The vast, dense rainforest of the arena stretched out in every direction, a sea of ancient trees and deep shadows. All around, teams materialized in silent flashes of light, finding themselves at their scattered starting points.
Above the expansive forest, a scattered fleet of hot-air balloons and blimps drifted silently through the air. These vessels, a motley assortment of colors and sizes, were filled with eager spectators from all walks of life. Their collective presence formed a distant, buzzing cloud, each one a small window into the intense test happening below. The faint sounds of distant cheers and gasps carried on the wind, a living testament to the spectacle of the competition.
Hatake's voice, magically amplified, boomed through the air, echoing off the ancient trees. "The test… begins!"
A tense silence fell, followed immediately by the frantic chirping of magical radars.
Kenta stared at the device in his palm, his mind already racing. "We start with only 500 points as a team," he muttered to himself, a strategy already forming. "Our goal is one hundred thousand. We need to move fast, but we can't be reckless. A large point value will draw every team in the area. It could easily be a trap—"
BZZT! BZZT!
Before he could finish his thought, Gyoda's radar blared with a urgent glow. "Points!" he yelled, and without a second thought, he sprinted headlong into the thick foliage.
"Hey! Wait—!" Karna called out, but his own competitive spirit kicked in. With a grin, he took off after Gyoda.
"Hey!! Slow down, you morons!!" Kenta yelled, his voice full of exasperation.
His words were useless. Left with no choice, Kenta, Reiko, and Fumiko could only exchange a weary look before giving chase.
"Those absolute idiots!" Reiko snarled as she ran, effortlessly dodging low-hanging branches. "Rushing in like that without a single thought!"
After a frantic dash, Karna and Gyoda skidded to a halt in a small clearing, shoving each other for position. There, floating serenely just above the ground, was a large, shimmering golden coin, its surface gleaming. The number "5000" glowed brightly on its face.
"Mine!" Gyoda shouted, lunging forward and snatching the coin before Karna could react. The points vanished, transferring to their team's total.
"Damn it!" Karna cursed, scowling.
Gyoda grinned, holding up his device triumphantly. "5000 points!! I got it! Now we only need one thousand more to reach one hundred thousand!"
Karna facepalmed so hard it echoed in the clearing. "You idiot! Your math is as bad as your judgment!"
Just then, Kenta, Reiko, and Fumiko burst into the clearing, breathing heavily.
Gyoda puffed out his chest, a smug look on his face as he closed his eyes. "Now, now, guys! No need to thank me—"
WHAM!
Reiko's fist connected with his cheek, sending him spinning to the ground. Without missing a beat, she turned and delivered a sharp smack to the back of Karna's head, knocking him flat.
"You brainless fools!" she fumed, her hands on her hips. "Do you have a death wish? Charging in like that! You might as well have lit a signal fire for every team around!"
Fumiko stared, wide-eyed and speechless, at the two boys now groaning on the forest floor.
Kenta just sighed, the picture of calm exhaustion. "How much was it?"
"5000," Karna mumbled, picking himself up.
"Five thousand is a solid find, but it wasn't worth that reckless sprint," Kenta said, his tone a mix of approval and frustration.. "We got lucky no one else was lying in wait."
Gyoda staggered back into the frame, rubbing his swollen cheek. "Well, now that we've got a good amount of points," he said, undeterred, "let's see what's in the shop!" He eagerly activated the menu on his device.
A translucent holographic screen flickered to life above his wrist, displaying a categorized list:
- ELEMENTAL STONES:
Ruby of Flames,
Sapphire of Tides,
Emerald of Vines.
- ENHANCERS:
Mana Amplifier
Defense Talisman
Blazing Fire Gem.
- WEAPONS:
Blazing Saber,
Terra Hammer.
- ARTIFACTS:
Idol of Renewal,
Amulet of Fortitude.
- COSMETIC ITEMS:
Feathered Helm,
Crescent Pendant…
"Ooh, elemental stones… fancy weapons…" Gyoda mumbled, scrolling with intense concentration. "And cosmetic artifacts? What's this Crescent Pend—?"
DING!
A soft, cheerful chime echoed from the device.
Gyoda froze. "Wait. What just happened?"
On the other side of the clearing, Karna frowned at his own radar. "Um… guys? Why did our team points just drop to 450?"
