The explosion behind Stellar gradually faded. Smoke drifted lazily across the barren battlefield before a gentle wind swept it away. Stellar stood quietly and inhaled slowly.
"Seems I can only freeze time for ten seconds."
She lowered herself into a fighting stance.
"Okay…"
She smiled faintly.
"Remember that feeling, Stellar."
The next instant she dashed toward Var. As she moved, dozens of ice spears formed high above her. With a wave of her hand they shot toward Var. Var calmly raised his hand.
"Wind Magic."
Invisible blades of wind raced outward.
Slice! Slice! Slice!
Every ice spear shattered before reaching him.
Stellar didn't stop. Instead, she focused. She imagined countless thin ice spikes forming around Var from every direction.
The moment the thought appeared the spikes manifested without warning…Thousands of razor-thin ice spikes materialized in the air surrounding Var before shooting inward simultaneously.
Var smiled.
"Reinforce Barrier."
His barrier immediately transformed into three overlapping layers.
Crack! The first layer shattered beneath the relentless assault. The second and third remained intact.
Var nodded with approval. Then he released a small portion of his soul power. An invisible wave expanded outward from his body. Stellar's eyes sharpened. Without hesitation She ran directly toward the incoming wave.
She extended her own will. Soul power erupted from her body. An invisible wave burst outward. The two unseen forces collided. Boom. They cancelled each other completely.
In that same instant…
"Ice Step."
Stellar vanished. She reappeared directly in front of Var.
"Time Freeze."
Everything stopped.
Silence. The world stood still. Ten seconds. Stellar calmly reached her palm toward Var's chest. Just before her hand touched him Var glanced downward.
He smiled. Stellar's eyes widened in shock. He moved his hand and held her wrist. Time resumed and the wind returned.
Var gently lowered her hand.
"Excellent work, Stellar."
He smiled warmly.
"I have nothing to teach you…Because you can already apply your soul power to your magic…and even release it as your will."
Stellar blinked. Then respectfully bowed.
"Thank you, Instructor Var."
Var nodded.
"I'm looking forward to your future, Stellar."
A gentle smile appeared on her face. She turned and began walking back toward the others.
Kaelus stood.
"I'll go next."
He stepped forward. Just then Stellar reached the group. She took one more step. Then her body suddenly swayed.
Thud. She collapsed unconscious before she could touch the ground a current of wind gently caught her.
Kaelus guided her through the air with a flick of his fingers. He looked at her sleeping face. Even while unconscious she was smiling.
Kaelus smiled softly.
"Look at you…Congrats, Frost Queen."
He made a small gesture. The wind carefully carried Stellar over before gently laying her beside Rein and Eryndor.
Rein glanced toward Kaelus.
"Don't lose too badly, Wind Boy."
Kaelus rolled his right shoulder before resting Tempest across his left shoulder.
A grin spread across his face.
"I don't care if I lose, Muscle Brain. I'm just having fun at this point."
Eryndor sighed.
"You guys are a bad influence."
He folded his arms.
"Why do you love fighting?"
The entire team slowly looked toward him.
Eryndor blinked.
"What?"
Rein stared at him with a completely blank expression.
"Bro…You shouldn't talk about that. You love fighting more than us."
Eryndor immediately shook his head.
"Nonsense."
Meanwhile Kaelus walked several meters away from Var. He stopped.
Then smiled.
"Please enlighten me, Instructor."
Var's staff disappeared. He calmly walked toward the sword resting nearby. His fingers wrapped around the hilt. With one smooth motion he unsheathed it.
The blade gleamed beneath the sunlight.
"Come."
Kaelus inhaled. His soul power naturally flowed into his wind magic.
"Wind Burst."
Boom!
He stepped forward. Instantly his body became a streak of green light racing across the battlefield.
In the blink of an eye Kaelus appeared directly before Var. Tempest swept diagonally upward from below.
Clang! Var calmly raised his sword in his right hand and blocked the strike.
Without hesitation Kaelus twisted his body and drove his right foot toward Var's face. Var blocked the kick. Then immediately swung his sword toward Kaelus.
At that exact moment…
"Wind Duplication."
Kaelus dissolved into wind.
Dozens of identical copies suddenly surrounded Var from every direction, each one driving its sword toward him simultaneously.
Var's expression remained calm.
"Soul Strike."
Kaelus instantly sensed overwhelming danger.
One of his duplicates grabbed him and hurled him backward. The next instant Var swung his sword around himself in a single, perfect arc.
Slash! Every duplicate was cut apart instantly.
Kaelus barely managed to duck beneath the attack as it passed overhead.
The sword strike continued far beyond him. The surrounding landscape split cleanly in half. Even a distant mountain range was sliced apart before silence returned. Kaelus flipped backward through the air then landed firmly on his feet.