"Begin!" Cassia Voss's voice rang across the courtyard like a bell.
Vin Richter exploded forward with the confidence of someone who'd never lost a fight. His golden aura blazed around him like liquid fire as his blade swept toward Fenix's neck in a strike meant to end things quickly and brutally.
This was it, Fenix thought. The moment of truth. He'd heard stories about the Richter family's genius son - sixteen years old and already at Graduator rank. A prodigy who'd been trained by the best masters money could buy. Someone who'd never known defeat.
Time seemed to slow as Vin's blade approached. Fenix's enhanced perception kicked in, cataloging every detail of the attack. The angle, the speed, the perfect form that spoke of years of dedicated training.
And in that crystalline moment of analysis, Fenix felt his heart sink a little.
'That's it?' he thought, stepping aside with casual ease. 'This is their genius?'
