"You seem to know Nessia a lot," Lavinia commented as she and Alex followed Dim Dim, who was guiding them to the location of the nearest monster. "Have you met her before?"
"Well, it’s my first time seeing her in real life," Alex answered truthfully. "But I’ve seen her in my vision, so I know what she’s capable of doing."
"... Then did you see me in your vision as well?"
A pout appeared on Lavinia’s face, but since Alex was walking ahead of her, the young man didn’t see it.
"You saw Charles, and you also saw Nessia," Lavinia said after a minute had passed. "I’m guessing you have also seen Renard, right? Since you went out of your way just to recruit him into our group, he must be someone special as well."
"He’s more like a problem child," Alex replied. "But it’s true that he has potential."
"What about Bob?" Lavinia asked. "Did you know him as well?"
Alex wasn’t dense. He sensed that the young lady sounded a little disappointed, so he decided to tell a little white lie.
"No," Alex answered. "I just met Bob on the way while I was looking for you and Charles. Since I’m injured, I decided to befriend them and avoid any unnecessary conflicts."
Lavinia finally felt at ease. She wouldn’t know how to feel if all the people Alex had gathered were people he had seen in his visions. It would have meant he knew everyone but her.
If she were to learn the truth—that Alex actually knew Bob, Grint, and Jorven beforehand—the realization might sting. It would make her wonder why she, of all people, was the exception.
Alex’s words reached her ears as her thoughts ran along these lines.
"Lavinia, I believe meeting new people is one of the joys of life," Alex said. "I may not have seen you in my visions, but after seeing how much you care about the Clawford Tribe and your drive to learn and push yourself, I consider myself lucky to have you here as a comrade.
"It puts me at ease knowing someone as capable as you has my back. Frieden Academy is full of prodigies—masters of swordplay, magic, words, or even a mix of them.
"They may surpass us in brains, strength, and strategy, but there’s only so much one person can do alone. That’s why we have to watch each other’s backs. It’s the only way to survive in a world .
"You know I’m only good at taking hits. So, I need someone to hit back for me. With you around, I believe no one’s going to get away with bullying me."
Lavinia’s gaze and heart softened after hearing Alex’s heartfelt words. However, a faint blush appeared on her face when she realized that the young man’s words sounded like a confession to her.
Of course, that wasn’t Alex’s intention, and she knew that.
But she couldn’t help but smile. After all, the young man had just acknowledged her strength, even depending on her to watch his back.
Alex was the Oathkeeper. His goal was to become the strongest shield for those he vowed to protect.
She, on the other hand, was a sword. Someone meant to strike down anyone who dared to threaten those she cared about.
If Alex was going to be the strongest shield, then she would become...
’The strongest sword,’ Lavinia mused as she gripped her sword whip more tightly. ’That is the role that I need to play.’
Dim Dim’s warning broke Lavinia from her daze. She turned her attention to the two Dire Wolves in front of them.
"I’ll take the left, you take the right," Alex said as he summoned Everguard.
The young man suddenly accelerated. Soon, his shield smashed into a Dire Wolf’s face. The wolf cried out in pain as it tumbled down to the ground due to the impact of Alex’s attack.
Lavinia’s sword whip flew like a serpent about to sink its fangs into its prey without a shred of mercy.
The Rank 2 Dire Wolves, which would have made Alex run away in fear before, were no longer a threat to him.
Soon, the two Dire Wolves turned into particles of light, and Dim Dim happily collected their monster cores before keeping them inside its dimensional storage.
"Let’s go, Dim Dim," Alex said. "We need to collect as many cores as possible before sunset."
"Dim!" Dim Dim nodded and guided Alex and Lavinia to the next location where they could hunt monsters.
While the two were busy killing monsters, Charles, Nessia, and Renard encountered a few trial takers along their way.
However, the trio didn’t make any move to eliminate their fellow candidates, not even if the opposing party was traveling alone.
They weren’t battle junkies like Lavinia. After a greeting or two, they simply parted ways from the other hopefuls and minded their own business.
Bob, Grint, and Jorven, who were focused on killing monsters, no longer actively hunted trial takers.
They were now looking at the bigger picture. Besides, after meeting Alex, they had understood how making enemies recklessly might bite them in the future.
The three had witnessed how Alex and Dim Dim tormented Renard before the latter joined their group.
Aside from that, they now knew how strong their team was. They truly believed that they had a higher chance of clearing the trial of the academy even without resorting to their old ways.
A mile away from the trio, a trial taker collapsed on the ground with an unwilling expression.
Soon, he turned into particles of light as he was ejected from the trial.
Standing over the spot where he vanished was a three-meter-tall red wolf, its twin horns jutting from its forehead like a fearsome unicorn.
Flames danced on its feet, making it look even more imposing.
It then scanned the surroundings as if looking for its next target.
A minute later, it ran towards a certain direction, where its next prey was about to meet its end.