Lucius's perspective
"They're really impressive," Gareth said as he sat beside me, with the casual ease of someone who'd just finished a fight without breaking a sweat.
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. His breathing was steady. His clothes, barely wrinkled. He didn't seem to have sweated at all. He didn't even look like he'd fought. Two logical possibilities came to mind: either his opponent was so pathetically weak that it required no effort, or Gareth was so skilled that he didn't need to take someone like his opponent seriously. I leaned toward the first option. Not out of objectivity, but for self-preservation. If the second was true… I'd rather not find out by facing his sword.
"But your fight was awesome too. Don't you think that's pretty cool?" Isolde chimed in, flashing him a smile.
It was a brief smile, but enough to spark an uncomfortable twinge in me. Not jealousy, not exactly. More like that quiet instinct that kicks in when you spot a crack in something you swore to protect. I guess that's what they call the big brother reflex.
"You really think so? Honestly, it felt like a bit of a letdown," Gareth replied, shrugging. He flexed his arm lightly, touching his bicep with a smile that reeked of poorly disguised pride. "That guy was way too weak for me. I didn't even need to try my best."
Then, as if the universe had been waiting for the perfect moment to mock us, he showed up.
"By the way… what's he doing here?"
"Hm? Oh…"
I followed Gareth's gaze. Leonard, the guy I'd fought, was standing just inches away from me. I hadn't noticed him approach. That, in itself, was a warning. I leaned back instinctively. Isolde and Gareth mirrored the move, like dominoes teetering on the edge of a cliff.
Leonard looked at us. At each of us. Then he smiled.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, with the basic logic of someone who doesn't invite strangers to sit down unannounced.
"Watching you."
"Huh?"
"Watching you," he repeated, exactly the same.
"I heard you the first time. You don't need to repeat it."
"Then why'd you make me?"
"Uh… you know what? Forget it. Just answer my question."
"I already did."
"Right…"
And he had. There was no argumentative escape. He'd told the truth, yet I didn't feel like I'd fully grasped it. It was as if he'd locked me in a cage he'd set up without using a single key. He didn't say it, but I felt it: he was toying with me. Not like a rival, but like a curious kid dismantling a clock just to see if it still works when put back together.
The worst part? He didn't even seem to be trying.
"So why exactly are you watching me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. Not because I expected a satisfying answer, but because I wanted to see how he'd handle pressure. Some people stammer, others smile. He did neither.
"Because you're stronger than me, and that's impossible."
…What?
For a moment, I thought I'd misheard him. But no, his expression was the same: blank, unchanging. It took me an extra second to process his words. That was luck, I thought. And I'd admit it without shame. But I didn't say it. I'd already made the mistake of letting him into my space; I wasn't about to make the mistake of explaining myself.
"Is that a reason to stalk him?" Isolde interjected, nudging me gently to reclaim her space and settle in more comfortably.
"Yes. I need to understand the foundation of his training so I can beat him next time," Leonard said, nodding with unsettling conviction. That unchanging face of his was starting to get under my skin. Was he one of those stoic anime characters from my other world? A kuudere, was that the term? I couldn't remember clearly, but he seemed to fit the mold: expressionless, yet obsessed.
"Haha! I'll warn you now: you won't find an answer to my brother's strength. He's too strong for any strategy to stop him," Isolde said with a proud smile, as if her words weren't a hypothesis but historical fact.
I couldn't let that slide uncorrected.
"Need I remind you that Alicia beat both of us… without any strategy?" I cut in, shattering the illusion before it could solidify. A lie repeated with affection is still a lie. Though sometimes, a useful one.
But not this time.
"That win was pure luck," Isolde declared, pouting in a way that aimed for innocence but hid a poorly buried sting. I got it. Even I felt the same bruise to my pride. Losing like that, so one-sidedly, always leaves an uncomfortable residue in your chest. One that burns at the mere mention of a name.
"Wait, Alicia? Who's Alicia?" Gareth asked, his confusion like a stone tossed into the pond of our conversation.
"Oh, Alicia. Right, you guys don't know her. She's our friend," Isolde jumped in, answering for me before I could offer a more precise… or at least more cautious explanation. Still, her response sufficed. The essentials were covered. "And speaking of her… where is she?"
"Hmm…"
"Lucius Van D'Arques!" Reginald's shout sliced through the air like a dry thunderclap. It was loud enough to reach me from the other end of the arena… and laced with enough anger to drag me along with it. "Get down here now, or you'll be disqualified from the exam."
