That night, the first sparring match was held.
Violet first paired up with Alice while Ethan paired up with Stephan. Violet was not an overbearing opponent and Alice felt like it was a perfect practice match for a warm up. Moreover, Violet's fire ability was naturally against her water ability. It was good for her to practice increasing the strength of her power and withstand other's attacks.
After an hour, Ethan paired up with Alice while Violet paired up with Stephan. Ethan was a little trickier as he had a similar fighting style with Alice. However, she still did not have to go all out with Ethan because he left loopholes in his stances and attacks that she took advantage off.
After another hour, Stephan paired up with Alice, while Violet paired up with Ethan. Alice knew that Stephan was unlike the other two who would go easy on her, so she decided to use this chance to go all out. Despite that, Stephan looked the most bored out of the three she sparred with. He casually threw a few lightning and ice attacks at her and defended against hers easily.
Stephan sighed. Her attacks may be tricky to deal with but its intensity was far lower than when he sparred against Ethan and Violet. He could not help but ask her, "I don't get you. You're really weak. Why didn't you go to another school instead of making yourself easy picking here?"
Violet overheard his question and chided him. "Stephan! How can you say that?"
Stephan shrugged. "Seeing weak people in strong schools and struggling like that... It's like they're trying to be who they're not. Who wouldn't be irritated?"
Violet scowled. "You never change."
Stephan grinned widely. He just loved to tease her. He later returned his attention back to Alice to show that he was still expecting a reply.
"If I'm weak, I would die no matter where I go, it's just a matter of when. So why should you bother when I choose to die?" Alice's reply sounded so grave that it disturbed everyone present.
"So if you managed to grow stronger and survive in a strong school, you're more likely to survive after you graduate." Ethan inferred.
Alice nodded.
"So you would be fine if you died in the process of becoming strong in school?" Stephan clarified.
Alice nodded again.
"Let's see how strong you can get then." Stephan looked serious and swiftly encased her in a ball of darkness. He then formed an ice spear and threw it into the ball of darkness. Violet screamed in shock and fear when the spear left Stephan's hand.
Inside of the ball, Alice was thoroughly shocked when she suddenly lost her sense of sight. It was complete darkness. She could not see her hands even when she placed it right in front of her face. Learning from past experience, she had already instinctively maximised the power of the water barrier around her when she lost her sight but quickly felt a strong sense of crisis. /It's not enough!/
She instantly changed her wall of water to become a thick block of ice surrounding her. This was the fastest she had ever altered the state of her element. At the same time, a loud explosion was heard and a bright light simultaneously surrounded her. It was so blinding that Alice shut her eyes and shielded her face with her arms.
Dead silence filled the room. The trio stood stunned.
Ethan had reacted first and shouted at Violet to use her light ability a milisecond after she screamed. At the same time, he also threw out a water slicer in an attempt to knock Stephan's spear away. Violet's reflexes was not bad after training with Ethan from young. She reacted to his command almost instinctively and dispelled the ball of darkness while he threw his attack.
That was how they saw everything that happened after that. They witnessed the last part of the water barrier turning to ice and the ice spear shattering into tiny pieces after its side collided into the ice wall surrounding Alice. If the spear had not been hit off course by Ethan, it would have dealt some damage to Alice instead.
[Alice! Alice! They saw everything!] BaoBao cried out.
Alice opened her eyes to see the trio staring at her in awe and shock. Ethan was the first to recover. "I didn't know altering your ability was possible. Were you born with it?"
Alice gave up on hiding her newfound ability and decided to convince them to keep it a secret instead. She shook her head in response to Ethan's question.
His gaze turned soft. "You must have worked incredibly hard then." He recognised all the hard work she must have put into making this possible without needing to witness anything.
Alice felt a little twinge in her heart. She slightly nodded and lightly rubbed the top of her nose with her finger.
Somehow, this action of hers made Ethan smile a little.
[Alice! Stephan's attacking!]
Just as BaoBao said the last word, a barrage of ice shards began colliding into the remainder of ice barrier, which was not a lot after the first collision with his ice spear. The ice barrier quickly wore down and the ice shards made it through. Everything happened in an instant. She could not react in time.
