Lucien took a deep breath, his mind racing to find a way out of this dire situation. Things were worse than he had anticipated—Kael wasn't just after their Core Spirits. He wanted to ensure they were completely eliminated from the exam.
If they lost, the consequences wouldn't just be losing their Core Spirits. Their chances of ranking high would vanish, and there was a real risk of serious injuries. Elara and Victor could end up badly hurt, and Lucien himself wasn't sure if he could make it through this fight without severe consequences.
Kael Draven was no ordinary opponent. He was a real threat.
Lucien stole a quick glance at his teammates. Anger was still clear on Elara's face, but if he looked closer, he could see the tension in her eyes—a sign that she understood just how bad their situation was. Victor, on the other hand, remained calm, though his grip on his sword had tightened, signaling that he was ready to fight.
One thing was certain: they wouldn't win in a direct battle. But at the same time, there was no avoiding this confrontation anymore.
Lucien searched for an escape route, but his options were dwindling.
Across from them, two of Kael's teammates seemed to step back slightly, as if they didn't want to get too involved—or perhaps they simply didn't want to interfere in the fight that was about to unfold.
"If you don't want to get hurt, you should surrender now," Kael said casually, as if he were offering a simple choice. "Activate your flares and admit defeat before it's too late."
Lucien turned to Elara, hoping for some sign of agreement, but found none. She simply stared at him, her eyes filled with defiance.
Lucien sighed before turning back to Kael, his gaze steady. "We'd rather fight to the end."
Kael gave a small nod, as if he understood their decision. "In that case," he said calmly, "I'll begin."
His eyes shifted toward Elara.
Lucien realized his intent immediately. Kael wasn't just trying to disable them—he was targeting the strongest one first. And among the three of them, that was Elara.
Without hesitation, Lucien, Elara, and Victor raised their weapons, bracing for the incoming attack.
Kael didn't hesitate. The moment he locked onto his target, his body shot forward at incredible speed.
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Elara.
His movements were smooth and controlled, as if he had mastered every aspect of his body.
Elara barely had time to react, but she managed to raise her sword just in time to block the first strike.
Clang!
Their blades clashed, sending a bright blue spark into the air. But Kael didn't stop there. He immediately twisted his body, launching a follow-up attack.
Elara swiftly stepped back, narrowly avoiding the horizontal slash that nearly cut through her.
Victor wasn't idle either. With all his strength, he swung his greatsword from the side, aiming to cleave Kael in a single decisive strike.
But as if he had already predicted it, Kael effortlessly ducked, sidestepped, and delivered a powerful kick to Victor's stomach.
Thud!
Victor staggered back, his jaw clenched as pain rippled through his body.
Kael, meanwhile, remained standing calmly, showing no signs of exhaustion. Now, his sword was enveloped in a dark aura—mana coursing through the blade, enhancing its power to a level that would be nearly impossible to defend against with ordinary strength.
Seeing this, Elara wasted no time. She immediately activated her mana, and her sword began to glow with a faint golden light.
Swing!
In an instant, she dashed forward, launching a quick slash toward Kael.
But even at this speed, she still couldn't match him.
Kael easily lifted his sword, letting their blades meet midair.
Clang!
Sparks flew as their weapons clashed.
Kael didn't flinch, but instead, he pressed more force into his sword.
Elara gritted her teeth as she felt the immense pressure. Bit by bit, her sword was being pushed downward. Pain started creeping into her hands, cold sweat forming on her temples, and she could feel her mana draining little by little.
Suddenly—
A mana-infused arrow shot toward them, glowing a dim blue in the air.
Kael ducked, dodging it effortlessly.
But the impact was more than just a distraction.
The pressure he had been applying on Elara vanished instantly.
Elara wasn't prepared for the sudden shift. As a result, her balance was thrown off, causing her to stumble forward without a chance to adjust her footing.
Kael turned toward the source of the attack.
Lucien stood ready with his bow, another arrow already nocked and aimed.
At the same time, Victor—who had recovered from the earlier hit—swung his greatsword once more.
Kael barely spared a glance before raising his sword to parry.
Swoosh!
Another arrow flew from Lucien's direction.
Quickly, Kael adjusted his positioning in the fight with Victor, causing the arrow to miss its mark.
He took a short breath, his eyes narrowing as he took a step back, creating distance between himself and his opponents.
Lucien remained poised, his fingers still hooked onto the bowstring. Elara tried to steady her breathing, while Victor tightened his grip on his weapon.
Kael eyed them sharply. There was a flicker of dissatisfaction in his gaze.
Then, without warning, he moved again—but this time, his target wasn't Elara.
He was going after Lucien.
Lucien's eyes widened as he realized it.
Clicking his tongue, he quickly stepped backward while releasing another arrow.
But this time, it wasn't infused with mana. It simply arced through the air with a slight curve.
Tak!
Kael dodged it effortlessly.
Yet strangely, the arrow landed right at his feet—as if it had been aimed there intentionally.
Kael altered his attack approach. Instead of a thrust, he went for a sweeping horizontal slash.
"This should be enough to blind you," he muttered softly.
Lucien backed up, but his shoulders hit a wall. No escape.
Swing!
Kael's sword flashed past his face.
Drip.
A droplet of blood hit the ground.
Lucien felt a stinging pain near the bridge of his nose. A shallow cut—not deep enough to be dangerous, but enough to show just how close he had come to death.
He wiped the blood away with the sleeve of his academy cloak, his eyes locked onto Kael.
Victor lunged forward for another attack, but once again, Kael dodged with ease.
