---
Kaelen drew a deep breath and lunged toward the two mages in front of him. The sun's bright light in the sky made his mana-enhanced body shine like a flame. The blessing Amanda had given him seemed to be woven into every muscle fiber. He would never have thought he could move with such speed and power—at least, it hadn't seemed possible two days ago when he first felt magic. His mana veins were still developing, and his body wasn't fully ready to use this new energy. Yet the blessing let him push past his limits.
A faint smile curved Kaelen's lips with the thrill of battle. His body synced with the mana within him; power surged through his veins.
"Switch to Mef form!"
At the command echoing in his subconscious, his body transformed instantly. Mana concentrated in his hands and feet. The air around him trembled with a rippling aura. His muscles tightened, his joints strengthened, and his instincts drove him forward.
Kaelen focused his mana into his right foot and launched himself. The world blurred behind him like a smear at the edge of his vision as he tore forward as if cleaving the air.
Sofia's eyes widened slightly. She knew she was facing a skilled mage; her speed and reflexes were enough to defeat many opponents. But Kaelen's movement exceeded her expectations. Her gaze tried to track his silhouette, but only for a moment!
Kaelen clenched his fist and drove it straight into Sofia's stomach. The blow rattled through her bones and hurled her backward. The young woman skidded several meters and rolled to a stop.
Arnold's eyes opened in astonishment.
"How did you do that?" he gasped, his voice hovering between shock and admiration.
Kaelen shrugged lightly.
Sofia gritted her teeth in pain and sprang to her feet. Kaelen assumed his stance again, his expression cold as if to confirm that the technique had worked perfectly.
What he had done was theoretically simple: compress mana at a specific point, then release it suddenly. The result? Superhuman speed and reflexes. This method was extremely difficult for low-level mages and could take years to master. Yet Kaelen had begun applying it instinctively within only a few days. Even if it was a technique he'd used before, the strain it put on his body was enormous.
Arnold and Sofia had never seen such mana usage.
Kaelen tilted his head slightly to the right and spoke again, tauntingly: "Stand up. I'll show you once more."
Sofia moved behind Arnold while Arnold planted his magical shield firmly on the ground.
A slight smile appeared on Kaelen's face. He took pleasure in seeing them act with fear.
"Don't be scared, don't be scared. I'm sure you'll figure out how I did it. Watch closely."
His words were a sarcastic threat to his enemies. He walked slowly toward Arnold's shield.
The blond mage had seen how fast Kaelen was and was on edge. He tried to turn Sofia's speed to his advantage with a plan: he could act as a meat-shield—but the question was whether Kaelen could surpass that.
Kaelen stopped in front of the shield. Arnold's eyes tracked his movements carefully.
Kaelen raised his right hand and concentrated mana in his fist. The aura rippled faintly. The condensed mana compressed into his palm like a vortex. The air suddenly felt heavy.
Sofia noticed the change and moved.
"Arnold, watch out!"
But it was too late.
Kaelen's fist struck the shield like a sledgehammer. Instantly, the shockwave rattled the air. A cracking sound echoed, and Arnold lost control, stumbling backward with his shield and crashing into a tree behind him. Dry leaves rained down from the branches.
Kaelen relaxed his fist and exhaled lightly. He crooked a finger and gestured toward Arnold.
"I think you should try again."
Arnold gritted his teeth and tried to rise. He found his shield at his side, but even it showed slight cracks. Sofia glared at Kaelen in anger.
This time they grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Sofia enveloped her whole body in Pik. Her brilliant white mana formed a visible barrier around her; the surrounding air trembled against its intensity. This was a rare talent even among mages. The pure energy of mana coated her like armor. Neither sword nor simple spell would easily breach it. But even Sofia knew she couldn't maintain it indefinitely.
Her body began to shake. She couldn't control it for more than a few minutes. Yet she had no other choice. This kid—Kaelen—was far superior, and to beat him she would have to risk everything.
Sofia had grasped Kaelen's technique to some extent. What powered him wasn't just physical strength but compressing mana at points to create explosive propulsion. Still, she couldn't understand how he executed it so skillfully. He compressed his mana and used his legs like a launching mechanism, teleporting to their side in the blink of an eye.
She inhaled deeply; her eyes gleamed with hunger and resolve. There was only one way to stop him: be faster.
