After returning from the market, Aamir and Riya carried their purchases back to the dormitory. Their room was just as they’d left it—neat, quiet, familiar.
"I’m going to the terrace," Aamir said, heading upstairs with a normal bag slung over his shoulder.
As he stepped onto the terrace, the cool breeze brushed against his face. He pulled out the egg from his bag. It wasn’t in a dinsional bag—just a regular one. A mistake. Despite possessing the Dinsional Space skill, Aamir still wasn’t used to using it and often forgot. He had instinctively placed the egg into his normal bag, thinking it was the dinsional one.
Holding the egg carefully in both hands, he felt it again—a faint heartbeat, ever so light, but definitely there.
"Hey, Luman. How is this thing even useful to ?" Aamir asked, gazing at the mysterious egg.
Luman’s deep voice echoed in his mind. "You can ta the beast inside—if you’re lucky. But for that, the egg must hatch."
Aamir frowned. "But how? I an, it hasn’t hatched in all these years. Why would it hatch now?"
"You’re right," Luman replied. "But do you know how birds help their young grow? They can’t feed them directly before hatching, so they sit on their eggs, transferring warmth and energy. That’s how the embryo survives and grows."
"But I’m neither a bird nor its mother. How can I do that?"
"You have a skill—Mark of the Hunter—which lets you gain experience when marked people defeats there targets. But that sa skill can also be used to transfer your energy."
Aamir’s eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! I rember now!"
He placed his hand gently on the egg. "Activate Mark of the Hunter."
A faint glow surrounded the egg as a glowing mark appeared on its surface.
"So... is it done?" he asked.
"Yes," Luman confird. "Now transfer your energy to it."
"How? I’ve never done that before."
"Just focus. Think of sending your energy into the egg."
Aamir closed his eyes and visualized the transfer. Suddenly, a translucent system screen appeared in front of him.
[System Notification]
Host wants to transfer energy to the egg.
Total Energy Pool: Unlimited
Available for Transfer: 10,000 EP
"Huh? ’Unlimited’ but only 10,000 available?" Aamir asked.
"You possess an unlimited energy pool," Luman explained, "but due to unknown restrictions, you can only access a limited portion at a ti."
"Well... whatever. Let’s get this started." Aamir nodded. "Transfer 100 energy points."
A warm light flowed from his hand into the egg. He felt a slight wave of weakness—it was real energy loss.
The egg glowed for a few seconds, then dimd. Everything went still.
[Transfer Complete]
Aamir stared at the egg. "That’s it? Nothing happened?"
"You can’t expect a Phoenix’s egg to hatch from just a bit of energy," Luman said.
"A Phoenix?!" Aamir’s eyes widened. "Then... how long will it take?"
"No idea. But if it does hatch... you’ll gain a powerful ally."
Aamir smiled faintly. "Guess I’ll treat this as an investnt. Hopefully, it’ll pay off."
He returned to the room. As he was about to start ditating to recover his energy, his eyes landed on Riya.
She was on her bed, sitting cross-legged with her wand in front of her. Her brows were furrowed, eyes closed in focus. A fiery crystal floated before her, and a shimring layer of mana surrounded her.
She was attempting a fla-mana fusion.
"She must be running low on energy," Aamir guessed.
Quietly, he approached her and placed his hand on her back.
"Activate Mark of the Hunter," he whispered.
The mark glowed faintly.
"Transfer 100 energy points."
The system confird the transfer. But Riya still looked strained. He clanched his jaws, eyes fixed on the ground for a mont before he quietly said, "I couldn’t let her suffer alone. Transfer 200 more."
As the energy flowed into her, Riya, who had been on the verge of collapse, suddenly felt revitalized. Her body surged with power. She steadied her breathing, synchronized her mana with the new flow, and channeled it into the fla crystal. Slowly, it rged into her wand with a satisfying spark of light.
A few minutes later, she opened her eyes—and saw Aamir behind her, hand still resting on her back. His face had gone pale, and in the next second, he collapsed forward, falling into her lap.
"Aamir!" she caught him instinctively. Realization dawned—he had been her energy source.
Tears welled in her eyes. "Thank you, Aamir. Because of you... I was able to do it. I’ll win tomorrow’s match."
The night passed.
