Just as Percy took Liam’s strike at point-blank range, the sheer force behind it sent him hurtling backward at a terrifying speed. In the sa instant, the ice mist that had enveloped the stage—Percy’s pseudo-domain—suddenly collapsed in on itself, retreating rapidly and being drawn straight back into Percy as though recalled by instinct alone.
With the ice fog gone and the field laid bare once more, both combatants ca fully into view. The massive magical screen above flickered out, and the attention of the student body and the authoritative figures alike shifted back to the physical stage itself. Percy was still standing, but only barely so, his back braced against a hastily ford ice wall. From the spot on his chest where Liam’s kick had landed, shards of fractured ice peeled away and clattered to the ground as he released heavy, asured breaths, each one carefully controlled despite the strain evident in his posture.
Across from him stood Liam.
His training attire was torn in multiple places, fabric hanging loose and scorched at the edges. Thin trails of blood ran from his arm and down the side of his face, stark against his pale skin. Yet despite the visible damage, there was sothing deeply unsettling about him. Those with sharp eyes—and sharper instincts—could tell imdiately that Liam was in a state that simply should not have been possible under circumstances like these.
As both figures remained standing, the crowd of students stirred uneasily. Murmurs rippled outward as a single, unspoken question ford in countless minds.
Was Percy Granger, a third-year assassin knight, truly being pushed into a corner... by a first-year?
They all knew the restrictions. Percy was limited to fifty percent of his strength. But even with that knowledge, what they were witnessing defied reason, especially for the third-years who had seen Percy fight before. Still, amid the confusion and disbelief, one student—soone with an especially deep understanding of Myst—noticed sothing others could not.
"Is he really having an Ascension right now?" Ariana voiced aloud, shock bleeding into her tone as her eyes remained locked onto Liam.
The mont the words left her mouth, several heads snapped toward her. Her friends turned first, but they weren’t the only ones. A few nearby students also glanced over, curiosity and concern flickering across their faces.
"He’s having a what?" Dylan asked, genuine disbelief coloring his voice. "Are you serious, Ari? Liam’s having an Ascension?"
"Y–Yeah," Ariana replied, stuttering slightly as she nodded. "The Myst output behind that last kick was higher than his previous attacks. And his Myst itself is spiking. Rapidly."
At that, the others turned their attention back to the stage, studying Liam more carefully. The way he stood there, unnervingly calm amid the chaos, only made the situation feel more unreal.
"Then I guess my Bae already has this match won," Charlotte said proudly, her tone loud enough to draw the attention of several students around them.
"Yeah," Max added, nodding. "Having an Ascension is basically getting a massive boost."
"Well... honestly," Ariana said, concern seeping into her voice as she continued to observe Liam with Myst Sense, "this is just as bad as it is good."
"Huh?" Dylan asked, tilting his head. "What are you saying, Ari?"
Ariana opened her mouth to answer, then hesitated. She realized that it wasn’t just her friends listening now—others nearby were clearly paying attention as well. She closed her eyes briefly, took a steadying breath, and then spoke again, her voice calm but heavy with implication.
"For an Ascension to fully take place, the core and the Myst within it must completely synchronize with the Myst being absorbed—whether it’s raw Myst or refined Myst," she explained. "And that process is best done when the body is in complete stillness or rest. Not in the heat of battle."
As her words settled over the group, several eyes widened in understanding.
"Wait," Max said slowly, unease creeping into his voice. "What happens if the synchronization fails?"
"Backlash," Asher answered flatly before Ariana could respond. "He either passes out from overexertion... or his core fails."
"Yeah," Ariana confird quietly, worry unmistakable now.
Silence followed, thick and uncomfortable, as the weight of that possibility sank in.
"Damn," Dylan muttered after a mont, his voice oddly neutral. "For soone who always thinks ahead, he really screwed himself today."
"Like hell he did," Asher shot back bluntly, catching everyone off guard. "Ascensions usually happen without the person even realizing it. But look at him. That bastard forced it. Which ans he thought through every possible outco—the benefits and the risks—and still chose this path."
"Woah," Dylan said, letting out a low whistle. "Yeah... that actually sounds exactly like Liam. Very, very much like Liam. Still, to think he’d consider everything and then pick the most dangerous option anyway." He scoffed. "What a psycho."
As their attention returned to the stage, Asher clenched his jaw tightly, his thoughts dark. ’To think this bastard is really that twisted in the head just to grow stronger,’ he thought bitterly. ’Tch. Makes feel completely diocre. I can’t even stand myself right now.’
