The battle in the arena raged on fiercely. Catrine, on the defensive, was being bombarded by a relentless flurry of attacks.
Misha, a Fifth Awakening, was a sword master.
Her speed, strength, and combat intuition were extraordinary.
Even Catrine appeared cornered. Yet, anyone paying close attention would have noticed that she wasn’t truly trapped.
She was rely holding a defensive stance, not planning to strike back. Every one of Misha’s attacks was effortlessly parried by her sword.
Perhaps growing bored, Catrine finally made her move.
As Misha’s blade aid for her neck, Catrine ducked and slipped past it. She twisted her body and delivered a sharp kick to Misha’s back, throwing her off balance.
Seizing the opportunity, Catrine pulled back her right hand and pressed it firmly against Misha’s back.
Simultaneously, she lifted Misha’s left arm and kicked the back of her leg, forcing the girl to her knees.
"You lose," Catrine said flatly.
The audience froze in disbelief. Misha, who had seed to have the upper hand, had been defeated just like that?
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have believed it.
"Ugh..." Misha ground her teeth, struggling to fight back, but her body was completely immobilized. Any resistance would only harm herself.
Finally, she exhaled in defeat. "I...give up."
Catrine turned toward Ronald on the stage, as if waiting for him to make the announcent.
Noticing her gaze, Ronald chuckled softly. "The winner is Catrine Clay!"
"Woaa!"
Cheers of excitent erupted from the students in every direction. Few had expected her victory to be so decisive.
Everyone had assud Misha was the superior fighter—but in reality, it was Catrine who had won.
The result was both extraordinary and completely unexpected.
Catrine released her hold on Misha’s arm.
Misha quickly stood, rubbing her slightly sore arms. She shot Catrine an annoyed look but spoke sincerely. "Congratulations. You’re stronger than I thought."
She had gone into the fight confident of victory. No one—not even Nysera—could defeat her.
But reality had a different lesson. Catrine Clay was far stronger than she had anticipated.
Still, she felt grateful to have faced such a powerful opponent. Losing to Catrine didn’t feel humiliating at all.
Catrine nodded slowly, about to return to her brother’s side, but rembered yesterday’s advice: "Respect your opponents in the arena. One day, they might help you."
Turning back to Misha, she said, "You’re strong too."
After that, she jumped into the arena and walked over to her brother’s side, leaving Misha looking dazed.
"Brother, how did I do?" Catrine asked excitedly, her expression and energy different from the reserved deanor she usually showed to others.
rlin smiled, ruffling her hair. "You did great, my sister. I knew you could finish it even faster, didn’t I?"
Catrine enjoyed the touch, a smile blooming unconsciously on her face.
"I just respect her. Beating her too easily would have been embarrassing," she replied sincerely.
rlin nodded in approval. The second test asured not just strength but also pride.
Losing without putting up a fierce fight would crush both the spirit and self-esteem of the loser.
rlin wasn’t a saint, yet he knew when it was better not to humiliate his opponent.
After all, they were all new students, and building relationships mattered.
Of course, if an opponent was arrogant or irritating, rlin didn’t mind sending them out of the arena with a single blow.
In that sense, Catrine’s approach had been both proper and honorable.
Seeing rlin’s praise, Luna and Margaret felt a twinge of jealousy. How nice it would be if they could earn his approval too.
With Catrine and Misha’s fight concluded, the next match was ready to begin.
And, as before, the fights that followed the thrilling ones felt dull in comparison.
The students were eager to see Catrine and Nysera take the stage and truly show their strength.
"Look—it’s that druid girl! I didn’t expect her to make it into the top ten on her first test," a boy from the first-wave group exclaid.
Curious eyes quickly turned to Liora.
This was the first ti they had seen soone from the druid race in person. The druid race, after all, was known for keeping to themselves.
The weight of so many gazes made Liora flush with embarrassnt and anxiety.
She had never felt so many eyes focused on her at once.
"So... we’re going to be opponents, huh?"
A boy leapt onto the arena stage. Tall and sowhat handso, his annoyingly haughty expression radiated arrogance.
His black hair was cut short, with two earrings dangling from his earlobes.
From his appearance alone, it was clear he took pleasure in intimidating others.
Liora felt a twinge of fear but quickly pushed it aside.
"Yes. I’m looking forward to fighting you," she said, extending her right hand.
The boy, however, waved it off dismissively.
"Don’t get friendly with . Honestly, I’m not interested in this fight. Let’s just get it over with," he said coldly, summoning his spear.
The aura of a Fourth Awakening surged from him, filling the arena with suffocating pressure.
"Co on, defeat that druid! Show her how dangerous the outside world really is!"
A boy from the first wave shouted loudly.
The others quickly joined in, and the atmosphere instantly turned chaotic.
"Vice Principal, shouldn’t we stop this?" a middle-aged female professor asked. "The attitude of these new students is outrageous. This is blatant discrimination against the druid girl."
The other professors nodded in agreent.
They admired the abilities of this generation, but if the students’ behavior was like this, they had to reconsider whether these newcors were truly worthy of Saint Freya Academy.
The academy was already in a delicate position. The appearance of the Sky Wing Crack signaled that sothing major was about to happen.
They would need to cooperate with various races to face the worst-case scenario.
If Liora felt uncomfortable and chose to return to her holand, the academy’s reputation would suffer among the druids, potentially ruining the fragile alliance they had built.
"Wait. Don’t take any rash actions," Ronald said calmly, his gaze fixed on rlin as if waiting for his signal.
"Co on, defeat her! Don’t give her an inch!"
"That’s right! Prove that humans are superior!"
The shouts grew louder, making Liora even more terrified.
"I... I..."
As panic and anxiety threatened to overwhelm her, a cold, commanding voice rang out across the arena.
"Silence!"
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