All Year Three students walked toward the speed platform—a straight enchanted path stretching the length of the arena, flanked by hovering rune-stones.

Each participant would run individually. The stones would record speed, acceleration, and flow of essence while in motion.

From Thornevale, a tall girl with stormy blue robes stepped forward first. She blasted forward with wind magic under her feet, finishing in good time. Mild applause followed.

One by one, the students took their turns.

Then it was time for ElderGlow’s group. Damon’s group.

He grinned as he looked at the path before him. “I’m going first.” He said to his other teammates.

“Don’t fail us.” Daveon stated, clapping hands with Damon as he walked forward.

He stepped onto the platform, closed his eyes for one second… and ran.

No magic. No enhancements.

Only his natural movement and refined body technique.

But his steps were too quiet—too fast. The runic stones pulsed frantically as they tried to keep up with his shifts in pressure and tempo. A faint shimmer trailed behind him like echoes of silver light. His hair.

When he reached the finish, silence followed.

Then—cheers.

Even the Deans leaned forward to examine the measurements appearing in the air.

“Speed test: complete,” the instructor said. “Subject: Damon Terrace from ElderGlow. Result: Outstanding. Ranking: Advanced.”

Miss Leana allowed herself a very slight nod.

The group moved on.

Daveon hot slightly lower results and so did Anaya but Celeste was even more stunning.

As an Assassin, speed was one o her strongest points. It was almost impossible to win her here.

Phase Two: Agility.

A shifting tower maze emerged from the ground—its walls covered in shifting patterns and rotating obstacles. Runes altered gravity, and false walls led into traps.

Again, each participant entered one at a time.

Damon crouched as he stepped in. For three minutes, nothing was seen—only the shifting of tiles and flickers of illusion inside.

Then, he appeared at the top of the tower, having cleared all layers faster than anyone before him. That was until Celeste came up again. She easily surpassed his record.

The next phases came in waves.

Strength—a test of physical power and energy bursts. Damon shattered the reinforced weight stones with only half his essence.

Celeste couldn’t surpass him this time. “Hahaha… This is my forte!” Damon grinned as Celeste returned to join the team.

Essence Control—a test requiring precision spells cast at varying speeds and difficulties. He passed with near-perfect form.

Combat Intelligence was the last.

Each student was dropped into a simulated battlefield. A team of illusionary enemies, environment hazards, and traps tested their ability to adapt.

Damon wasn’t flashy. He didn’t shout or glow or show off.

He dismantled the entire scenario in under four minutes.

When he walked off the platform, even Thornevale’s stoic team glanced his way.

He returned to his teammates.

Anaya clapped him on the back. “We’re terrifying them.”

Daveon grinned. “We should.”

Celeste simply whispered, “Well done.”

Damon looked at Celeste for a second before he smiled. “You’ll do better since this is one of your specialties.”

The judges huddled around floating screens, calculating scores and generating matchups for the battle phases to begin later that afternoon.

But for now, the opening trials for years one to three were complete.

The Year Threes of all four academies had shown their mettle.

And Damon?

He had left no doubt that ElderGlow’s anchor was not to be underestimated.

The testing platform for the Year Four students of Thornevale shimmered under the morning sun.

Their evaluations had begun just minutes ago, but already a tense stillness had crept into the crowd of students observing from the stands.

Unlike the earlier assessments, the Year Four trials were more intense—complex spellcraft, combat synchronization tests, and high-pressure decision-making simulations.

The kind of things you expected of students who would soon graduate into elite military units or powerful guilds.

The test had just entered the agility round when a low voice, barely more than a mutter, rose from the Crowgarth section of the stands.

“Thornevale should’ve stayed in the forests. Watching them cast is like watching turtles learn to fly.”

Several students around him snickered.

But the words had already traveled further than intended.

One of the Thornevale participants, a tall and lean boy with narrow golden eyes and dark green robes, slowed his pace.

He had just leapt from one shifting platform to another when he paused mid-movement, landed harder than necessary, and turned his head toward the stands.

The sharpness in his eyes was unmistakable. Rage—and restraint. But just barely.

The instructor monitoring the test tried to call his focus back to the task, but the boy didn’t respond. Instead, he moved with deliberate purpose toward the edge of the testing platform, where he stepped off and walked toward the speaker’s section.

“Who said it?”

The Crowgarth students laughed, deflecting the question as though it was of no importance to them. But one stood, a tall boy with crimson markings painted under his eyes, clearly proud of his outburst.

“I did,” he said with a grin. “Did I stutter?”

