Behind them, Sophia Ashford tapped her notes against her palm, runes glowing faintly along her sleeve. Together, the three instructors were a wall of judgnt.
Vivienne’s voice cut the air cleanly.
"Today begins your final combat examinations. Four parts. Four trials. Together, they will decide your advancent into the second year. Fail, and you will be dismissed from this academy."
A ripple of unease swept the gathered students.
Reinhardt stepped forward, his voice like stone grinding on stone. "Part one: you will face a summoned construct. Alone. No aid. No hesitation. The construct will match your level... and then press harder. Show us whether you can adapt. Show us whether you can survive."
His black eyes swept the crowd. "Survival is the first law of combat. Prove you are worth teaching."
A single gesture from Sophia lit the rune circle. Lines blazed blue-white, and the air inside shimred.
Mana warped, condensed, and a shape rose from the ground, a humanoid figure of shifting stone and light, faceless but towering, its body rippling with runic inscriptions.
A murmur of awe ran through the first-years.
"Adrian Kain," Vivienne called. "You first."
Adrian inhaled sharply, then strode forward. His blond hair caught the sun as he hefted his axe, shoulders squared, erald eyes hard. He stepped into the circle, and the barrier sealed shut behind him.
The construct moved instantly, its massive arm swinging down like a hamr. Adrian blocked, boots sliding across stone, his axe biting into its arm. Sparks flew. He roared, twisting, driving the blade deeper. His water affinity surged, coating the weapon in rippling blue energy. The construct staggered back.
The crowd cheered faintly. Adrian pressed forward, striking again and again, water splashing with each blow. The construct adapted, its movents grew sharper, faster, pressing him harder.
Adrian’s strikes slowed. His breathing grew ragged. Finally, his axe shattered one of its arms, but the other caught him across the chest and sent him sprawling.
The barrier dissolved instantly. Reinhardt’s voice rumbled. "Pass."
Adrian climbed to his feet, chest heaving, but his eyes burned with pride.
One by one, nas were called. Students stepped into the circle, fought, endured. So fell too quickly. So barely scraped by. A few, like Seraphina, fought with asured precision, her ice holding the construct at bay until she froze its legs and shattered its core.
"Pass," Reinhardt declared.
Nathan was called next. He grinned nervously, rolling his shoulders. "Guess it’s my turn to shine."
rlin’s lips twitched. "Don’t trip over your axe."
Nathan shot him a glare, then strode into the circle. The construct rose before him, runes blazing hotter than before.
The mont the barrier sealed, Nathan charged. His axe swung wide, faster than Adrian’s had, golden hair whipping behind him. His water affinity burst outward, coating his body in a faint shimr. He ducked under a swing, rolled forward, and his axe tore through the construct’s leg with sheer force.
The crowd shouted.
Nathan laughed, exhilarated, pressing his advantage. He fought recklessly, each strike heavy, powerful. But the construct adapted faster this ti, forcing him back, hamring down with relentless blows. Nathan gritted his teeth, blocking, deflecting, taking a glancing hit that knocked the breath from him.
Still, he stood. Still, he swung.
Finally, with a roar, he drove his axe straight through its chest. The construct shattered, collapsing into glowing fragnts.
The barrier dropped. Nathan staggered out, chest heaving, sweat pouring, but his grin was wide. "Ha! Who’s next?"
Applause broke out, louder this ti. Nathan’s performance had been impressive, reckless, but undeniably strong.
Reinhardt’s gaze softened, just barely. "Pass."
rlin’s chest tightened faintly. Nathan was strong. For a three-star, very strong. But the gap between them was a canyon.
He knew it already. Soon, the others would too.
"Elara Vaelith"
The elf girl stepped forward without a word, silver hair gleaming, violet eyes calm. She carried no visible weapon, only her staff, its crystal faintly glowing.
Inside the circle, she moved with cold precision. Her spells layered flawlessly, lightning lancing across the construct’s arms, binding chains of force pulling its movents out of rhythm.
She never wasted motion, never faltered. When it struck, she was already gone, reappearing with a sharp crack of energy.
The crowd watched in hushed awe.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, she drove a final surge of lightning through its chest. The construct cracked, crumbled, and fell.
She walked out without a backward glance.
"Pass."
rlin’s na ca last.
He stepped forward, the whispers rising instantly.
"Everhart?"
"He’s alive?"
"They’ll make him fight too?"
He ignored them all. His boots carried him into the circle. The barrier sealed, and the runes lit brighter than before, as if the arena itself recognized him.
The construct rose, taller, heavier, runes blazing crimson. Its form radiated raw force, far greater than those faced before. The instructors were watching closely now.
rlin stood still, golden eyes narrowed. His body felt steady, stronger than the days before. Not perfect, but enough.
