Dust and tension hung in the air.
Samuel's spear gleamed faintly with his imperfect sword aura, and Kael eyes narrowing shifted his stance. The difference in power, pressure, and intensity from just moments ago was clear.
"He's not done yet" Kael thought.
Samuel smirked. "Let's push things up a level."
Then the ground trembled.
Stone magic erupted beneath his feet as his body hardened, his skin faintly glossed with a granite sheen his Stone Core magic surging to life. Small jagged rocks floated around him as mana condensed and reinforced his physical might. Each step cracked the floor beneath him.
Kael didn't flinch. Instead, his eyes dimmed slightly, and his sword began to whisper with dancing shadows, faint enough to look like a shadow-based mana core. The shadows curled and moved unnaturally alive, fluid, unpredictable.
"I can't let anyone see the truth about my core yet. This is enough to pass off as Shadow affinity."
Kael's form blurred forward.
Clash.
Steel met spear again. The pressure from their mana-enhanced strikes shook the training hall. The crowd, now larger, had fallen silent, unable to speak, caught between awe and disbelief.
Kael weaved through Samuel's rock-empowered strikes, blades slashing in unpredictable arcs. And then...
He smirked.
Let's test this out.
System Notification: Skill Activated » Elarquist Debuff – Level 1
A faint pulse rippled from Kael.
Samuel staggered not much, but enough.
Samuel's vision blurred slightly, and his limbs suddenly felt heavier. "What…?"
Kael didn't give him a moment. He closed the gap and forced Samuel into a defensive stance with a flurry of relentless, precise blows. Each strike was calculated, measured perfectly exploiting the second-long lag from the debuff.
Samuel's jaw tightened. "You've got tricks. So do I."
He roared and the floating stones around him burst into sharp projectiles that shot toward Kael mid-swing. Kael ducked, spun, shadows curling around his body, absorbing one of the stones, dodging the others with a sudden backward flip.
Energy crackled around them. Kael's blade was dark with writhing shadow, and Samuel's spear was burning with stone and light-infused energy. They both crouched ready.
One more strike.
Kael's eyes glowed faintly. Samuel's aura flared.
And then they leapt forward.
BOOM.
A third presence appeared in an instant.
A palm stopped both their weapons mid-air.
The shockwave from the blocked strike cracked the floor.
Standing between them was a tall man in a sleek black coat, eyes cold and unmoved. His pressure made the air feel heavier.
"That's enough," he said calmly. "You'll destroy the entire training grounds."
Kael and Samuel both froze. Kael stepped back slowly, eyes scanning the man.
Samuel groaned and lowered his weapon. "Instructor Locke…"
Kael silently sheathed his sword.
The crowd began murmuring again but the fight had left its mark. Everyone there now knew:
These weren't just students.
They were monsters in the making.