The other candidates who attempted to rob the castle realized, after reaching the second floor and being blocked by the latecomers, that they had shifted from being the ones double-teaming others to being the ones double-teamed.

Once the most critical group of unlucky individuals was exhausted to death, they would become the next group of casualties.

At this point, they remembered that they knew magic.

However, magic, especially low-level magic with a narrow killing range, was not significantly more effective than swinging a knife a few times in a crowded melee.

They might even get stabbed during the pre-casting motion of raising their hands. In the end, the magic went uncast, and they were eliminated.

By the time the candidates fighting for the stone building realized this, it was too late.

They had already become part of the massive, rolling meat grinder, and escaping was nearly impossible unless they jumped off the stone building.

Though those who made it this far had many strengths, not all were proficient in close combat.

In fact, most excelled in magic and were less skilled in hand-to-hand fighting.

These candidates for the soul armament examination had always looked down on warriors who wielded swords and spears.

They did not want to suffer a great loss in the examination because of the skills they despised most in their daily lives.

Vanessa squeezed into the crowd, swinging the mithril mace freely in her hand.

The weapon, which generated immense wind pressure, seemed less like a mace and more like a flexible dagger.

Under the moonlight, she leaned against the wall, silver flowers of light blooming in her hands.

She carved out a space for herself in this chaotic environment where everyone pushed and shoved in a bloodthirsty fight for survival.

Many others also sought shelter like her, aiming to face enemies from only three sides instead of being surrounded.

However, as soon as they approached Vanessa, they were met with the strong wind from her mace.

If they persisted and dared to come closer, they were ruthlessly beaten away by the mace.

The weight of the mace alone was enough to knock them out of the dungeon.

Without the protection of the token, they would have been smashed to pieces on the spot.

Vanessa occupied a strategic position at the corner where two walls intersected, meaning she only had to worry about enemies approaching from two sides.

As a result, she became a target for many. However, after witnessing the fate of those who approached her, many grew fearful and dared not covet her spot, though some still refused to give up.

They drifted in this meat-grinding battle, pushed around by the crowd. If they weren’t careful, they would be attacked from behind or the sides.

Some accidentally squeezed next to Vanessa and were swiftly taken out by the mace’s wind.

Many candidates believed Vanessa couldn’t keep swinging the mace indefinitely.

They assumed the mace was too heavy, and she would eventually tire.

It could be said that the candidates gathered around Vanessa were waiting for her to exhaust herself.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Vanessa had been swinging the mace for nearly ten minutes, and the speed of the mithril mace showed no signs of slowing down.

In fact, the frequency of her swings had even increased.

Where does this delicate-looking woman get so much strength and energy?!

Vanessa stood in the corner, fending off wave after wave of attacks and deflecting batch after batch of weapons swung at her.

Thanks to the close-quarters nature of the fight, even though a group of people had gathered around her, ready to strike, they were too preoccupied with guarding against each other to raise their hands and cast magic to bombard her.

The wind from her mace blew away two nearby candidates. Vanessa’s expression shifted, and she retracted the mace without warning.

She kicked away a candidate who hadn’t yet reacted, sending him tumbling into the crowd.

Vanessa hung the mace on her leg, turned around without hesitation, and climbed up the wall through a gap.

She squatted on one knee at the top of the wall, surveying the chaos below.

Seeing that she had abandoned her spot, the candidates below were overjoyed, though they didn’t understand why she had given it up.

Once she climbed the wall, the space below was quickly occupied, meaning she couldn’t descend as long as people remained there.

However, Vanessa didn’t seem to care.

Instead, she looked meaningfully toward the top of another fortress connected to this one.

She sensed a powerful and rich magical energy emanating from that direction.

Before the candidates below could scramble for the corner, a red lotus flame erupted from behind the door of the other fortress.

The flames surged through the path, incinerating all the candidates in their way.

The candidates fighting on top of the other fortress, those battling on this one, those standing on the stone bridge, and even those who had just been vying for the corner, all were reduced to token fragments and maps in the blooming red lotus the next moment.

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed as she observed the scene. She looked deeply toward the door at the top of the other fortress.

‘There are candidates here too’ she thought.

Vanessa glanced at the ground below, now glowing red from the heat of the red lotus.

It was clearly an advanced skill, and the caster had an exceptional affinity for fire.

