The arena was set—Malrik vs Tyronne. The boy stared at the black man across the room. 'He doesn't think I have any chance of winning because I have no title. That means he is going to underestimate me. Perfect.' Malrik gripped his sword. His blue, glowing eyes glanced at the words above his head. The Canopy Tyrant. Tyronne dug his hand in his ear, glancing at the boy. 'Let's get this over with.'
Suddenly, Tyronne placed his hands together and clenched. Veins started appearing on his head as Malrik felt a large spike in magic all around him. He glanced back at the examiner, who seemed to be lost in thought. 'Dear gods of root and rustle, let the wild within me breathe. Bind my will to branch and vine and let the forest answer.'
Suddenly, vines shot up from the ground around Malrik. Leaves and bushes sprouted out, creating a large forest.
"Rerumu no domein!"
Malrik looked up; the entire ceiling was covered with bushes and vines. He couldn't even see Tyronne anymore—just an endless sequence of wildlife.
"Well, what do you know, this guy is a Domanial Title Carrier."
— Waiting Area —
Outside, everyone was gazing at the forest-covered screen in surprise. The trees hid the arena and its combatants so the audience could no longer see what was going on.
"That isn't good for him," whispered Valery, a little shaken. No one had expected the examiner to pull out a whole forest. Ellion looked at the screen in awe.
"That's amazing. How did he do that? Hey Lucien, do you think he would join me as an understudy for my career?" asked the excited boy.
Lucien sighed and pointed at the screen.
"Second question, absolutely not. First question, he did it through his obvious Domanial magic."
Ellion looked at him, confused, and Lucien just slapped his head. 'Should have known this buffoon wouldn't know what something as simple as that is.'
"Look, Domanial Magic is the practice of reshaping your surroundings in your image. Every human being has some kind of realm in their mindscape, which can change depending on their mental state and beliefs. You usually see it when talking to the Law of Recognition. Anyway, Domanial magic users can bring that realm into reality. Either way, one can only release that domain by sending a small prayer to the gods. I imagine he did that part in his head."
Lucien could swear he saw stars in Ellion's eyes. The boy clenched both his hands like he was trying to push something out. "That is so cool!"
Sarah stared at the screen, her hands clenching. 'Malrik, don't give up.'
— Test Arena —
"You're welcome to attack any time you want, boy, you just have to find me first. By the way, I forgot to mention you're on a five-minute timer starting now. If you haven't drawn blood before then you fail."
Tyronne's voice rang out across the test field, and the sound of a clock ticking appeared.
Malrik looked around, his face devoid of any panic or urgency. 'Alright, let's think. He is obviously a Domanial magic type user. I doubt these vines are just for show, so they probably serve a purpose. The question is, what?'
Malrik glanced down. He turned on his Arcane Sight and noticed gold magic running through the ground. 'So, the book was right. He is using magic to sense where I am in his domain. I wonder…'
Malrik closed his eyes. His blue magical aura flowed down his body and into the ground before spreading out across it. Tyronne, who was currently standing in the same position, picking his nose lazily, quickly noticed this. His eyes widened. "Ain't no way," he whispered. "Is this boy channelling magic through the ground to sense me?"
Tyronne channelled magic into his feet and launched himself high into the air, breaking contact with the ground.
'Smart,' Malrik thought. 'No ground contact means no trail for me to follow.'
But as Tyronne soared, the burst of magic he used to propel himself flared like a beacon in Malrik's senses. 'There you are.'
Malrik sprinted deeper into the forest, closing in on the fading trace. When Tyronne dropped back down, the boy was already there, sword flashing toward him. Tyronne's eyes widened mid-dodge. "How did you—?"
"You jumped to hide from my senses," Malrik said, blade slashing past. "But all that burst of magic only served to tell me right where you jumped."
Tyronne continued jumping back, avoiding all the slashes. 'Incredible, this boy used this advanced technique for the first time and was instantly able to detect the smallest changes in my magic.'
The man smiled. "Seems like you've got some skill, kid."
Malrik launched a powerful left kick, which Tyronne blocked. However, he winced upon connection. Malrik quickly twisted his body to launch a kick towards his head. Here, Tyronne decided to stop playing around. Vines quickly shot from the ground, grabbed Malrik's hands and threw him away before his leg could connect.
Malrik was sent hurling through the air and crashed into a tree. Dust covered the area, and Tyronne could hear a loud groan. Malrik slowly walked out, rubbing his back.
"That hurt, man."
Tyronne shrugged. Suddenly, more vines shot up from the ground heading towards Malrik. Malrik rushed in fearlessly, magic running through his sword. Tyronne watched in surprise as Malrik cut through each vine like butter. 'Who the hell is this kid? He doesn't even have a title, yet he's putting up a better fight than most Awakens?'
Malrik channelled magic through his feet to gain a burst of speed and close the distance. He dropped to the ground and attacked with a low kick, which was dodged easily by Tyronne. He then threw an uppercut with his right hand, but it was blocked with Tyronne's right hand. Tyronne twisted his body and sent a left kick towards the boy. However, Malrik quickly ducked, letting it pass by. He was about to retaliate with his sword, but Tyronne quickly used his other leg to kick him back.