A strong gust of wind blew which stopped the ice shards in their tracks, while Alice was swooped up by something then was deposited behind Ethan and Violet. She looked behind and saw water dissipating. The wind made the shards hover in air for awhile before causing them to drop onto the floor powerless.
"Stephan! What are you doing?!" Violet asked in exasperation.
"I hope you didn't think you're strong enough now just because you can alter your element. There are times when even Blessings need help to survive. Don't think you're any better." Stephan ignored Violet and directed this at Alice.
Everyone understood what he was implying. His methods may be ruthless and deadly but it was to drive home his point. Violet still did not like it so she gritted her teeth in annoyance.
Alice looked at Stephan while she consulted BaoBao. /BaoBao, was I too extreme?/
[It seems so...]
Alice decided to ease up a little bit. If keeping her guard up against these people only brought her more trouble in the end by coming off as too arrogant instead, the cost for keeping them at bay was not worth it.
"I understand now. I'm sorry." Alice said softly.
Stephan humphed to show his approval.
Ethan felt a weird sour feeling he has never experienced before. He felt happy that it seemed that Alice will be relying on them a little. However, he did not like the fact that it was Stephan who convinced her to do so. He frowned a little, not understanding his feelings.
For the rest of the last hour, Violet paired up with Alice. Violet and Ethan did not let Stephan spar with Alice again.
"Oh, come on, I won't do anything to her anymore!" Stephan whined.
Now that everyone knew that she could change her water element, Alice openly maximised her skill in spars. This made Stephan itch to spar with Alice. She could not win with power so if she used her special ability properly, she would be the most tricky person to fight against. However, the pair did not give in.
Just before they left the battle hall, Alice asked them to keep her abilities a secret.
"Of course! We weren't thinking of divulging such an important trump card to others!" Violet reassured Alice.
[The characters in this world seems really nice...] BaoBao was really tempted to tell Alice to get chummy and close with them as it may be advantageous.
/That's because they were made to be this way. Don't forget that I'm a side character BaoBao. The day will come when I'm ignored by these nice people again./ Alice remained unmoved. She had already placed Ethan's earlier recognition of her hard work at the back of her mind.
They bid each other goodbye and separated ways to return to their respective dormitories.
[Erm... They're tailing you.]
Alice sighed inwardly. /Violet still hasn't given up on making sure I'm safe huh. Well, as long as it is not something that the original soul would have noticed./
The next day, during practical practice period, something out of the ordinary happened.
Alice dodged the ice ball flying towards her that BaoBao had already warned her of. It came from the class that was always practicing beside her class in the same battle hall.
A girl with white hair and crystal blue eyes came running to Alice. "I'm so sorry! I missed my target! Are you hurt anywhere? Can I bring you to the doctor?"
[This is a crucial development that the original soul regretted. Also, she's the girl from yesterday.] BaoBao cautioned.
/Hm. She likely introduced this girl to the female lead which contributed to the issue then./
Alice's expression remained flat as usual. "I'm fine." She returned to carelessly tossing water balls without giving the girl a second look.
The girl secretly panicked. She wanted to use an accident to establish some form of connection with Alice. However, she knew it would be difficult once she saw Alice dodge the attack. /Tsk, who would have thought that she was so agile when her practices look so pathetic./
The girl obediently but dejectedly went back to her class. Soon, a fire attack came flying over instead but before Alice moved to dodge it, the girl intercepted the attack early and with her body. The force of the blow threw her body towards Alice, causing her to land heavily in front of Alice.
Everyone's attention was drawn to them and they looked at Alice expectantly. Alice knew what the crowd was thinking however she did not bother.
/How desperate./ Alice thought to herself while she looked down at the girl lying on the floor in a semi-conscious state.
[She's acting. She's perfectly fine. She defended where she would have been hit with ice.] BaoBao reported his observations to Alice.
/Her control must be pretty wonderful then. No one saw a thing./
[Her acting is something too.] BaoBao said unhappily.