If she were hit by such magic, she probably wouldn’t be eliminated, but it would undoubtedly be painful.

Vanessa pulled out her map, checked the red dot indicating the caster’s location behind the fortress door, and then leaped off the wall.

In this trial assessment, there were no allies, only enemies. In that case, it was better to strike first.

Vanessa spun around and hurled the mace, creating a powerful wind pressure that whistled through the air.

The mace smashed a large hole in the fortress wall, striking its target inside with precision.

Has it worked?

A dull thud echoed, followed by the violent clang of metal colliding. Moments later, the mace flew back toward her.

Vanessa caught the returning mace, her expression serious.

Based on the feedback, her throw hadn’t caused much trouble for the person inside, they had intercepted it almost playfully.

Clearly, she had encountered a formidable opponent.

At that thought, a shadow suddenly shot out from behind the door, wrapped in a biting, icy wind, and lunged directly at Vanessa.

What incredible speed!

Vanessa had already reacted. She never waited to be attacked.

Pushing off the ground with her high heels, she charged forward.

“Tap, tap, tap!…” The rapid clicking of two pairs of high heels echoed until they met in a clash.

“Clang!”

The collision of metal sparked violently, sending bright flashes into the air.

The two forces, equally strong and relentless, clashed head-on, momentarily locked in a stalemate.

Vanessa’s eyes sparkled, but her initial confidence was replaced by shock.

In close combat, her greatest strength, she hadn’t gained even the slightest advantage?

Who is this person? Is there really someone like this among the candidates?

At the same time, she suddenly noticed something.

“Virtue +800”

“Current virtue: 1034”

“!?”

Vanessa was stunned. For a moment, she wondered if the virtue system had malfunctioned.

Why had her virtue suddenly skyrocketed? She hadn’t gained any virtue when eliminating others in the dungeon before.

Why had it surged so abruptly now?

Something was wrong. What was going on?

Vanessa raised her gaze and met a pair of enchanting violet eyes. Her pupils contracted sharply.

In the darkness earlier, she hadn’t seen the shadow clearly. Now, as she thought about it, the figure’s outline felt strangely familiar.

When she finally looked up and saw the stunning face of the person before her under the moonlight, she realized why the silhouette had seemed so familiar.

“My dear, being distracted during a fight is a fatal mistake,” the flawless silver-haired girl said, holding a lock of light cherry-colored hair in her hand.

She brought it to her nose, inhaling gently as if savoring a perfect work of art, her pretty face flushing with a seductive blush.

“The scent of white camellia is delightful, just to my liking,” Aesphyra commented with a smile.

Realizing that her hair had fallen into the other’s hands and had been sniffed while she was stunned, Vanessa’s beautiful face turned frosty, tinged with shame.

Even the surprise of encountering Aesphyra was overshadowed.

She immediately shook her hair free and stepped back, putting distance between herself and Aesphyra.

The mace and the holy sword clashed repeatedly in the air. The two figures moved like phantoms, their weapons intertwined, their movements swift as thunder, and their momentum unstoppable.

In just a few breaths, the two had exchanged nearly ten rounds, locked in a deadlock.

With a resonant clang, the macehead and the blade of the holy sword locked together, neither able to break free.

Almost simultaneously, both reacted and kicked out at each other.

Their legs collided, white high-heeled boots meeting black lace-up silk high-heeled shoes, as two immense forces clashed and intertwined.

“Bang! Bang!” The impact sent both Vanessa and Aesphyra stumbling back.

However, Vanessa took only a single step back, while Aesphyra retreated three.

Vanessa’s beautiful eyes cooled slightly. In a straightforward contest of strength, Aesphyra was no match for her, though the gap was narrow.

Aesphyra could even hold her own in close combat, Vanessa’s forte, which was no small feat.

Aesphyra, too, was surprised. From the start of this trial, no one had lasted more than five moves against her, whether in magic, close combat, weapon skills, or any other discipline.

Yet, the cherry blossom-haired girl before her had surpassed her in both combat skill and strength.

This piqued Aesphyra’s interest immensely, and she found herself drawn to the girl whose beauty rivaled her own.

“Beautiful lady, may I know your name?” Aesphyra asked, her hands clasped behind her back as she leaned forward slightly, her demeanor charming.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Vanessa replied with a polite yet distant smile, her tone cool.

