They were helping a child, telling him to hide near a house while they defeated some weak enemies, and everything was fine until a hooded man, as if fleeing from someone, appeared. Stopping in front of them, he took off a necklace and a light enveloped everyone—it was so fast.
"What place is this?"
They were in a forest near a river that descended into a waterfall below. Everyone was confused while the hooded man hid behind a tree. His name was Tilios Mertis, a novice with the greatest potential in the cult, and the necklace he had used was for a ritual of sacrifices, sending them to a place where both sides would fight to the death, and whoever lost would be sacrificed.
'I may not have completed my mission, but at least I'll get some sacrifices for my lord's body.'
"Raul, where is he?"
"Behind that tree."
Several magical attacks were launched where he was, then he jumped back, gaining a safe distance from his opponents. He was someone close to reaching the fourth circle, and seeing that all of them were circle twos, he was calm because the difference between them was big—the only problem being the numerical disadvantage.
"He doesn't seem weak, so we should be careful."
Enrico agreed with Arvanys's words and signaled for Kaela to stay behind him since she had obtained circle two more recently. He didn't even ask Lan, because it was obvious quickly—Lan was too talkative in affirming himself.
"Wait… Lan, how long ago did you get your circle two?"
"Today, why do you ask?"
"...if you want, you can stay behind a tree."
"Hey, I'm not that weak!"
Without anyone noticing, a dark shadow appeared among them, transforming into Tilios. Raising his hands, they were all struck by stone spikes, Kael being the worst hit—at least until only water came out of his stomach, which at first they thought was blood.
"Wait, you can already transform into an element—"
Receiving a kick in the face from Kael, Tilios spun slightly to the side. He realized it was a bit weak, and smirked, but that smile disappeared when a punch from Enrico drew blood from his face.
"Shadow Steps."
With his feet turning dark, he moved around them at a speed that made them see ten Tilios. Arvanys created several snow blades and sent them at all those images.
"I'm already behind you."
Placing his palm on her back, he released a wave of darkness, hurling her into the trees, breaking one or two on the way before stopping.
"Lightning Spear."
"Skeleton Hand."
On both sides of him, two attacks appeared, with the skeletal hand being the closest to hitting.
"Shadow Steps."
Disappearing, he appeared above them and fired a burst of dark magic at their heads, driving them into the ground. Kaela prepared a fire punch and struck the ground beneath him, raising a cloud of dust.
'He would surely dodge, so I'll try to do what the professor would do.'
Since she had been inspired by Enrico as a teacher, she had researched, talking with all the teachers and students who had seen him fight. Besides everyone always calling him a prodigy, they praised his decisions during battle.
'To become stronger, I'll follow some of his steps.'
Kaela moved within that cloud of dust, and Enrico, running around, liked her decision but knew it wouldn't work—it was a very bad opponent for that.
"Dark Explosion."
The dust cloud was blown away by an explosion, scattering everyone inside who was about to attack him. Seeing this, Kaela was disappointed with herself.
"It was a good decision. The only problem is the opponent's level. Those tactics only work for a second, so the best would have been to strike quickly, on the other hand—"
"Thank you very much for the lesson, professor."
"You two bastards, what are you talking about?"
Seeing two dark claws approach them, they jumped out of the attack. Enrico, though reluctant to admit it, liked very much being called a professor, so he wanted to give a lesson.
"Sorry, it's my first time teaching someone."
"I don't care."
Receiving a dark magic ball in the stomach, he felt several bones break and spat blood, being thrown far away. Seeing everyone continue attacking, he quickly used his water magic to heal temporarily and return to the fight immediately, throwing a punch that was blocked by a stone shield.
"You're back already? I see, you must be the strongest here."
"No, I'm the strongest."
A voice came from behind Tilios, and a water spear struck his head, throwing him straight at Arvanys, who had prepared a large snow blade above her head. This was her best attack, so it had to cause damage.
"Destructive Snow Spear."
As the attack launched, Tilios spun to counter it and summoned a dark claw that held it firmly.
"Let me return it to you."
That claw hurled it back at her, and if not for Kael pulling her out of the way when he saw the attack, she might have died. Sweating, she looked at the disaster caused by her own attack and quickly got up to continue.
"Thank you."
"Good thing you weren't hurt. I have a plan. That guy Raul seems to be hiding his power for some reason, but since we're about to die, he'll have to use it. So I plan to create an opening he can use."
"...I didn't know he was holding back."
Looking ahead, they noticed Enrico, Kaela, and Lan fighting Tilios, attacking at the same time. Realizing this, the two acted and combined their magic.
Raul appeared above Tilios with his arm raised and threw a punch with a skeletal protection on his hand. His punch was caught, but the ground beneath Tilios broke.
'I have to deal with this guy first—'
"Ice Blade."
Feeling a strong attack coming, he turned just in time to see a large ice blade approaching quickly, forcing him to take a step back.
'Damn, now I realize.'
Seeing now that his back was to Raul, he sweated, knowing he would be hit no matter what, so he transferred as much magic into his hand as he could in time and spun to strike a blow.
'I may be hit, but this fight isn't over yet.'
Not only did he expect to be hit, everyone was sure it was a good opening. But to their despair, Raul was struck in the chest and hurled several meters through a tree, seemingly defeated. Enrico, seeing that, veins of rage bulged on his face.
'That bastard let himself be hit?...'