Vale lingered a moment longer than necessary, studying Korin's expression as if there were something hidden beneath that faint, knowing smile, some implication he was meant to catch but hadn't yet grasped. When nothing revealed itself, he shifted his gaze toward Eskar, silently asking the question instead. Eskar met his eyes, held them for a brief second, then gave a small, indifferent shrug.
That settled it.
Vale exhaled through his nose, muttering under his breath as he let the matter drop, and continued forward alongside the others. Their footsteps echoed through the vast corridors of the Royal Guard's headquarters, the sound crisp and hollow against the towering stone walls. Yet despite the grandeur, the carved pillars, the sweeping arches, the sheer scale of the place, what unsettled Vale most was the absence of life.
No guards patrolled the halls. No distant voices carried through the corridors. Not even the faint movement of armor or steel.
Just silence.
It wasn't as much peaceful as it was unnatural.
"Hey," Vale finally called, his voice cutting cleanly through the emptiness, "is there a reason nobody's around?"
Korin glanced back over his shoulder without breaking stride. "Most of our forces are occupied," he replied evenly. "We're preparing for a joint operation with the Royal Library."
Vale tilted his head slightly, his curiosity piqued. "What kind of operation?"
"A distribution effort," Korin answered. "Food, supplies, the basic necessities. The goal is to stabilize the slums. If fewer people are desperate, fewer will risk their lives in the colosseum."
The explanation settled quickly.
'Right, Drago had mentioned something like that.'
Vale gave a faint nod to himself, then looked back up at Korin, his tone shifting into something more casual. "So… how was your journey getting here?"
Korin didn't respond immediately. His hand rose to his chin, fingers brushing lightly against it as his gaze drifted forward, thoughtful.
"…Interesting," he said at last.
Vale huffed quietly. "That's not exactly detailed."
Korin allowed himself a small breath of amusement before continuing. "I arrived in a forest just outside the kingdom," he said. "I wasn't alone, there were a few other students scattered nearby. At first, it seemed calm. Too calm, looking back on it."
His eyes narrowed slightly as memory took hold.
"Then we heard a scream."
Vale's expression sharpened immediately. "And you went toward it."
"Of course I did."
There was no hesitation in his answer, though a faint edge of something darker followed.
"I shouldn't have," he added.
Vale's gaze tightened. "Why?"
Korin glanced back, his expression flattening into something colder.
"Because I was too late."
"I found him," Korin continued, "or what was left. And the thing that killed him."
"A beast?" Vale asked quietly.
Korin nodded once. "Category Four."
Vale slowed for half a step, the implication hitting immediately. "…And you fought it?"
"I killed it."
No pride or flourish in his words.
Vale resumed walking, but his attention locked onto Korin completely now, trying to reconcile that statement with the person he remembered.
"That's not something you just brush off," he said. "Eskar and I barely survived one, and we had advantages."
Korin shrugged lightly, as if the memory carried little weight now. "It took time," he admitted. "At first, I couldn't do anything, my ability hadn't adapted yet."
His fingers flexed slightly at his side, as though recalling the sensation.
"But once it adjusted, once it matched what I was facing…" he glanced back, eyes steady, "…ending it wasn't difficult."
Vale stared at him, unsettled by how casually the words were delivered.
This wasn't the same Korin he knew before they got here.
The one he remembered had been restrained, uncertain, afraid of what he could do. This version spoke of killing something monstrous as if it were a solved equation.
He fell silent, his thoughts turning over themselves.
"That surprised you," Korin noted after a moment, a faint smirk touching his lips.
Vale let out a dry breath. "You just said you killed something that should've been completely out of your league," he replied. "So yeah, I'm a bit surprised."
Korin's expression shifted, almost amused. "…Wait," he said, "I never told you?"
Vale's eyes narrowed. "Told me what?"
"My ability doesn't stay at a fixed level," Korin explained. "It fluctuates. At first I thought it was random, but it's not, it adapts."
He tapped his chest lightly.
