I watched as the blue bar at the side of my vision gradually filled back up. Slowly. Almost too slow for my preferences. But that was just the urgency weighing down on me like a boulder.

  Coming to a standstill with this mighty warrior as he raised his ominous give left my throat dry like a desote desert, every sound I made, felt like a cactus scraping against my vocal cords.

  "You are sly, sorcerer. Your wits are remarkable—I give you that. If you were part of my army, I would have made you my strategist. It makes me truly sad, having to extinguish such promising talent so early!"

  Runan spoke, his voice as strong and mighty as he was himself, guiding his give through the air. The fmes followed obediently, creating rings of fire that burned so bright the space around them wavered.

  "I appreciate the praise," I shot back, raising my wand as the cooldown on Snowball ran out, "but don't you think you're a bit too full of yourself, General? I'm not one to go out easily!"

  At the same time, Runan stomped his foot into the ground and dashed toward me.

  Frost formed around my wand once more, molding the cold sphere into existence.

  "Snowball!" I shouted, releasing the spell at once.

  "Not this time!" the crocodile huffed, slicing through my spell and destroying it before it had the chance to reach him.

  "Shit..."

  Taken aback, I tried to dodge to the side—but this time, it wasn't enough.

  The hot bde sliced through one of my eyes.

  A sharp pain shot through my body, forcing a yelp from my throat.

  But the worst part came only afterward, as two debuffs were applied from that single hit.

  The system spoke.

  "Vital point damaged: Eye. Partial blindness has been applied."

  Great.

  Of all the things that could have gone wrong, this was arguably the worst. And on top of that, being affected by Burn for a full fifteen seconds made the entire situation even more dire.

  "Full of myself?" Runan scoffed. "I am merely speaking the truth, sorcerer!"

  Stepping closer, menacingly slow, Runan carefully prepared his give for a clean execution—one hundred percent certain he had already won this fight.

  He was somewhat right.

  At least... if my pn failed.

  I watched every one of his carefully pced steps, my gaze flickering repeatedly toward the massive chandelier above us. It swayed gently, almost perfectly aligned over the crocodile's head.

  "Just a few steps closer..." I muttered under my breath, waiting patiently.

  "You were a promising child," Runan suddenly spoke. His voice held no anger, no hatred. "If only this fight had taken pce a few years ter, the outcome might have been different. Do not hate me for this. I hold no grudge against you, proud sorcerer. I speak these words with my sincerest respect."

  I smiled and let out a small chuckle.

  That was to be expected. He was a proud warrior—not some mindless draconic beast.

  That much had become clear during our short battle.

  He wasn't wicked. He wasn't evil. And he certainly wasn't dumb.

  Every step, every movement, every swing of his give was infused with years of devotion, training, and pride.

  For a brief moment, I felt bad about what I was about to do.

  But then again—it was a game. And I wanted to keep pying it, no matter what it took.

  "I appreciate your kind words, General. I really do," I said quietly. "That's exactly why this makes what I'm about to do so hard. Please... don't hate me for it either. I need to keep living. I want to see more of this world."

  I raised my wand—not directly at him, but slightly above.

  "The final struggle of a living being, I see," he replied calmly. "There is no shame in wanting to live."

  He stepped closer, just as slow as before, his confidence unwavering.

  Confidence that would soon be his end.

  "Magic Missile!" I huffed.

  The purple sphere left my wand.

  It missed him by a wide margin.

  Runan didn't even flinch, simply continuing forward in his unbroken march.

  "So this is how it ends," he said quietly. "Unable to—"

  But before he could finish, things came into motion.

  Crack.

  The sound was sharp. Metallic. Final.

  His eyes flicked upward.

  So did mine.

  The chain above us snapped apart, each link screaming as it tore loose. For a single heartbeat, the chandelier hung there—suspended between inevitability and disbelief.

  Runan moved.

  Unfortunately for him, not fast enough.

  The entire structure colpsed with a deafening roar, fmes scattering as iron and crystal smmed into the arena floor. Stone shattered. Fire burst outward. The impact sent a shockwave through the hall that nearly knocked me off my feet.

  Dust swallowed everything.

  The torches flickered violently, some extinguishing under the sudden pressure.

  When the debris finally settled, the arena fell silent.

  There was no movement.

  Not a single breath was taken.

  The health bar at the top of my vision plummeted—emptying so fast my eyes struggled to track it.

  Then it stopped.

  A thin sliver of red remained.

  Barely visible.

  Barely alive.

  My knees gave out.

  I colpsed onto the cold stone floor, gasping as my lungs burned for air. My hands shook so violently I could barely keep hold of my wand.

  I had won.

  But just barely.

  The dust hadn't fully settled when I heard it.

  A low, strained breath.

  I froze.

  Beneath the shattered metal and cracked stone, something moved. Not much—just enough to prove he was still alive.

  Runan's voice followed, rough and broken, yet unmistakably calm.

  "...Well pyed."

  I swallowed and forced myself closer, wand still raised, though my hand trembled badly.

  "You noticed," he continued. "Not me... the hall. The weight above. The way I advanced. A warrior fights his enemy. A survivor fights the world."

  I didn't answer.

  I had no need to answer, and no idea what to tell him anyway.

  After all, I won in a shameful way, using petty tricks to save my ass.

  I dishonored the fight.

  That was something I could not be proud of—and I didn't want to be proud of it.

  A weak chuckle escaped him, ending in a cough.

  "A strategist to the very end," he said quietly. "You honored this battle, sorcerer."

  I clenched my teeth.

  For some reason, his words felt like knives penetrating my chest.

  "You would've killed me," I said. "That's all that mattered."

  "Yes," Runan agreed without hesitation. "And you did what was necessary to live."

  For a moment, there was silence again.

  Then—

  "I regret," he said slowly, "that I will not see how far you go."

  His yellow eyes, dulled but still sharp, met mine through the dust.

  "Remember this," Runan continued. "Strength is not found in the bde... nor in magic. It is found in the will to stand when the world decides you should fall."

  His breathing grew shallow.

  "You... have that will, do not waste it."

  The light in his eyes faded.

  The hall fell still.

  I bit my lower lip, walking up to him as I pointed my wand at the mighty warrior.

  "Farewell, Runan. It was an honor to face you," I told him as my wand began to glow in a faint purple.

  "Magic Missile," I whispered.

  An unpleasant chill washed over me as the purple sphere penetrated his skull, and the system notification rang out.

  "Congratutions. You have sin the Grand General: Runan the Give!"

  It announced, the robotic voice sounding strangely happy.

  "You have unlocked an achievement: Honorable Warrior! Defeat Runan in the tutorial. >0.01% of pyers have unlocked this achievement."

  The irony of it made me ugh at

  my own pathetic self.

  "Honorable warrior... he was. I'm not."

  I knelt down, looking at the shining ring on his finger, shimmering in the same white glow as lootable items in Cssic Adventure did.