The construct lunged.
rlin moved.
Not with flash. Not with reckless power. Just... precision.
His body flowed under the strike, feet sliding, golden eyes calm. His fist snapped upward, lightning sparking faintly, and the construct’s arm shattered on contact.
Gasps erupted outside the barrier.
The construct roared, runes flaring brighter, pressing harder. rlin didn’t hesitate. Each strike was efficient, clean, devastating. He didn’t waste mana. He didn’t roar. He simply dismantled it, piece by piece, until finally his palm struck its chest and the entire form cracked apart, collapsing into dust.
The barrier fell. Silence hung heavy.
Reinhardt’s black eyes narrowed, studying him long. Sophia scribbled furiously in her notes. Vivienne’s lips pressed thin.
rlin stepped out, his expression flat, hiding the storm inside.
Whispers exploded across the students.
"...That wasn’t three stars."
"No way—"
"He made it look easy."
rlin ignored them all, but he felt Morgana’s gaze again from sowhere in the crowd, sharp as ever.
Reinhardt’s voice broke the noise. "Pass."
The first part was done. But the weight of his strength had already shifted the air.
And this was only the beginning.
—
The arena had shifted again.
The massive summoning circle was gone, replaced now with smaller wards etched into the stone floor, four dueling platforms lined neatly in a row. Floating crystals hung above them, glowing softly, ready to record each clash in detail.
Sophia Ashford stood in the center, her short brown hair neat as ever, clipboard hovering at her side with runes flickering across its surface. She raised one hand, and the runes etched into the arena pulsed.
"Student duels will be determined randomly," she announced. "You will be evaluated on technique, control, and combat awareness, not simply brute strength. Do not kill. Do not maim. Break these rules, and you will be dismissed."
Whispers ran across the crowd. So students cracked their knuckles, eager. Others shifted nervously, eyes darting to the instructors.
Sophia flicked her wrist. The clipboard rotated, glowing runes spinning rapidly before settling into neat pairs.
"The first duel: Seraphina Alden versus Elara Vaelith."
A ripple of interest swept the crowd imdiately. Two of the strongest girls in their year, one ice, one earth.
Elara stepped forward, silver hair glinting under the light, her expression unreadable. Across from her, Seraphina walked with sharp confidence, black hair sleek, silver eyes burning with determination.
The barrier sealed. Silence fell.
Seraphina moved first, sharp shards of ice flaring into existence and launching across the field. Elara’s staff spun once, and a wall of stone erupted from the floor, shattering the projectiles with brutal efficiency.
Elara countered instantly, lances of rock shooting toward Seraphina. The girl deflected with sweeping arcs of ice, freezing the projectiles midair and sending them crashing harmlessly aside.
It was a clash of opposites, ice sharp, fast, elegant; stone heavy, relentless, crushing. Neither gave ground easily.
rlin watched, arms crossed. ’Both are strong. Seraphina’s technique is cleaner, but Elara... she doesn’t flinch. Everything is purposeful. Every strike is ant to end it.’
The battle escalated, ice storms clashing against jagged stone spikes, bursts of mana shaking the ground. Finally, Seraphina overextended, her guard dropping for half a heartbeat.
Elara’s eyes flashed. A single spear of stone erupted beneath Seraphina’s feet, halting just short of impaling her throat. The barrier flickered, signaling the end.
"Winner: Elara Vaelith," Sophia declared.
Seraphina scowled, bowing stiffly before retreating. Elara gave no victory gesture, simply lowering her staff and walking calmly off the platform.
The crowd murmured, already debating the outco.
"The second duel: Nathan Varen versus Ethan Crowell."
Nathan cracked his neck, smirking. "Well, this’ll be fun."
Ethan sighed, brushing his brown hair back, green eyes half-lidded with boredom. "Can we make this quick? I’d rather be asleep."
The barrier sealed.
Nathan lunged first, daggers flashing, lightning sparking faintly around his body. Ethan moved lazily, but his longsword swung with practiced ease, flas licking the edge.
Sparks flew as blade t dagger. Fire clashed with lightning, scorching the arena floor. Nathan pressed hard, each strike fast and relentless. Ethan parried smoothly, yawning mid-duel, his fire flaring in wide arcs.
rlin’s eyes narrowed. ’Nathan’s faster. More aggressive. But Ethan’s conserving mana, forcing Nathan to burn himself out.’
And indeed, after minutes of furious exchanges, Nathan’s breathing grew heavier. Ethan smirked faintly, raising his blade high, only for Nathan to suddenly pivot, lightning sparking across his daggers, and slash across Ethan’s unguarded side.
The blow wasn’t lethal, the barrier had dulled it, but it was decisive.
"Winner: Nathan Varen," Sophia declared.
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