"The stronger the opponent, the more it rises to meet it. There's a delay, but once it catches up…"
He let the implication hang in the air for some moments.
Vale stared at him for a long moment, then let out a short, incredulous laugh. "So your power scales with your opponent… and doesn't really have a ceiling?"
Korin scratched the back of his head, sheepishly. "Something like that."
Vale rolled his eyes, though the hint of admiration was impossible to hide. "You don't sound human."
Korin chuckled quietly. "That's kind of the point."
Their conversation eased after that, slipping into something lighter as they continued through the corridors. For a brief stretch, it almost felt normal again, like the weight of everything had loosened just enough to breathe.
Then the arena came into view.
The corridor opened abruptly into a vast, circular chamber carved deep into the heart of the tower. Stone tiers rose in layered rings, forming a colosseum-like structure designed not for spectacle, but for controlled combat. A handful of figures in white uniforms sat along the upper benches, their attention already drawn downward.
Toward Vale.
Korin stepped forward and turned, one arm extending slightly as if presenting the space.
"This is where your test will take place," he said, his voice carrying effortlessly through the chamber.
Silence followed after he spoke.
Then his gaze shifted to Eskar and Silfur.
"You two won't be participating. You weren't formally invited, so access beyond this point isn't permitted."
Silfur clicked her tongue in annoyance but didn't argue. "That's irritating," she muttered, before crouching and springing upward with ease, landing atop one of the upper benches. Eskar followed without a word, offering a brief bow before joining her.
That left Vale alone in the center.
He stepped forward slowly, his hand settling on the hilt of his onyx blade, grounding himself as he lifted his gaze toward Korin.
"So," he called, "who am I fighting?"
Korin smiled.
Before he could answer, the arena trembled.
It began as a low vibration beneath Vale's feet, subtle, almost ignorable, before rapidly intensifying into something deeper, heavier. The stone itself seemed to groan under the pressure as dust drifted from above and the walls shuddered with a rhythmic force.
Vale's expression sharpened instantly. His eyes snapped upward, tracking the source.
It wasn't random.
Something was climbing.
Something massive was scaling the outer walls.
"It seems she's arrived," Korin said.
Then he moved, launching himself upward in a single motion to the benches, leaving Vale alone below.
The tremors grew stronger.
Vale adjusted his stance, muscles tightening as his gaze followed the vibrations higher… higher… until,
Silence came.
A abrupt silence swallowed the arena.
Every instinct in his body screamed.
He turned slowly, senses stretched to their limit,
and saw it.
From one of the high openings along the arena wall, a colossal head emerged. Crimson scales gleamed like forged metal beneath the light, each one reflecting a dull, dangerous sheen. Slitted black eyes locked onto him instantly, cold and predatory.
A wyvern.
Not just large, colossal.
And atop it,
A figure clad in white.
A demonic mask concealed her face completely, its expression frozen in something between menace and authority.
Recognition came immediately.
The vice commander.
"…Figures," Vale muttered under his breath, tightening his grip on his blade.
His breathing slowed, not from calm, but from focus.
He blinked,
and she was gone.
A blur tore through the air above him, so fast it barely registered as movement. Vale's head snapped upward just in time to catch her descent, a precise, controlled drop that carried immense force without wasted motion.
She landed before him in a single fluid motion, one knee touching the ground as the impact sent a faint tremor through the arena floor.
Before the dust could settle, her hand moved.
Steel flashed before his eyes.
One of the twin silver blades at her waist was drawn in a single, seamless motion, its edge rising and settling into position, pointed directly at Vale's chest.
She didn't speak.
She didn't need to.
Her intent was overwhelming.
Vale exhaled slowly, grounding himself as he raised his own weapon in response. His stance lowered, weight shifting, every muscle coiling with quiet readiness as his eyes locked onto the dark gaze behind the mask.
The space between them grew heavy, thick with pressure neither needed to announce.
"Alright…" Vale said, his voice steady, controlled.
A faint smile touched his lips, not from confidence, but from acceptance of his current situation.
"Let's begin."