Morning - 5:00 AM
When Aamir awoke, he wasn’t on his bed.
His head rested on sothing soft—Riya’s lap. She had fallen asleep with her head resting beside him on the mattress.
Aamir looked at her face—a soft smile of satisfaction still lingered even in her sleep. A stray strand of hair had fallen across her cheek, and in the silver glow of the moonlight streaming through the window, her face glowed with an almost ethereal beauty, like she was so kind of majestic fairy. She was gorgeous.
Aamir whispered, "I won’t let you fail in anything, Riya. I’ll always be with you. Anyti you need , I’ll be there... even if it costs my life."
He gently tucked the strand of hair behind her ear, then slowly stood up, carefully lifted her in his arms, and laid her properly on the bed. Pulling a blanket over her, he gave her one last glance before stepping away quietly.
"It’s just 5 AM," he whispered, glancing at the clock. "I should rest a bit more."
He climbed into bed and sighed.
"Who would’ve thought 300 points still weren’t enough?"
Luman’s voice responded softly, "Now do you understand what ’unlimited’ really ans?"
Aamir smirked. "Yeah... kind of."
He looked over at Riya and smiled. "At least she succeeded. That’s what matters."
He closed his eyes, letting his body rest—ready for what tomorrow would bring.
After a while, once everyone was awake and ready, the group headed to the stadium. Just like yesterday, Kunal quietly went to his seat in the audience, while Aamir, Riya, and the rest of Team 2 walked toward the contestants’ zone.
Soon, the stadium roared to life as the host’s voice echoed through the speakers.
"Ladies, gentlen, and young spectators—welco to Day Two of the Grand Tournant!"
"Today, we’ll witness nine intense matches from Team 2. Let’s begin with the first three matchups!"
Aamir glanced at Riya. "Looks like your opponent isn’t a mage—he’s an energy controller. That changes things."
Riya nodded seriously. "Any tips?"
"Yeah—two things," Aamir said. "One, don’t let him get close. And two, if you can... end it in one move."
Riya smiled. "I’ll do my best."
Raj, Seenu, and era chid in with encouragent. "All the best, Riya!"
With determination in her eyes, Riya stepped onto the stage.
Her opponent, a boy from Galvia’s Divine Spirit Guardian Institute, was already waiting. He looked around twenty—tall, lean, but clearly muscular. He gave her a smug smile.
"I’m sorry if I hurt you," he said arrogantly. "But I can’t lose to a girl."
From the stands, Aamir narrowed his eyes. "He’s underestimating her."
Then, as the referee John raised his hand and rang the bell—
"Match, begin!"
The boy imdiately unleashed his energy. A burst of raw power rippled through the air, causing wind to swirl violently around him.
Aamir, Seenu, Raj, and era all stood up in shock.
"Wait—oh no," Seenu muttered.
"He’s at the peak of Grandmaster-Level," Aamir finished grimly, eyes locked on the stage. The ripples in the air confird it. "That much aura... damn."
But then he looked at Riya’s face—and paused.
She wasn’t afraid.
She looked calm. Focused. Determined.
Aamir slowly sat back down, a small smile playing on his lips. "Don’t worry. She’s got this."
Seenu turned to him, confused. "How can you be so sure?"
"I just know."
On the battlefield, Riya took a deep breath. "I’m sorry," she said softly, "but I need to win this. So... I’ll end this now."
Her opponent scoffed. "You think you can defeat ? Go ahead, try."
Riya raised her wand and began chanting a spell.
At first, it looked like nothing happened.
The boy laughed. "Looks like your magic isn’t working."
But the audience wasn’t laughing.
They gasped.
From behind the boy, a glowing orb of water had begun to form. As Riya chanted, the orb twisted and lengthened, shaping into sothing massive.
Aamir smiled. "A Water Type Spell... and she cast it from behind him."
Suddenly—
WHOOSH!
A massive serpent made of water surged forward with explosive force. Before the boy could even turn around, the water creature slamd into him, knocking him face-first into the ground with a loud crack.
In that mont, as the water serpent crashed into her opponent, Aamir didn’t just see a win—he saw Riya’s growth, her courage, and the fire in her heart that even fear couldn’t drown.
The crowd roared.
Aamir leaned back with a proud grin. "Told you she got this."
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