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Kaelen took a deep breath and transformed the mana within him into the "Mef" form. The air around him shivered for a moment, then a thin but concentrated amount of mana began to gather in his hands. The blue light glimmering at his fingertips provided a brief illumination in the dark atmosphere of the cave.
He placed one leg forward and assumed a solid stance. His body leaned slightly, muscles taut. His eyes were focused to catch even the slightest movement of his opponents.
"Watch out, Sofia! He's doing the same move!" Arnold shouted, his voice echoing off the cave's stone walls.
At Arnold's warning, even Estelle hesitated for a moment. Kaelen's stance wasn't just preparation for battle—it was a challenge. An unusual confidence shone in his eyes. Then, the mana enveloping his body suddenly disappeared, leaving only a concentrated amount in his palms.
"You did this once, Kaelen," Arnold said, gripping his long wizard's axe with one hand while conjuring the magical shield he had used in their first encounter with his left. "Do you think we didn't notice how you did it?"
Sofia raised her head confidently, a smug smile on her face.
"All you did was master your mana manipulation. You use the 'Mef' form better than us, yes, but that's just technique. You concentrate your mana in one focal point—your fist—and detonate it. We noticed. What we need to do is simple: respond the same way. Our 'Mef' form might not be as dense as yours, but it's enough to strengthen our entire bodies."
The mana around Sofia intensified. As the energy in the air grew denser, a nearly six-meter-diameter area became shrouded in a blue mist. Within this mist, invisible whirlpools formed by rippling mana quivered slightly, revealing their presence.
"In fact," Sofia continued, her voice filled with pride, "our 'Pik' form against you will be far more resilient."
Kaelen smiled faintly. The self-assured attitude of the brown-haired young woman amused him. He nodded in acknowledgment.
"So, you've figured out the logic behind how I do it. You'll probably block it if I strike like this. After all, only the area my fist touches will be affected. Covering your whole body with mana would be unnecessary, but in that case, you might defeat me."
Kaelen's words hung in the air. A brief silence followed. Hesitation was visible on the faces of Estelle, Arnold, and Sofia. Though they didn't have full knowledge of Kaelen's martial arts, a strange doubt sprouted within them. Something felt off, yet they couldn't pinpoint exactly what.
Kaelen noticed this hesitation and tilted his head slightly, speaking with a mocking tone:
"Why aren't you attacking? After all, you have a chance to defeat me. What's wrong? Or do you lack the courage to experience it, just as you underestimated my mastery of mana?"
"Shut up!" Sofia yelled angrily, torn between stepping forward and retreating.
Kaelen exhaled lightly and took a single step forward. In that instant, the other three mages instinctively stepped back. A victorious smile appeared on Kaelen's face. He lifted the mana in his palms upward, displaying it.
"When we first met, the full concentration of my mana was in my entire fist. But," his voice lowered slightly, taking on a more threatening tone, "what if I channel all that mana into just one finger? What kind of effect do you think it would have?"
Sofia's eyes widened at Kaelen's statement. A knot formed in her throat. She swallowed hard and spoke as if in denial:
"No apprentice mage can be this strong. You're bluffing!"
Kaelen let out a mocking laugh. His eyes glimmered with a cold light.
"Ah, children… You're just a group of flashy, shiny little toys. You don't scare me. The techniques you use are hollow, just attacks that look pretty. The fact that you haven't landed a single effective blow on me proves it. Watch closely, I'll show you what a true mage can do."
This time, Kaelen reduced his mana even further. First, the glowing light dimmed slightly, leaving only a fine line of mana concentrated in part of his hand. Yet, the air around Kaelen changed. The ground began to tremble. Everyone sensed that something had gone wrong.
And then, something completely unexpected happened.
The place where Kaelen had been standing was empty.
Estelle's eyes scanned for him, when suddenly an explosive sound shook the cave. Everything blurred instantly. A massive dust cloud rose, obstructing vision. From the depths of the rocks came the sound of a collision, proving just how powerful Kaelen's move had been.
