Single Mother of a Werewolf Baby

Chapter 266: Qualifying Round

Eleanor was already familiar with the sensation of entering these space capsules. After her first experience during the initiation ceremony, she had used them again in the Tower of Legends, in Professor Jiro’s simulated classes in Vanaheim, and during several sessions within the Chamber of Unbecoming.

She lay down inside the capsule with practised ease. The lid sealed shut, enclosing her in soft darkness.

When the void receded, she found herself standing in a small, enclosed chamber lined with racks of weapons. Blades of all kinds gleamed under a white light... swords, spears, axes, hammers... some she recognised, others entirely new.

"Welcome to the Grand Championship, Match Eleven. Cadet 10156659, please select any weapon of your choice. All weapons are of earth grade. Your opponent will receive the same," came the neutral, mechanical voice.

Eleanor had yet to settle on a preferred weapon. Instructor Arrichion had introduced her to swords, sabres, spears, and hammers, but none had felt natural in her hands. Eventually, they had agreed to let her fight unarmed... particularly since she wouldn’t be allowed to carry a weapon in Vanaheim anyway.

"I won’t be bringing any weapon into the fight," she said simply.

"Acknowledged. You may proceed to the arena," the voice replied. A doorway slid open to her right.

Eleanor stepped through and found herself standing in the middle of a circular mini stadium. Rows of empty seats curved around her like silent sentinels. At the centre stood a raised fighting platform, a ring of white stone resembling an old wrestling stage.

She advanced calmly toward it and climbed up. The faint hum of the simulation filled the air. Beyond the dome’s crystalline vault stretched a cold, unreal sky.

A door opposite her slid open, and another cadet entered... tall, broad-shouldered, carrying a long sword. She recognised his face from classes but had never spoken to him.

"Igor Semenov."

The name surfaced from her memory along with its associations. The Semenov family, ancient noble vampires of Yakutsk, ruled the great port on the Lena River. Since the establishment of the Supernatural Council, vampires and werewolves had been forced to abandon their ancestral feud and cooperate... at least on the surface. Yet some clans still clung to their old prejudices, and the Semenovs were among them.

Igor, eldest grandson and heir apparent to his family patriarch, was a proud symbol of that old blood. To him, the modern world’s ideals of equality were an insult to legacy. He tolerated the werewolves of the academy only because the world demanded it. In his mind, they remained beasts pretending to be civilised.

the werewolf who had broken records in the Initiation Ceremony and the Tower of Legends. Fame that, to him, she could only have achieved through luck or manipulation. She had no elemental gift, no overwhelming strength. Luck was the only explanation that soothed

scanned the silent arena... no crowds, no factions, just the whisper of simulated wind through unseen corridors and the pale light refracting from the dome above.

feline grace. His resolve

motionless. Igor’s crimson eyes gleamed with hostility; Eleanor’s, in contrast, remained calm

echoed

10... 9... 8...

3... 2... 1... Go!

signal ended, Igor

still... the next, three shards of glistening ice burst from his outstretched hand, slicing through the air toward Eleanor’s chest, neck, and thigh. The air around them crystallised

force

read the trajectory of each shard, the subtle wobble in their spin, the pulse of power that propelled them. She

arm with cold. Frost shimmered briefly across her skin before

blue light. Then, without pause, he began to launch volleys of Ice Shards... not merely at Eleanor herself, but into the spaces around her, tightening the circle, restricting her movement, turning the arena into a prison of crystal

the rhythm of survival. She invoked Mind Acceleration, her perception fracturing into slow-motion clarity. She could read the faint tension in Igor’s

here, a deflection there, a low slide beneath a whistling shard. Her defence was pure technique, born from long hours under Instructor Arrichion and Commander Annabeth Chase, who had

predictable. Compared to the merciless training she had endured, his attacks were structured, almost elegant. She could end the match with a single lightning strike. Victory was within her grasp. But instead, she chose restraint. This was practice... for the

will not save you," Igor’s voice rang out, thick

in fractal veins, the air around them turning white with cold. The temperature plunged in seconds. Eleanor felt the chill seep into her bones, her joints stiffening, her muscles slowing under the

movements, once effortless, now carried the weight of resistance.

in her fatigues, the wound instantly crystallising around the edges. Pain flared, sharp and freezing. She hissed softly, feeling the cold bite deeper than the cut itself.

to slip... just slightly. Her body responded. Muscles tensed and thickened beneath her skin; her eyes

cold no longer

transformation to resist the cold. To him, it was confirmation that the werewolf bloodline depended on

of Ice Shards,

Eleanor didn’t move to evade. She met