Path to Transcendence

Chapter 104: Aubrey vs. Julius

Aubrey POV

Aubrey wanted to hit herself over the head with a sledgehammer. She didn’t know why she said all those things to Julius. She wasn’t usually like that, but her stupid insecurities got in the way. She was frustrated after her recent loss against Edgar and took it out on Julius. It wasn’t right and certainly wasn’t fair to him.

It was clear that she had made him both uncomfortable and annoyed with her outburst. She regretted it and wanted to apologize to him immediately, but somehow instead of doing that, all she ended up doing was challenging him to a fight.

Some apology Aubrey, she mocked herself.

She even had the audacity to tell him not to hold back. Which by the way, might have not been the smartest move, because after she said that she watched as Julius’s expression completely changed. His eyes went cold and he began tracking her every movement like she was his prey. She knew that he didn’t need to do that, his perception skill was most likely already tracking every twitch she made. But it was still slightly intimidating.

He had dropped his bracelets with such a stone face and confidence that it had her worried. For a moment, she thought that he was asking her to do so as well. That was a more terrifying thought. For all of her combat experience, she knew very well how unprepared she was for a fight like that. She didn’t think she could go into a fight with such fearlessness. All of her fights and battles have been in strictly controlled environments.

Even when she fought with no simulated combat device inside of a rift, there were still professors and carefully planned out procedures, ensuring that no student was ever in real harm’s way. In a way, this made many of the students, including her, inexperienced in real combat.

Even when her mom had taken her out to some local rifts, she had never been in any real danger. It was hard to feel unsafe when your parent was one of the strongest people on the continent.

Yet, when she saw Julius step into the ring, she was envious. It wasn’t just his prodigious strength as a first-year or even his relationship with Professor Keller that made her feel as such. It was his demeanor. He acted beyond his age, with a maturity that she didn’t see from other younger students. Not to mention that he fought with zero hesitation. It was something that she wished she could do.

Sure, she could put on a brave face, a habit learned because of her exposure to so many nobles. But inside she was always a little nervous or scared whenever she fought. She never had his type of confidence. She knew it was partly due to a specific type of focus skill, but she had a good concentration type skill as well. [Crystal Thought] was a great skill, one that her mother had when she was at Tier 3 and had proved its worth a thousand times over, but it still wasn’t enough and it didn’t explain how Julius was like that.

She knew from their very first spar that he was different. He had fought like someone fighting for their life, clawing for every inch. Even with broken limbs and experiencing unimaginable pain, he fought on. Not giving up until the very end.

She wanted that. She wanted to emulate that. She wouldn’t ever tell him that, but that was why she had pushed herself so hard these past few weeks.

And yet… it wasn’t enough. She felt him pass her before she could even notice. It wasn’t enough that she stayed up till two o’clock training. She couldn’t even excuse it by saying he was more talented either. His highest affinity was merely high, meaning that her skill progression should have been much faster than his.

She just had to finally admit to herself that he worked harder for it. She still couldn’t believe that he spent entire nights in a training facility practicing. Also, trying to acquire an epic skill after just entering Tier 2 was an unbelievable goal, and yet, she didn’t doubt that he was almost there.

It took her years of concentrated training and meditation to learn the Crystal Concept of Prismatic Light. Not to mention she had her mother teaching her every step of the way. Even with an epic skill of her own, she had lost to him.

Two weeks, that was how long he had been in isolated training. Perhaps, that was the reason why she wanted to fight him right now. She wanted to see with her own two eyes how far he had gotten within the past couple of weeks.