alwaysunqualified

  Chapter 17 - Not trying to fail.

  Lightning surged through me as I stood in the newly renovated Level Two training ground. This area, once a ft, barren expanse, had been transformed into a vast open space enclosed by towering stone walls. Wooden barriers delineated various zones for training exercises. The ground, a compacted dirt surface, was smooth from constant use and dotted with strategically pced obstacles designed to sharpen agility and reflexes during combat training. At the center stood a former wooden dummy, now upgraded to resemble a stone golem. Scattered around were several targets for practicing different ranged techniques.

  The training dummy was robust, capable of withstanding relentless assaults without breaking. It adeptly mirrored the movements of anyone it faced, engaging in combat with lifelike responsiveness as soon as the battle commenced.

  Currently, I was sparring with my sisters, aiding them in advancing through their Blessing tiers. Pushing them to their limits proved to be the most effective method for their growth. Any injuries they sustained here healed in less than a second, and their magical reserves were inexhaustible.

  Right now, it was three against one, with Alice on the sidelines in a cute cheerleader outfit, complete with pompoms, that my mom had put together, cheering us on. I'd like to say I was dominating, thanks to Sk?gul’s card boosting my abilities well beyond what my sisters could handle, but I was quickly learning that dealing with teleportation was a pain in the ass, especially when combined with Yuno’s ability to predict the future.

  My finger twitched, firing a bolt of lightning at the spot where Yuno had been just a fraction of a second earlier, and then again at the spot where I sensed her reappear. Both shots missed, and my attention was diverted when my leg slightly snagged on a barrier that had materialized to trap me. It took a fraction of my concentration to break free, but in that brief moment, Yuno almost managed to touch me. My gaze shot up, not even catching a glimpse of her, only seeing the lightning barrier that had activated on its own, likely saving me from whatever nasty effect she had tried to impose.

  My body reacted instinctively, smming away a shield that was aimed at my head, shattering it into pieces as the lightning barrier protected my arm from the force of Attract trying to draw it in. Realizing I needed to eliminate these distractions, I moved toward Sakura faster than she could react. My fist was already thrusting forward when she blinked out of existence right before it could connect. In her pce, an explosion occurred that somehow penetrated my barrier, scrambling my senses and throwing me off bance.

  Yuno had found a way through in record time. Watching her growth was astonishing. Initially shaky, her teleportation skills had improved dramatically, now not only keeping Sakura and Angelica safe but also finding gaps in my natural defenses—all in just under two hours.

  My sixth sense triggered, alerting me to imminent danger. Once again, Yuno was upon me, reappearing with her hand on my neck. But she wasn't the only one evolving in this battle. I activated a rune made of lightning, cleverly concealed within the natural flow of electricity, and positioned it precisely where her hand made contact. Instantly, her body lit up like a Christmas tree. Smoke billowed from her as her skin crisped bck.

  It was a tactic Sk?gul would never employ, but I managed to adapt her existing knowledge to execute it successfully. Moreover, it circumvented Yuno's foresight by integrating it with my Sixth Sense Blessing, which, according to my understanding, remained invisible in her predictive visions because it was perceived as a false signal.

  Angelica and Sakura attempted to intervene, but a barrage of lightning swiftly incapacitated them, removing them from the conflict. Yuno colpsed, and the space shifted, magically restoring my sisters to perfect condition as we faced off once again. Before the battle could resume, I gnced at the clock.

  “Looks like that’s it for the year; we only have two minutes remaining,” I announced, only to see Yuno using the remaining time to test more abilities on the dummy. Angelica approached, fussing over me as if I had been the main one suffering during the spar, while Sakura used her fingers to estimate how long two minutes was in comparison to an hour.

  I was starting to understand how they must feel when they expin something that seems obvious to them, yet I can't grasp it no matter how hard I try.

  Eventually, Sakura gave up trying to calcute time when she noticed Alice fluttering over to rest on my head, and she dashed over to join us. I couldn't help but ugh when she ran straight into a wall that Yuno conjured to keep her from pouncing on me.

  “Ow,” she said, lying there and rubbing her head. She shot Yuno a gre, but Yuno completely ignored her.

  [Your time in Love Land has come to an end, but don’t fret, there is always next year.]

  Just like that, we were back to our positions before we started. I was resting my head on Angelica’s p, while Sakura used her Blessing to guide a small ball across her body. The two resumed their activities without missing a beat, which I found rather odd. They usually went out of their way to discuss what they had learned, but I didn’t mind, their discretion about their Blessings was probably wise.

  “How about I sing you a song, brother?” Angelica offered, smiling down at me while her hands gently ran through my silver hair. The soothing movements against my scalp were incredibly rexing, especially after the exhaustion of keeping up with my card’s enhanced abilities for so long.

  Her gentle and soothing song began, and I couldn't help but yawn, letting my eyes close as the calming melody eased the stress from the prolonged fighting.

  ...

  ..

  .

  “Date starto!”

  I woke up to a rather annoying voice shouting. Looking around, it appeared I had been moved to the bed at some point. I was tempted to remain where I was, comfortably buried under a heap of bodies.

  “Mother said she gave me a voice like honey,” a soft voice echoed in my head. Listening closely, the two voices did sound alike. I had always assumed it was a recording or something, with it echoing out loud and not just in my head.

  ‘That is just because she is a fly,’ I thought, shaking off the sleepiness. ‘I'm too tired for this, so why is a date starting?’

