Four days later, Kara finished another grueling training session under the supervision of her uncle Magnus, the academy's headmaster.
Sweat ran down her face as she caught her breath, yet a confident smile remained on her lips.
For those four days, she had repeated the same movements over and over again.
Every stance.
Every pivot.
Every mistake.
Everything had been focused on a single person.
Lusian Douglas.
This time, she would not lose again.
As she descended toward the first floor, a voice echoed through the academy's corridors.
"Classification Match! Caleb Douglas versus Leonardo Erkham!"
Kara immediately looked up.
Another Douglas?
Without a second thought, she changed direction and followed the announcement to the main arena.
By the time she arrived, the stands were already nearly full.
At the center of the platform, two young men faced one another in silence.
One was Caleb Douglas.
The other was Leonardo Erkham.
It was Leonardo's first classification match.
Around the arena, several members of the Erkham family watched attentively.
Among them was Isabella.
Leonardo took a deep breath.
He couldn't afford to lose.
Not in front of his family.
Not in front of those who had waited years to see how far he could go.
Instructor Josh Bell raised one hand.
"Begin!"
Leonardo vanished from his position.
Lightning mana surged through his entire body.
Tiny bolts of electricity danced across his armor and sword as dark clouds gathered above the platform.
It wasn't merely a display of power.
It was his fighting style.
The longer he remained connected to his magic, the more intense his lightning became.
His speed exploded.
His sword came crashing down wrapped in electricity.
Clang!
Caleb blocked the strike with a single hand.
Darkness slowly enveloped his blade.
Blue lightning and black mana collided violently before scattering across the arena.
The spectators held their breath.
Leonardo had poured all of his power into that opening strike.
And Caleb had stopped it without even taking a step back.
The young Erkham gritted his teeth.
Then Caleb advanced.
He didn't wait for a second opportunity.
With a sharp movement, he knocked Leonardo's sword aside and drove a punch straight into his face.
Bang!
Leonardo's head snapped backward.
Before he could recover his stance, another blow landed.
Then another.
Caleb gave him no room to breathe.
Each impact forced Leonardo to reinforce his body with mana to avoid suffering serious injuries.
He retreated several meters.
His breathing became uneven.
He understood the problem.
He couldn't continue fighting at close range.
Caleb was simply too strong.
He raised his free hand.
Four spheres of electricity materialized around him.
His mana consumption immediately increased.
But so did his power.
"Let's see if you can stop this."
The spheres shot forward.
Caleb raised his sword.
Seven dark projectiles appeared behind him.
The two attacks collided simultaneously.
The arena vanished beneath smoke and crackling electricity.
When the cloud finally cleared, Leonardo was still standing.
He had destroyed five of the projectiles.
But the remaining two had found their mark.
His body was hurled backward several meters.
Even so...
He got back to his feet.
The audience fell silent.
It wasn't common to see someone withstand a direct attack from a Douglas.
Caleb looked at his opponent with a faint smile.
"You're tough."
Leonardo wiped the blood from his mouth.
"I'm not finished yet."
The sky above the arena darkened once more.
Electricity gathered around his body.
From the stands, Kara watched carefully.
Her expression shifted slightly.
This wasn't simply offensive magic.
Leonardo was gradually increasing his own power.
Every passing second made him more dangerous.
"Interesting..."
she murmured.
Then she remembered Lusian.
He had waited too.
He had also allowed his opponent to reveal their full strength.
But there was a difference.
Lusian waited for the perfect moment to win.
Caleb simply pressed forward and forced his opponent to react.
Leonardo extended his hand.
The four lightning spheres appeared once again.
This time they shone brighter.
They were far more unstable.
This was his final attack.
If it failed, he wouldn't have enough mana left to continue.
"Now!"
The spheres shot forward.
Caleb answered by raising his sword.
Seven dark spears formed behind him.
The two attacks collided.
The explosion shook the entire arena.
When the smoke cleared, Leonardo was kneeling.
He had managed to destroy five of the spears.