Before anyone could process this, the sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves cut through the air. Two men in impeccably sharp black suits, sunglasses, and hats came sprinting out of the tree line at an impossible speed. One of them carried a massive backpack, as large as a horse carrier.
Gyoda stared, his jaw slack. "Who the hell are you two?!"
The man with the gigantic backpack dropped it with a ground-shaking THUD. Without a word of explanation, he unclasped it, dove headfirst into the opening, and disappeared inside.
The entire team could only watch in utter, bewildered silence.
Kenta blinked slowly. "What… is even happening?"
"He went inside the bag?!" Fumiko whispered, her voice a mix of horror and fascination.
A moment later, a beautiful pendant, shaped like a crescent moon and etched with faintly glowing silver patterns, flew out of the backpack and landed perfectly in Gyoda's open palm.
The suited man emerged from the bag, straightened his tie, and effortlessly heaved the massive pack onto his shoulders. His partner bowed deeply.
"Thank you for your purchase!" they said in perfect unison, before spinning on their heels and sprinting back into the forest at full speed, leaving the five of them alone in the clearing with a very expensive, and very useless, piece of jewelry.
Gyoda stared down at the Crescent Pendant in his hand. The reality of his accidental purchase dawned on him. He had just spent almost all of their points on a cosmetic item.
The air grew still, heavy with a silence that was far more dangerous than any monster in the forest.
Reiko cracked her knuckles, the sound sharp and menacing in the quiet clearing. Gyoda held up the useless pendant, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly as he tried to form an excuse. A cold, heavy presence fell over him from behind, and a shiver, sharp as a needle, shot up his spine.
"Oi, Gyoda!" a voice, low and dangerous, spoke just over his shoulder. "Did you just spend all our points on this useless pendant?"
Gyoda turned slowly, his face white with fear, to see Reiko standing there. Her eyes, usually a kind emerald, were narrowed to furious slits, and her hands were on her hips, her knuckles white.
"IDIOT!" she screamed, her voice a whipcrack in the clearing. Her fist connected with his head, not a punch, but a vicious smack that sent him spiraling back to land flat on the ground.
Meanwhile, high in the canopy, a group of five mages hid among the branches. Two of them, younger members around 15 years old, pushed aside a veil of leaves, their eyes squinting at the commotion in the clearing below. The other three, closer to 18 years old, watched with a mix of amusement and cold calculation.
"What's all that noise?" the younger one whispered.
Another, a girl with a fierce grin, peered down at Karna's team. "Hey, look! It's the Twilight's team! Let's go teach that Twilight his place."
Tenko, the group's leader, held up a hand. His composure was like a shield, calming the group's eagerness. "Hold on. Don't rush in blindly. The Twilight might be weak, but that guy over there..." His gaze settled on Kenta, who stood near the scuffle, his arms crossed. "...he's not to be underestimated. He'll spot us the moment we make a move. He's the one we need to watch out for."
The younger mages exchanged uneasy glances, their eagerness to charge in fading slightly.
"For now, we'll stay low and follow them," Tenko said, his voice decisive. "We'll wait for the right moment."
Elsewhere in the forest, a small clearing was painted in a grim tableau of violence. Khara, one of the caped figures, sat casually atop a pile of three lifeless bodies. Two more bloodied figures lay on the ground nearby, their chests heaving with desperate, ragged breaths. One of them struggled to lift his head, a line of blood running from his lips.
"H-How..." the dying man gasped, "How are you... so strong?"
Khara glanced down with cold indifference, but before he could respond, a crackling sound erupted from a magical stone in his hand.
A voice, sharp and authoritative, spoke from the device. It was Adheera, the leader of the caped figures. "Khara! Stop messing around and start collecting points. We don't have all day."
Khara let out a weary sigh, standing up from his seat of bodies. With two swift, merciful motions, he finished off the remaining injured men. He collected their points, his cloak fluttering as he left the clearing without a single backward glance.
The scene shifted to a dimly lit area, thick with underbrush, where Adheera stood. He lowered the magical communication device, his expression grim. Beside him, Bagi lay lazily on the forest floor, propping his head up with one hand.
"Did they find the Twilight yet?" Bagi asked calmly, his serious expression a stark contrast to his relaxed posture.