Nearby, Sheila stood quietly, her own thoughts turning over as she processed everything she had just heard.
’Liam is willing to go that far... just for a simple duel,’ she reflected, studying him intently. After a brief pause, her expression softened with sothing conflicted. ’Maybe that’s why my own brother acknowledges him more than .’
Back up on the stage, Percy struggled to steady his breathing, his chest rising and falling as his mind finally caught up to just how close he had co to losing the fight from that single, brutal kick.
’If I hadn’t been fast enough to withdraw my Myst by dismissing the domain...’ he thought, drawing in heavy yet controlled breaths, ’I wouldn’t have been able to cast this ice barrier in ti to stop myself from flying out of bounds and losing outright.’
Liam’s sudden burst of movent had caught Percy completely off guard, far beyond what he had anticipated. Yet even then, his instincts—and years of battle-honed discipline—had allowed him to react at the precise mont of impact. To remain true to the fifty percent limitation he had agreed upon, Percy had been forced to retract his Myst inward, collapsing the pseudo-domain entirely. Only then could he redirect that sa Myst into forming the ice barrier that halted his montum before it carried him beyond the stage. Had he drawn from his deeper Myst reserves instead, it would have been a clear violation of the terms he and Liam had set. After all, the pseudo-domain alone had already consud the full fifty percent Myst output he was permitted to use.
Dismissing the ice barrier behind him, Percy straightened himself fully at last. He placed a hand over his chest, channeling his ice magic inward to numb and suppress the lingering, burning pain left behind by Liam’s kick. As the cold spread beneath his palm, his gaze lifted and settled on Liam, who stood only a few paces away.
And as Percy truly looked at him, he felt it imdiately.
Sothing was different.
The first-year’s presence had shifted entirely. It wasn’t just posture or expression—his very aura felt altered, heavier, sharper, carrying a pressure that hadn’t been there before.
Without hesitation, Percy activated Myst Sense.
The mont he scanned Liam’s body, his eyes widened, understanding crashing into place all at once.
’So that’s it,’ Percy thought, his gaze sharpening as he analyzed the chaotic yet surging flow of Myst within Liam. ’That explains the sudden spike in power behind that kick.’ A slow smirk tugged at his lips. ’He’s having a damn Ascension.’
The irony of it all almost made him laugh.
’To think this would happen after he said there was nothing to gain from fighting ,’ Percy scoffed internally. ’I wonder if he still feels the sa now.’
But just as quickly as it had ford, the smirk faded. His expression grew serious as his mind began to race, calculating every possible outco brought on by Liam’s sudden Ascension.
’Things are about to get ssy for ,’ he admitted grimly. ’With this Ascension in play, there’s a real chance he could win—if he plays his cards right.’ His eyes narrowed slightly. ’And I know damn well that he will.’
When Percy had first challenged Liam to this duel and proposed the fifty percent limitation, he had been absolutely confident. Confident that no matter what Liam threw at him—fire magic, dark magic, or any combination of the two—he could handle it. Yet once the fight had begun, Percy had quickly realized sothing unsettling. Despite officially being a High-tier Five-star, Liam had been operating at a level far closer to a Mid-tier Six-star. That alone had pushed Percy into deploying his pseudo-domain, sothing he hadn’t expected to need so early.
Now, with the Ascension underway, the balance had tipped even further.
If Liam truly broke through into a Low-tier Six-star, then his effective combat output would skyrocket—potentially rivaling a High-tier Six-star, or even brushing dangerously close to a Low-tier Seven-star.
A level that matched Percy himself.
And that realization made the situation very, very bad for him—especially under the suffocating constraint of his imposed limitation.
Still, despite all of that, Percy clenched his fist slightly and steadied his resolve. This duel might have begun as a chance to experience Liam’s dark magic, but there was no universe in which he would simply allow himself to lose to a first-year. That was sothing his pride, his instincts, and his very identity would never accept.
And for that reason alone, Percy knew he still held an edge.
’Even with this Ascension,’ he thought, eyes locked onto Liam, ’it isn’t complete yet. The Myst synchronization is still in progress.’ His gaze flicked briefly over the turbulent flow surrounding Liam. ’If he keeps pushing forward with his Myst fluctuating like that, he’ll either pass out... or suffer sothing even worse.’
A thin, knowing smile returned to Percy’s face.
’Which ans he can’t keep this up for long.’
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