The girl started groaning before clarity returned to her eyes only to see Alice walking away from her to go another target. Everyone was stunned.
"Alice, why aren't you helping her up?" A teacher who saw everything questioned her, clearly displeased by Alice's lack of concern.
Alice did not want to face trouble with the teacher and gain the class's attention as some defiant student. Since this was a crucial development, it was unlikely that they would ignore her until this was resolved. So she walked back to the girl who was still lying on the floor. However, she made no move to help her. "You're fine, aren't you? Get up then."
The girl was shocked at how cold Alice was. She expected Alice to feel bad for her and become friendly. Who would have thought that she would remain this unmoved. The same teacher reprimanded Alice for being ungrateful and instructed her to take responsibility and bring her to the clinic.
Alice sighed inwardly then roughly pulled the girl by her arm and dragged her across the battle hall. After a few steps, the girl quickly stood up and walked along with Alice, not wanting to be dragged the entire way to the clinic.
Along the way, the girl acted cordially, "I'm Leah. It's nice to meet you."
Alice did not respond. Leah continued to try and strike up a conversation, only to be ignored. She felt slightly humiliated. Alice eventually left her at the entrance of the clinic then left. She had not even bothered to knock on the door for her or enter the room together. /What did I do to deserve this sort of treatment? I even took a hit for her!/
Alice did not bother returning to class. It was about time for it to end so she went straight to the canteen to get her food. Soon after she started on her meal under the plum blossom tree, BaoBao informed her of the trio coming her way.
She pretended to not know of their arrival until Violet called out to her. "Alice! Let's eat together!"
Alice looked up to see food in their hands. /BaoBao, you got your wish of becoming chummy with them./
BaoBao blushed. He had secretively entertained that thought the previous night but Alice knew how he was like, so she easily saw through him, even though all he said was how nice these people were.
Alice ended up having lunch with the trio. Violet was not a chatterbox but because Ethan and Alice hardly spoke, she dominated conversations. Stephan was the next in line for always responding to Violet either by teasing her or giving proper responses. Alice only replied whenever she was asked something. Ethan was... largely ignored. Violet only paid attention to him when he says something proactively. [Should you talk to him a little?] BaoBao felt a little sorry for him. /What for? Such is the fate of the second male lead./ Alice told BaoBao. BaoBao kept quiet. He truly did not have a reason to give. /Besides, he's happy enough being near the female lead. Just leave him be./ Alice decided to be kinder to BaoBao who was only being sympathetic. With Alice's reassurance, BaoBao felt enlightened and thought to himself. [Is this what it means to think from their perspective?] Nigh
After another hour of non-stop sparring was almost up, Ethan noticed Alice's rugged breathing and sluggish movement. He dodged her water sprouts and suddenly advanced towards Alice at a high speed. She instinctively raised her hands to form an ice wall but he reached before anything could form. He took her hands in his and lowered it back down gently while saying, "That's enough for today." Alice was covered in sweat and panting. She did not have the energy to refute. She just nodded briefly, thanked him, and left immediately to rest in her room. In her previous life, she could last 3 hours of martial arts practice with Zhang Yong but that was when she had the spiritual cultivation to extend her stamina. In this world, there was no such thing. As their plan was to spar for three hours, the other two were surprised when they noticed Alice leaving the battle hall. They ran up to Ethan who was already making his way to the entrance of the battle hall. "D
Since this was her final night sparring with Violet and Stephan, she spent more time sparring with them. Still not trusting Stephan to be alone with Alice, they made it a doubles match after her spar with Violet. The improved relationship and chemistry between Stephan and Violet made it harder to defend against their attacks and attack them. However, the lead couple could not gain much of an advantage over Ethan and Alice either. They already shared good chemistry and their abilities were tricky and flexible in nature. Alice's improvement was what levelled the playing field somewhat. As a result, they were caught in a stalemate for almost the entire hour. Ethan sent a tidal wave that travelled a lot faster than what would happen in nature. Alice covered his blind spots in the meantime. At the same time, a loud crack suddenly rang throughout the hall. Recognising the sound, Ethan's head snapped up and found the black cloud right above Alice. His body reacted before he could t
The moment their hands touched, they grabbed onto each other. Ethan pulled her up the last part of the wall with ease. The sight that greeted her was breath-taking. A meadow of sparkling differently coloured trees expanded across a wide area and ended at some grandiose house in the distance. Some trees had golden leaves, some had silver leaves, some had pink leaves, some had the normal green leaves. Small shiny ruby red berry-like fruits hung off the branches of each tree. She landed on the wall and took in the sight. The meadow blended into a large blue lake that currently sparkled just as brilliantly, as it reflected the sunlight. It was like a scene out of a fantasy book. The sight overwhelmed her and struck her speechless. This place was more than nice. She did not know that such trees existed. It had never appeared in the original soul's memories. She looked at Ethan for answers. He put his finger on his lips with a slight smirk. "It's someone's private garden.
