THE NEXT DAY!

The early morning sun filtered through the towers of Zephyr Academy, casting light onto the various pathways.

However, despite the warm environment, there was a noticeable tension in the air, as students whispered to each-other about the attacks that happened the day before.

“Did you hear what happened near the SkyRail?”

“I heard someone fought off a dozen cultists, alone.”

“William, Miranda and even Morgana were attacked. What’s going on?”

While the Police Force hadn’t released the information publicly and tried to keep it quiet, the Nobles and well-connected students always had a way of finding out what happened using their influence.

By now, the whole Academy buzzed with stories, half-truths, exaggerations, and speculations alike about all of the students who were attacked.

As all these chats were going on, Albedo had just arrived in his Homeroom precisely as the bell rang. Whispers immediately broke out among a-lot of the students present as they saw him enter, but he ignored them all.

Moments later, Professor Kayle entered the room, her long white coat shimmering with runic embroidery.

“Good morning,” she said, her voice cutting through the whispers like a hot knife through butter, and the classroom fell silent immediately.

Kayle scanned the room once, then let her gaze rest for a beat longer than necessary on a few specific students, Albedo, Lucian, William, Morgana, Miranda.

“I’ve heard rumors,” she began, crossing her arms, “Whispers about what occurred yesterday. I won’t confirm or deny anything. That’s not my job. But, “

Her golden eyes locked with Albedo’s for a moment, “If any of you were involved in what happened… and you’re still here today, seated and breathing…”

A slight smile tugged at her lips.

“…then you’ve earned a sliver of my respect.”

Several students straightened at that, some confused, others emboldened.

“Now. With that said, today is your first Combat Class. You’ll be heading down to the Violet Arena for a practical demonstration. This is a mandatory performance assessment to figure out what each of you need to work on.”

There were a few groans, some excited murmurs.

Kayle’s smile turned knowing. “Don’t worry. You’ll only be fighting each other.”

She stepped aside, motioning to the door.

“Let’s move.”

***

Violet Arena – Zephyr Academy Combat Grounds

The Violet Arena was a vast closed-roofed coliseum embedded within the side of a spire, with arcane runes floating above the arena to record and reflect the battles happening below.

Dozens of students now lined the observation platforms, many of them leaning forward in anticipation.

Professor Kayle stood at one end of the platform, while beside her stood another woman draped in luxurious clothing like a second skin.

Professor Skye.

She wore a crystalline diamond-themed dress, and her hair was blue, styled like a crown. She held herself with the rigid posture of aristocratic superiority.

She was a Diamond Rank combatant and daughter of Marquis Elrowen, and more importantly, she was a noble supremacist.

While Kayle was known for her fairness, Skye… was not.

“Listen well,” Skye’s voice echoed across the Arena as she addressed the gathered students, “Today’s objective is to gauge your current level of combat proficiency. Not only your raw power, but your ability to read, respond, and adapt. This is not about winning. It’s about revealing.”

Professor Kayle raised a hand and begun to explain, “Each match will be one-on-one. Mana suppression barriers will prevent lethal damage, and the runes will intervene if necessary.”

Her tone shifted slightly, “Fight smart. Fight clean. Victory doesn’t mean you’ll impress it, but rather your approach and the skills you employ.”

Professor Skye smiled thinly beside her, but her gaze had already turned toward the noble-born students. A list scrolled into view atop the arcane projection, and the first names appeared.

[ Lucian Arclight vs Kaden Nightstone ]

A flood of murmurs immediately echoed across the room as students saw the first match-up. Despite being in the same class, due to how the Entrance Exam was, none of them knew how the others fought.

Thus, everyone was extremely curious to see how skilled the #2 was, especially in comparison to themselves.

Lucian stepped onto the field with his usual quiet confidence. His silver sword was strapped to his back, and he moved like a dancer dressed as a warrior.

Kaden stood in front of him, holding a Mana Bow while he looked towards Lucian. He stood the furthest back from Lucian as he possibly could, wanting to maximize the distance in order to use his bow effectively.

Then, the countdown to the battle begun.

3-2-1-FIGHT!

“Come on, Prodigy!” Kaden cockily said, unleashing three arrows of pure Mana towards Lucian, aimed at his head, chest and crotch.

As for the one towards his head, Lucian sidestepped, flowing like water to effortlessly dodge it, and then he swung his sword that he had unsheathed in the blink of an eye.

~CLANG!~

A clean parry, sending the Mana Arrow crashing towards the roof of the arena, and finally Lucian sliced through the arrow aimed at his crotch, easily dissolving each of Kaden’s attacks.

