The river continued flowing between them.
Kael stood on one side.
The axe wielder stood on the other.
For several seconds, neither moved.
The student looked Kael up and down.
A F-Class uniform.
No weapon.
No visible mana.
Only bandages wrapped around his fists.
A smile slowly formed on his face.
"You really are him."
Kael remained silent.
"The No-Path who entered through the written exam."
The student lifted his axe onto his shoulder.
"I thought the rumours were exaggerated."
A pause.
"But you actually came here with nothing."
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
Nothing.
That word had followed him for years.
The student stepped forward.
"Don't take it personally."
Water splashed beneath his boots.
"I'm just taking the easiest elimination I can find."
---
The axe descended.
Kael moved.
Not backwards.
Forward.
The blade struck the ground where he had been standing moments before.
The student widened his eyes.
Too fast.
Kael's fist moved toward his ribs.
The student barely raised his arm in time.
The impact pushed him several steps back.
"..."
He stared.
Kael stared back.
Neither spoke.
The student had expected weakness.
Instead...
He found resistance.
---
The axe user attacked again.
This time, he was more careful.
The first strike had been a test.
The second was serious.
Kael watched every movement.
The position of his feet.
The angle of his shoulders.
The timing between his swings.
The student's Path enhanced his strength, but it also created a pattern.
Every powerful attack required preparation.
Every heavy swing created an opening.
Kael waited.
One second.
Two.
Then moved.
---
The battle continued across the riverbank.
The axe tore through trees.
Kael avoided every strike by the smallest possible distance.
Not because he was faster.
Because he understood.
The student became frustrated.
"Why can't I hit you?"
Kael didn't answer.
Because the answer was simple.
You were stronger.
But predictable.
---
The student roared and swung downward with all his strength.
Kael stepped forward.
Not away.
Forward.
His hand caught the axe handle.
The student froze.
Impossible.
A normal person wouldn't stop that attack.
But Kael wasn't trying to stop the axe.
He redirected it.
His body turned.
His foot shifted.
The weapon passed beside him.
And in that same moment...
Kael struck.
A precise blow.
The student fell to one knee.
His academy badge flashed.
A moment later, light surrounded him.
"Participant eliminated."
---
Silence returned.
Kael looked down at his hands.
His breathing was controlled.
Seven months.
Seven months of training.
Seven months of being ignored.
And finally...
The academy had witnessed what he could do.
Not his hidden power.
Not Cataclysm.
Just himself.
---
Far away, another announcement echoed.
"Participant eliminated."
Then another.
The evaluation continued.
---
Dren landed hard against the ground.
He rolled backwards and immediately stood.
A spear of earth passed where his head had been.
His opponent wasn't giving him time to think.
"You F-Class students are stubborn."
Dren clenched his fist.
A year ago...
He would have panicked.
He would have hesitated.
But things had changed.
He focused his breathing.
His Path responded.
The energy around him shifted.
The attack came again.
This time...
Dren was ready.
He moved.
Not perfectly.
Not effortlessly.
But better.
Much better.
The instructor observing from above looked down.
"Interesting."
A second instructor glanced over.
"F-Class?"
"Yes."
The first instructor watched Dren carefully.
"His improvement is consistent."
---
Meanwhile...
Three figures moved through the ruins.
Kellis.
Brann.
Rhett.
They weren't friends.
Not really.
But they understood one thing.
Survival was easier together.
Brann smashed through an opponent's defence.
Rhett followed with a finishing strike.
The badge activated.
Another elimination.
Kellis watched silently.
He had changed.
The anger was still there.
But now it had direction.
He wasn't fighting because he wanted revenge.
He was fighting because he refused to be left behind.
Then an announcement echoed.
"Participant eliminated."
A name followed.
Kael Virex.
Kellis stopped.
Again.
That name.
Even here.
Even in this place.
Kael was moving forward.
His expression darkened.
---
Across the battlefield...
Auren Valcrest walked.
That was all.
He walked.
And everyone noticed.
His hair, striped with crimson red and black, moved gently with each step.
One sapphire eye observed the battlefield calmly.
The other remained hidden beneath his covering.
The golden eye.
The secret his family had guarded for generations.
Nobody knew what it truly contained.
And nobody wanted to find out.
Students who noticed him immediately changed direction.
"Don't go near him."
A nervous student whispered.
"Why?"
The answer came quietly.
"Because he doesn't need to chase anyone."
"He only needs to notice you."
---
A group of students accidentally entered the same clearing as Auren.
They froze.
Nobody attacked.
Nobody moved.
The pressure alone was enough.
Auren looked at them.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then one student panicked.
Their weapon raised slightly.
Auren sighed.
A single step.
A flash.
The battle ended before anyone understood what happened.
The students' badges activated one after another.
"Participant eliminated."
No anger.
No excitement.
No effort.
Auren simply continued walking.
---
Elsewhere, Caelan Strade fought differently.
Where Auren overwhelmed...
Caelan adapted.
A water attack came.
He changed his approach.
A defensive barrier appeared.
He switched tactics.
A close-range fighter charged.
He adjusted again.
This was why his sudden rise shocked everyone.
Rank 12 to Rank 4 wasn't luck.
Caelan understood combat.
He didn't need the strongest ability.
He needed the right answer.
---
Elara Ashbourne and Prince Lucien Edevane moved together.
They had done so since childhood.
Elara's spear controlled the battlefield.
Every movement was precise.
Every strike protected Lucien.
The prince barely moved.
Instead, conceptual spirits surrounded him.
Invisible beings.
Ancient contracts.
Abilities that did not follow normal rules.
Together...
They were almost impossible to separate.
---
Another announcement echoed.
"Participant eliminated."
A number appeared above the battlefield.
Remaining participants: 150.
The first stage was over.
The reckless had fallen.
The unprepared had been removed.
Now...
The true evaluation began.
---
A deep vibration shook the arena.
The instructors activated the next phase.
The barrier began moving.
The battlefield slowly contracted.
Forests disappeared.
Open areas narrowed.
Students hiding in distant corners looked up in alarm.
"The arena..."
"It's shrinking."
A voice echoed from above.
"Remaining participants are encouraged to continue."
"Remember..."
"Adaptation is part of the assessment."
---
Kael stood within an abandoned stone structure.
The sounds of battle grew closer.
The evaluation had changed.
Before, he had been surviving.
Now...
People would start searching.
The weak would gather.
The strong would hunt.
And somewhere in this changing battlefield...
Were the people he would eventually have to face.
Kael tightened his fists.
Seven months ago...
He would have hidden.
Today...
He waited.
The gap between who he was...
And who he was becoming...
Was closing.