Chapter 87 - Hit Me If You Can
Seated along the edge of the training room, a small group of resting elves watched with quiet interest as Elincia delivered her challenge to Tave. Though most of them appeared relaxed, their eyes were locked onto the scene, and intrigued. Not by the fight itself, but by the sheer audacity of a human stepping up to face the Imperial Knight.
"That’s just Lady Elincia’s way of rejecting the human brat," one of them muttered with a dismissive scoff.
Panpan tilted her head slightly, turning toward the speaker. She let out a soft laugh. "Tave seems determined. I believe he can pull this off."
Another elf exhaled audibly. "No way. Only a madman would try to land a hit on Lady Elincia. She doesn’t hold back."
Panpan smiled again, that same gentle curve of her lips. "But at the very least, shouldn’t we respect this human’s courage?"
The others turned to her with skeptical eyes.
"Actually," one said, crossing his arms, "I’m impressed Lady Elincia even entertained this ridiculous request from a human. He’s just a Gaia Guardian. He only just had his breakthrough. He won’t last a minute inside a Tier 4 Rift. Monsters at that level are leagues beyond him. Entering would be suicide."
Panpan fell silent at those words. Then she turned her gaze back toward Tave and Elincia, now preparing for the challenge duel.
"Maybe... it would be better if Tave didn’t join after all?" she whispered under her breath.
"He won’t," another elf chimed in flatly. "This challenge is meaningless. The outcome’s obvious before it even starts. Lady Elincia’s just having a bit of fun with the human brat."
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