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The wind swept across the dry ground as Kaelen lifted his long black sword ever so slightly, studying the three warriors facing him. Arnold, gripping his axe with his muscular arms, clenched his teeth and drew a deep breath.
Right beside him, Sofia twirled her blades, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Estelle, her red hair whipping in the wind, held her long sword ready, her sharp eyes locked onto Kaelen, searching for even the smallest opening.
A faint smile tugged at Kaelen's lips. All three of them were preparing to attack him at once. Did they really think they could corner him? He could feel his heart beating faster.
With a roar, Arnold lunged forward. His axe swept through the air like a miniature hurricane. The blow was so powerful that if Kaelen got caught in it, his bones would shatter in a single strike.
But Kaelen merely shifted one step to the side, the steel edge slicing through empty air as he flicked his sword in a lightning-fast counter. It was a strike meant to knock Arnold's axe clean out of his hands—but Sofia was already diving in like a shadow.
Her twin blades were aimed straight at Kaelen's ribs.
Kaelen leaped back almost instinctively, spinning his sword to deflect her attack. Sparks burst from the clash of metal, and the confident look on Sofia's face vanished the moment she realized her strike had failed.
Thinking Kaelen was distracted, Estelle charged with lightning speed. Her long sword carved a deadly arc toward his shoulder.
Kaelen tilted his head, the blade slicing past just above him. Moving into the empty space beneath Estelle's sword, he stepped forward. For a brief instant their eyes met. Estelle's widened—Kaelen's blade had already moved.
Its tip was resting against her throat.
"Too slow," Kaelen whispered.
Estelle jerked back, but even then, she couldn't stop herself from stumbling. She staggered several steps in retreat.
At that moment, Arnold launched another attack. This time, he didn't swing his axe with both hands—he punched with his left fist while thrusting the axe's handle toward Kaelen with his right, aiming to stun him.
Kaelen tilted his head enough to make the punch miss, then raised his knee to Arnold's chest just as the axe handle neared him. Arnold's breath whooshed out painfully, and he stumbled backward.
Sofia grabbed Estelle's hand and spun around, using the momentum to hurl herself at Kaelen once more.
She glided toward him with fluid precision, blades dancing in a deadly rhythm. Estelle followed immediately behind her, raising her sword high for a powerful downward strike.
But Kaelen was already moving.
He grabbed Sofia's wrist mid-swing and pulled her into the path of Estelle's attack. The clash of Estelle's sword against Sofia's blades sent Sofia off balance.
Kaelen stepped forward and drove his knee into Estelle's stomach. She gasped, thrown backward, while Sofia was still struggling to regain her footing. Seeing the opening, Kaelen flipped his sword and struck Sofia's abdomen with the flat of the blade, then delivered a swift uppercut to her chin.
Sofia collapsed to the ground and barely managed to stand again.
"Are you going to surrender," Kaelen taunted, "or should we have a little more fun?"
Sofia gritted her teeth and retreated. Arnold lifted his axe once more—but Kaelen spun his black sword and fixed his gaze on them.
…
…
…
"Lightning.
Twin dragons.
Wrath of the heavens."
The air around Sofia suddenly warped, as if compressed by immense pressure. Her voice echoed as her mana surged. Pure blue energy erupted, glowing white like furious lightning at the heart of a storm. The air crackled so intensely that Kaelen felt a tingling crawl across his skin.
In the next instant, Sofia moved.
It was a motion no ordinary human could make—too fluid, too fast. Nearly impossible to track with the naked eye. Kaelen's pupils dilated; his instincts yanked his body aside just in time. Even so, he knew… if he had been a single heartbeat slower, Sofia's lightning-charged blades would have pierced him clean through.
Sofia didn't slow. Missing him, she crashed into the giant iron door behind him, bending it with a thunderous groan. She didn't stop there—without even taking a breath, she shot forward again, a bolt of living lightning.
Arnold could barely follow what was happening. Kaelen, sensing her trajectory for a brief moment, gathered his strength and raised his sword. But Sofia was already there. Her blades clashed against his sword, the metallic ring echoing through the chamber.
Kaelen realized instantly that he had underestimated the force behind her strike. Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone floor under his feet. He tried to brace himself, but it wasn't enough.
"Damn it, STOP!"
Kaelen pushed against Sofia's blades with everything he had, but even blocking wasn't enough. She was still forcing him back. His legs trembled, his muscles strained to their limit.
Then, from the edge of his vision, a fist slammed into him.
Tak.
