Chapter 61: 61. World academy trials – 7

In the world of Aris, mana reigned supreme. It was not a rigid force bound by singular laws but a flexible and adaptive energy that permeated everything: air, land, water, and even blood.

Over countless generations, civilizations had learned to bend this energy into structured systems, creating clear paths for the awakened.

Broadly speaking, there existed three primary methods through which mana was utilized.

The first was battle techniques: methods that used weapons as conduits for mana, allowing the wielder to amplify physical actions into destructive forces. These techniques depended on precision, control, and experience rather than raw imagination.

The second was spells, which relied purely on mana manipulation without physical mediums. These demanded talent, affinity, and complex mental calculations; once a spell was formed, it was recorded down for future generations.

The third was cultivation techniques, which governed how mana was absorbed, refined, and stored within the body. These techniques formed the foundation of all strength, determining how far an individual could climb.

Among the three, battle techniques were the most flexible to use. As long as a person possessed any type of mana and a weapon capable of conducting it, they could execute them, although a lot of experience and practice was required to master them.

Some techniques, such as the Tempest Sword Technique, were aligned toward specific elements of storm and thunder; if used with them, the output would be the best as compared to using it with other elements.

On the other hand, techniques, like the Heaven-Sundering Divine Sword Art, had no such compatibility.

It was a technique that could accept any form of energy infused into them, creating countless variations of the same attack.

This adaptability was precisely what Ethan had attempted earlier by fusing a light element with the Tempest Sword Technique.

And it was also what Will was about to attempt, albeit on an entirely different level.

Dark clouds rolled overhead as thunder rumbled through the sky.

The forest canopy shuddered when an SS-rank Thunder Roc descended from the heavens, its wings stretched wide as lightning crackled along its feathers.

The beast’s rage was palpable, its sharp eyes locked onto the lone human standing below.

The reason was simple.

Will had annihilated its nest.

Branches snapped and trees collapsed as the Roc dove, its talons glowing with condensed thunder.

The pressure alone caused the surrounding ground to fracture, yet Will did not move. His expression remained calm.

“Heaven-Sundering Divine Sword Art,”

“First Form: Origin Severance.”

“Kreee—ee! Kreee—ah!”

The Thunder Roc let out a shrill, broken scream as its body was blasted backward by the force alone.

A fraction of a second later, the massive form split cleanly in two, blood and lightning scattered before evaporating into the air.

The corpse hit the ground in pieces.

And a silence followed.

Will exhaled slowly, his shoulders relaxing as he walked toward the remains. As he inspected the area, he frowned faintly.

Will had used his darkness element with the attack, and he soon realized there was no need to do so; the sheer power of the god-rank technique would have been enough.

There was no monster core.

Host, why do you never listen to me? These are illusion constructs. They will not carry cores.]

“Yeah, yeah,” Will replied with mild annoyance. “I was just checking.”

Straightening, he opened the leaderboard.

[RANKINGS]

#1 William Kaiser (Human) [125,000]

#2 Ethan (Human) [78,125]

#3 Gaelion Skybreak (Titan) [50,625]

#4 Katherine Nightreign (Vampire) [45,125]

#5 Seraphine (Elf) [30,025]

#6 Dino Drakemor (Dragon) [30,006]

#7 Fiona Ashfall (Phoenix) [29,500]

#8 Leila Ravenclaw (Human) [25,625]

#9 Desmond Klembred (dwarf) [23,125]

#10 Kara Babylon (wolf-kin – beastfolk) [20,350]

…

…

====

Looking at the rankings, a slow and satisfied smile appeared on Will’s face.

“Dragons and phoenixes outside would be fuming.”

He did not say it loudly, nor was there any arrogance in his tone. It was more of a smart guess.

He already knew what kind of response his position would provoke beyond the domain, and the thought did not trouble him in the slightest.

Will was absolutely right.

Outside the domain, the massive arena had fallen into an unnatural stillness. The usual mixture of cheers, gasps, and competitive taunts had collapsed into a strange imbalance of sound. Only one group’s voices remained dominant.

The human race audience cheered with all their might.

Their noise rolled across the stands in overwhelming waves, drowning out every other faction. Some shouted names, others screamed incoherently, while many simply stood with clenched fists and wide eyes, unable to believe what they were witnessing.

Humans held the top two positions.

For most of them, this was something they had never even imagined.

Their elders spoke of ancient figures like Sword Saint Klaus, legendary cardinals of the church, and heroes who had lived centuries ago.

Those stories were distant, half-mythical, and belonging to an era long past.

But now, in their own lifetimes, they were seeing it with their own eyes.

Two humans.

At the very top.

They were leading.

Many human spectators wiped their eyes, some laughed in disbelief, while others stood frozen, afraid that if they blinked the rankings would change.

Across the arena, the reaction from other races could not have been more different.

Silence pressed down heavily in the elite lobby.

Representatives of dragon kin sat stiff-backed; their expressions were tight.

Phoenix elders stared at the screens with narrowed eyes, wings twitching subtly as irritation seeped through their composure.

Vampires watched quietly, crimson pupils reflecting the rankings without a single outward reaction, though the tension around them was unmistakable.

Being outranked by humans was not merely a matter of pride.

It was a disruption in natural order for them.

For generations, the hierarchy between races had remained largely unspoken but deeply understood.

Humans were at the bottom; they were adaptable and large in number, but they rarely dominated the competition at the very top.

That unspoken balance was now under threat.

It was not just one of them; instead, it was three humans in the top ten this year.

The atmosphere among them was restless.

From several elite lobbies, shadows silently detached themselves from walls and corners, slipping away without announcement. No one needed to ask what they were doing.

Orders were already forming.

Although Ethan’s presence was explainable,

He was publicly revealed as the disciple of Sword Saint Klaus recently after he showcased the tempest art.

But the first ranker was an anomaly. William’s background was a blank slate, and that made him far more dangerous in the eyes of power.

A cold voice broke the silence in one of the rooms.

“Investigate the background of both of these humans.”

Almost identical orders echoed across other lobbies.

They could not allow the balance between races to tilt unchecked.

In another elite lobby, Emperor Aurelius Dalton stared at the projected rankings in disbelief.

His gaze shifted slowly toward the man seated beside him.

“So,” Aurelius said, his voice low but incredulous, “you’re telling me that the first ranker—William—is from Riverdale?”

He searched Klaus’s face for hesitation, but he could not find any.

Sword Saint Klaus simply nodded.

Aurelius leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose as his fingers tightened around the armrest.

“And the second ranker,” he continued after a pause, “is your disciple.”

The two topmost ranks from his own empire—the revelation was difficult to digest for Aurelius.

Klaus remained silent this time, neither confirming nor denying verbally. His calm demeanor made it clear that further questions would not be answered here.

Across the room, Cardinal Nichole sat unnaturally still.

Earlier confidence had vanished from his posture. The faint smugness he had worn during previous discussions was gone, replaced by a strained neutrality.

His hands rested together, fingers interlocked tightly enough for his knuckles to pale.

He had spoken too much earlier about the saint of the church.

Now, with Klaus’s disciple standing near the top and another human from the same empire holding first place, the implications weighed heavily on him.

Nichole swallowed, carefully masking the tension in his expression. The humiliation was real, but showing it would only make things worse.

For now, silence was the safest choice.

And in that silence, all three men understood the same thing.

The trial was shaping into something entirely different.

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