But the remaining two had pierced his defenses.
One had impaled his leg.
The other pinned his arm to the ground.
The tip of a final spear hovered only inches from his throat.
"Enough!"
Instructor Josh's voice rang throughout the arena.
The shadows disappeared.
Leonardo collapsed onto one knee, breathing heavily.
He had exhausted nearly all of his mana.
Caleb was breathing hard as well.
His shoulder was wounded, and his uniform bore several tears.
It hadn't been an easy victory.
Josh raised his hand.
"Victory goes to Caleb Douglas!"
The students immediately began whispering.
Leonardo had lost.
But no one could call it a humiliating defeat.
Caleb sheathed his sword and walked past him.
For a few moments, it seemed he would simply keep walking.
Then he stopped.
"Your control over lightning is good."
Leonardo looked up.
Caleb never turned around.
"But you rely too much on building up power."
He paused.
"A smart opponent won't let you reach that point."
Then he continued walking.
"Next time, make me take you seriously from the beginning."
Leonardo clenched his fists.
It wasn't mockery.
It was a challenge.
Kara watched the conclusion of the match with her arms crossed.
Caleb had won.
Just as expected.
Yet the fight held her attention for only a moment.
Her eyes were already searching for someone else.
"Lusian!" she called.
The entire arena turned toward the young Douglas.
Lusian looked up.
"What is it?"
Kara descended from the stands without taking her eyes off him.
Confidence radiated from her expression.
For four days, she had trained relentlessly under Magnus's supervision.
Every technique.
Every spell.
Every mistake.
Everything had been corrected.
This time would be different.
She stopped in front of the platform.
"I challenge you to a classification match."
Lusian let out a quiet sigh.
"Again?"
"This time you won't run away."
"I never ran."
"Then get up here."
Lusian watched Kara's eager expression for a few seconds.
Finally, he shook his head.
"All right."
Kara stepped onto the classification platform once again.
A confident smile spread across her face.
She had trained without rest.
She had corrected her mistakes.
She had refined every movement.
She had pushed her body beyond its own limits.
Every spell.
Every step.
Every strike.
Everything had been prepared for one purpose.
Lusian Douglas.
This time, she would not lose.
Across the platform, Lusian let out another quiet sigh as he drew his sword.
"You again?"
Kara smiled.
"This time you won't escape."
Instructor Enzo Bell walked to the center of the arena.
"Classification match."
He looked at both combatants.
"Begin."
The arena erupted with mana.
Kara disappeared.
Her body became wrapped in a golden glow as body enhancement surged through every muscle.
But this time, it was different.
It wasn't simply more power.
It was greater control.
Her opening move wasn't meant to end the battle.
It was meant to measure Lusian's reaction.
Their swords collided.
Clang!
Lusian was pushed back two steps.
The impact traveled through his entire arm.
The second strike came from another angle.
The third changed direction halfway through its arc.
Lusian blocked.
But for the first time since fighting Kara, he realized something.
She had learned.
She was no longer repeating the same attacks.
She no longer relied solely on brute force.
Kara had eliminated her patterns.
"Surprised?" she asked as she continued attacking.
Lusian didn't answer.
His eyes followed every movement.
Her stance.
Her breathing.
The flow of her mana.
Kara fought far better than before.
Much better.
But one thing hadn't changed.
Her body enhancement still consumed an absurd amount of mana.
The attacks kept coming.
Punches.
Kicks.
Mana-enhanced sword strikes.
Every impact made the platform tremble.
Lusian blocked.
Retreated.
Deflected.
But never counterattacked.
From the stands, students began whispering.
"He's being overwhelmed..."
"Kara's much stronger than the first time."
Magnus watched the battle in complete silence.
He himself had trained Kara throughout the past four days.
He knew every improvement she had made.
He also knew that this strategy only had one chance of succeeding.
She had to defeat Lusian before her mana reserves began to run dry.
Andrew, seated beside him, narrowed his eyes as he observed the exchange.
She's become much more aggressive...
