The Author's Extra: My SSS Skill Turns Souls into Anything!

Both teams were separated to opposite ends of the arena, the terrain between them sitting untouched while the clock ran.

Leon folded his arms and looked at the three people in front of him.

"Alright. I’ll take Roselle."

Legion raised an eyebrow. "That’s your strategy? You’re picking based on who you want to fight?"

"She’s a mage. I’m a mage. It makes sense."

"That’s the most arbitrary reason I’ve ever heard for deciding a combat assignment."

"I’m being serious."

"I know. That’s what worries me."

"Fine, fine." Leon waved his hand. "Who are you taking then, genius?"

"Nicholas." Legion said it the way someone says the obvious answer. "He’s a swordsman. So am I. That’s an actual reason."

Leon twitched "Okay, that’s fair I guess."

Alden looked at the remaining names on the scoreboard.

"I’ll take Daniel."

Leon counted in his head. "Then that leaves—"

All three of them looked at Emilia at the same time.

Emilia’s eyes went wide.

"W-Wait—"

She glanced across the arena to where Sierra was standing.

"I-I guess... I’ll take Senior Sierra?"

The words came out like a question she hadn’t finished asking herself yet.

Leon nodded. "Good. We’ve got our matchups."

He put his hand in the center.

"Let’s win this."

Legion placed his over it.

"Yeah."

Alden added his, grinning faintly.

"Let’s do it."

Emilia looked at the stack of hands, steadied herself, and put hers on top.

"Yeah!"

Across the arena, the other squad was doing their own version of the same thing.

Nicholas stood with one hand on his sword hilt, eyes on Legion.

Roselle adjusted her sleeves and watched Leon.

Daniel was quiet. His gaze had found Alden and stayed there.

Sierra looked at Emilia.

"Three—"

Leon lowered into his stance.

"Two—"

Legion’s grip tightened on the blade.

"One—"

"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

All eight moved at the same time.

Every one of them was already in motion before the announcer finished the sentence, and the terrain between the two squads disappeared as they closed it.

CLANG.

Legion and Nicholas found each other first.

Their blades locked in the first exchange and separated immediately, both of them already stepping into the second. Nicholas attacked high, forcing Legion to raise his guard, then dropped the angle at the last second and drove sideways. Legion twisted his sword to redirect rather than block and cut back across the open space Nicholas had left.

Nicholas pulled back.

"Good reaction," Nicholas said.

"Don’t talk." Legion came forward. "Fight."

They went back into rapid exchange building from the last, neither finding the clean opening they needed yet.

On another section of the field, Leon had his hands out in front of him, mana already condensing between his palms.

"You really think you’ll win this time, sis?"

Roselle raised one hand with the smooth patience of someone who has heard this exact energy from Leon before and knows exactly what to do with it.

"I did teach you most of what you know."

"Exactly." Leon’s sphere pulsed. "Which means I know all your habits."

"And I know all of yours."

The sphere launched. Her spell launched. They hit each other in the middle and the smoke between them exploded outward, buying neither of them anything.

Leon was already firing through the cloud.

Roselle was already redirecting.

They went back and forth in a constant exchange, neither landing anything clean, both reading the other fast enough to stay one step ahead of damage but not fast enough to end it.

"You were always too aggressive!" Roselle called.

"And you were always too defensive!" Leon answered.

Both spells connected at the same time.

They both staggered. Both reset. Both went right back to it.

Daniel threw the first punch the moment they were close enough.

Alden’s head tilted to the left and the fist passed an inch from his cheek.

He stepped in and drove a palm strike toward Daniel’s chest. Daniel twisted sideways and countered with a low kick. Alden shifted his shin into the path, absorbed the impact, and threw another strike.

Daniel’s guard came up. Half a beat slower than it should have been.

He’s holding back.

Alden could see it in the way Daniel’s eyes moved, the half-second where his body was ready to commit and his mind pulled it back.

"You’re hesitating," Alden said.

"I’m not."

"Then stop thinking." He rushed forward.

Daniel raised his guard immediately this time, the instinct kicking in faster than the thought could slow it down. Their fists connected in a clean block, the impact forcing both of them backward a step.

Alden reset his footing.

Emilia and Sierra found open ground between two clusters of trees, and the space between them closed fast.

Emilia threw the first bolt of mana. She was a first-year. She wasn’t trying to be clever. She was trying to land something.

Sierra swept her hand through the air and deflected it like she was brushing dust off a shelf. The bolt curved wide and hit the ground somewhere behind her.

Then her own spell was already coming back.

Emilia saw it and threw up a barrier.

BOOM.

The barrier shattered on contact.

The force picked Emilia up and threw her backward several meters. She hit the grass and bounced once, rolled, came to a stop face-down.

For a second she didn’t move.

Then she pushed herself up onto her hands and coughed hard. Bruises had already appeared across her forearms and one cheek.

The announcer dropped from the air.

"Hey—? are you alright?"

Emilia tried to stand. Her legs shook.

"I-I can continue—"

"No." The announcer put a hand on her shoulder, gentle but firm. "You can’t."

She raised the microphone.

"Attention! Due to the severity of the impact, Emilia of Team One has been eliminated from the match!"

Leon’s head snapped around.

"WHAT?!"

Across the field, Roselle’s spell was already in the air.

"Emilia!"

Roselle’s attack clipped him in the shoulder and the hit sent him stumbling sideways.

"Are you hurt?!" Roselle called out, and it wasn’t strategy, there was genuine worry in it.

Emilia looked at both of them from where she sat on the grass with the announcer’s hand on her arm.

Her face hurt and arm was hurt.

She forced the smile anyway.

"I’m okay, Sister Roselle, Brother Leon."

The announcer helped her to her feet and started guiding her off the field.

At the edge of the terrain, Emilia stopped and looked back.

Leon was already refocusing on Roselle, jaw set, the concern channeled into something harder. Legion and Nicholas were still going, neither of them slowing. Alden was still moving around Daniel.

"I’m sorry I lost." She said it quietly enough that only Leon heard it.

His fists tightened.

"Don’t be." He looked at Roselle’s next incoming spell and raised his hands. "Just watch."

BOOM.

The spells collided between them.

"WE’LL WIN THIS."

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