"Not yet," Adheera replied, his voice a low rumble.
Bagi's eyes, usually half-lidded, opened fully, revealing a chilling intensity. "We need to find him first. We need to confirm his identity as a Twilight—if he really is a Twilight or an imposter."
Back with Karna's team, the five of them ran through the trees, their eyes fixed on their radars. Kenta's device chirped loudly, a cluster of bright, pulsing lights appearing on the translucent hologram above his palm.
"There's something nearby!" he called out.
They rushed toward the source, breaking into a small clearing. A golden coin floated in the air, glowing with the number "5000."
"Yes!" Karna yelled, his earlier dejection completely gone. "Another 5,000 points! Let's grab it!"
Karna began to sprint forward, but Kenta's alarmed voice cut through the air. "Watch out, Karna!"
An explosion of fire erupted near Karna, forcing him to leap back just in time. Eto emerged from the shadows with his team, a smug grin plastered across his face. He gripped a fiery staff, its tip still smoldering from the blast.
"Twilight, we meet again," Eto sneered.
Karna groaned, a dry remark under his breath. "This guy again?"
"So, what can a weakling Twilight and his band of idiots possibly do?" Eto mocked, his grin widening.
Gyoda's face twisted in fury. "What did you just say?!"
Karna met his gaze with a dry, knowing look. "Only an idiot would react to that."
Gyoda spun toward him, grabbing his collar. "Who're you calling an idiot?! Whose side are you on?!"
Eto's smug expression twisted with annoyance as he was ignored. "Stop ignoring us!" he yelled, pointing his staff forward. Flames instantly licked at its edges. "Try to put up a good fight before we crush you!"
Meanwhile, hidden within the treetops, Tenko and his team observed the unfolding scene silently.
"Let's see what this Twilight can do," Tenko murmured.
As Eto began to channel the flames, Tenko's eyes narrowed. He recognized the type of magic instantly. Elemental magic—the most common form of magic, based on one of the five core elements: fire, land, wind, earth, or lightning.
Only a handful of regulars can manage elemental magic. Tenko thought. No wonder he's so full of himself.
* Regulars: Unranked mages are called regulars.
He leaned forward, intrigued. "Looks like the Twilight's team is done for."
Without warning, Eto unleashed a massive fireball, but Kenta was ready. He summoned a huge ball of water to meet Eto's attack. The two elements collided, the air hissing and steaming as they canceled each other out. A thick, heavy fog instantly filled the clearing, damp and choking. It clung to the trees and seeped through every gap, reducing visibility to just a few feet.
"So, you can use elemental magic, too?" Eto said, clearly shocked. "Not bad for a Twilight's teammate..."
As the two continued their clash, the fire and water mixing into a thick fog, visibility dropped drastically.Within the swirling mist, Karna crept closer to Eto, but one of Eto's teammates, with the ability to sense others' magical presence within a defined area, called out.
"He's here!"
The teammate launched a series of magical orbs at Karna, while another fired a beam at him. Reiko was quick to react, casting a barrier of her own to shield Karna from the blast. She kept the barrier up, advancing with him as he moved forward.
However, three more of Eto's teammates fired their magical beams at Karna, and the combined force shattered Reiko's barrier with a loud crack.
"Damn it! Karna, watch out!" she yelled.
Karna dodged the incoming attacks, narrowly avoiding them, and quickly retreated back.
"That attack was stronger than I anticipated," Reiko said grimly.
Eto's thoughts raced. Why is he trying to approach me? Does he have something up his sleeve?
Kenta calmly analyzed the situation. "So, one of them can use Zone, huh?"
* ZONE: A technique that allows the user to sense others' magical presence within a defined area. Only a handful of regulars can use it.
"I haven't shown you my full potential yet," Eto said with a smirk. "This is no ordinary weapon."
His staff ignited, a blinding surge of flames coming to life.
From his perch in the treetop, Tenko squinted through the swirling mist, his gaze fixed on Eto. He immediately identified the faint flicker from the staff's tip. "That's an Enhancer… It amplifies elemental magic. No wonder his fire's so intense."
Eto thrust his staff forward, launching a massive, blazing fireball. The sheer heat warped the air as it hurtled toward Kenta and the team. Kenta conjured a powerful water wave, but the fireball's size and intensity broke through, forcing everyone to dive out of its path.