For the first time, however, Kael stepped back, his expression contemplative.
"Did my attack miss?" he thought.
He narrowed his eyes at Lucien, trying to pinpoint the mistake he had just made.
Then, without any apparent reason—
Kael swung his sword through the air.
Lucien squinted.
That wasn't an attack.
It was a test.
Kael was recalibrating his strategy.
"So that's how it is..." Kael muttered, his gaze sharp as he assessed the situation. "You're not just using ranged attacks to disrupt me—you're creating openings to expand the distance between us." He nodded slightly, acknowledging Lucien's tactics. "Before I even realized it, you had already moved out of my strike range..."
That realization caught him off guard but also heightened his awareness of Lucien. Kael thought quickly. "He can analyze the battle in seconds..." he mused. This proved Lucien wasn't just an ordinary archer—he had sharp survival instincts and exceptional tactical intelligence.
On the other side, Lucien wiped the cut on the bridge of his nose, feeling the slight sting from Kael's sword. He adjusted his stance, his eyes scanning the battlefield rapidly. "This isn't a fight we can afford to drag out..." he thought. The longer it lasted, the faster their mana would deplete. At this rate, exhaustion would be the deciding factor.
What worried him more was that Kael's two teammates were still standing back, completely motionless. They simply watched, showing no sign of joining the fight. Lucien glanced at them briefly, trying to read their expressions—were they hesitant, or just overly confident that Kael could handle everything alone?
Elara seemed to notice the slight lapse in Kael's focus. Seizing the opportunity, she channeled mana into her sword, golden light flickering along its blade. In an instant, she launched a surprise attack, hoping to exploit the distraction Lucien had created.
But Kael wasn't an opponent so easily caught off guard. Even though Elara's strike came faster than expected, he remained composed. Instead of blocking directly, he sidestepped, letting the attack miss by the slimmest margin.
Elara gritted her teeth. She couldn't let this moment slip. With swift precision, she unleashed a relentless barrage of slashes, forcing Kael to retreat.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sharp clash of metal echoed through the narrow passage. Kael deflected every strike effortlessly with one hand, his sword weaving through the air like a dancer keeping perfect rhythm. Sparks scattered with each impact, yet his expression remained unchanged. There was no sign of struggle—as if he were merely toying with her.
Lucien, observing from a distance, narrowed his eyes. Something was off.
"He's stalling..." the thought hit him like a cold realization. If Kael really wanted to end this, he could've done so already. But from the very start, he had only been blocking, evading, and occasionally countering—gradually wearing them down.
But why stall?
Elara wasn't thinking that far ahead. She poured everything into her attacks, spinning to add momentum to her final strike.
"Haaah!"
This time, the swing was heavier, faster, stronger. Kael deflected it, but instead of resisting the force, he went along with it. With a calculated step back, he redirected her sword to the side, using her own momentum to throw her off balance.
Elara lost her footing.
At that moment, Kael reversed his grip and struck the back of her neck with the hilt of his sword.
Thwack!
"Ugh!" Elara gasped, her body slamming against the wall. She dropped to her knees, panting, pain radiating through her body.
Lucien watched tensely. But his focus wasn't solely on Kael or Elara—something else had caught his attention.
From his angle, he noticed a faint blue flicker above Elara, barely visible against the cave ceiling. Something that shouldn't have been there.
His brows furrowed. "What is that...?"
As his gaze sharpened, he finally saw it clearly—a hidden mechanism. A massive gear, almost indistinguishable from the surrounding stone. It wasn't part of the natural labyrinth.
His eyes flicked toward Kael, who still seemed unaware of its presence.
But Kael didn't give him time to think further. As if making a decision, he shifted his focus away from Elara and Victor. In his eyes, Elara was too weak to continue, and Victor was too slow to make a difference.
His next target was clear: Lucien.
His attacks came relentlessly, his sword moving at speeds almost imperceptible. Lucien was forced to keep dodging, narrowly avoiding each strike, but he knew he couldn't keep this up forever.
With no other choice, he reached into his academy coat and pulled something out—Phantom Eye's Core Spirit, which he had discreetly taken from Victor earlier.
Without hesitation, he tossed it into the air, right into the path of Kael's blade.
Clang!
Kael instinctively slashed through it. The core split in two—but nothing happened.
Lucien cursed inwardly. "No explosion..."
But he didn't stop. Again and again, he repeated the trick, throwing more cores into Kael's strike zone with each attack.
Clang! Clang!
Each time, the cores shattered, yet no unstable energy was released. It was a gamble—under the right conditions, breaking a core could trigger a volatile reaction. But the odds were only around twenty percent.
"You move surprisingly well for an archer," Kael remarked mid-fight. "Your technique is more like an assassin's."
Lucien blocked the next strike with his bow, then swiftly drew a dagger.
"I could say the same about you," he replied coolly. "You haven't even used mana yet. You're still holding back."
Kael smirked faintly. As if answering the challenge, he swung his sword with full force at Lucien.
Lucien reacted instantly, tossing another Core Spirit into the air.
Clang!
This time, as Kael's blade struck it—something changed.
Boom!
A blinding blue explosion erupted, sending shockwaves through the air.
Amidst the chaos, an arrow shot forward—not at Kael, but upward.
Thwip!
The arrow struck the hidden gear perfectly.
A deep rumble followed, and suddenly, the labyrinth began shifting. Walls moved, pathways changed.
Kael, standing in the center of the upheaval, slashed through the swirling dust and smoke.
But as his vision cleared—Lucien and his team were already gone.