~WHOOSH!~

Then, Lucian pounced, in a blink he appeared in front of Kaden, slashing it his arm, disrupting Kaden’s mana flow and knocking the Mana Bow out of his arms.

Then, he swung once more, his blade glowing slightly.

~FLASH~SLICE!~

The blade moved in a perfect arc, slamming into Kaden, not hard enough to injure, but perfectly placed to register a “kill” in the sparring rune.

[ Match: Lucian Arclight – Victory ]

The students murmured in awe. It hadn’t even been fifteen seconds, yet Lucian had so effortlessly dispatched of the #10 ranked student. The gap between them seemed absolutely huge.

Professor Skye clapped once, politely. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

[ William Frost vs Lira Voss ]

Next was William Frost, the Main Villain of the Academy Arc fighting against Lira, who would eventually become the Queen of Beasts. Unfortunately, Lira wasn’t even a Beast Tamer at this point, so she stood no chance.

“Begin!” Kayle declared.

Lira moved fast, trying to catch William off guard and potentially end the battle early. She knew going into an extended fight was an absolutely hopeless situation.

She wore Mana Gauntlets on her hand and tried to punch William after closing the gap, but the Son of the Duke didn’t even flinch, just moving his hand in a strange gesture.

[ AEGIS Projection ]

Small hexagonal runes appeared in mid-air and linked together to form a firm defensive construct, set like walls.

Lira slammed her first into the wall, bit bounced back as if the attack’s force was redirected towards her. She tried to balance again and launch another attack, but her movement staggered.

Her foot had slipped on ice, as William had layered an Ice spell underneath her. Then, he moved in, manifesting a spear of Ice and aimed it directly at Lira.

Freezing Mist surrounded Lira as the Spear was stopped directly next to her neck, “Hmf, pathetic.” He said with disdain as he looked at her, stepping back as Lira’s rune flared.

[ Match: William Frost – Victory ]

Lira quickly hurried off of the stage, not wanting to be embarrassed as she sat and thought of what she could do to get stronger quickly, all the while the other battles continued on.

“Looks like his Gift is working as intended.” Albedo muttered as he saw the battle.

William’s Gift was [ Perfectionist ]. The Gift essentially made William as perfect as can be. Unlike others, when William uses mana, none of the mana is ever wasted, making him the most perfect combatant.

The Gift also assists in training, as it works in a way of perfecting William’s use of all of the techniques & skills he employs. It rapidly improves both his training efficiency and his combat efficiency.

The biggest boost of the Gift was its active state <Perfect Being> which maximizes William’s power, entering him into a perfect state where he is the strongest he can possibly be.

It’s as if he was possessed by the God Of War in that state, and is a big reason why even Lucian struggled to defeat him in all out battles.

Still, the battles continued as Albedo thought of all of this.

[ Morgana Blackstone vs Reyna Valcrest ]

Morgana’s entrance was eerie, a chill seeming to follow her though there was no ice magic in her immediate vicinity. She wore a black combat coat that shimmered in shadow, and dark smoke curled at her fingertips.

Her opponent, Reyna, was a bright-eyed lightning-aspected fighter, one of the flashiest duelists in their year and the Daughter of a Diamond Ranked Guild.

“Ready?” Kayle asked.

Reyna grinned, her gauntlets sparking, “Try to keep up, goth queen.”

The moment the match began, thunder cracked. Reyna vanished in a bolt of yellow lightning, zig-zagging across the field.

Lighting also crackled and zapped straight towards Morgana for the one hit KO.

But Morgana…stood still.

Dark shadows leaked from her coat and pooled onto the ground. The Lightning immediately fizzled out once it reached towards Morgana’s immediately vicinity.

Then…Chains

Dozens of them.

~SNAP~SNAP~SNAP!~

The chains rushed out of the various shadows on the floor.

Reyna had reappeared mid-air, trying to crash down from above, but a black chain snatched her ankle and yanked her sideways.

She spun, confused, then aimed another thunderbolt.

But there were now three Morganas standing right in front of her.

Illusions.

“No!”

A blast of shadow erupted like a miniature black hole, surrounding Reyna and locking her in place.

The rune triggered.

[ Match: Morgana Duskwind – Victory ]

The crowd went silent but Albedo wasn’t that surprised, recognizing Morgana’s use of her Gift, ‘Dark Wonderland’

Dark Wonderland was a Gift perfect for Morgana’s talents in Dark Magic. First of all, it’s basic effect was increasing the power and Morgana’s control of all Dark Magic spells or techniques by 3x.