Malrik tumbled to the ground and rolled for recovery. He quickly jumped as vines shot up from the ground. He glanced back and noticed some leaves spinning towards him. Malrik raised an eyebrow. 'Can those hurt me? That's impossible… right?'
He didn't intend to find out. He performed a series of backflips to change his course out of the way. He landed back on the ground safely and watched the leaves shred through the vines. Malrik's sweat dropped, and he thanked the gods he had decided to move.
"You have two minutes left, or you lose by the way."
Malrik gritted his teeth. 'He is too fast for me to graze, and those vines aren't helping much.'
Tyronne didn't give him much time to think. More vines headed his way. He jumped onto the trees, hopping from one branch to the next as the vines chased after him. Malrik noticed vines coming from his front too and grumbled. Then, like a lightbulb, an idea popped into his mind.
He quickly changed direction. Tyronne raised his eyebrow as Malrik launched himself towards him. 'Wait until the moment he attacks because that will be when he lets his guard down.'
Tyronne smirked. As predicted, a surge of vines erupted between them, snapping together and locking tight around Malrik's arms and torso. The boy went limp, letting himself be yanked toward the ground.
"It's no use, only one mi—"
Tyronne's eyes caught a flicker of movement. Something blurred through the air—Malrik's sword—spinning end over end, riding the exact momentum of the vines' pull. He'd thrown it at the perfect angle mid-swing.
Tyronne jerked to the side, but too late—the blade's tip kissed his cheek, carving a thin red line.
For a heartbeat, silence. Tyronne touched the warm streak on his face, then chuckled. The forest dissolved into thin air, and Malrik dropped flat on his back with a grunt.
"You got me, kid," Tyronne said, still smiling.
— Waiting Area —
Everyone was watching the screen in anticipation. With the forest covering the arena, they couldn't see what was going on. A random person in the crowd gulped nervously. He was pretty sure he'd bet all his life savings against Malrik, and as time went by, his confidence was faltering. Surely an Epilogue Title Carrier wouldn't lose to a Nameless.
Suddenly, the movement of the forest caught someone's eye as that person pointed at the screen, shouting, "Look!" Everyone leaned in as the forest started disappearing, revealing the two combatants. Everyone widened their eyes. On the screen was Tyronne standing over Malrik, who was on the floor breathing heavily.
"I knew it, that kid lost!" Cheers and screams reverberated across the room. People high-fived each other, and couples got a bit too touchy. Lucien smirked at Ellion, who was dramatically crying on the floor.
"M-my life savings… oh, I will miss you, my old friend." He clutched his empty-looking wallet with horror. Lucien sighed at him. 'This kid is faking it, he knows I will pay him whatever he lost… Maybe I should just teach him a lesson and not pay.'
Valery looked at Sarah, who was staring intently at the screen. The girl sighed. "Your brother lost, I'm sorry, but that's the truth."
Sarah shook her head, and a smile appeared on her face. Valery frowned in confusion.
"He didn't lose, look." Sarah pointed at the screen, and Valery squinted her eyes. 'Hold on, is he… is he laughing?!' thought Valery.
Indeed, Malrik was on the floor laughing hard, a bright smile plastered on his face. On the side of the proctor's cheek, she could see a slight cut. Valery smiled.
"There is blood on the examiner's cheek. Malrik won."
Everyone suddenly stopped cheering as silence settled into the room. Ellion looked up from his crying, staring at Valery with a…
"Huh?"
Everyone looked at the blood running down Tyronne's cheek and widened their eyes.
"He won… He won!!! My money, my glorious money!!" Ellion quickly dashed to the betting area with the widest, goofiest smile anyone had ever seen. His hands stretched out with a 'Pay-up' look.
Malrik slowly made his way out the door, a small, proud smile plastered on his face. As he entered the waiting room, he suddenly felt a crowd of stares on him. Malrik looked at everyone, sweat dropping nervously.
"Uh, hey guys. I passed, by the way." He leaned into Sarah and whispered into her ear. "Why is everyone so quiet?"
This comment excluded Ellion, of course, who was still shouting victory in people's faces.
Sarah smirked proudly. "There was a bet that you would lose, and naturally, everyone—excluding me, some girl, and that clown—bet against you."
Malrik's eye twitched upon hearing the news. 'People have no faith these days.' An evil smirk suddenly appeared on his face when he realised they had just lost the bet. 'Hahaha, take that suckers!!'
Lucien looked at Malrik, still shocked. Then a contented smile appeared on his face as he walked over to the siblings. He stretched out his hand for a handshake and spoke. "Congratulations on your victory."
Malrik replied with thanks and shook his hand. Lucien looked at his hand like something magical had happened with that touch. 'Finally, I have regained my honour.'
"It seems I underestimated your skill. Honestly, I'm just glad I didn't put in any money for the bets. Can't say the same for these people."
Malrik and Lucien turned to the people, hesitantly handing over the money they had lost as Ellion and Sarah graciously accepted.
Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed out across the room.
"Valery Duskveil, please come inside for the last test of this year's entrance exam. I repeat, Valery Duskveil, please come inside for the last test of this year's entrance exam."