"His firepower's grown," Kenta said grimly.
Fumiko's voice was nervous. "Are we in trouble?"
"Don't worry," Reiko said confidently. "We can handle this."
"Looks like it's time to use IT" Karna said calmly.
Kenta brought his hands together, summoning a large water sphere and holding it steady with controlled precision. Karna stepped forward and infused the sphere with lightning, streaks of electricity crackling across its surface.
Tenko was stunned. "Did I just see lightning?! No way…" he muttered to himself.
Kenta fired the electrified water sphere at Eto. The sphere zipped through the foggy battlefield, trailing sparks of light. Eto countered with a huge fire blast from his staff. The two attacks collided, triggering a thunderous explosion. The resulting shockwave discharged electricity wildly through the mist.
Eto's teammate was stunned. "No way! How can a Twilight wield the lost element?!"
From the treetop, Tenko explained. "There is no way a Twilight just used the lightning element. The Lightning Spirit stopped granting blessings centuries ago. Mastering lightning without its blessing takes decades of training and unmatched magical manipulation even for high ranking mages. There's no way someone that young learned it."
Eto's team was reeling.
"He must have the Lightning Spirit's blessing," one of Eto's teammate said in disbelief.
"But that's impossible!" another teammate blurted out.
"Relax," Eto said calmly. "Let's concentrate on defeating them first. His lightning doesn't seem all that strong anyway."
"Even if it's weak," the first teammate replied, "the fact that he can use it at all is something we can't ignore."
Tenko's teammate turned to him, curious. "Two of them using elemental magic is surprising enough. But a regular wielding lightning? That too a Twilight? That's unheard of."
Tenko watched from his perch, his expression grim. "Not just that. The earlier attack sent an electrical discharge, ionizing the mist." He leaned forward, eyes fixed on the field below. "If the Twilight uses more lightning now, it might amplify the effect. They aren't simply countering their opponents' fire. They're making every move strategically."
With a roar of frustration, Eto spun his staff, and a vortex of roaring flames erupted, hurtling toward Karna and Kenta.
"I guess it's time to stop holding back," Kenta said, a flicker of grim determination in his eyes. He thrust his hands forward, and a massive wall of churning water rose before them. As it surged, Karna thrust his palms toward it, and streaks of blinding blue-white lightning raced across its surface. The combined assault was a spectacle of raw power. It consumed Eto's fiery vortex in a deafening hiss, swallowing the flames whole. The wave then crashed into Eto and his team, the water acting as a conductor for a devastating electrical discharge. Their bodies seized, muscles locking as they were hit with a paralyzing shock, their cries choked by the sudden, overwhelming current.
As the steam cleared, Eto struggled to recover, his movements sluggish and shaky from the after-effects of the lightning.
From the treetops, Tenko's teammate watched in confusion. "Why are they simply infusing the lightning into those water spheres? The Twilight could just shoot some fast lightning strikes and defeat them!"
"Lightning's hard to control, even for a B-class wizard," Tenko replied, his voice low. "It's nearly impossible to direct it perfectly in a chaotic fight. If he used it recklessly, he might hit his own teammates."
Using the opening, Gyoda, seizing his chance for redemption, flanked Eto's team. He fired a concentrated magic beam, striking one of Eto's teammates and knocking them out of the test.
Another of Eto's teammates retaliated with "Shooting Stars," a homing magic attack shaped like starbursts. Gyoda, undeterred, quickly conjured a barrier that neutralized the attack.
Eto, despite being visibly shaken, made one last stand. "This is my final attack," he yelled, his voice strained. "I'm going to give it my all!" He launched a huge wave of fire with his staff.
Kenta's eyes narrowed as he saw the sheer size of the blaze. "If that hits us, we're done for." He immediately conjured a massive water wave, covering a large area, amplified once more by Karna's lightning. The attack surged forward, dousing the fire and crashing into Eto's team with a final, devastating blow. The lightning arced wildly, paralyzing them even further. They all fell to the ground, unconscious.
Tenko's teammate watched in awe. "That lightning… Even if he's holding back, it's terrifyingly effective."
Tenko's gaze was fixed on Kenta. "And that guy... he put out the enhanced fire? They're strong, especially when they're together. We need to separate them to win."
