. Two cards dropped in front of Zernya. Rustilla poured every ounce of her pride into her voice as she spoke.
“Come at me. Second place.”
That day, Rustilla heard the word “fucking bitch” for the first time in her life.
The moment she fastened her gear and stepped into the capsule, Zernya’s ferocious assault began. She charged without even waiting for the countdown, like a rabid beast consumed by madness.
“Even the time I spend fighting a wretch like you is a waste! Know your place!!”
Having had her reverse scale touched, Zernya had half-lost her reason. In other words, she was emotional. Maybe Rustilla could win.
Rustilla swiftly completed the ionization of her sword blade and steadied her breathing.
“Hoo…”
Her heart burned hot, her mind stayed cold. Simply holding the sword filled her with a sense of reassurance. She felt as if she had become one with the blade. Memories of the days she had trained relentlessly despite her parents’ oppression flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.
Whoosh—!
Rustilla swung a heavy strike. Zernya’s diagonal thrust was blocked. A crackling discharge rang out. Using the repulsive force of the charged blades, she pushed forward with both swords still locked. In terms of pure physical strength, Rustilla held the advantage. Zernya’s eyebrows shot upward.
“This is…”
Zernya created distance and changed her offensive pattern. Instead of thrusting into close range, she began darting in and out with nimble feints to test the waters. It was a rational decision. Rustilla’s swordplay was different from before. There was no hesitation. Her emotions had unified into a single state. Winning or losing against Zernya no longer mattered. Whether she defeated Zernya here or not, she would continue training her sword. Her dream would not shatter simply because someone spoke ill of her. Once she realized that, she felt strangely at ease. The anxiety vanished. There were no longer any restrictions on her swings.
Rustilla deflected every one of Zernya’s attacks. The sight of her wielding a heavy blade with the sharpness of a rapier felt bizarre. How could such power come from the slender arms of a fragile girl? Zernya was astonished. It was a feat that defied physical possibility. Moreover, it wasn’t any sword style she had learned in lessons. There was no standard way to counter it.
Damn it.
Zernya ground her teeth. Her body shot forward once more. She knew she was losing in strength. Her cursed frame had a clear limit to how much power it could hold. So she compensated with tricks. The moment Rustilla swung in a wide arc, Zernya slipped through the gap and leaped. Whoosh. She performed a mid-air somersault over the horizontal slash and landed behind her.
She had her.
In an instant, she seized the rear. Zernya’s violet eyes flashed as she wrapped Ether around her blade. This is the end. The moment she swung horizontally, Rustilla’s head dropped low. The blade that passed a beat too late sliced only empty air.
“Kgh…!”
Rustilla’s immediate counter was a spinning back kick. Her leg didn’t rise very high, but it slammed straight into the shorter girl’s face, leaving a vivid red mark. Once, twice, three times. Zernya wiped her kicked face while stepping back. It stung. Thank goodness this was virtual reality; in the real world, her nose would have bled.
“Goddamn it…!”
Zernya poured maximum output into her blade.
“How dare you, how dare you plant your filthy foot on my face?!”
“It’s virtual reality, though.”
Rustilla shrugged.
“It still feels disgusting. Fine. You’re done for. I’ll cut your head off. Get ready to pass out in agony!”
Time had already passed the two-minute midpoint. She had to settle this within the next two minutes and thirty seconds.
By then, students had gathered like clouds after hearing about Zernya and Rustilla’s rematch, and they began trading words.
“Fighting every day for a whole month? What a grudge.”
“I heard it’s all because of one guy.”
“Really? Who?”
Rumors had even begun to distort. But none of it reached the two girls locked in combat. Inside their completely isolated space, Rustilla swung her blade with ferocious power. Zernya met her with delicate adjustments to her rapier’s angle, searching for the perfect moment to pierce her skull.
Rustilla was calm. Zernya was impatient.
Until now, Rustilla and Zernya had never fought past the two-minute mark, yet this match had clearly entered a war of attrition. Her agility now rivaled what Eidel had shown in their very first fight. No, perhaps she was even sharper. How had this happened?