"Huh?"
He didn't need to repeat himself. His glare hit me with the force of a silent verdict.
"Coming," I said, without emotion, without pause.
Reginald sighed, as if the air itself weighed on him. I descended, obedient, and stepped back onto the platform.
"I hope you remember the rules," he said, not hiding his irritation. I knew that if I dared to admit I didn't, it'd be like jumping into a fire before the real fight began.
"Yes. I remember," I replied, taking my stance.
"Good. I don't care what kind of magic you use. Just endure," he said as he walked away, positioning himself at the opposite end of the platform.
He stretched out his hands. Sparks began to flicker from his palms, faint at first, then fiercer. Without further prelude, a blast of fire tore through the space between us.
It was fast. Ravenous. Brimming with mana to the edge.
There was no time to wonder what I should do. Only to act. I felt electricity surge through my body like an old reflex, one that already knew the terrain.
Everything slowed slightly. I extended my hands and channeled Syrix. Blood control. Instant coagulation. A dense, compact layer coated my arms, a barrier of hardened flesh to withstand the assault.
The fire hit me. Its roar crashed against me. I felt Isolde's gaze, fixed on me. Worried. Was this really that dangerous? Or was there something more in her look that she couldn't say?
I just had to hold on for a few more minutes. I had it under control. Or so I told myself.
Until Reginald decided to change the rules.
The heat intensified. The pressure became unbearable. The fire grew denser, as if it carried encapsulated rage. The electricity shielding me began to fade, and my Syrix… was running out. Fast. Too fast.
There was no more room for error. I had to act. I had to cross that line.
I used mana.
I began channeling it, knowing full well mine wasn't as stable as others'. It was risky. Probably reckless. But the body has a way of knowing when survival matters more than calculation.
I coated my entire body in coagulated blood. It was crude, rudimentary, but effective. A living armor.
And then, the fire dissipated.
I fell to my knees.
The heat still slithered across my skin like an invisible snake, clinging to my tired muscles, refusing to let go of its prey. My entire body buzzed, not from pain, but from the echo of the mana that had consumed me from within.
"Haha. I see you really gave it your all," Reginald's voice cut through the haze, light, almost mocking, as he approached with confident steps. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away. I stopped in time, so that shouldn't have caused any serious harm. Thank God you're actually good. Just what I'd expect from Elias and Erika's son. I hope Isolde holds up as well."
I laughed inwardly. That was holding back? Then what would it look like if he didn't?
"Huff… Huff…"
"Wow. You're really wiped out. You can step off the platform now."
His voice shifted abruptly: "Isolde Equidna D'Arques! Your turn!"
I stood as if my legs were no longer part of my body. I walked, not out of will, but because duty demanded it. As I passed Isolde, I muttered the only thing that mattered: "That guy's gone nuts. Reinforce yourself with every bit of mana you've got using blood coagulation. If Reginald ramps it up like he did with me, he's going to hurt you."
"Got it. I'll be careful," she replied firmly.
Her words were calm, but I knew that tone: determination disguised as composure. It wasn't bravery… it was acceptance. And that worried me even more.
I returned to my seat in the stands, my breathing still uneven.
"You okay?" Gareth asked.
"Yeah… I think so. Just tired. Thanks for checking," I answered, my body still trembling inside. "Now let's see what Issy does."
"Alright."
My eyes didn't leave the center of the platform. Reginald raised a hand. Sparks flared again. Then, the fire. Relentless. Swift. Laden with unmistakable intent.
I saw Isolde raise her hands, her mana enveloping her as blood coagulated around her. Then… she was swallowed by the flames. Literally.
For the first time, I understood why she'd looked at me that way during my turn. That look… it wasn't fear that I'd fail. It was knowing, in advance, what was coming.
The fire reached the stands. This wasn't normal. It shouldn't be like this.
I turned to Reginald. He was smiling.
And as if he'd sensed my gaze—I'm sure he did—he intensified the flames. Their color shifted: from orange to deep red, like boiling blood. The air itself began to shimmer with the heat.
I looked toward where Isolde should have been, but the flames obscured everything… until I saw the smoke.
Thick, white smoke, rising slowly.
I recognized it instantly. The kind of smoke that only forms when ice gives way under unbearable heat. The contrast was perfect: ice against fire. She was using Syrix.