The field was silent, filled with residual steam and the faint sound of crackling electricity. Eto and his team lay incapacitated, their defeat a stark lesson in strategic cooperation.
Karna's team collected the 5,000 points they came for. The golden coin dissolved, and their team total increased. Kenta walked toward the unconscious Eto, bent over, and pressed his own device against Eto's. A soft chime rang out, and a small, translucent bar on his screen labeled "Steal" filled up.
The point transfer was immediate. "Three thousand points! Sweet!" Karna exclaimed.
Gyoda, who had picked up the Enhancer lying next to Eto, examined it with a gleam in his eye. "Oh! An Enhancer, huh? I'll add it to my collection." He grinned, his excitement overriding his earlier embarrassment. "I wonder how to use it during this test."
"Not like an idiot, I hope," Karna said dryly, a teasing smirk on his face.
"Oi, Karna! You want to get your butt kicked?" Gyoda shot back, his grin turning to a feigned scowl.
Karna stepped closer, his own grin widening. "Bring it on."
Just as Gyoda prepared to lunge, Reiko intervened. She smacked them both on the back of the head with a sharp, resounding thwack, sending them sprawling to the ground. "Cut it out, you two," she said, her voice a low, exasperated growl.
Fumiko chuckled softly at the familiar commotion.
With a bump already forming on his head, Gyoda stood up, brushed the dust from his clothes, and with a satisfied smile and a triumphant fist pump, he tied the Enhancer to his back, a satisfied smile on his face. This would make a fine addition to the collection he was building back home.
The team moved through the forest, their pace quick but silent as they hunted for more opponents. After a few minutes of quiet, Kenta broke the silence, his tone one of genuine curiosity.
"I've been meaning to ask you something, Fumiko," he said. "The five Lycians who put on a show in front of the arena, why did their attire look so different from yours?"
Fumiko's hands fidgeted with the hem of her dress. "Well, I got mine custom-made to fit this continent's aesthetics so I wouldn't stand out. Looks like it wasn't enough, though." She glanced down at her simple blue-and-white dress, a flicker of disappointment in her eyes before she continued. "Their clothes are more than just suits; they're defensive, woven with enchanted fibers and reinforced. And more importantly, I can use magic. Based on their gear, I believe none of them can. They're completely reliant on their enchanted items to fight."
"I see," Kenta said, a thoughtful expression on his face. He scanned the dense trees around them. "Then I wonder how they're doing."
In the murky light filtering through the canopy, a new scene unfolded by the sluggish water of a canal. The five Lycian candidates, impeccably dressed in their form-fitting suits, strode through the dense forest as if they were taking a leisurely stroll through a city park.
George, in his Forest Green suit, and a bracelet with a green stone, took a dainty sip from a teacup he held in his gloved hand. The cup, a delicate piece of porcelain, seemed impossibly out of place. "I say, Albert," he began, his smooth, upper-class drone carrying an accent utterly foreign to this continent—an accent which, like that of his companions, was so gratingly mannered it could only be called insufferable. "Do clarify something for me. What, exactly, was all the fuss regarding the 'Twilight' people were discussing prior to our little excursion? You, being our resident scholar of this peculiar continent, must have the precise details."
Albert, in his navy suit and a bracelet with a dark blue stone, adjusted his cravat with a nonchalant air. "Of course, George." The 'Twilight,' as they call him, is a curious subject indeed. The term itself is a title of pity, bestowed upon members of the Ashijiki Clan who are born without the legendary Light Magic of their ancestors. Their clan, once revered, was declared a pariah tribe by the reigning nations. A veritable purge was attempted, but the then Head of the Magic Council interceded, creating a treaty that allowed the clan to exist only on the condition that any child born with their original magic, a Luminar, would be put to death."
Albert paused, his gaze coolly sweeping the shadows of the forest around them. "And a mere eight or nine years ago, the entire remaining clan was... wiped from the face of the earth. All except for the boy we saw today. He is, by all accounts, the last of his kind, a Twilight in truth. Some here refer to him as the Calamity Child."
Charles, in his white suit, a bracelet with a greyish-white stone, and a knight's sword at his waist, peered over the top of a book through his monocle. "The Calamity Child? A rather dramatic moniker, wouldn't you say? To what cause do they attribute this, pray tell?"
