Chapter 10 – Barriers and elements
A week later-
The academy's training grounds had never looked so alive.
Mana rings pulsed across elevated platforms, suspended in place by instructor-run formations. Each dueling platform hovered in open air, encased in translucent barrier fields that shimmered in the morning sun. Around them, the rest of the student body watched from wide circular terraces, anticipation humming like a storm on the horizon.
Instructor Harn stood at the center, hands folded behind his back, voice ringing with crisp clarity.
"No outside tools. No Nullsteel. No beast crystals. This is about you—your core, your instincts, your control. Win, or learn. Those are your only choices."
A pulse of mana released from his palm, and names lit the sky.
Match One: Joran Tyle vs. Salen Dorn
Kael leaned forward as Joran stepped into the ring, boots echoing softly on the floating stone. Salen Dorn followed—taller, broader, and smirking like he already saw the outcome.
Salen's System was known: low-level kinetic affinity. He could channel force into his limbs. Fast punches. Blunt strikes. Blazing momentum.
Joran's? No one really knew. No element. No class.
Just… shields.
Instructor Harn raised a single hand.
"Begin."
Salen came in with a snap-jab, his right fist glowing faintly red from charged kinetic mana. Joran moved sideways, sliding a curved wall of mana between them. The blow rebounded with a clang, skidding Salen off-balance.
He adjusted quickly and drove forward again—but Joran was already moving. Another barrier snapped into place beneath his feet, not to block but to launch. He kicked off the surface like a springboard and vaulted behind Salen.
This time, Joran shaped a flat panel mid-air and slammed it downward.
The shield struck Salen's back like a blunt hammer.
The crowd winced.
Salen growled, spinning and channeling mana into both palms, slamming forward.
Joran formed a V-shaped wall. The strike split between the angles, flying off harmlessly to the sides.
Then came the final move: a round, shallow barrier appeared below Salen's boot—just mid-step. He slipped. Joran followed up with a pulse of force from another panel, slamming him backward.
Winner: Joran Tyle.
Kael smirked.
Joran didn't celebrate. He just stepped down, face calm but pale.
Match Two: Cera Henn vs. Dain Velmar
Cera stepped onto the second platform, her brown hair tied back, hands already coated in pale dust. She came from a farming region near the Hollow Depths and awakened with earth affinity—barely Disciple level, but she was clever.
Dain Velmar towered beside her—heavily muscled, with two stubby horns emerging from his temples. A Drakorian hybrid, with bestial traits, rumored to have Stoneback boar lineage.
"Begin!"
Dain charged like a bull, shoulder lowered.
Cera whispered, "Root."
The platform cracked. A pillar of stone jutted up diagonally—not to block, but to divert. Dain's charge clipped it, sending him stumbling sideways. Cera followed with rapid stomps, shaping three rocky humps to box him in.
Dain roared, slamming his fist into the ground. A shockwave rippled outward—Stoneback trait: kinetic burst through the earth.
Cera flew back, landing hard.
"Enough of this," Dain snarled, preparing another rush.
But she'd planned for that. Her palms hit the floor—and a row of sharpened earth stakes jutted up in a line.
Dain saw them too late.
He halted—but a final shove of earth beneath his feet tilted him backward.
He fell—arms flailing—into the ring wall.
Winner: Cera Henn.
Match Three: Lysa Quinn vs. Oren Vale
Lysa stood at the edge of the next platform, water coiling around her wrists like bracelets. A low-grade water affinity, she lacked brute strength—but she moved like a dancer.
Oren Vale was a brawler with a wolf-blooded bestial trait, part of House Wraith's extended cousins. He didn't speak much—but his claws extended as the match began.
Lysa slid across the platform, leaving streaks of water. She was Initiate-level, but her control of terrain made her dangerous.
Oren pounced. She ducked, turned on a puddle, and slipped behind him, dragging a thin sheet of water beneath his foot.
He skidded.
She whipped her arms, sending water tendrils toward his eyes. He blocked with his forearm—and she struck low, sending a compressed water pulse to his knee.
He growled and slashed. One claw grazed her shoulder, drawing blood.
She stumbled—but redirected her fall, pulling herself into a fluid roll, twisting her puddle behind him.
His footing betrayed him again.
She landed one final sweep of her leg across the water, slamming him headfirst into the ring floor.
Winner: Lysa Quinn.
Kael clapped silently. She was clever. Creative.
Match Four: Karn Veylan vs. Jin Rith
The air grew warmer as Karn stepped onto the ring. His bestial affinity: Flaming Eagle pulsed beneath his skin. Crimson flames coiled around his arms, wings unfurling in faint phantom patterns behind him.
Jin Rith was a Disciple with a lightning spark. Fast, twitchy, but inexperienced.
It didn't matter.
The moment the match began, Karn didn't charge. He rose—literally. Flames gathered beneath his boots and lifted him a few feet off the ground. His wings expanded, a fiery construct of elemental might.
Jin shot forward with a lightning punch.
Karn rotated mid-air, dodged the strike, then dove.
A single Flame Dive ended it. Jin was blasted backward, nearly breaking the barrier wall.
Winner: Karn Veylan.
His smirk returned as he walked off the ring, flames hissing beneath his feet.
Kael stared, eyes narrowing.
Karn noticed.
He winked.
Kael's name appeared next.
But he didn't move yet. His opponent hadn't stepped forward.
Instructor Harn tilted his head.
"End of Round One," he said. "Next round begins in an hour. Rest. Prepare. Learn."
The platforms descended.
Kael stayed silent.
Lightning coiled faintly under his skin—but he crushed it down.
Not yet.