Time to go!

The two of them, having exchanged their full-powered blows, seemed frozen in that instant.

Viola and Cohen stood back to back, like two statues.

“Ugh…”

Cohen’s abdomen slowly stained crimson.

His legs buckled, and he knelt on the ground, mouth full of blood, his vision blurring.

The weapon in his hand fell to the ground from exhaustion.

The clear sound of it landing heralded Cohen’s defeat.

So, he still couldn’t…

At this moment, Viola slowly stood up, turning to face Cohen, her eyes filled with a multitude of emotions.

It had been so long since she had felt such a sense of crisis and exhilaration.

Viola raised her hand, finding it uncontrollably trembling after delivering that full-powered strike to Cohen.

The resolute, life-or-death look in their eyes when they clashed.

Viola thought she would hardly be able to forget it in this lifetime.

“Alright, Cohen, let’s end it here…”

Clang!!

Something fell to the ground.

“Huh?! What!”

Viola looked at her sword.

The radiant glow, the sword’s blade was now embedded in the floor, leaving only half of the dimmed blade in Viola’s grip.

Her sword had been broken by Cohen…

A warrior’s exclusive weapon usually possesses sentience.

It could be said that the weapon itself has a soul, its strength far surpassing ordinary weapons, capable of repairing itself.

But if it suffers a fatal blow, it will cause irreversible damage.

In other words, Cohen, using an unfamiliar martial technique, shattered her, who was releasing her full power, with two axe strikes.

He shattered Viola’s pride and strength.

Looking at the broken sword in her hand, Viola felt no joy of victory.

A severely damaged exclusive weapon could still be repaired, but its performance would definitely not be as good as before, and the cost would be extremely high.

But Viola didn’t want to care about any of that.

Rather, she had lost completely, utterly defeated.

“How could this…”

Cohen fell to the ground in pain, his inner lining dyed red with blood.

Fortunately, there was a continuous recovery magic array, and after resting for a while, Cohen was able to slowly stand up.

Even with technique, he still couldn’t brute force his way through stats?

Cohen mocked himself inwardly, picking up the axe to examine it closely.

Apart from some scratches on the blade and handle, the rest was perfectly intact.

“Hey, Nifl, are you alright?”

“It hurts, Master! You don’t know how to take care of your weapons at all! Bad Master!”

“Then how about I treat you to something delicious? Let’s just…”

“Master, don’t!…”

Before Nifl could finish speaking, Cohen summoned her through the contract sigil.

“Treating you to a meal isn’t enough… Holy shit!!!”

Having just been through a battle, Nifl’s current state was like a valkyrie who had been brutally humiliated.

Due to the previous fight, her clothes were all in their battle-damaged version.

Her western dress was torn with holes everywhere, her skirt was revealing, and her stocking-clad legs, like snow, were full of holes due to excessive attacks.

Nifl felt as ashamed as a little loli who had just been defiled by orcs.

She covered her not-so-“special” chest with both hands, obscuring most of the suggestive areas.

The tiny figure knelt on the ground, her moist, flushed eyes full of shyness and unwillingness.

“How long are you going to keep looking! Bad Master!”

Nifl delivered one last critical hit, her tone shy yet indignant.

Like in an ethical drama, Cohen’s eyes widened when he saw it.

Bliss! Battle-damaged white silk loli is the best!

“Ehehe~ Ouch!”

“Why are you acting like a pervert!”

Just as Cohen was drooling, he suddenly received a chop to the head.

Cohen lowered his head in pain, clutching it.

“Ugh~ Your Highness, why are you hitting so hard~”

Viola took off her school uniform and draped it over Nifl, looking at Cohen with a disgusted expression.

“Do you want me to report you for molesting an innocent girl?”

Oh~ the imperial princess’s ‘take-out-the-trash’ gaze is top-tier.

As a devoted imperial princess fan, Cohen became even more unhinged upon seeing an expression he’d never encountered in the game.

“That’s fine too… Ah, no, no, I was wrong!”

Cohen immediately calmed down.

Rather than ending up in jail, it was better to be respectful to the皇女.

Loyalty! 1! 5!

Viola sighed at Cohen’s unproductive appearance.

“It seems I was overthinking it. Your current strength might already exceed most of the third-year physical arts students.”

“Ah? I can’t even hurt you, Your Highness. It shouldn’t be…”

“What do you think my ranking is in the physical arts department?”

“Uh… top ten or so?”

Viola rolled her eyes at Cohen.

“Tch, is my status that low in your heart? You’re such a blockhead.”

With that, she dragged Cohen back to the student council office.

“Hey! Wait, Your Highness, I can walk myself!”

Time passed quickly, and soon it was time for the advancement exam.

Cohen arrived at the academy’s central plaza, which was usually quiet but now crowded with people.

Acting院长 Roland was on the stage, explaining the exam-related precautions.

But Cohen wasn’t too concerned about these things, lowering his head to think about what would happen during the exam.

The advancement exam was one of the most important assessments at the Fakelisen Academy, conducted on a massive scale.

Unlike the academic exams between different departments, the advancement exam focused more on practice and teamwork.

So, it was usually in the form of departments directly merging to test the students’ strength performance.

This exam was also a very important part of the plot.

In this exam, Feng Aotian’s childhood friend, Yenika, would awaken powerful healing abilities and an affinity with animals, becoming a key support in Feng Aotian’s journey.

Cohen knew he wouldn’t be of much help in this part of the plot. He couldn’t directly interfere in Feng Aotian’s trial.

Forcing his way in would only create problems.

The only thing he could do was introduce Imperial Princess Viola to Feng Aotian, helping her go further while also easing her hostility toward him.

It wasn’t that Cohen wanted to push himself forward. The benefits were simply too good to ignore.

Cozying up to her harem could net him treasures like divine artifacts and spiritual cores.

Sucking up a few more times and he might take off?

[Are you starting to think you’re better than others?]

[Equipment will make me fly!!!]

Cohen couldn’t help but imagine Feng Aotian torturing him, and he shuddered involuntarily.

He should first work hard to improve his strength.

If he couldn’t reconcile with the protagonist in the future, perhaps he could take another different but fulfilling path.

Perhaps he was a villainous character, but the only thing he could do wasn’t just getting kicked away.

Maybe he was actually quite amazing, having done many great things without realizing it.

Cohen patted his face and took a deep breath.

At this point, the dean’s precautions were also explained.

“Alright, students, it’s time to set off. Cheer for your future! May you all pass the exam and win!”

“Okay!”

The crowd’s response was as loud as a roaring wave.

“Let’s go!” Cohen affirmed in his heart.

Cohen also took his steps, stepping into the examination hall in a dashing manner.