Chapter 516: Evaluation For Freshmen and Seniors Interlude

It was too hot.

Like sinking into a vat of boiling oil—no, hotter than that.

Like drowning in a molten sea with no surface to break through.

The sensation wasn’t just on her skin; it was in her bones, her blood, even her thoughts.

It gnawed at every inch of her being.

There was no escaping it.

Stacia couldn’t scream.

Her throat felt sealed by the heat, her voice devoured before it could even form.

Her vision blurred as her body became the center of the inferno.

Everything inside her, the mana she once thought familiar—reliable—now turned on her like a beast finally let loose.

This wasn’t the warmth she once felt comforted by.

No, this was an old flame she thought she had long since learned to control—an ancient, primal fire now running wild, unchained.

Ever since her mana had been aligned with fire, she had always believed the flames were a reflection of herself.

Passionate, untamed, but manageable. A friend. A partner. A strength.

She was wrong.

This… this wasn’t a partnership.

This was complete surrender.

It felt like her body would break apart from the inside, her nerves twisting and twitching in pain.

Yet something about it—this raw, unfiltered agony—felt… peaceful.

Like stepping naked into the furnace of one’s own soul and finally accepting it.

No more holding back. No more shaping it into forms.

Just flame.

Pure and destructive.

WHOOOOOOOSHHHH—!!

The ground trembled as her crimson sword, [Ignis], reacted violently to her release.

The blade roared alive, wreathed in a blaze deeper and more saturated than ever before.

It resonated—not with her mana, but with her intent.

With her will. With the decision to stop controlling the fire… and instead become it.

Her heart pounded like a war drum as the flames devoured the air itself.

And then, as the raging pillar of fire briefly receded, she slowly floated back down to the blackened, half-melted earth.

Her boots cracked the superheated stone beneath as she landed with quiet force.

Eyes, glowing like lit coals, locked onto the one figure still standing unfazed through it all—Riley.

“So, this… is what you meant,” she whispered, a breathless understanding woven into her tone.

To burn everything… wasn’t metaphor.

It was command.

A revelation. A truth.

She almost laughed aloud at the simplicity of it.

She’d spent all this time trying to refine her flames—shape them, sculpt them, balance heat with control, power with discipline.

But that was never what Riley asked of her.

What he demanded was… totality.

An unrelenting inferno with no reservations.

The kind of flame that consumes not just the enemy—but the battlefield, the rules, even the self.

All around her, the cave responded to her awakening.

The stone sizzled and collapsed into magma, the air shimmered in waves of heat distortion.

The mana in the surroundings began to distort, combusting on contact with hers.

Even her own mana was burning—no, being burned.

It no longer cycled calmly through her veins.

It screamed. It lashed. And yet, she embraced it.

She was no longer channeling fire.

She was fire.

Riley smiled.

A pale blue radiance shimmered across his body, his aura desperately resisting the inferno engulfing the cave.

The flames that surged from Stacia’s core weren’t ordinary — they were unrelenting, raw, and all-consuming.

Even with his reinforced mana defenses, he couldn’t suppress all of it.

She was truly burning everything.

He leaned back slightly, eyes flicking toward the back of the cavern where Vanessa struggled to keep herself upright.

Her arms trembled as she raised a protective shield of wind and earth around her, but it was crumbling fast — the searing heat was too much.

Stacia no longer cared about her surroundings. Her flames didn’t distinguish friend from foe.

Her consciousness had fully surrendered to her instincts.

If this went on for even a few more seconds…

Vanessa would be incinerated.

Riley exhaled softly.

It was time to end this.

He had already gotten what he wanted from both of them.

Now he had to do his job — the role expected of someone branded an S-rank monster.

With a single breath, Riley’s mana burst outward — no longer passively defensive, but honed and compacted into something razor-sharp.

He condensed his aura, forcing it to remain stable even under the oppressive heat that devoured the very air.

Sparks of lightning crackled at his fingertips.

They danced wildly along his shoulders, slithering down his sheathed blade like serpents made of light.

The ground beneath him split slightly from the pressure.

He stepped forward into an Iai stance.

His sheathed sword gleamed, arcs of electricity gathering and crawling along the polished edge of the hilt as he steadied his breathing.

Across from him, Stacia responded.

Her crimson blade, Ignis, roared in her hand — its flames howling with unrestrained fury.

She lifted it above her head, and the fire swelled like a sea boiling over, rising with her will to destroy.

Her silhouette was wreathed in chaos, her eyes glowing fiercely through the waves of heat.

Their eyes locked.

There was no hatred.

