[ON THE DAY OF FINAL TRIAL, BLOODMOON ECLIPSE, SPECIAL COSMIC EVENT]

　　~Aurora~

　　Loud noises of pre-celebrations hit the roof of the palace. Five of us contestants were standing in front of the formidable Prince, Prince Emeric had his head held high. He's been hosting this kind of event for quite some time now, three years consequetively.

　　"With all contestants lined for victory, we shall finally start the last, and the final Trial within Trial of Heirs! Hearty wishes to all contestants. Over to the Prince," the speaker of the event enthusiastically passes the mic to Prince Emeric.

　　He looked at all of us, meeting gazes from his high throne above the stadium.

　　"May the strongest, win."

　　A wave of confidence, assurity and certainty flowed through all of us contestants. We were more than encouraged to snatch the rewards from each other.

　　Upon a signal being thrown into the air, green smoke almost covering the confetti which spilled all over the dome, we turned to face a large screen. It was a hologram display.

　　Contestants were an odd number, hence, one contestant must fight not twice, but thrice for the events. And that contestant...

　　"AURORA FANGBORN, HEIRESS TO DARKFOREST PACK."

　　My name was called out...as the one who shall take more number of battles for this trial. It was expected that many would boo at my name, however, there was a very different reaction from the crowd today.

　　"AU-RO-RA, AURORA, AURORA, AURORA!"

　　They were screaming my name...

　　They...were screaming my name!

　　Aha! What a start!

　　"All contestants must enter their waiting room and enter upon being called." Said the speaker, and we were each guided back into a smaller dome within the dome stadium of the kingdom.

　　"Good luck, Aurora Fangborn." A guard whispered to me, and began walking back out after dropping me at my resting station. I looked around, trying to get used to the people and equipment. There was a medic, a nurse, a healer and an assistant who stood in a line, staring right through my soul. Finding their dutiful nature a bit awkward, I turned to look at the screen in front of me.

　　The screen was showing a live broadcast, which wouldn't be transmitted out of the kingdom. The cheerful crowd brought the smile back on my face. The camera panned to Prince Emeric. My Emeric...

　　I hope that all his training tips will be working out for me.

　　Few minutes have passed. The assistant, who was quite adept in putting on the custom made warrior gear, quickly finished setting up the gear on my body.

　　And then, the announcement of first round of players had went off, "Aurora Fangborn fights Pope Summer!"

　　He was talking about our profiles as a contestant. Meanwhile, I was preparing my bag full of potions and pressing them against my waistband. Well, we could only carry three potions at once. Hence, I chose what was best for me. I could choose the strength potion, but it has a drawback of incredible fatigue after its effect wears off. It is a high risk potion, which I wish to use in the end.

　　Then, I have the wit potion. It increases my perceptive ability and I can dodge attacks in milliseconds. I omitted this as well, believing my perceptive ability was great anyway.

　　Left with three potions, which was the trick here, I picked up...only two.

　　The potion of mindfulness.

　　I might not use it, but mindfulness lets me think my next move before I would even launch my next attack or move. This is a great potion, according to me. And the other one, obviously, was the healing potion.

　　Since I have no wolf, this potion is a one time use and can heal me to full health midst fight as well. With full preparedness, I waited for the moment the speaker shall call my name again.

　　The heavy iron gates open, the creaking sound of proximity overpowering the cheers of our audience. Since there were no cameras, I was not conscious of my performance.

　　I brought all my focus and attention onto my nemesis for the duel. Pope Summer was the cheerful man from the cheerful pack. But as he walked down to the center like I was, he had no expression on his face. I was surprised of how serious he looks without his smile, seeing it for the first time.

　　"On the count of three, positions...!" the speaker enthusiastically yelled, "3, 2, 1...FIGHT!"

　　"Argh!" Pope took the advantage of first hit, but I was much aware and dodged his first attempt with ease! Upon stepping aback, the crowd held their breath. Within the next second, his second attempt was launched at me swiftly!

　　I dodged that as well...

　　Why am I in my defensive...?

　　'Offensive. Always. Remember this, Aurora.' Suddenly, Emeric's words began resounding in my ear.

　　Offensive...

　　Switch to offensive...

　　And I did.

　　I had no grand weapons on me, except for the daggers that sat to either sides of my waistband of the gear. He had the same weapons of choice, the other options were the classic sword-shield combo and a spear which was made of pure iron, jade lining to the spear's tip.

　　Getting into a stance of fight, I glared at my opponent as he stood back after two failed attempts. Taking this opportunity, I shifted on my right leg to get closer and swept my left leg beneath him to hit him off balance!

　　But he jumped over my leg and tried to kick me in the face! However, I was faster than his move and dodged it in the knick of time! I somersault my way back to safety, two meters away from him. The crowd is starting to lose interest now, it's becoming a boring fight.

　　Let me make this quicker for us all...

　　The distance between us was formidable as I calculated my next move. Grunting and exerting all pressure onto my legs, I sprinted towards Pope and gutted him right in his stomach with my knee!

　　That put an incredible dent in his gear made of pure metal!

　　I looked down at his knocked down, yet laughing in disbelief face.

　　"Admit defeat?" I asked shortly, panting a little.

　　"Never," He did a powerful backflip and was back on his feet! Taken aback, I accidentally gave him an opening to launch at me!

　　"OOMPH!" It was as if like tit-for-tat, and he punched me in the gut. Unlucky for him, he injured his own hand. The proximity between us was in my favor as I quickly spun myself over him and locked his head between my legs!

　　With my weight on him, he immediately fell to the ground! I began choking him harder between my legs, until his legs started flailing helplessly and face was turning red. Finally, he began tapping the ground with his hand, giving in to my forceful choking method.

　　"And the winner for the first round is...AURORA FANGBORN!"

　　Oh lord...nothing ever sounded so sweet to my ears than this!