She can also take control of any target whose blood she has touched or spilled, turning them into unwillingly puppets for a duration depending on her mana and how much of their blood she has, and their relative ranks.

The Gift also allows her to absorb enemy blood to heal, travel through darkness, and buffs her power in Dark Environments.

[ Zeus Duskbane vs Grant Talden ]

From the moment Zeus stepped onto the stage, his presence was undeniable.

He towered over most students, his spiky red hair flowing and his gold eyes showing eagerness, a massive great-axe rested on his shoulder.

Yet it was his grin that unsettled the arena. It wasn’t arrogance.

It was hunger.

The moment he locked eyes with Grant, Zeus let out a booming laugh.

“Come now! Don’t cower. Even a lamb can surprise a lion if it bites hard enough.”

Grant swallowed hard, raising a sword with shaking hands. He was lean, clearly trained, but nowhere near Zeus’ level.

Kayle glanced to Skye, who nodded lazily. She was already bored, as she knew the inevitable outcome of the upcoming battle.

“Begin.”

~BOOM!~

The second the match started, Zeus moved.

No flashy spell. No incantation. Just pure, overwhelming speed.

His boots shattered the stone tiles beneath him as he lunged forward, crossing the distance in a second. Grant instinctively slashed forward.

Too slow.

Zeus ducked under the strike, his body a blur despite the weight of his gear. With a snarl of delight, he drove his shoulder into Grant’s chest, lifting the boy off his feet and slamming him into the arena wall.

The impact echoed like thunder.

Grant gasped, stunned, but still tried to recover, drawing mana to reinforce his body.

“Resilient!” Zeus grinned. “But let’s crank the tempo, shall we?”

Golden-red energy erupted from Zeus like fire igniting along his skin. His muscles pulsed, his veins glowing with divine light.

[ Gift Activated: War God’s Power ]

The aura surrounding Zeus grew monstrous, an oppressive, violent pressure that made even spectators flinch. His muscles swelled, and the runes on his axe burned brighter.

This was his Gift.

War God’s Power – A Gift that honed Zeus’ instincts to a battle deity. It passively increased his Physical strength with every rank up, and massively increased his strength when activated. He doesn’t feel any pain in the activate State, and his resistances to elements increased. At the end of the Novel, he was near immune to elements when he activated that state.

Grant screamed and unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, each imbued with mana, but Zeus caught the blade with his bare hand, his skin hardened by the Gift.

“Nice swing. Let me show you a better one.”

Zeus lifted his axe and brought it down like the judgment of a god.

~BOOM!~

The air cracked as the axe stopped inches from Grant’s skull, halted only by the Rune’s emergency interference system.

The mana barrier flared, shielding Grant just in time.

[ Match: Zeus Duskbane – Victory ]

Grant collapsed, groaning, more from exhaustion and terror than pain. The students were stunned silent.

Then, Skye clapped daintily, eyes gleaming, “Exquisite. Just what I’d expect from the son of Duke Duskbane. Decisive. Unflinching. Brutal, that’s the difference between those born at the top and those commoners clinging to their little power.

Kayle’s expression remained unreadable, though her gaze did flicker toward Grant with a note of silent sympathy.

Zeus, meanwhile, let the axe fall across his shoulders again and turned away from the downed student, his voice booming with satisfaction.

“Not bad, Talden! You stood your ground. Next time, try aiming for the throat.”

He laughed again, striding off the field like a victorious beast.

***

The rest of the fights weren’t nearly that engaging.

Albedo was matched up with Julian Greaves, the 19th ranked student and easily dispatched him without even needing to use Havoc and Ruin.

Miranda faced Dorian and easily defeated him, and Veronica battled a lower ranked student and easily defeated them as well.

All of the students thought that was it, but Professor Skye stepped forward while clapping, her expression cool.

“Well done. Well done. But that was all just… warm-up.”

She stepped forward, her Diamond Rank aura pulsing lightly.

“I think it’s time for a true test.”

Her finger pointed.

“To see what happens when the two highest-ranked students… face someone far above them.”

She descended onto the arena floor.

Her crystalline rapier appeared in her hand with a shimmer of light.

“Lucian. Albedo. Step forward. Both of you.”

Gasps rang out around the stands.

A Diamond Rank versus two Silver-Rank students?

Even Kayle turned, eyes narrowing “Skye. Are you sure—”

“Oh please, Kayle,” Skye said smoothly, “It’s educational. Besides… the top students deserve a challenge.”

Lucian stepped forward first, rolling his neck.

Albedo followed a second later, flexing his fingers.

Both stood side by side, the air between them charged with anticipation.

“I’ll let you strike first,” Skye smiled.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep