(Kendy’s POV)
BOOM-!
I just slamd Raven onto the ground.
The impact echoed like thunder across the barren field. The vibration crawled up my arms, and along with it— ca the sound of Raven’s bones cracking faintly under the pressure.
I smiled then.
I didn’t want to admit it, but I was feeling excitent from fighting Raven. The kid actually made my blood boil— in a good way.
While I am under a lot of handicaps— I can’t believe this kid can exchange blows with this much. His combat instinct is sothing else.
’Too bad he’s too stubborn in not using his sword right now. This would’ve been much more fun.’
I thought to myself, almost sighing. My fists were already itching for more.
Moving on...
I t Raven’s eyes as he bounced off the ground, his expression twisted in pain, but he was still glaring at .
His teeth clenched, his spirit not fading even for a second.
My smile widened unconsciously.
’Alright then... I’ll make you pass out for a while, brat.’
And with that in mind—
FWISH~
I pulled back my left fist, feeling my muscles coil up tightly as mana surged across my arm. The air cracked as the pressure gathered around my fist, ready for a follow-up attack!
FWIP-
I caught a glimpse of Raven biting his lower lip, a trace of annoyance flashing across his face. Then, without hesitation, he raised his gun again— both hands gripping it firmly— aiming straight for my head.
’This again?’
I couldn’t help but scoff internally.
Sure, his bullets were dangerous— faster, heavier, infused with mana. But for , right now, with the gap between our ranks... it was nothing I couldn’t deal with.
I decided to ignore it, confident.
’I’ll just intercept his bullet with my fist and slam it straight into his face. Let’s end this clean.’
I thought, slightly bored, wanting him to at least surprise a bit more.
But then, at that mont—
"...!"
A chill ran down my spine so sharp it felt like a blade grazing my skin.
Goosebumps erupted all over my arms as a cold dread filled my gut. My breathing hitched.
Every instinct I had— every drop of my battle-hardened experience— scread one thing at once.
MOVE!
But before I could even twitch a muscle—
S W O O O O S H—!!!
A heavy, suffocating aura pressed down on like a mountain!
"Gugk?!"
My body froze mid-attack, eyes widening in disbelief.
And out of pure reflex—
BAM!
I jumped backward, my boots digging into the dirt.
SWOOSH~
My gauntlets flared with mana as I instantly shifted into a defensive stance, arms raised, senses on high alert.
Then—
"You moved..."
A weak, almost trembling voice reached my ears.
I looked down at the source...
And there was Raven, still lying on the ground, unmoving except for his faint breathing.
His gun had already fallen beside him, his hand limp, yet... his eyes were locked on — calm and cold.
And then I felt it clearly. That suffocating aura around , that force that had pinned down—
It was coming from him.
From Raven.
My jaw tightened in disbelief.
"I win."
He muttered it faintly, a small, exhausted smile forming on his lips before his head dropped to the side.
Thud-
He lost consciousness right there.
SWISH~
And then, just like that— the overwhelming aura vanished.
"What...?"
I muttered, still unmoving, my face filled with confusion.
*****
Even though Kendy was still trying to understand what had happened, he forced himself to focus. He could question it later— right now, Raven was unconscious.
He hurried toward the boy’s side, crouching beside him. The kid’s breathing was shallow but steady.
Kendy quickly pulled a small potion bottle from his belt and tilted it toward Raven’s lips.
"That’ll heal his broken bones. Now he just needs a few minutes of rest."
He mumbled, watching as the potion’s glow faded into Raven’s body. His tone was calm, but his heart was still racing from that earlier feeling.
He sighed, then took out a sleeping bag from his spatial storage and gently laid Raven over it. The ground was rough, but this was the least he could do.
"..."
He stood there quietly for a while, eyes still fixed on Raven. His mind replayed what happened monts earlier.
That aura— whatever it was— it wasn’t normal.
It was closer to sothing entirely different.
’That wasn’t just mana pressure... That was dominance.’
He thought grimly.
The aura that Raven just unleashed was twice as strong as what he felt from the kid after returning from the Labyrinth.
In fact—
’It was almost as strong as soone nearing [S-] rank.’
Kendy admitted in his head, almost not believing his own thought.
He was curious as to how Raven can produce such a strong aura.
([Emperor’s Aura] activated to the max because of Raven’s emotion, and the brooch doubled its effect.)
"..."
Kendy looked down at his hands, rembering how they trembled a bit earlier.
He could still feel the phantom pressure around his shoulders, that instinctive fear that made him jump back without even thinking.
He exhaled slowly.
"This kid is really sothing... He’s weird, but he’s sothing."
He whispered it quietly, a faint grin curving his lips.
’There’s still a lot of mystery behind this brat. I should let the Headmaster know about this.’
He thought again, taking one last glance at Raven’s sleeping face before turning away slightly.
...
...
...
*****
"Ugh..."
Raven woke up with a low groan, his eyelids fluttering open. The faint scent of grass and mana potions filled his nose.
He blinked twice, trying to gather his bearings before pushing himself upright.
A dull ache lingered in his arms, but the sharp pain from before was gone.
He looked down at his body, stretching his fingers and rolling his shoulders. Everything seed... fine.
’Must be Kendy’s doing.’
He thought, sighing lightly.
"Oh..."
He turned to his left— only to et the steady gaze of his professor, who had been watching him silently the entire ti.
"You’re awake. That’s good."
Kendy said plainly, arms crossed.
Raven simply nodded and got to his feet, brushing dirt off his clothes.
"Thanks for healing my injuries."
He said in a low voice.
"It’s no big deal. It’s my responsibility."
Kendy replied casually.
"In fact, you’re not even that gravely injured. I don’t know why you even passed out."
He added, his brows knitting slightly.
And he wasn’t wrong. Broken bones were bad for normal people, sure, but for awakened ones— it wasn’t much. Painful, but not life-threatening.
’Yeah... I don’t know why I passed out either.’
Raven thought.
Then suddenly—
[It’s from mana exhaustion.]
Sariel’s voice echoed faintly in his head, calm as ever.
[You’ve been using , , , and simultaneously while also empowering your bullets with mana, what do you think will happen? Your mana reserve is just average at best, dumbass.]
He explained.
[Then at the end, your remaining mana was consud by and the brooch’s amplification.]
Then he added that.
"..."
Raven remained quiet, eyes slightly narrowed.
’So that’s what happened...’
He muttered inwardly, understanding it now. His own overuse of mana had shut him down completely.
"Anyway, what do you plan to do now?"
Kendy’s voice broke his train of thought.
"Want to spar again for training? But this ti, use your sword too."
He suggested, a hint of excitent flickering in his tone.
"Nah, I’m good."
Raven imdiately replied, shaking his head lightly. He had no plans to get slamd into the ground again today.
He also needed to recover his mana first.
"I’ll start heading back to the gate. I know it’s still early, but I’ll wait for Blake and the others there."
He said, picking up his bag and dusting off his jacket.
Kendy’s expression fell slightly, a hint of disappointnt in his eyes. But Raven pretended not to notice.
"Hmm. I’ll go and watch you from afar then, acting like a proctor again."
Kendy said, smirking slightly.
"Sure. Thanks for entertaining ."
Raven replied, waving his hand casually.
SWISH—
And just like that, Kendy vanished from sight.
Raven sighed, stretching a bit before packing up the remaining items, neatly storing them into his spatial storage.
Once everything was in place— he turned his eyes toward the direction of the gate.
"Ti to go."
He whispered, then began walking away.
His footsteps echoed faintly across the empty field— each one steady, unhurried, but filled with quiet resolve.
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