"Go."
Ryan met Draven's intense gaze and spoke just one word.
But that one word was all Draven needed.
His grin widened with excitement, and without hesitation, he hefted his spinning axes and leapt from the high platform.
He'd give it his all if someone was willing to back him up.
Worst case? He gets himself a new pair of axes.
"Ezreal, come on down. I'm taking the lead today — you cover me!"
"Uh... okay, okay."
Ezreal wasn't sure why Draven was suddenly so serious, but with his armguards already on, he activated his Arcane Shift and blinked into the arena.
The crowd above froze, stunned into silence as the two champions landed.
Then Seraphine began clapping.
That snapped them out of it, and the cheers erupted like thunder.
"Executioner! Axe them to death!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The chant surged through the arena like waves, rising and crashing with energy.
Draven wasn't just any fighter — he was the arena star, Noxus's greatest showman, and a powerhouse of the Trifarian Legion.
Every time he fought, he delivered a show worth screaming for.
And now Ezreal was with him. The explorer from Piltover, well-known in academia and among adventurers, is a guest professor at the Academy of War and part-time president of the Explorer's Guild—a bit of a big deal.
But what really caught everyone's attention was that they were standing still, both looking back up at the high platform, as if waiting for something... or someone.
Was it...?
A ripple of anticipation swept through the crowd.
Draven, a Trifarian Council member, and Ezreal, a rising star in his own right — if they were joining forces, their opponent couldn't be anyone ordinary.
But then, to the audience's surprise, it wasn't Ryan who rose — it was Syndra.
Most people didn't recognize her at first.
But when she lifted off the ground, floating effortlessly on sheer magical force, the crowd gasped.
Levitation magic alone took immense power.
"Hey, Draven... I feel like I've seen her before," Ezreal muttered, uneasy.
"But I can't place her name..."
A chill crept up his spine. Something felt off.
This match — one he'd thought would be easy — suddenly felt like it was about to go sideways.
"You don't know who she is?" Draven's voice was low, uncharacteristically serious.
"No time to explain. Just try not to die."
"Wait — not dying counts as a win...?"
Ezreal stared as the aqua-blue orbs began swirling around Syndra, her presence growing heavier with every passing second.
She drifted down from the platform like an executioner descending to deliver judgment.
A strong sense of dread settled in his chest.
At least they're not dark orbs... he tried to reassure himself.
Because as far as he knew, the mage rumored to be on par with the Trifarian Grand General himself — fought using dark energy.
Black spheres of pure, destructive power.
Wait...
His eyes widened.
That voice — cold, regal — the same one he heard during that tense meeting of the Council.
No way... it couldn't be...
Could it?
But this time, the orbs weren't black... they were blue.
Still... how many floating mages named Syndra were there?
Ezreal swallowed hard and dropped into a combat stance, heart pounding.
Across from him, Syndra now hovered at the edge of the arena, calm and unreadable.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The war drums thundered, signaling the start of the match.
Back on the platform, Ryan's casual demeanor faded.
His posture straightened as he leaned forward slightly, watching intently.
"Pay close attention," he said quietly.
"There's a lot to learn today."
"Huh?"
Seraphine blinked, then looked back toward the arena, and finally understood.
This wasn't just a match.
It was a lesson.
"Shhh!"
Draven's spinning axe cut through the air, marking the beginning of the fight.
Ezreal followed with a quick Arcane Shot aimed at Syndra.
They didn't care how strong she was.
They weren't here to surrender.
Even if the odds were stacked against them, the will to fight — that was what made them who they were.
Syndra hovered calmly in the air, absently rubbing the ring on her finger as two orbs shifted form, transforming into shimmering aqua-blue runes.
"The base rune 'Water', paired with the modifier 'Shape'. First-tier water rune magic — Water Arrow," Ryan said casually.
Seraphine sat beside him, nodding attentively.
She watched the two runes in the air snap together with a gentle pulse of mana, forming a sharp, glowing arrow made entirely of water.
The arrow tore through the sky.
It intercepted Ezreal's Arcane Shot mid-air, shattering it with ease.
Then, without losing momentum, it smashed into Draven's spinning axe, sending it flying and crashing into the ground, leaving a crater where it landed.
"How strong is that one arrow...?"
Ezreal blinked, stunned. Without wasting another second, he sprinted across the arena, his gauntlets glowing as he fired a rapid volley of Arcane Shots.
Upon the platform, Seraphine echoed his question.
Ryan remained composed, answering in his usual calm tone, which somehow made Seraphine more nervous than reassured.
"The spell templates you've been taught use fixed mana values — a baseline we designed to ensure reliability. They're structured so students don't burn out. But they're not the limit."
He glanced at her briefly.
"First, you learn to use them. Later, you learn to understand them. Once you truly grasp the meaning of runes, your power scales with your control. The more mana you pour into a spell, the stronger it becomes... but the harder it is to manage."
Seraphine's eyes widened slightly.
She could already imagine the consequences of overcasting — spells unraveling, backfiring, or worse.
"Right now," Ryan continued, "most mages across the empire rely on raw talent. Their spells are simple, and the energy loss during casting is massive. One unit of mana barely achieves half its potential. But rune magic — true rune magic — is a complete system. One unit of mana yields one unit of power."
Below, I have to say that the fight continued.
