An Extra's POV: My Three Fiancees Hate Me-Chapter 77: Exam

The duel was about to begin. Riven and Mathias stood against Noel and a blonde boy with a spear.

The instructor looked at both sides, and when he was certain that they were ready to begin, he raised his hands, and the arena immediately changed into a thick forest landscape, with large trees that covered their views.

’So this is where we have to fight. Well then, I have to find Noel first.’ "I’m going after the one with black hair, you go after the blonde," Riven said. She charged in. He ran at top speed, climbing up the side of one tree. He looked for Noel and saw him running in his direction.

"Bullseye," Riven said and was about to move, but suddenly a spear came out of nowhere toward his head. He reacted fast and dodged the spear—it blasted into the tree behind him.

"Shit, he found me first," Riven said. She pulled his blade, then leaped to another tree to put some distance between them.

He looked at the boy. The boy pulled out his spear from the tree and pointed it at Riven. "Sorry, but I have to win," the boy said and leaped off the tree. Air blasted from beneath his feet and pushed him forward after.

He came in for a stab, his aim right for Riven’s head, but Riven parried the attack easily. He slid to the side, then kicked his guts.

The boy arched upward, coughing blood. The pain shot through his body, but he refused to stop. He gritted his teeth, spun midair, and went for the slash.

Riven dodged the attack and put some distance between them. He leaped down from the tree and landed on the ground.

"This was not the plan. Why did he come for me so fast?" Riven wondered. The boy came from above with a slash, his spear coated in wind.

Riven moved to the side and evaded the attack, then immediately drove for a counter, but the boy blocked and took a few steps back.

’He is actually good, but I can’t defeat him. I have to drag this battle out as long as possible until we can fix the setup,’ Riven thought.

The boy thrust his spear again, this time faster than before. Riven parried the attack and pressed in fast for a counter.

The boy’s eyes followed the sword and saw it coming for his guts. He took a step back as fast as he could while simultaneously pulling back his spear and using the shaft to parry the attack.

"You are better than I thought," the boy suddenly said. He had a look of superiority in his eyes.

’Does this dude really think he is better than me? Heh, I’ll show him,’ Riven thought, and without any form of warning or preparation, he slashed with his full strength.

The boy immediately tried to block the attack, but as his blade slammed into the shaft of the spear, its flexibility allowed it to not break, but the force from the attack sent him flying right into a tree. He slammed into the tree and fell down to the ground.

He looked at Riven with shock in his eyes. Where had that strength just now come from? Riven stood at the other side, his gaze calm, like he felt no tension from their fight.

The boy looked into those eyes, and then he came to the realization: ’This boy never saw me as an opponent. I thought I was better than him, but he was simply reducing his skill to match mine.

I can’t accept that. I refuse to believe that the gap between me and someone my age is that great. Never.’ The boy got up. He gripped his spear and charged in again. He began moving in a zigzag pattern, using his wind magic to change direction very quickly.

’He is trying to confuse me. Normally, this would work, but not for me,’ Riven thought and leaped backward at the exact moment the boy made the attack for his neck.

The blade passed just an inch away from the neck. Riven planted his feet into the ground and pushed forward. The boy swung backward again, but he dodged under the spear and pushed faster, covering the gap in a few steps.

The boy’s eyes widened. He saw Riven right in front of him. He knew it was already all over, but Riven suddenly flipped his sword and used the pommel of his sword to hit the boy right in the guts.

The boy fell backward with pain shooting all over his body. He felt like he had been stabbed—but there was no wound. When he realized that, he looked at Riven with confusion in his eyes.

"Why didn’t you take me out? The win was within your grasp," he said.

"Ughhh, I don’t feel like it," Riven said and ran off from there. The boy watched in confusion. What just happened?

Outside the arena in the stands, a dome covered the arena, so no one could look into it. They watched the fight from a massive projection screen above the dome.

So when everyone saw how Riven refused to kill the boy, they were shocked. He had victory in his hands and he threw it away. What could he be thinking?

Inside the VIP stands, the headmistress watched the fight with an expressionless face. But when she saw what Riven did, she raised her brow.

’I see. He isn’t planning to win based on defeating his enemy. He wants to wait his time down so that he and his brother get in.

A smart idea indeed. Seems the Grave children are pretty talented. But let’s see how far that talent goes,’ she thought, tapping her finger on the wine glass.

Suddenly, a shadow came up behind her, but she didn’t move or say anything. She kept a calm composure and spoke. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"It’s good to see you, Raphael," she said, sipping her wine.

"I see the exams have already started, and you didn’t even call me," a male voice sounded behind her. He walked from behind and sat down beside her.

He was a handsome man with striking red hair and eyes, sharp features, pale white skin, dressed in elegant black with subtle red trims.

He sat down beside her with a serious look on his face, but then suddenly all that serious expression went out the window as he threw himself over her thighs, stretching like a cat that just woke up.

"I really missed you, you know," he said with a bright smile on his face. He turned upward to look at her, but immediately as he turned, he was met with a fist to his face.

She punched so hard that one could swear Raphael’s face sunk in. He bounced off her legs and landed on the ground roughly.

"What the hell are you doing, you overgrown baby? For goodness’ sake, you are a sword master, Raphael—act like one," she said, folding her arms.

Raphael leaped up from the ground like nothing had happened. He looked at her with a smile. "Oh, come on, I missed you," he said and jumped on her again, but she kicked him without hesitation. He slammed into the chairs in front of him.

"Urghhh, I’ll behave soon," he said and got back on his feet. He looked toward the arena—not the screen, but the actual arena. He looked at it for a few seconds and then spoke.

"I see two from opposite teams are working together," he said casually.

"Yes. They are brothers, and now they have been set against each other. To be honest, I find their solution to their issue both admirable and bad," she said.

"Bad? Why would that be bad? They are simply trying to ensure their entrance into the academy," Raphael said.

"Well, a fact. But what remains is that they have now turned on their assigned teammates. That’s betrayal to an extent," she said and sipped her wine again.

"Hmmm. I understand you, but I feel that their actions are allowed. There is no betrayal if everything they do is still legal under the rules of the exam," Raphael said. He walked back to his seat, crossed his legs, and placed his hand under his jaw.

"Surviving the academy is not all up to skill and talent, but rather a major part of it comes from the ability to think.

Planning and plotting—that’s what students used to make it through the academy. It’s what you and I used to make it through the academy as well," he said.

"Yes, that’s what we used. And as a result, how many of us died at the end, or were consumed by their own pursuit of power and more?

I want to try and change that, and allow some love into this academy. Sadly, all of that is pipe dreams," she said.

"I’m sure our classmates would flip if they heard that the Ice Queen spoke of love," Raphael said.