I stood, my body still numb. I was ready to leap onto the platform, to stop whatever Reginald was doing, when I felt the hands.
One on my arm: Gareth.
The other: Leonard, silent until now.
Both shook their heads, wordlessly anchoring me to the present.
I sat back down, but something inside me couldn't. My hands fidgeted. My leg wouldn't stop bouncing. Anxiety gnawed at my bones, like a hidden insect that only emerges when the smoke grows thickest.
The fire didn't relent. The smoke, however, began to shift. It grew denser, more persistent. Through the flames, I saw ice crystals forming, a slow but steady response. Isolde was holding her own. And she was doing it with ingenuity. The ice was extinguishing parts of the fire, creating water, gradually countering Reginald's magic.
But it couldn't last. And it didn't.
Suddenly, without warning, it all stopped. The fire vanished as if sucked away. The ice melted. And there, amid the lingering steam, I saw Isolde.
She collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Just like me.
I let out a sigh. Not just any sigh. It was as if I'd finally released the knot that had been tightening in my chest since this began. I even sweated. The cold sweat of pent-up tension. Damn you, Reginald.
Not for what you did, but for how you did it. For the way you toy with the invisible strings of nerves.
Leonard gave me a couple of pats on the back. He didn't say anything, but the gesture was enough. Maybe he wanted to reassure me. Or maybe he was just marking his presence, reminding me he was still here…
I looked up. Isolde was approaching. I stepped aside, giving her space. She sat beside me, with that smile of hers that seems born from the sun itself, and sometimes—just sometimes—makes me forget the chaos. I returned the smile, though mine carried the creases of worry.
"You okay?" I asked, gauging the tension in her breathing, the stiffness in her shoulders.
"Yeah. Just a bit of pain in my arms. Nothing serious," she replied, massaging her wrist as if her body were just a tool that fixes itself.
I extended my hands, hesitating for just a moment.
"Let me ease the pain."
I placed my palms on her wrist. I focused on Syrix. Waited for the spark. The hint. The whisper of power in motion.
But nothing.
Not a single flicker. Not the slightest tremor of Syrix.
I frowned and tried again, harder this time, as if willpower could make up for exhaustion. The result was the same: nothing. A tangible void.
"Lucy, it's okay. You should rest. Your mana's drained," Isolde said softly, brushing my hand. The warmth of her gesture contrasted with the coldness of my impotence. I looked at her. She was still smiling. As if the world wasn't crumbling around me.
"Fine…" I muttered, forcing a smile. But it was an incomplete one. The kind of gesture you make when you've got nothing else to offer.
"If you want, I can do it," Gareth offered, with his eternal eagerness to help.
"Better leave it," I shot back, with a look sharp enough to make him back off.
"Haha… Thanks, but I can handle it myself," Isolde said, trying to keep things from getting awkward. "Sometimes I think Lucy worries too much about me."
"Well… that's my job as the big brother."
"Come on, Issy! You know I was born two minutes before you. Doesn't that make me the older one?"
"No, no. You're still too careless. I'm more responsible. That makes me the older one. Mentally, at least."
She pouted and looked at her hand, placing her other palm on her wrist, starting to channel her mana.
"I'll let it slide… but that's cheating."
I watched her in silence. Her happiness… it calmed me. A necessary lie amid a suffocating truth.
"Leonard Da'Dufflain! Your turn!" Reginald's shout shattered the truce we'd built.
Leonard stood and descended with a nonchalance bordering on indifference. No fear. No ceremony. As if this were nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
Reginald, without warning, unleashed the blaze.
It wasn't gradual.
It was a roar. A scream of red fire that devoured the air. Not the usual yellow hue.
Red from the start. An excessive use of mana. Dangerously so. Was this okay? No. Not at all. Reginald was crossing a line that hadn't even been named yet.
"Okay… that really confirms I only won by luck," I said, shielding my eyes from the scorching wind that hit us.
"Don't sell yourself short, Issy. You won fair and square," Isolde replied, also covering her eyes.
"I guess this is the kind of test they give someone they consider a prodigy monster," Gareth shouted, his voice nearly drowned by the fire's roar. "Though I don't think you won by luck. It was your strategy. You played it well."
"That… makes me feel a bit better. But I don't get what you mean by 'monster.'"
The blaze died as abruptly as it began, revealing Leonard among the embers.