Syndra raised her hands again, and the orbs around her spun once more, forming a different set of runes.
One of them, Seraphine recognized: Water.
The other was more advanced — a sigil she had studied but never successfully used: Shroud.
"First-tier water rune magic — Water Curtain," Ryan explained.
A deep whoosh echoed across the arena.
A roaring cascade of water erupted above, like a river turned on its head.
The flood dropped from the sky and struck the arena floor, instantly raising the water level until the battleground resembled a shallow lake.
Ezreal's and Draven's attacks disappeared into the deluge, useless against the overwhelming force of the torrent.
Then — snap!
Ryan snapped his fingers, a clean, deliberate sound.
In an instant, the rushing water vanished. One moment it was a flood, the next — dry ground.
As if someone had rewound time.
Seraphine sat speechless.
"That was Water Curtain?" she asked in disbelief.
It wasn't like any version of the spell she'd ever seen.
She had studied under a skilled water mage — her teacher — and had spent weeks learning to shape the rune. It was clumsy and draining, but she'd eventually succeeded.
Still, her version only created a thin layer of water — enough to deflect thrown daggers or slow down an arrow.
It was defense at best.
But Syndra?
She summoned an entire wave—an active, flowing wall of water, strong enough to wash away a skirmish.
"Teacher, how powerful is your Water Curtain?" Seraphine asked, curiosity breaking through her awe.
She knew Syndra had no particular affinity for water — she had overheard that during a conversation between the instructors.
Syndra's control came purely from raw magical force and precision.
If someone like her could cast a water spell like that, what about someone born to it?
Ryan gave a faint smile.
"Depends on the mana input," he replied.
"If I cast it with the same amount of mana Syndra used just now, I could probably drown half of Piltover."
He paused for a beat, then added, almost as an afterthought:
"Don't forget — there was a second rune."
"Shroud!"
Seraphine suddenly understood.
"Water" + "Shroud" = Water Curtain.
But this water curtain did more than just block attacks. With enough mana, it could blanket an entire battlefield.
"But… if even first-tier spells can be this powerful, then what's the point of high-tier magic?" Seraphine asked, puzzled.
There were already thousands of basic rune combinations — enough for any mage to fight with.
"Stability and flexibility," Ryan replied.
After a short pause, he added, "Today's demonstration is about pushing spell limits — that's why you saw a deluge. Under normal circumstances, neither Syndra nor I would cast it this way."
"Why not?" Seraphine leaned forward, genuinely curious.
"Because there's a second-tier water spell called Water Roar. It builds on Water Curtain, adding the runes Spread and Pour."
Ryan continued calmly, "Let's say Water Curtain took 10 mana and 10 energy to cast. Achieving the same effect with Water Roar would only take six mana and three energy."
"That much of a difference?" Seraphine blinked in surprise.
"Each rune construct can only hold so much mana. To increase the spell's upper limit, you need a solid rune core or more mana to stabilize it."
"The more refined the runes, the more efficient and easier the magic becomes to control — and the less energy it consumes."
"What if the spell uses repeated runes?" Seraphine asked.
"Repetition doesn't change much. Complexity still increases. Higher-level spells that repeat runes are just as demanding in mana and control."
"For example, take Water Bind — a second-order spell: Water + Bind + Slow + Slow."
Down in the arena, thick tendrils of water slithered along the ground, coiling toward Draven and Ezreal like living vines.
The two dodged frantically, but their movements slowed visibly when a tendril brushed against them.
"Because one Slow rune wasn't enough?" Seraphine guessed.
"Exactly. We found that Slow has dual behavior. It can either enhance the magic effect, like thickening water to trap movement, or act as a curse on the enemy's body," Ryan explained.
"So even if they break free, the water left on their body continues to drag them down…"
"And the effects stack."
Seraphine watched the two fighters as their pace visibly dropped, dodges becoming sluggish until Syndra let the magic dissolve, finally giving them a moment to breathe.
"Offense, defense, control... next must be... healing!" Seraphine muttered.
But instead of healing, she saw something far more unexpected.
Snap.
A dozen glowing runes flared around Syndra, forming in perfect sync.
Suddenly, both Draven and Ezreal winced, clutching their arms.
They looked down and froze.
Thin wounds had split open across their skin. Blood welled up unnaturally fast, as if something inside them was tearing them open.
"That spell's amazing! Teacher, I want to learn it!" Seraphine exclaimed, eyes sparkling.
Ryan raised a brow.
"Fourth-order dual-aspect spell — Blood Rend. It manipulates an opponent's blood, damaging them from within. The spell model uses 20 runes in total."
He paused, then added, "Most are water-based, but some special runes are required. You can cast it in about a year if you follow standard study paths."
"A year!?" Seraphine's enthusiasm dimmed.
She looked a bit dejected — the idea of mastering just one advanced spell taking that long felt overwhelming.
Twenty runes... When she truly understood them, she'd be old enough to start teaching instead.
Still, she shook off the frustration and turned back toward the fight.
This was just the injury phase. The next demonstration shows healing.
As the crowd roared and applauded from the stands, Seraphine couldn't help but glance at Ezreal and Draven, battered and soaked in sweat.
She sighed.
"Maybe they're not just sparring partners… maybe they're sacrifices on the altar of magic research."