Albert continued, "Well, they believe his very birth was the reason for two wars that broke out in quick succession, wars in which the armies of three great nations were utterly decimated. And, in a rather ironic twist, the very Council Head who fought for the Ashijikis perished during the conflict."
Edward, in his maroon suit, a bracelet with a reddish-maroon stone, and a pair of pistols at his waist, spoke next. "But what does the Twilight have to do with these wars? That is simply barbarous logic."
Albert scoffed. "Nothing, of course. These people are backward savages who cling to their superstitious beliefs. They see him as a harbinger of doom, a bad omen. A truly pitiable state of affairs for the lad."
"That is outrageous," Henry said, his voice clipped and cold beneath his immaculate golden coat and a bracelet with a golden-brown stone.
"Indeed," Albert conceded. "It is precisely why I so loathe coming here. Our people, however, insist that we partake in this test to better understand their… culture."
"Poor Twilight," Edward sighed, his eyes scanning the treeline with chilling indifference. "I pity him. I pity him just as I pity the twenty souls who have surrounded us and are now lurking in the shadows."
George's teacup remained perfectly steady. "How utterly underhanded. Four teams ganging up on a single one, a group that cannot even use magic, at that. It is simply ridiculous."
Charles turned the page of his book with a crisp flick of his thumb. His voice, crisp and imperious, echoed through the quiet forest. "You might as well come out now. I don't have all day, you see. I find I absorb the material at a much faster rate when my attention isn't... divided."
From the surrounding shadows and thickets, a wave of twenty mages emerged, their hands already crackling with mana.
A rugged-looking mage stepped forward, his eyes burning with resentment. "What gives you foreign fops the right to come to our home? You think you can just waltz in and take our spots?"
Another mage, a burly woman with a staff, added, "It's bad enough you don't use real magic, just your little glorified toys!"
"We've worked for years to get to this test, to earn our rank!" a third mage shouted, her voice thick with rage. "You're stealing our glory!"
Finally, a fourth mage, a leader in the group, stepped forward, his face contorted in disgust. "The very thought of it is filthy!"
Henry, in his pristine golden coat, adjusted his sleeves. "My, my. Look at your attire, all rugged and dusty. And you have the gall to call us filthy? The irony is quite lost on you, I believe."
Albert, his nonchalant air gone, spoke with a sharp edge. "Enough chit-chat. We're not here to sip tea with them."
George, who was, in fact, sipping his tea, offered a graceful tilt of his head. "I beg to differ, old sport."
Edward, stepping forward, made a simple gesture with his hand. "Enough with these charades. Let's begin."
The mage leader, seeing the Lycians' condescending attitude, roared with frustration. "The odds are four-to-one! They can't win! Attack!"
Twenty mages surged forward, each of them jumping toward their designated Lycian target from four different directions. Four men jumped towards George, each casting a spell as they lunged.
In one seamless, impossible motion, George tossed his teacup's scalding contents into the face of the man in front of him. With the same hand, he flicked the saucer to the mage on his left and spun the teacup to the mage on his right. His body was a blur of motion as he bent down, raised his leg, and delivered a powerful kick to the mage behind him.
The first man screamed as the hot liquid burned his face. The saucer and cup struck the other two mages on their temples, knocking them down instantly. The final mage in the back was sent sprawling by George's kick.
At the same time, two mages leaped at Charles from the front. With a calm sigh, Charles turned the book he was reading toward them. The greyish-white stone on his bracelet pulsed with a soft light. As the mages closed in, he closed the book with a resounding snap. The sound was deafening, a sharp clap of thunder that echoed through the trees. A concussive gust of wind erupted from the pages, sending both mages flying backward, their clothes whipping violently as they were slammed into the trees behind them.
The remaining mages froze in their tracks, their initial ferocity replaced by pure shock. They stared from the unconscious mages to the five pristine figures who had just incapacitated their teammates with such effortless, impossible speed.
"What just happened?" one of them stammered, his voice filled with disbelief. "They just sent our men flying like it was nothing! And with so little effort!"
"How are they so strong?" another mage whispered, his eyes wide with fear.