Estelle waited, frozen, for the dust to settle. They tried to discern where Kaelen had vanished. One thing was certain:
This was no longer a simple test duel. Kaelen was showing them what a real battle should look like.
Boom…
Argh…
Arnold's voice echoed from the farthest corner of the cave. The armored mage was buried among massive rocks. A huge hole had opened in the center of his shield, and much of his thick armor was shattered. His body, hanging fifteen meters above, fell heavily to the ground, transforming into a trembling beam of blue light that slowly dissipated.
Kaelen now stood upright in the very spot Arnold had been. No one had noticed the move. It had all happened in the blink of an eye. Estelle's mind was in turmoil. For just a moment, she hadn't sensed Kaelen's presence. Was it his ability? Was he invisible? Or was he simply much faster than they had imagined?
As questions swirled in Estelle's mind, her fear grew.
"Superhuman speed. Superhuman strength. Superhuman mana manipulation… Which one? Which is your true ability, Kaelen?"
Sofia's sharp scream pulled Estelle from her thoughts.
"ARNOLD!"
Watching their companions vanish one by one, Sofia gritted her teeth. Rage erupted from her eyes. The mana around her intensified, filling the air with static electricity. Thin, sharp bolts of lightning encircled her, illuminating the cave like daylight. She launched her full-speed attack toward Kaelen.
But…
A sudden gust of wind blew behind Kaelen. Sofia's strike missed its target. When the dust, suspended in the air, finally cleared, a hand was clamped around Sofia's throat.
Snap!
A thin sound echoed through the cave—the sound of a neck breaking.
Sofia's eyes widened, her body trembling. Her brown hair covered her face, but the horror in her eyes was still visible. Her body, turning into mana, began to disintegrate amidst the blue light.
Kaelen smiled. But the smile was less one of a victorious warrior and more like a teacher scolding mischievous students with amusement.
"Come on, don't be so dramatic! This is just a test! They're not actually dead."
He rubbed his hands together and turned to his last opponent, Estelle.
And at that moment, he launched his attack.
Kaelen's movements were as fast as a shadow. He applied his mana-compression technique, used in his fists, to his feet as well, giving him incredible speed and explosive power. He was faster than Sofia's lightning-speed attacks and more devastating than Arnold's overwhelming strength. The most dangerous part, however, was that none of his opponents had the slightest idea what these techniques were or how they worked.
Even Estelle had never seen mana manipulation at this level.
Kaelen slammed his feet into the ground and lunged at Estelle. The girl, sensing his move, narrowly dodged the first strike by tilting her head. Kaelen's fist passed just above her head, but even the wind generated by the attack cut across her face.
Without slowing down, Kaelen unleashed several more strikes. His punches and kicks struck in succession, forcing Estelle to flee. But Kaelen's blows were precisely aimed at lethal points. Muscles, joints, tendons… Every movement was designed to incapacitate his opponent.
Estelle was drenched in sweat and blood. Her movements slowed with every dodge, her reflexes dulled, and the pain spread throughout her body. Kaelen's strikes left tiny cuts. Even a small scratch on her face could have made her hesitate for a second.
Finally… Kaelen made his last move.
Estelle's legs trembled, and she collapsed onto her knees. Breathless, her gray armor soaked in blood, still gripping her sword, she lacked the strength to lift it. A single touch… if she could have moved that sword even an inch, the outcome of the battle might have changed.
But she couldn't.
Kaelen stood right before her, looking into her red eyes. He smiled, but it was not the smile of a victorious warrior. Something was missing, a void inside him.
Estelle wanted to see traces of sorrow in Kaelen's red eyes. But the next moment, she felt a sudden heat.
Kaelen's arm was inside her chest cavity.
Pain… deep pain… Her mind slowly darkened, vision blurred. Blood seeped from her lips as her breathing trembled.
She tried to lift her hand in one last effort. But her body no longer obeyed. She slowly fell backward. As she hit the cold stone floor, she could still see Kaelen's silhouette.
Her voice was reduced to an inaudible whisper.
Estelle's body, like the others, turned into blue light and disappeared.
And the cave fell silent once again.
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