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Dammit. This was unfair. How could killing all my classmates not lower his stats at all? Even worse, the stronger I became, the stronger he became, too. It felt like all the effort I poured in was being stolen from me, and I hated that.

Still, by getting all of that sweet EXP, my skills had grown stronger. Right now, I could boost my stats by 10 times for a total of 3 minutes. Given how much my status had increased just now, I was sure that with the 10 times boost, my stats would be higher.

At the last moment, my ability awakened. It was as if the world was telling me that I had to win. I didn’t care about lifespans and whatnot. I hated Finis. So I was going to kill her. I had no intention of letting her walk away from this.

I’d bother with the rest after she was dead. The ring was also gone. And with my current power, no one could say a word against me.

The only thing standing in my way now was the girl in front of me.

I had three minutes to take her down.

I activated my Hero skill.

The moment I did, I felt a rush of power surging through me. I felt more complete than ever before. I knew I could win with this.

I was going to make Finis, still standing there with that smug look on her face, apologize to me. Sure, it was akin to a sneak attack—but if she was dumb enough to space out in a fight, that was on her. I dashed in with all my strength, closing the gap in the blink of an eye, and slashed at Finis.

No one should have been able to follow my movements—but somehow, Finis drew a sword from who-knows-where and blocked my strike. We clashed in a test of strength, and I realized something. It was slightly, but I was overpowering her. I knew I could win with this.

Maybe she had been using swords since being reincarnated, or maybe she was just skilled enough to keep up, but that didn’t matter, as I was faster. As I kept attacking, I failed to deal any fatal blow, but I was wearing her down.

All I needed was to find one decisive opening within the time limit. If I could do that, it would be my win. But considering the time limit, I had to be aggressive—even if it was risky.

Fortunately, with my speed boost, I could do more in less time. Three minutes was longer than it seemed. In just about a minute of trading blows, my sword knocked Finis’ weapon from her hands.

Of course, I didn’t miss that chance. Before she could retrieve it, I unleashed a powerful strike. As my blade was about to reach her head, our eyes met—for some reason, I was sure of it. There was something in her gaze… a hint of amusement, maybe?

Immediately after, the sound of metal-on-metal echoed out. Somehow, Finis had drawn a new sword and blocked my attack. We then continued clashing. I thought I couldn’t lose—but now I was the one being pushed back. I was the one who got blown away.

“That was quite entertaining… But I suppose this is all you’ve got.”

Finis’ cold gaze irritated me, and I dashed at her again. This time, I mixed up my speed to keep her from figuring out where I would strike, while still moving at near-max velocity.

Finis kept staring straight ahead, like she couldn’t follow my movements.

(Now!)

Or so I thought, until she suddenly vanished. A moment later, she appeared at my side and kicked me to the ground.

What just happened? Why couldn’t I follow her? No matter how many times I tried to get up, I kept falling to the ground.

“What the hell did you do?”
“I just used a skill of my own. You see, I can do all of the skills you and the others have. Including the Hero one.”

Wait—wait, wait, wait. Can she use all the heroes’ skills? Not just Hero? Others too?

So all this time, she was holding back… and now she was finally using skills?

Wait, hold on. There’s no way I could win, was there? How was that even allowed? I was supposed to be the strongest! Why? Why? Why, why, why!?

Impossible, impossible, impossible…

“I’ll kill you!!!”

I threw everything I had into one massive spell, not caring about the surroundings. Willing to self-destruct if I had to, I compressed the Mana in my hands to its limit. Once it was strong enough to wipe out an entire nation, I released it.

The glowing orb of light floated down slowly, like it had lost all power, and touched the ground. The moment it did, an explosion greater than that of any modern weapon should have occurred—but it didn’t.

“It was dangerous, so I removed it. Although really, the danger wasn’t to me; it was to Princess Topersion.”

Why? Why? Why, why, why!? Why was she still calm? Why didn’t the spell work? Was it because… I was weaker than her?

—I can’t win.
—I can’t win, I can’t win.

If I couldn’t win, then what was the point of me? I was supposed to be the strongest. Strength was the only thing that gave my existence meaning. But now… I didn’t even feel like I could win.

“Uwaaaaaaa!”

My mind went blank. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have a clue. I don’t know—I don’t know—I don’t know—I don’t know—I don’t know—

I heard a heavy thud, and when I glanced down at my chest, I saw a massive sword piercing through me.

Strangely, it didn’t hurt. No, my whole body ached like I got the worst muscle pain ever from my skill’s time limit expiring, but the wound itself didn’t hurt.

Was this a dream? An illusion?

I tried touching the sword in my chest, confirming it was real. Even after it was pulled out, I still felt no pain. Just something, something leaving me.

Immediately, my entire body felt heavier. I couldn’t move before, but now it was different—I really couldn’t move. A crushing fatigue washed over me, like I was carrying a weight I would never be able to put down.