Sofia concentrated her mana into her legs and lunged. The pair of blades in her hands spun, slicing the air and leaving faint vibrations in their wake. Even the wind split before her; the blades ripped the air itself.
Kaelen did not step back. A faint smile lingered on his face. He felt no unease. Calm, composed, and knowing exactly what to do, he waited like a hunter. Sofia's mana flashed—but Kaelen did not care.
He switched into Mef form to meet her attack. He compressed mana rapidly into his legs and detonated it in an instant.
BOOM!
He appeared before Sofia as if teleported. He slipped past the sharp edges of her blades with grace and snatched her wrist in a lightning motion. It was so sudden that Sofia was stopped before she could continue her strike.
Kaelen's other hand moved like lightning and drove into Sofia's abdomen. His fist was like iron. The force snapped her body like a drawn bow; she collapsed to the ground in a single second.
Hot blood spurted from Sofia's mouth. The pain in her stomach echoed in her mind. She planted her hands weakly on the ground and drew ragged breaths. Even the mana barrier covering her body could not stop the blow.
Kaelen looked down at her. There was neither triumphant joy nor mercy in his eyes—only a cold, emotionless stare.
Can he kill them? Kaelen wondered to himself. After all, these people were taking the test and needed high scores. If he eliminated them completely, it could affect future events.
He sighed and released her wrist. Sofia slumped to the ground when freed. She writhed in pain, grinding her teeth, and lifted her eyes to Kaelen. In that moment, rage surged through her and swallowed everything else.
"That's it?! That's all?! You'll just go and forget about us?!" she screamed. Her nerves were frayed to the point of snapping. She had pushed herself beyond her limits, reached peak power, and yet she had been defeated. Kaelen felt pity for her—and that thought drove her further into fury.
She forced herself to her knees, trembling, forcing herself to stand. Each breath sharpened the pain in her stomach. Her eyes locked onto Kaelen with burning anger.
"You…"
Sofia tried to steady her breathing.
"Finish what you started. Come here and fight!"
Kaelen had already turned away indifferently, but at those words he glanced back with curiosity. He had struck so hard that Sofia's ability to rise at all was a miracle. But did she truly want to continue fighting?
Kaelen tilted his head.
"The fight's over. You lost. Accept your defeat and get out of my sight."
Sofia's honey-colored eyes darkened further. Anger burned through her like a flame.
"No! It's not over! I'll kill you!"
Those words broke every boundary.
Suddenly Kaelen sensed something wrong. Tension filled the air. The mana around Sofia began to vibrate.
Thin, bright cracks appeared along the girl's skin. Small sparks of lightning began to flash around her body.
Kaelen narrowed his eyes.
This was not a simple mana concentration…
Sofia's voice rose: "Let lightning be called, let the heavens flash, may power surge to he who rules!"
Kaelen's pupils dilated.
This—
The air around Sofia chilled instantly. The density of mana in her body increased so much that tiny sparks fell onto the ground.
"Lightn—" "Stop!"
A massive axe slammed down between Sofia and Kaelen.
"Sofia! That's enough!"
Arnold had driven his enormous axe into the ground. Determination marked his face.
As Sofia abruptly cut her mana flow, she staggered. She could barely remain standing; her breathing was irregular and her face pale. If she unleashed her ability here, she would endanger herself as well.
Arnold shot her a stern look.
"Your life isn't worth sacrificing for some ambition."
Sofia glared at him angrily but inwardly understood what he meant.
Arnold turned his gaze to Kaelen.
"You! What's your name?"
Kaelen crossed his arms and answered with faint interest.
"Kaelen."
Arnold nodded as if committing the name to memory.
"I'll remember this. You won today. But we'll meet again."
He slung his axe over his shoulder and began to walk away. His damaged shield wasn't with him, but that didn't matter—his gear wasn't completely destroyed, and once repaired with mana it could be used again. Arnold hoisted Sofia by the waist and slung her over his shoulder.
Kaelen then turned to one more person: Amanda.
The blonde mage swallowed and managed a small smile.
"Thanks for saving me."
"....."
"Please—don't kill me?"
Kaelen raised an eyebrow and hesitated for a moment. Then he smiled faintly.
"I hope the information you have will be worth getting me into this much trouble."