Albert adjusted his cravat, his nonchalant air having returned. "You see, we have been trained at the most esteemed institution in all of Lycia. Our dressing, our language, our knowledge, and our fighting skills are all meticulously polished and refined. And do remember, we are merely first-year students at the Lycian College of Advanced Artifice." He scoffed, looking at them with thinly veiled contempt. "If you are so bold as to call us strong, then you should truly be grateful you never see the fifth-year graduates. They would not even need to move a muscle to put down a hundred of you, not to mention the Elite Guards. Their very presence would simply be… fatal."
Charles's gaze, a flicker of genuine impatience in his eyes. He addressed the frozen mages as if they were nothing more than a minor annoyance. "Gentlemen, do you wish to finish this? You see, I've had to close my book on a rather precarious cliffhanger. I am quite tempted to finish this and get back to my reading."
In a quiet clearing elsewhere in the forest, Khara, one of the caped figures, stood over a grim scene. He held a man aloft by his throat, his cloak billowing faintly in the breeze. Three more people lay unconscious on the ground near his feet, while a single remaining man stood defiantly with a sword in his hand.
"Let my teammate go!" the man with the sword screamed.
With a cold, indifferent gaze, Khara crushed the neck of the man he was holding. With a sickening crunch, the body went limp, and Khara tossed it aside like a discarded toy. "Weak."
The man with the sword charged in a desperate fury, swinging his weapon toward Khara's face. But Khara simply ducked and, in a fluid motion, landed a punch to the man's stomach that knocked the air from his lungs with a wet gasp. The man collapsed to his knees, struggling for breath, his face a mix of shock and terror.
Khara stood over the fallen man, the silhouette of his cloak a dark shadow. He bent down, grabbed the man by his hair, and yanked his head up. "All of you are weak," Khara sneered, his voice a low, contemptuous murmur. He delivered a final, powerful punch to the man's head, knocking him out instantly.
With his work complete, Khara calmly pressed his device to each of the unconscious mages' devices, systematically stealing their points. He was about to stride away when his own device pinged with a message from Adheera.
"Khara, we have some news," Adheera's voice cut through the silence. "The Twilight... he can use lightning."
A flicker of shock, a rarity for Khara, crossed his face. "What? A Twilight using Lightning? How is that even possible?"
"I was as shocked as you were when the information came through," Adheera replied, his voice filled with a similar disbelief.
"It's an impossibility. The Ashijiki Clan were the very reason the Lightning Spirit stopped blessing people centuries ago. How could one of them obtain it?" said Khara.
"I don't have the answer," Adheera conceded. "But HE has been informed of the development. Forget about finding whether the Twilight is an imposter or not. This news will definitely make HIM show up at the arena."
Khara put his device away, his mind racing. The impossible had just happened. This tournament was about to become far more interesting.
Meanwhile, in a different part of the forest, Karna and his team were walking through the quiet woods, searching for more points. Kenta, his eyes fixed on the radar on his wrist, was intently checking for nearby competitors.
As the team passed a thicket of bushes, Fumiko noticed a patch of vibrant, beautiful flowers. "Wow, look at those flowers! Aren't they gorgeous?"
Karna, ever the showman, immediately perked up. He rushed toward the bushes, his face beaming with enthusiasm. "I'll get them for you, my princess!"
He dove into the bushes headfirst, causing them to shake wildly. Then, the movement abruptly stopped. The team watched in silence, their expressions a mix of curiosity and concern. Suddenly, Karna burst from the bushes and sprinted toward them in sheer terror, screaming, "A dangerous creature is coming this way! Run for your lives!"
A single, small honeybee buzzed calmly in his wake.
Reiko sighed heavily, a look of profound exasperation on her face. "He's at it again. Ugh!"
Fumiko blinked in confusion. "What's wrong? Why is he running so scared?"
"He's afraid of bugs," Reiko explained, slightly embarrassed by the truth.
Fumiko gasped. "You're kidding!"
Kenta's face tightened in anger. "That idiot. We need to follow him. We can't have him running into an enemy team while screaming like a lunatic."
Tenko and his teammates smirked as they watched the commotion. Seeing their chance, Tenko sprang into action. He appeared instantly beside the running Karna and delivered a swift, precise karate chop to the back of his neck. Karna's eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
One of Tenko's teammates quickly tied Karna up, while the others remained hidden. Kenta and the rest of his team, alerted by Karna's radar signal, arrived at the scene just moments later. They found Tenko standing confidently next to the tied-up Karna, a smug grin on his face.
