GameDev Reincarnated into His Own Creation

Vol 2 - Chapter XXII.V - Class & Quarter

Celia.

She moved nothing like the village girl I remembered. Gone was the awkward stance and practice sword. This Celia wielded an elegant rapier with the confidence of someone who'd received proper training. Her posture was poised, intimidating—completely transformed.

Even from this distance, I recognized quality craftsmanship. Growing up surrounded by noble house treasures and ornamental weapons had trained my eye for such details. That rapier wasn't standard Academy issue—it was expensive, the kind that required influential connections.

Celia? Connected to people in high places? That was unexpected.

I watched her face her opponent with remarkable composure. One step forward, one step back, her rapier held in her dominant hand but pointed downward behind her—an invitation for her opponent to strike first.

A faint smile crossed my lips as I recognized the tactic. That's exactly what she did when we sparred back in Elnor. Always baiting, making her opponent overcommit before striking.

Celia's first exchange shattered my expectations. Despite witnessing countless duels from Lona's finest, her technique caught me off guard.

Celia's movements were perfectly economical—no wasted energy, no excessive steps. She side-stepped and back-stepped with perfect timing, as if merely toying with her opponent despite their spear's superior reach. Every movement seemed calculated, deliberate and measured.

The spear-wielder lunged forward with what should have been a decisive thrust. But Celia simply wasn't there when the weapon arrived. She had shifted just enough to let it pass harmlessly before executing a flawless feint followed by a lightning-fast counter-thrust.

"Point!" the examiner called.

First to two points would win in the standard class—unlike our elite matches where only decisive victory mattered. The difference felt arbitrary now, watching her skill.

Her opponent reset, frustration evident in their stance. Celia immediately shifted to offensive pressure, her rapier becoming a silver blur. The spear-wielder struggled to track her movements, barely blocking each thrust as they steadily gave ground.

Then, unexpectedly, Celia halted her advance mid-attack. Her opponent stumbled backward, thrown off balance by the sudden cessation. Celia simply stood still, creating distance, her rapier momentarily lowered.

Then Celia raised her rapier to her shoulder, holding it horizontally across her body. The audience gasped, but I felt my pulse quicken for a different reason. That stance—I knew it from the advanced combat treatises my tutors had made me study.

Trinity Volt.

My chest tightened. That technique was on par with my Cross Flash—something I'd spent years perfecting under the best tutors money could buy. How had she mastered something equivalent while living as an orphan? The distance I thought I'd gained through my noble training... and she'd somehow kept pace.

Three successive thrusts came so rapidly they appeared simultaneous. Blue-white energy crackled along her blade, connecting the three impact points in a triangle of lightning. When the dark smoke cleared, her opponent knelt on the ground, the Academy's protective charm glowing as it absorbed the excess energy.

"Impressive," I whispered, surprised to hear the admission escape my lips.

I stepped closer to the railing.

If things had been different... if I had made different choices when I returned to Lona... I might have leveraged my position with him, found a way to bring Celia with me. Perhaps as my retainer—a position that would have given her proper training.