The impact sent him airborne. He crashed into the stone wall behind him, the force carving a small crater where he hit. Dust trickled down in hazy plumes.
Kaelen's insides felt like they had been rattled loose. A sharp pain stabbed through his chest—but he had survived. At the last moment, he had activated his mana in "Pik" form, avoiding fatal injury.
Even so, one arm was almost useless. His left arm twitched violently, numb and burning. Lightning flickered faintly inside the deep gash torn across it. That was when Kaelen realized—Sofia was using lightning-type mana. The cut hadn't just sliced flesh; it was paralyzing his nerves and muscles.
He looked toward the one who had punched him.
Arnold stood there, encased in living stone. His stone armor crawled across his body like something alive, shifting with each breath. Even his breathing rumbled like thunder trapped inside a cavern.
Kaelen spat on the ground. A thin, blood-tinged smile curved his lips.
"Maybe I underestimated you," he muttered.
But he could feel the pain spreading through him like a spreading fire.
All three of them were breathing hard now. The air trembled with the heat of their battle, and the mana surging through the cavern was strong enough to crack the walls themselves. Estelle, who wasn't directly attacking, stood off to the side, her eyes wide as she watched. Her fingers curled into her palms as conflicted emotions churned inside her.
"No one could move that perfectly, even if they knew all of his techniques by heart…"
The thought echoed through Estelle's mind. For the first time, she felt helpless. She had always been the strongest. No one her age had ever come close to her level. She had always stood alone at the peak. Yet here she was—losing to a boy her own age.
A boy with no family name, from the lowest rank.
It was unacceptable.
Her pride—built on years of believing in her unmatched strength—was crumbling. She felt like a frog at the bottom of a well, suddenly seeing how vast the world truly was. And worse, the one showing her this truth wasn't some noble prodigy… but a boy no one had even heard of.
And yet, beneath her humiliation… something else flickered.
Excitement.
For the first time, she was facing a true rival. Someone who could push her. Someone who could challenge her.
Ignoring the pain in her abdomen, Estelle rose to her feet. She would not—could not—accept defeat.
This wasn't a test anymore. This was a battle she had to win.
She realized she couldn't beat Kaelen without using her ability. And the same was true for Arnold and Sofia. Sofia's lightning. Arnold's stone-forged body… All three of them had reached the point where they had to use their full power.
Estelle inhaled deeply, the dry cave air burning her lungs. She hadn't wanted to use her ability in the exam—but she wanted to win. That desire swallowed her whole.
Mana wrapped around her like a cloak of heat. She shifted into "Enn" form, then "Pik" form, expanding her mana field to a six-meter radius, crushing everything around her with pressure. Then she pushed into "Nex" form, channeling her mana into her sword. The blade glowed blue, sharpening further—but she didn't stop. Entering "Med" form, she condensed her mana until the blade darkened, dense with lethal power.
Her eyes met Kaelen's red ones. Both were assessing each other.
Feeling her mana stabilize, Estelle whispered the incantation:
"Grace of the Moon. Divine Protection. Eight Pillars."
Her blade radiated a dark mix of crimson and black. Liquid mana dripped from its edge like molten metal. This was real power—the raw essence of a mage flowing freely.
In a low voice, she murmured:
"Crimson."
And then she dashed.
The sword felt too heavy in her hands—but she didn't need to hold it long. One touch was enough. All she needed was to let her blade brush Kaelen's mana. That alone would secure victory.
Kaelen focused on the red-haired girl racing toward him. His eyes widened at the ominous crimson glow of her weapon.
"Damn it!" he growled, turning and fleeing. He shifted his mana to "Kai" form, reinforcing his muscles to gain speed.
But the sword was already too close.
He dodged, but not fully. The tip grazed his cheek, leaving a thin cut. Blood dripped down, turning black under the sinister crimson glow. Just being near her blade was enough to harm him.
He barely had time to recover before Sofia came for him in a burst of lightning. Kaelen jumped into the air—he had anticipated her. The brown-haired girl slammed uncontrolled into the far wall as Kaelen slipped past her strike.
But before he could breathe—
Arnold's massive axe flew toward him.
Kaelen lifted his arms to catch it, but the sheer weight sent him tumbling backward. He hit the ground hard, the air knocked from his lungs.
As he pushed himself up onto his knees, he saw all three of his opponents—now at full power—staring at him.
They weren't holding back anymore.
This was no longer a mock battle.
It was a real fight.
Kaelen breathed in slowly. His body was worn, his muscles trembling.
Yet his lips curved upward.
"Maybe it's time," he murmured, "to show you all the level you should be aiming for."
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