The mont “Begin” echoed across the arena, everything changed.
Mana detonated in every direction.
BOOM!
WHOOOSH!
CRACK!
Students rushed each other across floating platforms, each strike carrying the weight of their entire training history.
This was not practice.
It was exposure.
And survival.
Kael stood still on his platform.
Watching.
Not moving.
Not reacting.
Just observing how everything unfolded.
The system flickered.
====================
Combat Evaluation Active
Host Standing Still
Threat Probability Increasing
====================
Kael ignored it.
Because he wasn’t waiting out of fear.
He was reading the battlefield.
Below him, two Rare Mage students clashed violently.
Wind against fire.
Fire against wind.
Both unstable.
Both predictable.
Kael tilted his head slightly.
“…Wasteful.”
A sudden voice cut through.
“Hey.”
Kael turned slightly.
A blade was already coming toward his neck.
Too fast for a normal student.
A C Rank fighter.
Smirking.
“Got you.”
CLANG.
The blade stopped.
Not against Kael’s body.
But against shadow.
A thin barrier ford instantly.
The attacker’s eyes widened.
“What—?”
Kael finally moved.
Just one step.
Shadow Step.
WHOOSH.
He appeared behind the student.
No expression.
No anger.
Just execution of movent.
“…Too slow.”
A shadow flick.
The student was knocked off the platform instantly.
Disqualified.
The arena didn’t react loudly.
But people noticed.
Silence spread in small pockets.
“…He didn’t even try.”
“He just removed him.”
Lyra, watching from another platform, narrowed her eyes.
“…So that’s how he fights.”
Not flashy.
Not emotional.
Efficient.
Cold.
Arena Shift — First Wave Ends
The first wave of weaker students collapsed quickly.
The arena restructured itself.
Floating platforms rearranged.
Stronger participants were forced closer together.
The instructor’s voice echoed again.
“Second Phase Begins.”
“Survive or advance.”
The air pressure changed instantly.
Now the real fighters stepped forward.
B Rank students.
A Rank candidates.
Even a few Elite Division trainees.
Kael felt it imdiately.
The difference.
Pressure.
Intent.
Kill readiness.
The system reacted.
====================
High-Rank Combatants Detected
Recomnded Action: Avoid multiple simultaneous engagents
====================
Kael exhaled slowly.
“…Multiple?”
He looked around.
Three students locked onto him.
No coincidence.
Intentional.
One stepped forward.
“You’re the anomaly.”
Another added.
“The one who broke the crystal.”
The third smiled faintly.
“S Talent or not…”
“You’re still a first-year.”
They moved at once.
BOOM.
Wind strike.
Fire spear.
Mana chain.
All aid at Kael simultaneously.
Lyra’s eyes widened slightly.
“…Three coordinated attacks?”
Kael didn’t panic.
He didn’t retreat.
He simply raised his hand slightly.
Shadow expanded beneath him.
Not fully ford.
Not yet.
Just presence.
Then—
Shadow Blink.
WHOOSH.
He vanished.
The attacks collided mid-air.
BOOM!
Confusion erupted instantly.
“Where did he go?!”
“He disappeared again!”
Kael reappeared above them.
On a higher platform.
Looking down.
“…You planned poorly.”
The three students looked up sharply.
Anger rising.
One shouted.
“Get him!”
But Kael didn’t wait.
Shadow Step.
WHOOSH.
He dropped into the middle of them.
Instant silence.
Then—
Shadow Strike.
One hit.
One student down.
Another rushed him—
Blocked.
Redirected.
Disard.
Thrown off the platform.
Third tried a spell—
Interrupted mid-cast.
Kael’s shadow wrapped his wrist.
“…Stop.”
A simple word.
The student froze.
Then Kael released him.
He fell backward off the platform.
Disqualified.
Silence spread again.
This ti wider.
The arena was watching him now.
Not as a curiosity.
But as a threat.
Lyra whispered under her breath.
“…He’s not fighting like a student.”
Reyn Volkar, from across the arena, narrowed his eyes slightly.
“…That’s not technique.”
“…That’s instinct.”
Arena Tower — Observation Room
The elders watched without speaking.
One finally said.
“…He’s controlling the flow of fights.”
Another replied.
“No.”
“…He’s removing variables.”
The head elder leaned forward slightly.
“…Good.”
A pause.
Then—
“…Let’s see how he handles soone who refuses to be removed.”
Arena Field — Final Phase Trigger
A bell echoed.
DING.
The entire arena shifted again.
Only a few dozen students remained.
The strongest.
The elite.
The dangerous ones.
And now—
Reyn Volkar stepped forward.
Wind aura erupted instantly.
BOOM.
The ground beneath him cracked.
He looked directly at Kael.
“…Your turn.”
The arena fell silent.
Even Lyra stopped moving.
Kael looked at Reyn.
For the first ti…
Sothing in the air changed.
Not pressure.
Not mana.
Expectation.
Kael exhaled slowly.
“…So this is where it gets interesting.”
The system flickered.
====================
Boss-Level Combat Detected
Enemy: Reyn Volkar
Rank: Legendary Mage (Beginner Peak)
Recomndation: Prepare for lethal exchange
====================
Kael tilted his head slightly.
“…Lethal?”
Then he stepped forward.
And the arena held its breath.
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