Livia adjusted her stance after that first shockwave, the faintest glimmer of interest flickering in her sea-blue eyes.
"Not bad," she said, brushing dust off her uniform. "But let's see how long you can keep up."
Then she moved again—no hesitation this time. Water gathered around her limbs, forming sharp, translucent rings as she closed the distance. Her strikes came from every direction: kicks, sweeps, elbows, and feints layered with rippling blades of mana-infused water.
And Zane?
He didn't attack once.
He parried. Dodged. Blocked.
Each of her attacks met a wall that shouldn't have existed—his movements were lazy yet precise, like he wasn't even trying but still predicting everything a heartbeat before it happened.
To the students watching, it looked like something out of a dream: the Dorm God deflecting one of the academy's most feared instructors without even blinking.
Livia finally jumped back, irritation bleeding through her grin.
"Defending can't win a fight, boy!" she snapped. "You're good—but until you hit back, you're just a wall!"
Zane sighed, lowering his hands slightly. "Fine… you asked for it."
He stepped forward just as she prepared another strike—
—and vanished.
No sound. No mana surge. Just gone.
Then—
BAM!
A dull, echoing thud shook the entire field.
Zane's fist connected squarely with Livia's stomach. But it wasn't just his fist.
A dark ripple shot through the ground beneath him—his shadow moved.
It stretched, parting from the floor like smoke come alive, mirroring the motion of his punch. The afterimage of black energy followed through, merging with the strike.
For a split second, everyone could see it—Zane's outline doubled by a shimmering shadow clone that hit harder than flesh ever could.
The impact sent Livia flying backward several feet before she crashed down, sliding against the sand.
Gasps tore through the class.
"Did—did he just—?"
"No way…"
"His shadow moved…"
Livia knelt on one knee, coughing once. A thin trail of blood slipped down her lip. But the look on her face wasn't anger.
It was excitement.
She wiped her mouth, smiled faintly, and looked up at Zane.
"Well," she said, voice rough but amused, "looks like we've found something far more interesting than I expected."
Zane exhaled, scratching his neck like it was no big deal. "You told me to attack."
And just like that, the Dorm God legend grew again.