The Thornevale student’s hands twitched.

Damon, watching from the ElderGlow side, tensed in his seat. The air had shifted again—no longer just competitive, but volatile. Even some of the Wyrmere students looked uneasy.

The Thornevale student stepped forward, now fully off the testing platform.

“I challenge you,” he said. “Here. Now. Let’s see if your words carry the same power as your magic.”

Whispers rippled through the gathered crowd. Two Deans sat up straighter. A member of the regulating committee—a man in silver-blue robes—stepped forward to intervene.

“I’m afraid that’s not permitted. Spontaneous duels between contestants are prohibited unless sanctioned by both Deans and the regulation panel.”

Before he could continue, another voice rose, cool and smooth like a knife over velvet.

“Then I’ll sanction it myself.”

Dean Dethrein, head of Crowgarth Institution, had stood.

He was a tall man as Damon and Daveon had last seen him. This time, he was dressed in a white coat that billowed with enchantment, and eyes that glinted with the kind of authority few questioned.

“If both students are willing,” he continued, “and if the others will allow it, I’ll officiate the match personally. No bloodshed, of course. Just a gentleman’s clash.”

The regulator shook his head. “The panel already—”

“I’ll allow it,” came another voice.

Dean Godsthorn of ElderGlow stood calmly, his arms behind his back as he surveyed the arena below. “We’ve always agreed to keep the contests fair, haven’t we, Dethrein? If you’re willing to contain the damage and take full responsibility for their safety, we’ll permit it—under regulation.”

The regulator hesitated… then sighed. “Very well. But I’ll be watching closely. No killing blows. No advanced essence manipulation. Basic techniques only.”

Dethrein stepped forward, raising one hand.

The arena platform shimmered and began to reform. Pillars of light spun upward to create a translucent essence barrier, cutting off the dueling platform from the rest of the crowd.

Woooong~

A soft hum filled the air as protective glyphs activated along the edges, ensuring no essence—no matter how chaotic—would escape.

The two students stepped into the ring.

The Thornevale student—Auren Vell, heir to a long line of elementalists. His robe shifted in color as enchantments settled into place. His eyes were locked on his opponent with surgical focus.

The Crowgarth student—Revik Sol, a known provocateur and illusionist as his talent allowed. He was smirking, though his eyes had started to sharpen.

Dethrein floated above them on a small platform, hands raised. “You will fight with basic magic only. No killing intent. The first to be disarmed, knocked out of the circle, or submit shall lose. Begin.”

He lowered his hand.

And everything moved.

Revik immediately cast a mirror veil, his form splitting into three identical clones that danced around the platform. Auren didn’t hesitate—he drew two fingers in a spiral, summoning a burst of wind that scattered the illusions instantly.

Revik frowned. He hadn’t expected that. “Let’s take it up a little.”

From there, the two exchanged rapid attacks.

Auren used grounding magic, forming earth tiles that rose and struck like battering rams, while Revik deflected with agile barriers of force magic.

Clang!

Sparks flew. Dust rose. The barrier around them shimmered as it absorbed every impact.

Outside the arena, Damon leaned forward in his seat.

He watched the way Auren moved. No wasted energy. No flash. Just calculated strikes and sharp counters. Revik, meanwhile, had the flair but lacked the discipline. He smirked when he shouldn’t. Relaxed between spells.

Anaya whispered to Damon. “Auren’s going to win.”

Damon nodded. “Unless he holds back out of pride.”

Inside the ring, Revik growled and launched a triple-shot flame arc. Auren spun low, absorbed the fire with a wall of compacted air, and then closed the distance. He planted his foot, twisted, and struck Revik square in the jaw with a condensed air hammer.

Bang!!

Revik flew backward into the barrier and collapsed with a grunt. “Ugh!”

Silence.

Dethrein floated down and walked over, checking him briefly before raising a hand.

“Revik Sol is defeated. Match over.”

The barrier dropped.

Cheers erupted from the Thornevale and even Wyrmere contingents. Some of the ElderGlow students clapped too—Damon among them.

Auren didn’t gloat. He simply turned and walked off the platform, his face impassive.

Dean Dethrein smiled thinly, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Dean Godsthorn gave a single nod from his platform, but Miss Leana leaned toward Damon and his group.

“Let this remind you,” she whispered coldly, “how quickly pride becomes provocation, and provocation becomes war. I suggest you keep your heads down unless you’re told to raise them.”

Damon, Anaya, Daveon, and Celeste all nodded silently. “I hope they don’t provoke me though.” Damon murmured.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep