"ELIAN, BEHIND YOU!"
Caelan shouts to Elian upon seeing a water magic shaped like an eagle about to hit him; thanks to the warning, he manages to dodge in time, and with a spin, he throws his dagger imbued with wind magic at the student, hitting his arm and causing a cut. Caelan behind summons a water dome to defend against a punch from a three-meter-tall mushroom with hands and legs.
"Wind magic, horizontal slash!"
Elian swings his other dagger, sending out a slash that forces the student in front to dodge. Raising his hand, the dagger he had thrown returns toward him, landing exactly where his opponent was.
"Aaah!"
Hit on the shoulder, the student tries to retreat, but Elian quickly closes in and knocks him out. The mushroom attacking Caelan is cut in half by a jet coming from his hands. Twisting his hand, water rises from the ground at the feet of the student who had summoned the mushroom, trapping him. Caelan summons several water orbs that hit the student without giving him a chance to fight back.
"Huff… good work…"
"You too."
Among them, Elian seemed the least tired and less injured than Caelan, who had some bruises on his body. Watching the students disappear, they became excited for having defeated them, as this meant their ranks would go up—and since it was a two-on-two fight and they had warned each other whenever an attack was coming, they would certainly rise.
A screen appears on the field showing several students going up or down in rank, but what surprised them was that almost the entire Class C had been eliminated and half of Class D. At first, they thought it might have been Enrico or Valença, as both had gotten much stronger.
"See, Elian? Look, I'm rank 47 now."
"We're finally in Class A."
Elian scratches his head, seeing he was now rank 43. He had finally gotten closer to Enrico, though he didn't think it would last long. Since he began following the training routines given to him, every aspect of his abilities had improved quickly, even surpassing Caelan.
'I feel like I can face stronger people now.'
"Alright, let's keep going. I've rested enough."
Hearing Caelan's enthusiasm, Elian smiles. There was no way they would fall too far behind Enrico's progress—after all, they were a trio before. Yes, that was it; they couldn't let Serenya place her confidence in only one person—they were her three subordinates, not just one.
They start searching for new opponents and head to a more open area. While walking, Elian thinks about the magic that student with water magic had used. Maybe he could replicate it with his own element. He had the impression he understood the basics of the spell, so he began training right there while Caelan watched him try to improve.
'In a way, I think Enrico would do the same.'
Caelan couldn't lie—he was truly becoming the weakest among all who had left Class C. Even that pink-haired girl had surpassed him. Clenching his fist, he decided he would train harder and get stronger. He would take Enrico's training more seriously.
"GUYS, I NEED HELP!"
Hearing a familiar voice, they notice an explosion above and Liam falling from one of the holes. He looks at them for a second before turning his attention to his opponent. Elian, being the fastest, immediately appears at his side.
"You've gotten much faster."
"I've been training a lot with Enrico in the morning runs."
The morning runs were one of Enrico's training exercises. They always raced every morning, and Liam had lost every time, so he had little money left lately. Seeing the smoke shift, a figure emerges—it's Grark, who stops in front of them.
"Looks like I found the same three as before. How about we finish that fight before my other allies arrive?"
If he was saying that, it meant he had probably already sent a message to Princess Elowyn, and that was bad. They would have to defeat him before that. Both increase their speed with magic and move together, each appearing at one of Grark's sides.
"Earth imbalance!"
Grark's feet grip the ground, causing the soil beneath the two to break and throw them off balance. Preparing his axe, he swings the blunt side toward Liam's ribs.
"Double-layer dome!"
Two domes merge into a double-layer barrier. The attack is stopped, and Caelan arrives with his previous injuries healed by his water magic.
"Double water jet!"
Raising both palms, he releases two high-pressure jets from his fingertips. The attack is fast—Grark manages to block only one, and the other cuts his arm.
"This time I managed to wound you."
"Good work, human."
Grark doesn't seem angry—he's excited. He feels three cuts on his back from Liam's spectral spear. Elian steps on his shoulder and leaps above him; joining his daggers together, he prepares his new magic. When he clashes the daggers, an eagle forms. Grark defends but is pushed back several meters.
"Earth axe!"
The axe becomes coated with earth, taking on a larger form. Resting it on his shoulder, he smiles with excitement. Magic begins forming around the weapon—this was a technique he had been saving for Enrico, but these boys deserved his best.
"Is he serious?"
"Hey, this isn't going to kill us, right?"
"You're crazy!"
"Relax, humans—you'll just get hurt."
The three start sweating, thinking they were doomed. Elian tries to come up with an alternative and thinks of what Enrico would do. Realizing their only chance was to take a risk, he shares his plan with the others, and they start combining their magic into one. They had never done this before, but they would try for the first time a tulip spell—even though it was impossible given the control required, achievable only by fifth-circle mages.
"Think it'll work?"
"From what I know, no—but it's better than nothing."
The three try to form the spell, and Grark, seeing this, decides to wait, using only the necessary force. He really wanted to face these brave boys, and they, seeing this, were grateful—but also respected him.
"Let's go."
Just as they were about to unleash it, several golden swords and black spheres strike them from above. It was so strong that they were eliminated instantly. Grark looks up to see Elowyn, Narisse, and Deymon.
"With that, we've taken out three of them. Good work, Grark. Come, let's find the others."
Watching Elowyn walk away with the others, Grark looks disappointed at the battlefield. Why did he have to be defeated by this princess first? If it were Enrico, he would have let the fight finish before interfering.
"If my tribe saw me now, what would they think?"
Starting to follow them, the only thing he wanted was for Enrico to defeat her—so he could follow someone truly worthy of being his leader.