Standing, unscathed. No signs of fatigue. Not a single drop of sweat.
What did he do?
I don't know. I want to understand… but without a clue, it's a maze with no exit.
"Let me explain," Isolde said, addressing the 'monster' comment. "From what Gareth told me, Leonard's a troublemaker from the western part of the kingdom. Even for him. Don't you think he might be as strong as Alicia?"
The question hung in the air. It was valid, and it made me uneasy.
Because doubt is the first step toward an uncomfortable truth. And Alicia… Alicia wasn't someone you compared to lightly.
I bothered to respond, though the echo of my thoughts was louder than my voice.
"Maybe… But I didn't get the sense Leonard gave it his all. It felt like he was deliberately holding back. Like the fight wasn't worth his effort. If I'm right, then he's stronger than Alicia… and if I'm wrong, well, it wouldn't be the first time."
"I see," was all she said.
"Gareth Rex Sauructe! Your turn!" Reginald bellowed, with the theatrical flair of someone who loves being the center of attention. Gareth stood lazily and walked to the platform as if he already knew the outcome.
His fight was an absolute letdown. He didn't even bother to fake effort. I wanted to believe he'd make up for it in the defensive test, but even that was starting to feel like overly optimistic wishful thinking.
Gareth took his position. Reginald raised his arm and muttered something my ears couldn't catch. Not because he was far, but because something made it inaudible. Still, Gareth nodded, as if the words were crystal clear.
Sparks began to form from Reginald's hands. Then, the fire erupted like an untamed wave, a brutal blaze aimed straight at Gareth. The flames engulfed him completely. Anyone would've thought it was an execution. But then I saw it: a faint glimmer, a glow that refused to yield to the flames. That light was the real defense. Not Gareth.
Reginald intensified his spell. The fire roared even more violently.
"That's starting to look excessive…" I muttered, shielding my eyes with my forearm.
"What the hell is that light?" Isolde asked, her face hidden behind her arms. The confusion was palpable even without seeing her eyes.
"It's absorption magic," a voice beside me said.
I turned. Leonard. I had no idea when he'd gotten there.
"Since when are you here?"
"Not long. You were too focused on the test to notice," he replied, unfazed. His expressionless face was, as always, infuriating.
"And that matters because…? Absorption magic, you said?"
"Yes. It's not that complicated. You absorb the mana from your surroundings… or your opponent. Instead of losing energy, you stockpile it."
"But you… you didn't show that glimmer. And you came out unscathed."
Without a word, Leonard rolled up his sleeve and revealed a simple bracelet. Nothing else, as if he'd bet everything on that single item.
"This bracelet channels mana absorption. You just point it at the magic source, and it does the work."
"I see…"
I nodded silently. No point in pressing him further. I'd check the Paradox Scriptures later. If I've learned anything, it's that immediate answers often carry more venom than truth.
The fire dissipated completely. Gareth stepped off the platform as if nothing had happened. Not a burn. Not a hint of exhaustion. Arrogance seeped from every step. And I barely knew the guy.
"That was awesome," Isolde said, smiling.
"Really? Well… what did you expect from me?" Gareth replied, puffing out his chest with pride he hadn't earned.
"…"
"Now what?" I asked.
"What do you mean, what?" Gareth shot back.
"Yeah. We're done. Nothing left to do…"
"And you're absolutely right, Lucius," Reginald said, appearing right behind us like a bad habit you can't shake.
"You've got to stop doing that! I almost swung at you!" I shouted, startled.
"I think it's funny," Isolde commented, amused.
Leonard, of course, didn't even blink. And Gareth, I don't know what he was doing, just staring at the sky like an idiot.
"How thrilling. Well, the reason for my grand entrance isn't the scare," Reginald said, lacing his fingers together as if about to narrate a tragedy. "You four were the first to complete the tests. However, there's a small… detail. In the hand-to-hand combat, Lucius beat Leonard. But in the defensive test, Leonard outperformed him by a mile. If you're both okay with it, we could even out the results so—"
"Are you saying there's a chance we both pass?" I cut in, unable to hide my surprise.
"Hey, don't steal my lines. It's rude to interrupt your elders. But yes, you're right. If you agree, you'll both receive the same rank grade."
"Rank grade?"
"In simple terms… it reflects your assigned strength level. It determines how intense your combat classes will be during the course."
"I'm in," I said.