The match ended far too quickly.
Chronis showed no expression.She simply turned around and walked off the field.
During this period, Mila fought her match—and lost.
Her hopes were shattered.
She left the battlefield in silence, her mood dark and heavy, bitterness settling deep within her chest.
During this period, the names of Chronis and Serik spread rapidly.
People began to look at them differently. Their popularity surged, whispers following wherever they went.
They were spoken of as the orphan duo—proof that even without clan backing, a path to great talent could still be carved.
Kael Tharos went to check the next match details.
If he had seen this earlier, he would've been filled with excitement.Now—
Fear crept in.
His opponent was Serik.
At the same time, Chronis had already secured what she wanted. The cognition resource—Blood of Wisdom—was now hers.
The rewards of the upcoming battles were nothing she was interested in anyway.
Chronis left the stadium without looking back and returned to her dormitory.
There, she began refining Blood of Wisdom, intertwining it with her offense to forge the attack she had planned from the start. Beyond that, the competition had rewarded her with a sizable amount of currency—enough to purchase additional resources if she wished.
At present, she stood among the Top Four.
First place: Lyraen Cyrenth
Second place: a contender from the Dravik Clan
Third place: yet to be decided—Kael Tharos vs. Serik
Fourth place: Chronis, after defeating Serayne
The future rewards no longer mattered to her.
She had already taken what she came for.
The match between Serik and Kael began.
Both of them cultivated the Essence Aspect, and as they stepped onto the battlefield, the air itself seemed to tighten—this was a clash of the same path, decided purely by skill, intent, and brutality.
Quite a few people gathered to watch the fight.
Serik remained calm.
Kael, on the other hand, was panicking—scrambling for a way to win. He searched desperately for a strategy: drain Serik's strength, drag the battle out, find anything that could give him an edge.
His usual boastful personality was nowhere to be seen. The man who loved looking down on others stood silent now, not even daring to mutter a single word.
Seeing this, Serik smiled faintly to himself.
Looks like I showed a bit too much, he thought. He's extremely cautious now.
With that, Serik launched the first attack.
The battle dragged on for ten minutes—only because of how cautious Kael was.
He hesitated constantly, thinking ten times over before lowering his defense to attack. That hesitation cost him. Each pause allowed Serik to land more blows, steadily wearing him down.
In the end, Kael was defeated with ease.
Despite the cowardly nature of his fighting style, no one laughed. They remembered what Serik had done in his previous match—how he had killed his opponent. Putting themselves in Kael's place, everyone understood. Given the same choice, they would have done exactly the same.
Kael accepted his defeat and walked away, grateful to have made it out alive.
In this way, Serik secured third place.
The next battle was between Chronis and Lyraen Cyrenth. The stadium was packed with spectators. Lyraen took a deep breath, ready for the clash—eager to face a strong opponent.
But to everyone's surprise, a message from Chronis was delivered. She would not fight. She was retreating.
She had accepted defeat and withdrawn.
"What… did she really get scared of me? I mean, she's a Cognition Aspect user—but this? This kind of cowardice… I didn't expect it from her." Lyraen thought to himself.
"She really got scared of Lyraen, haha.""Figures. Cognition Aspect users aren't built for fighting. She only beat the sister because the sister was just that bad." Crowds spoke among themselves.
Lyraen was unsettled but didn't dwell on it. He turned and left the arena.
What shocked everyone even more was the next match—Serik versus the Dravik Clan's contender. Before a single blow was exchanged, Serik withdrew as well.
The stadium erupted into commotion. Serik? Retreating?
He looked like a natural-born fighter—someone who had even killed before.
"Is he scared?" someone whispered. "Afraid the Dravik contender might do the same to him?"
The best matches lost their value, and disappointment spread through the crowd.
Eventually, the City Academy Contest came to an end. Lyraen emerged as the overall victor and was accepted as a disciple of the City Lord. His training would begin the following year.
Back at the academy
People began mentioning Serik and Chronis together more and more. They were always seen side by side, and their actions mirrored each other closely.
Jealousy naturally followed. Some resented Serik for being close to Chronis—mostly girls, and a few guys as well. Others were jealous for the opposite reason.
Still, despite the whispers and envy, the overall atmosphere remained normal.
Chronis sat by the lake, eyes fixed on the still water. She was searching for something—something she had yet to find.
Every day after the academy, she spent nearly five hours combing the forest, but her efforts had yielded nothing.
Serik searched as well, dedicating the same five hours at different times. In this way, their quiet hunt continued—day after day, without answers.
They were searching for an inheritance—one that would only be discovered years later, hidden deep within the forest.
It had been left behind by a notorious demonic cultivator, a complete scoundrel who, before fleeing, had concealed several high-grade elixirs. He was eventually hunted down and killed by one of the clan leaders, and it was widely believed that his accumulated wealth had been destroyed along with him.
Everyone was wrong.
t should be somewhere around here… Chronis clicked her tongue. Ten days of searching, and still nothing.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, something caught her attention.