Without warning, two magic spheres flew in from both sides of the forest. Kenta swiftly raised a magic barrier, blocking the attacks. As Tenko's teammates emerged from their hiding spots, their smirks widened.
"Impressive," Tenko said, a mocking tone in his voice. "Blocking a surprise attack like that. But without your lightning user, you don't stand a chance against us."
On the ground, Karna's eyes subtly opened just a sliver, revealing he had been pretending to be unconscious.
Kenta didn't hesitate. He fired a water sphere at Tenko and his team. Its slow, deliberate speed drew mocking laughter from one of Tenko's teammates.
"That's your big move?" the teammate sneered. "Pathetic!"
The mage picked up a stone and hurled it at the sphere, causing it to burst. Water splashed over Tenko and his teammates, drenching them.
With a final, triumphant shout from the ground, "Alright!" Karna unleashed a powerful lightning strike. The electricity instantly conducted through the water, electrocuting Tenko's team. They all collapsed, knocked out by the shock.
Tenko, still conscious but completely paralyzed, struggled to speak. "How...?" His eyes widened in disbelief as he glanced toward Karna, then lost consciousness. His final thought was one of utter shock: How did the weak Twilight withstand that hit? That was a blow strong enough to take out an average D-rank mage… and yet, he is unfazed.
Suddenly, the honeybee from earlier reappeared.
Still tied up, Karna scrambled to his feet and sprinted out of the clearing screaming, "It's back! Someone save me!" with the honeybee buzzing in hot pursuit.
Kenta gritted his teeth, a vein throbbing on his forehead. "That idiot! When I catch him, he's done for. We can deal with the points later—let's go!"
The team eventually caught Karna, gave him a light beating, untied him, and headed back to collect their hard-earned points.
After the team had finished collecting the points from their defeated opponents, Fumiko's curiosity got the better of her.
"Kenta," she said, her voice filled with wonder, "you blocked those surprise attacks as if you knew exactly where they were coming from. How did you do that?"
Kenta gave a faint, satisfied smile. "I knew where they were. We all did."
Gyoda, who was busy patting his own shoulder for a job well done, grinned smugly. "We can use Zone."
Fumiko's eyes widened in surprise. "Zone? So... you can use all kinds of magic huh?"
Gyoda just gave a slow, self-satisfied nod, a quiet "Hmm" on his lips.
A sudden, massive shadow fell over the forest as a colossal airship, its surface polished to a mirror sheen, glided silently through the clouds. From the ground, contestants looked up, their faces a mix of surprise and fear.
One contestant, his eyes wide and a thin sheen of sweat on his brow, mutters to his teammate, "Oi... what's an airship from the Kyofu Clan doing here?" He swallows hard, his gaze fixed on the vessel. "I thought those were only used by the first two generations of their clan."
His teammate, equally stunned, watches in silent shock as the airship hovers motionlessly above the arena. Emblazoned on its side in bold, imposing letters is the name: KYOFU.
The airship floated alone, a beacon of opulence and power. It stood out completely from the rest, with no other vessel daring to come close to its space. Its golden, streamlined hull shimmered in the sunlight, the name Kyofu etched elegantly into its side. This was no mere observation deck but a majestic vessel of polished metal and glass, its design so sleek and imposing that it seemed to belong to a different world entirely. From its spacious, well-appointed viewing deck, the events below were not just a spectacle but a private show, a reflection of the man who commanded it.
Inside the airship, an oppressive silence reigns. Through a one-way glass panel, a lone figure sits in a grand, throne-like chair. He is only a dark silhouette against the light, his features obscured by shadow. His gaze is fixed intently on the arena below, lingering on Karna and his team. This is Mawang Kyofu, the man the examiner previously referred to as HIM.
Nearby, Hatake, the examiner, stands with a respectfully bowed head, his posture entirely submissive. "Mawang-sama," he begins, his voice cautious and humble, "if I may be so bold, why would a figure as esteemed as yourself be interested in a mere Twilight?"
Mawang offers no reply. His piercing eyes remain locked on the group below. The silence that fills the air is heavy with unasked questions and untold power.