  “You hit a 1 in a million chance to date question mark, question mark, question mark,” she expined as if it should have been obvious, yet willing to crify.

  ‘Is that their name or is it unknown?’ I asked, still feeling groggy. It occurred to me that there might even be an achievement for sleeping through a date, so lying back down didn’t seem like the worst idea.

  “It is unknown, da,” she continued. She shared some of the annoying traits of the stupid goddess, but her delivery was more reminiscent of how Alice would say it if she were imitating her.

  ‘You really never know with this pce, so where are they?’ I finally decided to fight off the drowsiness and get up.

  “In the house,” she replied, unusually talkative and helpful today.

  ‘Another fairy or something?’ I recalled my encounter with Alice, chuckling to myself at the thought of a group of her running around.

  “No spoilers,” she said, a phrase she obviously picked up from the goddess, as her voice faded out. I let time resume, carefully extricate myself from the pile without waking anyone, and started making my way to the door.

  Gncing back, I noticed Yuno trailing behind me as usual. “You can stay in bed. I'm not leaving the house,” I told her, hoping she would return to sleep.

  ‘Dangerous,’ Yuno's voice echoed in my head.

  ‘Dangerous?’ I repeated, uneasy about the implications. ‘What's dangerous?’

  ‘Girl always hiding,’ she crified, her expression emotionless, not quite capturing the gravity of her statement.

  ‘Wait, there’s a girl always hiding around? Since when?’ I questioned, my eyes involuntarily scanning the dark room.

  ‘Not sure, just started noticing. Can't trace her with sight yet,’ Yuno continued, her words hinting at the intruder's skill level. She must be extremely adept to evade my twin’s extensive abilities. Could she be some sort of ninja? Or perhaps a ghost—those do exist here. Wait, could that be why Angelica and Sakura were unusually quiet after we returned today?

  ‘Yes, girl like Grace’s guard,’ Yuno said, and I froze, my heart beginning to race at her words.

  ‘Shit, is this because of what I did to the princess? Crap, did I bring danger to my doorstep with my stupid actions?’ Panic surged through me until a calming sensation washed over, allowing me to think clearly again. ‘Thank you, Yuno.’

  Reflecting on it, if it were truly because of that incident, I might already be gone or dead. This was precisely the reason I took the risk in the first pce. If this ninja does try something, I can negotiate... if I see it coming. ‘Damn, now I'm paranoid.’

  ‘Protect,’ my twin stated simply, as if my safety was a foregone conclusion.

  I smiled back, reassured by my twin’s conviction, but I didn’t want to always rely on being protected. Taking a deep breath, I walked downstairs quietly to avoid waking my family and called out to the hidden girl.

  “I know you're there, show yourself,” I announced loudly and clearly into the surrounding space. The only response was silence.

  "I know you're here because of the princess," I tried again, altering my approach.

  Yet, the silence persisted. I was at a loss for what to do next—if she didn’t reveal herself, I had no way to proceed. Scrolling through the shop, I found no items that could assist me, and my skills offered no solutions either. I even tried to upgrade the date, but that merely changed it from a “date in the night” to “a starry night date.”

  If I had to guess, this skill seemed to only enhance my modifiers. Boosting a times one modifier to times five would be a huge gain, but it was utterly pointless if I couldn't even interact with the target.

  ‘Can’t,’ I was about to ask Yuno if she could do anything, but she preemptively gave me a negative response. I sat down, wracking my brain for any solutions, but I couldn't come up with a way to coax her out.

  [Date end]

  Before I could devise a pn, the date ended, leaving me just sitting there. I let out a sigh as I looked through the notifications.

  “Wait, I’m all out of Date points. I didn’t even get to level up this year,” I sighed again upon realizing this.

  [Achievement Unlocked - What date? - Receive zero system prompts during a date - Cancel a date once a year (points not refunded)]

  I exited the menus and decided to go back to sleep, but it was hard to rest knowing someone might be watching you, which I assumed was why Yuno hadn't told me. "Agh!"

  For the rest of the year, I was constantly looking over my shoulder, unable to sleep properly. I hoped to catch a glimpse of Grace leaving the noble area so I could confront her about this mysterious girl, but she remained within her usual confines. I was tempted to sneak out while we were in the castle guard area, but Yuno advised against it. Coming from her, that carried considerable weight, so I reluctantly agreed to endure the situation for the time being.

  [Debt repayment - 799,734][New Debt - 664,202]

  [All your skills have been reset.][Happy new year! You were gifted - 15,678 Love points - from all your loved ones.]

  [Liev Ekker - Level 17 Goddess points: 6,265Love points: 15,678Debt 664,202Stat points: 0

  Luck: 14 Charm: 5 Social: 2 Observe: 5

  Skills - Date a lottery 12/12, A date to remember [o], Show hidden secrets [o], Charm her pants off [o]

  Achievements - 28Achievements_Alice - 1

  Cards: 1_Yuno - 1923, 2_Sakura - 500, 3_Angelica - 500, 4_Alice 500, 5_Cire - 245, 6_Selen - 254, 7_Miki - 433, 8_Amelia - 444, 9_Anna - 254 10_Emma - 254 11_Sk?gul - 500, 12_Ellie - 141, 13_Lucy - 127, 14_Grace - 1015, 15_Shadow_13 - 136, 16_Izzy - 206 17_Lamya - 407]