BaoBao flew around the trees and above water to enjoy the view while Alice practiced her martial arts. She focused her spiritual energy into different parts of the body that she attacked with. This made her attacks so strong and fast that it caused the fallen leaves to fly up and dance around her. The sun was halfway below the horizon when BaoBao suddenly disappeared. Alice knew that it meant Ethan had returned. The scene that greeted Ethan took his breath away. Amongst the chaotic yet enchanting mess of colourful leaves, and past the deadly moves being executed, Alice looked soft and serene. It brought calm to his heart and lifted his sour mood. His gaze softened as he announced his arrival, "I'm back with dinner." Alice caught a whiff of the tantalising smell. "Seafood chowder?" "Mm." He nodded with a small smile. Alice went over to get it from him. Just as she did so, her stomach growled. However, she did not seem to be bothered by the possib
On the night before the Christmas event, Ethan was drying her skirt as usual. "Alice, you're going tomorrow, right?" "The Christmas event?" Ethan nodded. "I remember the arrangement I had with Violet. Don't worry." "I'll pick you up." Ethan declared. Alice looked at him dead in the eye. "You mean you need to come as a couple?" She truly did not know what the event was like. The original soul had been badly injured the last year on the day before the event. So she was not in the condition to leave her bed. "No, but I- Wait, didn't you go to the event last year?" Ethan lightly frowned. Alice shook her head. "Tell me about the event." "It's simply like a social gathering event. It is only during this event where Normals, Talents, and Blessings have the chance to interact with each other. There is a strict no conflict policy. Anyone violating this will be expelled from the school. There'll be food and drinks, the large fiel
Finally, the dance segment of the party came. It was the final line-up of the event before it ended.BaoBao reported to Alice the number of envious and disappointed gazes directed at Stephan and Ethan. Being a Blessing, Stephan was naturally more popular but the number of Ethan's admirers was not small either. She instructed BaoBao to keep an eye on all of these people. [Sure, but why?] /Just to be sure of something./Alice gave him a noncommittal reply. BaoBao felt tempted to ask her for more details but decided that it was better to focus on his task as a couple of them already began moving around. Stephan took Violet's hand and headed to the center of the field while slow music played. Ethan looked at the dancing couple and felt a little solemn. However, the longer he stared at the dancing couples, a different desire slowly surfaced in him that made him forget his solemn feelings. He shifted his gaze onto A
Days passed by slowly. The relationship between Ethan and Alice stayed the same, while Stephan and Violet got closer. Now that Stephan had settled the issue with Rosalyn, he made bolder moves on Violet and eventually asked her to be his. Violet had shyly agreed. Ethan was aware of the progress in the relationship between Violet and Stephan and felt a little ache and sting in his heart. However, he also realised that everything would feel alright whenever he was with Alice. Although the little ache and nagging in his heart remained, he was at peace with it at the same time. It simply felt right to be around Alice. Leah had lost the hold she had on Violet but she continued to follow Violet on her 'patrols' to save people who are being bullied. Violet's reputation continued to soar among the oppressed and plummet among the strong. Nobody asked about Alice. They also stopped trying to find Alice anymore. Half a year passed like that and the final exam