When she thought about it, it was strange. In Zernya’s mind, the hierarchy had always been herself at the top, followed by Rustilla, then Eidel. Even after a month of sword training, Eidel had only grasped the basics and couldn’t perform high-level techniques in reality. Zernya parried the blade while splitting her thoughts. As a result, she fell into a defensive posture, and while her mind wandered, she was driven all the way to the edge of the ring.
“Damn it.”
She cut off her thoughts and twisted her body urgently. The next instant, Rustilla’s slash grazed dangerously outside the ring. The momentum nearly carried Rustilla out after her sword. It was an opening for Zernya. The exact same situation had occurred in her first fight with Eidel. Back then, she had been in Rustilla’s position, and now Eidel’s place was hers.
I don’t hit girls, you know.
Don’t make me laugh. Eidel had lacked the skill to finish it, but she was different. With this single opening, she could send Rustilla flying out of the ring. Position-wise, a vertical cut was impossible. And since she had declared she would take her head, a horizontal slash was correct. As Rustilla’s center of gravity shifted outward, Zernya decided to deliver the final blow.
But she couldn’t.
Whoosh—!
Rustilla simply let go of the sword she had been swinging. The blade, released in a split-second judgment, spun freely with its separated angular momentum. Zernya’s expression went blank for a moment. Rustilla had instinctively understood center of gravity and motion. The moment she released the sword, the center of gravity that had been leaning forward returned inside the ring. At the same time, the blade spun outward, drawing a smooth arc.
That wasn’t the end. To dodge Zernya’s deep slash, Rustilla split her legs wide apart—hips, thighs, calves, ankles—until they lay flat in a perfect line against the floor.
“You stupid bitch!”
The characteristic of a rapier was the short delay between strikes. After a horizontal cut, she could switch to a thrust within 0.3 seconds. She tried to deliver the final blow to the now-defenseless Rustilla who had dropped her sword. But she failed.
“Kyaa!”
Rustilla twisted her upper body and used her split legs to shove Zernya’s leg away. Zernya was destined to fall as if she had tripped over a rock. She threw herself to avoid going out of the ring. In the process, she dropped her rapier. Rustilla, who rose first, kicked Zernya’s sword toward the center of the ring. The next moment—
Thud!
The sword that had spun half a turn embedded itself beside Zernya’s blade. The rule of the match was to win by cutting with a sword. Rustilla and Zernya pushed each other aside as they raced for the center. Rustilla reached it first. She picked up Zernya’s sword as well and assumed a stance. Zernya’s face went slack.
“Forfeit.”
“You crazy bitch…”
Forfeit? Her pride would never allow it. Although Rustilla now held Zernya’s sword, she looked slightly troubled. She had to win through sword-versus-sword. Only then could she restore her honor. A victory only held true meaning if it was decided at that moment.
After a brief thought, Rustilla tossed the rapier in front of Zernya. Zernya, who had been pondering how to retrieve her weapon, stared blankly at the floor.
10 seconds remaining.
“Hurry up and come at me.”
What was the meaning behind returning the sword? There was no time to think.
5 seconds remaining.
She had to end everything in a single exchange.
4 seconds.
They sprinted.
3 seconds.
Both Zernya and Rustilla. They emptied every other thought and held only one thing in their minds.
I will win.
2 seconds.
The students outside the virtual reality swallowed hard as they stared at the monitors. Among them were Eidel and Seti. Even the teachers were present. Their homeroom teacher, Kendra, who had arrived late, watched the decisive moment with sweaty palms, completely entranced.
1 second.
Rustilla recalled Instructor Nair’s words. An individual’s sword style is more vulnerable to emotion than standardized forms. In uncontrollable situations, swirling emotions create hesitation in the blade. She had taken that advice to heart ever since she heard it. And only now did she truly understand it.
It’s better to drive a wedge into your emotions.
The single calm emotion Rustilla had maintained—whether consciously or unconsciously—from the very beginning of this fight. Respect.
Eidel’s figure reflected in Rustilla’s eyes.
0 seconds—
Her constellation was not just one.
EX-rank Conversion — Dual Star Sword Aura
Two wills shot downward like blades.