The training grounds hissed with the aftermath of Liam's latest firestorm. Valatium shards embedded in the soil glowed like trapped stars, their light warped by heat haze. Kairus circled Liam, his borrowed practice sword already half-melted, while the mage crackled with restless energy.
"Still think fire's just for show, Lord Heir?" Liam taunted, flames coiling around his wrists like serpents.
"Still think you're the only one with tricks?" Kairus shot back, tightening his grip. [System Command: Analyze Combat Pattern – Target: Liam Remes].
A translucent grid flickered over his vision, highlighting Liam's stance—weight shifted to his left, mana pooling at his collarbone. Predictable.
Liam struck first. A whip of liquid fire lashed toward Kairus's throat. He ducked, but the flames curved, searing his shoulder.
[System Alert: Minor Burn Detected – HP -5%]
[Combat Pattern Updated: Fire Manipulation – 12% Synced]
Kairus rolled behind a Valatium-studded dummy. "You're getting slower, Remes."
"Am I?" Liam flicked his fingers. Three firebolts screamed through the air.
Kairus lunged sideways, the system grid calculating trajectories in real time. 'Left, right, feint'— He parried one bolt with his sword, the Valatium in the blade flaring as it absorbed the heat. The other two missed, cratering the ground.
[Combat Pattern Synced: 34% – Partial Replication Available]
"Enough dodging!" Liam roared. Fire erupted beneath Kairus's boots, but he was already moving, channeling stolen data into his muscles.
[Skill Activated: Mimicry (Temporary)]
Firebolt Trajectory – Replicated.
Kairus hurled his sword. It spun, Mana core blazing, and Liam barely deflected it with a hasty barrier. The distraction cost him—Kairus closed the gap, driving an elbow into Liam's ribs.
The mage staggered, coughing. "Since when… do you throw like a mage?"
"Since now." Kairus pressed his advantage, fists flying. Liam blocked clumsily, fire sputtering as he lost focus.
[Combat Pattern Synced: 67% – Advanced Replication Unlocked]
Liam's eyes narrowed. He clapped his hands, and the world screamed.
A ring of fire erupted around them, walls of flame climbing thirty feet. The Valatium in the ground superheated, glowing white-hot. Kairus's system grid flickered red.
[Critical Alert: Environmental Hazard – Escape Impossible]
"Adapt to this," Liam spat, blood trickling from his nose. The flames morphed into a swarm of molten hawks diving at Kairus.
[System Override: Full Mimicry Engaged]
Fire Construct Replication – 88% Efficiency.
Kairus's hands moved on their own, guided by stolen muscle memory. He tore a Valatium shard from the soil and channeled raw mana through it. The shard exploded into a hundred flaming needles, shredding Liam's hawks mid-flight.
"Impossible—"
"Your turn." Kairus lunged, replicating Liam's earlier whip technique. Blue fire snapped at the mage's legs, driving him toward the inferno's edge.
Liam's boot slipped. For a heartbeat, he teetered at the brink of his own flames—then laughed.
"Finally," he breathed. "A real challenge."
The firestorm collapsed inward, condensing into a single point above Liam's palm. The Valatium shards *screamed*, their light sucked into the vortex.
"Eternal Ignition: Phoenix Cradle," Liam whispered.
The world went white.
Kairus's system shorted out, warnings blaring:
[Catastrophic Mana Surge Detected – Evacuate!]
[Error: Containment Protocols Unavailable]
He reacted on instinct, slamming both hands into the earth. [Skill: Barrier Mastery – Emergency Cast]. A dome of stolen fire and Valatium energy erupted around them just as the spell detonated.
The barrier held—barely. When the light faded, the training grounds were gone. A glass crater stretched for yards, its edges still bubbling. At the center stood Liam, a five-pointed star burning on his forehead.
[System Alert: Liam Remes – Ascension to 5-Star Mage]
Kairus lowered his trembling arms. "Congratulations. You've officially become a liability."
Liam stared at his reflection in the glass. "I… did it?"
"We did it." Kairus tossed him a water skin. "Now clean up your mess."
Workers crept back to gawk at the crater. Liam sat cross-legged at its edge, poking at the molten Valatium with a stick.
"You copied me," he said finally. "How?"
Kairus tapped his temple. "Trade secret."
"Bullshit. That was my technique. My grandfather's."
"Improved version." Kairus smirked. "Your wrist flick was inefficient."
Liam hurled the stick at him. It burst into ash mid-air. "I could kill you right now."
"But you won't." Kairus stood, stretching sore muscles. "You're having too much fun."
[New Objective: Stabilize Trade Route – Priority: Critical]
The real fight was just beginning.