The arena grounds were still overflowing with noise long after the results had been announced.
Candidates discussed the impossible results of the trial.
Servants whispered nervously about the illegitimate daughter who had defeated the pureblood heir.
The nobles sitting above argued quietly amongst themselves, though many of their eyes continued drifting toward one specific girl.
Eternia Sinclair.
She walked calmly through the stone pathways of the arena with Kael and Leon behind her, seemingly unaffected by the attention surrounding her. Yet internally, her thoughts were racing.
The Minotaur incident.
The Adapt spell.
The strange voice she had heard while unconscious.
And most importantly—
The realization that soone within the Sinclair family had already begun moving against her.
"...Faster than expected."
She had known this would happen eventually.
Power always attracted hostility.
Especially in noble families.
Especially in families obsessed with blood purity.
Still...
Sending a Mid-Tier monster into a beginner dungeon?
That was not simple bullying.
That was attempted murder.
Her expression remained calm, but her eyes sharpened slightly.
"...If I was still the old , I would’ve died there."
The thought made her uncomfortable.
No matter how much stronger this body was compared to her previous life, she was still weak right now.
Far too weak.
She needed more power.
More mana.
More spells.
More control.
As she walked, Leon awkwardly glanced toward her several tis before finally speaking.
"...You really scared back there."
"Hm?"
"When the Minotaur hit you."
His silver eyes lowered slightly.
"For a second I thought you died."
Eternia blinked once before answering.
"But I didn’t."
"...That’s not the point."
She stared at him for a mont.
Then quietly looked away.
"...Strange."
People worrying about her still felt unfamiliar.
In her previous life, nobody had ever expected her to survive anything.
The weak dying was normal.
Nobody mourned weakness.
Yet here—
Leon looked genuinely upset over what happened.
Kael crossed his arms nearby.
"You really are abnormal."
Eternia glanced toward him.
"...Explain."
"You almost died and your first reaction after waking up was vaporizing a Minotaur."
"...Reasonable behavior."
"No. No it isn’t."
Leon nodded imdiately.
"Definitely not."
"...You two are noisy."
Kael smirked faintly.
"You say that, but you’re clearly in a good mood."
"...I’m not."
"You are."
"I’m not."
"You’re literally arguing more than usual."
Eternia opened her mouth to respond—
But suddenly stopped.
A familiar mana signature approached from behind.
Dense.
Heavy.
Controlled.
Even without looking, she already knew who it was.
The surrounding candidates instinctively moved aside.
Conversations stopped instantly.
Etherius Sinclair walked forward calmly.
The black-haired boy’s expression remained as unreadable as ever, his dark cloak swaying slightly behind him while traces of dark mana flickered faintly around his body like shadows refusing to leave.
Leon visibly stiffened.
Kael narrowed his eyes slightly.
Even nearby nobles unconsciously watched the interaction carefully.
Because everyone knew this was not just a eting between siblings.
This was the eting between the two monsters of the Sinclair generation.
Etherius stopped directly in front of Eternia.
Silence spread briefly.
Then—
"You aren’t half bad."
His voice was calm.
Matter of fact.
As though he were simply stating a truth.
Eternia imdiately replied.
"Usually winners say that to losers."
A few nearby candidates nearly choked hearing that.
Kael physically looked away to hide his reaction.
Leon panicked internally.
"...She actually said it."
Etherius stared at Eternia silently for several seconds.
Then—
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Not mocking.
Not irritated.
Genuine amusent.
"...Interesting."
Most people in the Sinclair family avoided even making eye contact with him.
Yet Eternia spoke to him like an equal naturally.
No fear.
No hesitation.
No worship.
For so reason—
He liked that.
Etherius looked toward her again.
"If you aren’t busy later..."
His dark eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Co to my arena."
Leon froze.
Kael’s eyes widened slightly.
Even nearby servants looked shocked.
Private arenas were incredibly valuable.
Especially ones owned personally by direct heirs.
Access to better training equipnt, enhanced mana environnts, defensive formations, combat puppets—
They were symbols of status.
Etherius continued calmly.
"Let’s train together."
The words stunned everyone nearby.
Not because of the invitation itself—
But because Etherius Sinclair had invited soone first.
And that soone was Eternia.
An illegitimate daughter.
Eternia herself blinked once in surprise.
"...Train together?"
Before she could answer—
Etherius turned around imdiately.
No waiting.
No explanation.
No elaboration.
He simply began walking away calmly.
Leon looked confused.
"...Did he seriously just leave before hearing your answer?"
Kael rubbed his forehead.
"...That’s terrible communication skills."
Eternia watched Etherius’s back quietly.
Then sighed internally.
"...Guess I’m not the only one with bad communication skills."
For so reason, the thought amused her slightly.
anwhile—
As Etherius walked away through the arena halls—
A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
"...Interesting."
Very interesting.
For the first ti in a long while—
Sothing felt genuinely exciting.
Not politics.
Not fake noble smiles.
Not aningless praise.
But actual excitent.
His dark mana fluctuated slightly around him as he continued walking through the corridor alone.
"...To think she’d beco this strong already."
The current Eternia was far stronger than he rembered.
Far sharper.
Far more dangerous.
And that made this life infinitely more entertaining.
His smile widened slightly.
"...Looks like this regression won’t be boring after all."
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