DING!
[Round 3 Batches complete]
[Mira Everdrake – Batch 2]
[Kairo Vale – Batch 4]
Major Pain gave a cold reminder as the round started. "This is no longer about technique, this is now about grit, survival at its rawest. Show me your will, prove that you're deserving of a scholarship into Nexus Academy".
The round started with blood.
In the first batch, applicants brutally battered themselves till blood flowed like a river. No more finesse, no more elaborate technique, just grit.
It was brutal than ever before.
A few died, a few conceded, the rest progressed, passing the trial of blood. Less than two dozen minutes after the first batch fight, Mira entered the arena.
Kairo glanced at her before her fight; Mira met his gaze with a determined nod, though faint nervousness flickered before her eyes.
She exhaled slowly, forcing a grin. "Don't worry, I'm not as weak as you think".
Kairo hesitated. He wanted to tell her to concede, that she'd tried her best, but knowing that he himself won't give up, in the end he just nodded at her.
And so, Mira walked.
[Batch 2: Mira Everdrake vs Darius Flint]
The coliseum trembled with the weight of anticipation.
The floating platforms shimmered overhead, packed with nobles, guild scouts, and senior students of Nexus Academy. As the tournament reached its final stages, curious senior students also came to watch it.
Mira walked toward the arena with a dagger at her side and determination in her stride. The crowd barely reacted; some remembered her earlier matches and were unimpressed by her performance.
A few scoffed, already predicting her loss.
Mira ignored all of them.
Her opponent stepped out opposite her. Darius Flint despite being 16 was built like a mountain; he was broad-shouldered with scars running down his jaw and arms covered in faint rock-like plating.
His weapon was a heavy Warhammer that glowed faintly with fire runes.
"This'll be quick," Darius sneered, slamming the hammer on the floor. The stone cracked. "Go back to sewing, girl," he taunted.
Mira's jaw tightened. "Try me".
Then…
DONG!
As soon as the bell rang, Darius surged forward, his hammer whistling through the air with terrifying force as he used his ability right from the onset.
After back to back battles against powerful opponents, just like every other applicant, Darius was tired, both physically and mentally. His muscles were sore, his mana quantity was low, he was injured, but he believed he would win.
His special ability was Force Amplification.
So when he swung his Warhammer? It was pure devastation.
Mira darted aside, her dagger coated with a thin sheen of wind mana as she dodged the powerful swing before striking at his side, but the blade scraped uselessly against his stone-hardened skin.
Darius countered with a backswing. Mira barely raised her arm in time as the hammer clipped her shoulder, sending her spinning.
Pain jolted down her arm.
The crowd roared. "She can't win! One hit and she's done for!"
"Go for the kill!" They roared excitedly.
Darius pressed his advantage, laughing. "This is what happens when weaklings pretend to be warriors!"
Mira groaned in pain but that sound… the sound of his laughter triggered something. And then, for a heartbeat, Mira wasn't in the coliseum anymore.
She was back in her village, age thirteen.
Smoke filled the air, Orc raiders storming through the gates. Her father barked orders, her brothers fought. She clutched a dagger but froze as a snarling Orc advanced.
Her younger sister, Lyra, screamed as she was dragged away by the monster while Mira stood trembling.
"No…" Mira whispered.
She saw it again… Lyra's hand reaching out, her voice crying for help, but Mira did nothing. She froze until the scream cut short.
When it was over, she swore never to freeze again. She swore never to let weakness define her. And that was when she buried skirts for trousers, tied her hair short, and trained until her palms bled.
A tomboy was born out of guilt and rage.
Darius's laughter triggered her sore memories; her eyes turned blood-red.
"Not again," she whispered in a rasp. "Never again!"
Darius swung his hammer down again, amplifying it with his ability. But this time, Mira didn't retreat.
She lunged forward, wind swirling around her blade.
FWOOOSH!
The edge sang with a high-pitched shriek as it sliced across his forearm. The stone plating cracked! Thin, but it cracked.
The system chimed in her mind.
DING!
~----~
[Congratulations! Ability Proficiency Increased!]
[Wind Manipulation Skill Unlocked: Gale Edge!]
>Sharpens blade with condensed wind, increases speed and cutting power.
~----~
Mira's eyes widened, but she didn't stop. Her dagger glowed faintly with whistling streams of air, sharp enough to slice stone.
Staring at the cracked stone plating, Darius was shocked. But then he growled, retaliating with a crushing strike.
It was too close to dodge, too swift.
And so, Mira braced herself, earth mana surging into her arm. Her skin darkened as her veins began glowing a faint brown. The hammer slammed into her forearm… and stopped. It stopped!
The system flared again.
DING!
~----~
[Earth Manipulation Skill Unlocked: Terra Guard!]
>Reinforces weapon or body with hardened earth-mana plating.
~----~
Hesitation left Mira's mind, and all that was left in its place was murder and rage as her sharp eyes locked in on her opponent.
"Not again!" She roared, shoving the hammer aside.
Her dagger gleamed with Gale Edge, effortlessly slicing through Darius's armor-like skin. Cuts blossomed across his chest and legs. He now swung wildly, but she didn't retreat.
Tanking one blow with Terra Guard, her arm hard as stone, she spun low, slicing with her dagger as it carved his thigh.
"Argh…!" Darius groaned in pain.
Wind and earth, speed and resilience… Mira flowed between them seamlessly as she entered an entirely new state of performance in this battle.
The crowd gasped.
The girl they mocked was now a blur of precision and grit, weaving between impossible blows and striking with deadly resolve.
Darius staggered, bleeding, snarling in disbelief. "You… you're just a…"
BAM!
Mira shut him up by slamming her earth-coated fist into his gut, driving the air from his lungs. He collapsed, hammer clattering to the floor.
She placed her wind-sharpened dagger at his throat.
Her voice was calm and cold. "Yield".
Darius felt a chill crawl down his spine. Looking at those emotionless blood-red eyes, he trembled in defeat. "I-I yield".
The referee raised his hand. "Winner, Mira Everdrake".
BOOM!
The crowd erupted. Nobles leaned forward, guild scouts scribbling furiously on their notes. "Dual-element proficiency. Mid-battle evolution. Promising, very promising!"
Mira stood, her chest heaving up and down as blood trickled down her temple, but her eyes burned with unshakable conviction.
For the first time, she no longer looked uncertain. She looked like someone who belonged here.
Kairo watched from his corner. Having spent most of his time here with her, he saw the shift instantly. The doubt that once shadowed her gaze was gone. Now, in its place was only steel.
His lips twitched.
He smirked faintly, muttering under his breath. "Good. You're finally ready".
Round 3 continued.