He remembered that when he had sparred with Kara himself, he had ended up bedridden for several days.
Magnus never took his eyes off the arena.
Lusian barely managed to redirect her blows.
He retreated again and again, attacks missing him by mere inches.
Yet...
He never counterattacked.
As though he were waiting for something.
Kara increased the intensity.
Her body shone even brighter.
Her speed multiplied.
She appeared directly before Lusian.
Her strike crashed down toward his guard.
Boom!
Lusian's sword bent slightly under the impact.
The force broke through his defense.
The blow slammed into his side.
The young Douglas was sent flying several meters.
He crashed onto the arena floor.
A murmur swept through the stands.
Lusian slowly got back to his feet.
His breathing had changed.
A sharp pain shot through his torso.
Two of his ribs were fractured.
It wasn't a superficial injury.
Every deep breath caused him pain.
Kara looked at him seriously.
"You still plan to continue?"
Lusian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Yes."
He raised his sword once more.
"You're not finished yet."
Kara clenched her teeth.
She charged again.
But now Lusian had changed.
He no longer blocked every strike.
Some he redirected.
Others he avoided by mere inches.
He had stopped enduring her attacks.
He had begun reading her.
Each of Kara's attacks grew stronger.
But they also required more mana.
Every explosive movement demanded another layer of body enhancement.
And Lusian only needed to survive.
Andrew stared intently.
The golden aura surrounding Kara began to fade.
Only slightly.
Almost imperceptibly.
But it was happening.
Meanwhile...
The darkness surrounding Lusian's sword remained exactly the same.
It never weakened.
It showed no sign of exhaustion.
Andrew felt a chill run down his spine.
"That can't be..."
Magnus glanced toward him.
"You noticed?"
Andrew took several seconds before answering.
His eyes never left Lusian.
"Yes..."
He paused briefly.
"If he were truly only a Delta, he should already be showing signs of exhaustion."
Magnus gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Neither of them said anything else.
They didn't need to.
The match was confirming what both of them had suspected.
At the very least...
Lusian had to possess Epsilon-rank affinity.
But instead of reassuring them, that conclusion only opened an even more unsettling question.
What if it's something beyond that...
Andrew forced the thought away.
No.
There was still no proof.
Kara launched another attack.
Lusian blocked it.
This time he didn't move back.
Surprise appeared on the young woman's face.
It was the first time she had been unable to push him backward.
A sphere of darkness appeared in Lusian's free hand.
Kara shattered it with a strike.
But another appeared.
Then another.
They weren't powerful attacks.
They weren't meant to injure her.
Only to force her to spend more mana.
Kara was breathing heavily.
Her body still glowed.
But the intensity was no longer the same.
"No..."
she whispered.
She understood too late.
The battle had never changed.
She had been trying to defeat Lusian.
Lusian had been defeating her stamina.
Kara gathered the last remnants of her mana.
Her entire body flared with golden light once more.
Her final attack.
Her final chance.
She disappeared.
She appeared directly before Lusian.
Her decisive strike descended.
But this time, Lusian was ready.
He slightly rotated his sword.
He didn't stop the force.
He redirected it.
Kara's own momentum carried her one step too far.
That single step was enough.
Lusian slipped inside her guard.
He struck her wrist.
Her sword fell.
Then he twisted the hilt.
The blow beneath her chin shattered her balance.
A second later, the tip of his sword rested against her throat.
Silence.
The entire arena froze.
Enzo raised his hand.
"Victory goes to Lusian Douglas!"
Kara stared silently at the sword before her.
She had improved.
She had corrected her mistakes.
She had given everything she had.
And yet...
She had lost again.
Lusian slowly lowered his sword.
His breathing was heavy.
The pain in his ribs was still there.
Yet he smiled faintly.
"This time, you came much closer."
Kara clenched her fists.
It wasn't a humiliating defeat.
It was worse.
Because now she knew exactly how far behind she still was.
From the stands, Magnus watched in silence.
His niece had grown stronger.
But the young Douglas...
Remained a mystery.