Only clarity.

This was inevitable.

Her flames surged.

His blade flashed.

Both moved at the same time.

[Hidden Blade Technique]

[First Form: Blue Moon]

SWIIISHHHHH—!!!

[Flame Arts]

[Crimson Slash]

FWOOOOOSHHHH—!!!

One attack brought out like the speed of lightning.

The other rose down like the scream of a dying star.

Lightning and fire collided.

BOOOOOOOM—!!!!

The clash erupted like the heavens falling onto the earth.

The force of the impact swallowed the cave in a single breath — the entire hill disintegrated, flames scorching the earth as shockwaves split the land open.

Trees in the surrounding forest were flattened, vaporized, or lit aflame in an instant.

Even the sky above seemed to momentarily glow with the aftermath of their collision.

And then—

[RANK #2 — FRESHMAN: VANESSA] — ELIMINATED

[RANK #3 — FRESHMAN: STACIA ALGER DEL LUNA] — ELIMINATED

The announcement boomed across the northern forest like the tolling of a bell.

A moment of silence blanketed the area.

….

Maybe I shouldn’t have used that much mana…

My hands were lightly trembling from the move I just gave Stacia.

I didn’t hold back—not even a little. So this level of destruction… yeah, it was expected.

Still, looking at the now probably forever-changed landscape in this part of the forest, maybe I owe the principal a personal apology later.

It wasn’t like I could control it anyway.

Holding back my mana wasn’t exactly easy—especially when most of it was being burned the moment it left my body.

Seriously, Stacia’s mana burn was just as overpowered as I remembered.

A ridiculous skill with the rare [Growth] trait.

Meaning it’ll keep evolving—possibly all the way up to EX-rank in the future.

It was a good thing I pushed her this far. If anything, this little meltdown guarantees I won’t have to worry too much about her upcoming fight with the Clown.

She’ll probably burn through whatever tricks he throws at her.

As for Vanessa…

I felt a bit of relief knowing that Erebil hasn’t made any unnecessary moves in the elven kingdom—at least not without me noticing.

The fact that Vanessa didn’t react to the energy of death inside me?

That was already proof enough.

Of course, there’s still a chance she just didn’t notice the source of my blessing’s influence—but an Elf like her?

No way.

Especially considering the World Tree is the only thing keeping Erebil’s full influence from spreading into this world.

For now, no one should be crazy enough to cross this molten field.

Technically, my designated battle area is now reduced to scorched earth and melted stone.

…I should probably check up on Rose next.

….

When Stacia woke up, the first thing she saw was a white ceiling.

She blinked. Once. Twice.

Then her body jolted upright on instinct.

A sharp, dry breath escaped her lips.

She was struggling to breathe, her chest rising and falling in uneven gasps.

Her vision was blurry—everything was spinning.

Her limbs felt heavy, her thoughts cloudy.

“You’re alright… Calm down! Healers! Get me a mana potion—this student’s showing signs of severe mana overlap and deficiency!”

A voice beside her rang out in panic. One of the medical team, maybe? She couldn’t tell.

Everything sounded muffled, distant—like she was underwater.

The burning sensation in her chest… it slowly began to fade.

Her thoughts started to piece themselves back together.

Her mind cleared just enough to remember what happened.

Ah…

It seems I lost.

Well, it was to be expected. But even so—she wasn’t disappointed.

Because… she had grown stronger.

Not strong enough to stand beside him yet.

But maybe just strong enough to be part of his world now.

And that was more than enough for her.

“Cough—!! Cough!!”

Blood burst from her mouth, warm and thick as it dripped down her chin.

“Q-Quick! Mana stabilizers! Get them now! Student Stacia, do not move!”

Her palms were soaked in her own blood.

Her heart felt like it was being crushed, pain exploding in her chest like a spell gone wrong.

Her limbs wouldn’t respond.

A throbbing headache hit her like a hammer, and the world swayed again.

“It seems her mana didn’t fully restore after the emergency transfer. What happened?”

“It got burned, you say? That’s impossible! This is enchanted with celestial magic, for goddess’s sake—I’m not an idiot!”

“Just stabilize her for now. Rest, student. We’ll handle the rest…”

The voices around her grew louder, mixing into shouting.

Panic filled the room.

People moved.

Tools clattered.

But even with all the chaos swirling around her…

She smiled.

There was a strange pleasure in the pain—like something warm and beautiful burning inside her chest.

“Ah~ I need you… senior…”

Her voice was a soft mumble, barely audible through the mess of pain and blood.

“…my hero~”

And with that, her consciousness gave out.

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