“I have little interest in getting to know someone who touches another’s hair so rudely upon first meeting.”

“My apologies for my earlier presumption. However, it is indeed dangerous to be distracted during a fight. I wanted to teach you that lesson, but also…” Aesphyra paused, her violet eyes glimmering like intoxicating spring water.

She placed a hand over her chest, her voice dripping with allure.

“I suppose I couldn’t help myself. If you’d like, you can come closer and feel my heartbeat and breathing rate right now.”

“Miss, forgive my boldness… but I think I’ve fallen for you at first sight.”

“???”

Vanessa couldn’t help but frown.

“I see. How abrupt of you. I hadn’t realized love at first sight could be so… cheap,” Vanessa said, her smile tinged with sarcasm.

“No, how can you call it cheap? This is the first time since I was born that I’ve fallen for someone at first sight. I swear to God,” Aesphyra declared, extending a hand.

Indeed.

If Vanessa hadn’t overheard Aesphyra confessing her feelings to Mirexia in the carriage just days ago, she might have believed her.

Vanessa smiled but said nothing.

“I might admire the looks of others, but I’m certain that you, young lady, are truly one of a kind,” Aesphyra said, her demeanor as enchanting as a little elf.

Well, at least she’s honest about her ambition to build a Crystal Palace.

Vanessa was well aware of the scale of Aesphyra’s “ambition,” but she was still caught off guard by the idea that the protagonist’s Crystal Palace might one day include her.

Wait, does the protagonist actually intend to bring her into the Crystal Palace?

“If you don’t believe me, you can touch my heart and feel how sincere I am.”

Still going on about this?

Vanessa kept a courteous smile, though a slight twitch betrayed her expression.

Though her current female form softened the impact of Aesphyra’s verbal advances, it didn’t mean Vanessa was defenseless.

Can’t women be aggressive? Wrong.

As soon as Aesphyra finished speaking, Vanessa raised an eyebrow and glanced at Aesphyra’s chest, letting out a soft laugh.

She then “suddenly realized” her own impropriety and covered her cherry lips, though a hint of mockery still lingered in her smile.

Finally, Vanessa placed a hand over her own ample bosom, her smiling eyes giving Aesphyra an indifferent, almost apologetic look.

Hehe.

Vanessa was confident in her counterattack. Just as she expected to see shame and inferiority in Aesphyra’s eyes when she looked up, she instead found Aesphyra staring intently at a certain plump part of her that trembled with her movements, licking her lips eagerly.

“???”

Vanessa was momentarily stunned before realization dawned, and she quickly covered her chest, her face flushing with embarrassment.

This person…!

Vanessa tightened her grip on the mace. For the first time in her life, she felt that Aesphyra truly deserved a beating.

Why is it that when I was a man, attacking my opponent’s weaknesses was effective, but as a woman, it not only fails but seems to excite them even more?

Is this some kind of twisted karma?

When she was in her male form, she had deliberately lowered her head to disgust Aesphyra, and now, in her female form, she was being teased by Aesphyra.

Just wait until I change back. I’ll definitely settle this debt.

Despite her irritation, Vanessa didn’t lose her composure or let her slight advantage inflate her ego.

She knew all too well that her chances of defeating Aesphyra were slim, and a direct confrontation would only waste time.

No matter what, now wasn’t the time to face Aesphyra head-on.

But getting rid of her was unrealistic.

So, she accessed the virtue system and opened the shopping mall right in front of Aesphyra.

She spent four hundred virtues to unlock two skills: [Strong Light] and [Flashing Shadow].

Originally, she had no virtues to spare, but thanks to the emotional fluctuation value provided by Aesphyra earlier, she had enough.

“Deduct 400 virtues.”

“Current virtue: 634.”

Vanessa raised her mace, pointing it at Aesphyra, and unleashed the [Strong Light] spell.

“Crack!” The intense light instantly blinded Aesphyra.

Seizing the opportunity, Vanessa activated [Flashing Shadow].

“Huh?” Aesphyra blinked, only to find that the girl with light cherry hair, who had been standing there moments ago, had vanished.

“Darling, do you really not want to see me?” Aesphyra said with an intrigued smile.

“I won’t let you get away so easily~”