Arlon stepped out into the cool afternoon air, leaving the noise of the training room behind. The sky stretched above him, tinged with hues of gold as the sun began its descent.
A faint breeze rustled the treetops, carrying the distant sounds of students still training inside.
He was determined to test his abilities further—to see if his refined counterplay could hold up under more varied pressure.
PE classes were ant to provide students with the freedom to study and train as they saw fit, which ant no teachers were openly supervising them.
No one cared if soone trained indoors or outside, as long as they used their ti productively.
Arlon reached a cleared, open area, the ground firm beneath his boots. i followed closely behind.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting long, shifting shadows across the ground. The setting was peaceful—but Arlon wasn't here for peace.
"I want to see if I can improve my reaction ti, even when I deliberately delay my movents," Arlon said, glancing at i.
She crossed her arms. "Deliberate delay? Sounds risky."
"It is. But it's the best way to practice controlled defense—letting an attack co as late as possible before countering."
During Borik's lesson, Arlon had tested reacting at the last second. But what if he applied this thod directly to counterplay?
They began slowly.
i took a stance, her magic pulsing faintly as she prepared her attacks. Arlon instructed her to use various attack patterns while he focused on guiding each strike rather than avoiding it outright.
His movents were precise. He let the attacks co—waited until the very last mont—then redirected them, ensuring they struck his least vulnerable areas.
The lesson was rigorous. Every miscalculation ant extra strain. Every well-tid deflection was a small victory.
Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire
But this still wasn't counterplay.
"Again," Arlon said.
i didn't argue. She increased the pace.
This ti, her attacks ca in rapid succession, forcing Arlon to adjust his stance on instinct alone.
His shifts were barely visible—small weight adjustnts, slight turns, minimal but efficient movents.
And then, with a final, asured motion, he parried the barrage, redirecting the force to his left forearm.
But it didn't end there.
i followed up with a burst of fire magic, flas rushing toward him.
Arlon reacted imdiately.
Instead of dodging, he countered with a small burst of water magic.
The difference in force ant he still took so damage, but it was controlled damage. Acceptable.
More importantly, when fire t water, smoke erupted between them.
For a brief mont, Arlon vanished.
i's eyes widened. She had expected a counter, but not this.
The smoke billowed around her, thick enough to obscure her vision.
She kept her guard up, scanning for movent—but by the ti the smoke began to clear, she felt cold steel at her neck.
Arlon had reappeared behind her.
Her breath caught. His sword was resting against her skin.
A beat of silence passed before i exhaled. "That was fast."
Arlon lowered his weapon. "It's not complicated."
He had used two quick blinks—one into the air to escape the smoke unseen, and another directly behind i.
This was his answer to long-range attackers.
He could always blink normally, but if he did that without cover, his opponent would imdiately look for where he landed.
i might not have been able to react in ti, but future enemies would.
And against Asef? He had no information. He couldn't afford to be predictable.
After experinting with a few more counterplay tactics—and assisting i with her own training—they returned to the training room.
The sun was lower now, casting deep shadows along the academy walls. Tomorrow would be their final preparation day.
---
When they returned to the training room, everyone inside was already engaged in their own exercises.
At the center of the room, June was locked in a duel with Alia.
Their battle had cleared an entire section of the space—not because anyone had moved aside for them, but because their surroundings had been set ablaze.
Flas crackled and danced across the floor, licking at the air before flickering out, leaving behind scorched marks.
Alia remained completely unscathed, weaving through the fire with practiced ease, while June stood her ground, conjuring flas with a newfound confidence.
The players had struggled throughout the week, consistently losing to the academy students—especially the top five.
Except for Arlon.
It was expected. The students of Cardon Academy had been training their whole lives to earn their place here.
The players, on the other hand, had only started their training about three weeks ago.
But they were improving.
Especially June.
After discovering that the Infernal Spire was a fla-type weapon, she abandoned ice magic entirely and threw herself into learning fire spells.
And since learning spells was also part of her personal exam mission, she hadn't wasted a single mont.
Orlen had probably seen through it from the start.
Across the battlefield, Alia dodged every burst of fla with effortless precision, her movents light and controlled.
Every now and then, she countered—not with spells of her own, but with her summons.
To Maria and Carn's surprise, Alia's summons could cast magic.
Or rather, sothing close to it.
So contracted spirits had inherent elental mana, allowing them to release bursts of energy similar to magic without actually casting spells themselves.
Maria narrowed her eyes, watching carefully. "So that's how she fights…"
Carn crossed her arms. "Spirits with elental affinities… I didn't know they could use attacks like that."
"It makes sense," Maria murmured. "If they're tied to mana itself, then they don't need to cast magic the way we do."
The fight continued, but it was clear that June wasn't backing down.
Even though Alia was stronger and would definitely win, June's fire spells were becoming sharper and more refined—she was adapting quickly.
---
Eventually, after a bit more training, the group decided to call it a day.
The sun was already dipping lower, casting a warm glow through the academy windows. Dinner ti.
"Let's go eat," Zack said, stretching. "I need food before my body gives up on ."
"You say that like you actually did sothing today," Evan muttered.
Zack shot him a glare. "Excuse ? I provided moral support."
"By nearly getting killed during training?" Pierre said flatly.
"That's not important," Zack huffed, waving him off. "What's important is that I'm starving. Let's go."
The group made their way out of the training hall and headed toward the cafeteria.
Unlike the previous nights, no one argued about where to eat.
Everyone was too tired to care.
Dinner passed with easy conversation, the exhaustion of the day settling in. Most of them ate quickly, their minds already shifting toward tomorrow—their final day of preparation.
Because after that, the real test would begin.
Reviews
All reviews (0)