Alverin's winter clung stubbornly to the stone walls—but Maria had grown sharper than the cold.
Days turned into weeks. The icicles hanging from the eaves of the dormitory melted drop by drop, and their constant dripping became the rhythm of Maria's daily training.
The uniform whiteness of the courtyard gave way to brown patches of mud and then fresh green grass. With the earth shedding its old layer, Maria changed too.
Every morning, before sunrise, when cold mist still slept on the grass, she was awake. Lead weights strapped to her ankles made running a torture, but she didn't stop.
Cold sweat froze on her forehead, her muscles burned with lactic acid, and her lungs wheezed in the cold air.
In the technical workshops, dozens of magic circuits exploded under her hands. Her face turned black, her fingers burned, but each time she closed the next circuit more precisely.
In the privacy of her room, she stared at a candle flame for hours, trying to control just the heat of the flame with her meager mana. She failed a hundred times, got a headache a hundred times, and her nose bled, until finally, she could turn the flame blue without extinguishing it.
And now, her final test awaited her atop the dormitory's slanted roof.
A cool spring breeze blew, moving Maria's ponytail.
She wasn't alone.
Facing her stood a creature that was no longer the thin, trembling cub of two months ago.
Nero.
He had grown. His muscles under his shiny black fur looked like coiled springs. His three whip-like tails swayed in the air with a hypnotic rhythm. He was now the size of a Half-grown cheetah, and his speed... his speed was a warrior's nightmare.
Maria held her breath and listened only to the ambient sounds.
Come.
Nero vanished.
Not with magic, but with a speed the naked eye couldn't see.
She heard the rush of displaced air to her left.
She turned and guarded, but it was too late.
The soft but heavy blow of Nero's paw (with claws retracted) hit her side.
Maria stumbled and slipped on the roof tiles.
"One - Zero."
She stood up. Guarded again.
This time the attack was from behind. A shadow jumping out of the chimney's shadow.
Maria dodged, but Nero's tail wrapped around her ankle like a whip and tripped her.
"Two - Zero. Damn... too fast."
Maria ground her teeth. She had tried to increase her speed at the last moment by suddenly pumping mana into her legs, but her ankle throbbed.
My body can't handle this pressure. If I want to move like you, Nero... if I want a 'Mana Burst', I need auxiliary equipment. My bones will shatter under the pressure of pure mana.
Nero sat on the edge of the roof and its gaze fixed on Maria. There was a trace of mischief and pride in his gaze. As if saying: Still slow, human.
Maria wiped the sweat from her forehead. Blood boiled in her veins.
Not with eyes... with sense. Feel the change in air pressure.
Maria stood again. This time she closed her eyes and let the wind speak.
And... a slight change in airflow on the right, slightly above her head.
There!
Nero pounced, aiming for her shoulder.
In a fraction of a second, Maria ducked and simultaneously pivoted on her right foot.
Nero's paw passed millimeters from her ear.
She used the momentum of her spin, reached out, and grabbed one of Nero's tails in mid-air.
Nero, not expecting this move, lost his balance in the air and landed clumsily on all fours.
Maria opened her eyes and gave a triumphant smile.
"Two - One."
Nero turned quickly and looked at Maria in surprise. Then he sneezed and twitched his ears, as if wanting to say: That was luck.
But Maria knew it wasn't luck.
Winter was over. The weak child had ended with it. What remained was a weapon forged for the battles ahead.
***
Hundreds of students had gathered in the Great Hall, all silent from stress.
The silence of the hall was broken by a rhythmic, dry sound.
Gregory's wooden leg and his cane struck the cobblestones.
The war-torn old man, with that scarred face and eyes that seemed to still see the smoke of battlefields, stood behind the podium. He didn't need voice amplification magic; the grandeur of his voice was enough to fill the hall.
"Next week, the End-of-Year Tournament will be held."
He let the silence stretch, eyes moving across the rows.
"In theory classes, they taught you to bow before a fight, ask the opponent's name, and wait for the referee."
Gregory sneered.
"Forget it."
He slammed his hand on the podium.
"Outside these safe walls, in the rocky cliffs of the Northern Border or the dark forests of the West, the enemy doesn't wait for you to finish your chant. They don't bow. They kill with stones, with poison, with teeth, and with whatever is at hand to survive."
His eyes roamed over the crowd.
"So it's the same here. The rule of the tournament is 'Unrestricted Warfare'."
A murmur rippled through the hall.
Gregory continued:
"Anything goes. Magical equipment, alchemy potions, pre-written scrolls, and even... tamed companion animals. The only condition is: Survive and win."
Maria sat in the middle row. Hearing "companion animals," she unconsciously turned her head and met Sarah's gaze.
Sarah gave a bitter smile and raised an eyebrow. The message exchanged was clear:
We have the best companion animal in the world (Nero)... too bad it's illegal. If we bring him, instead of a medal, we get an expulsion order.
Maria turned her gaze back.
It's okay. Nero is my hidden ace. For here, I have my science.
Gregory raised his hand to stop the murmur. He saw the worried faces of some first-year students (especially those with no combat experience).
"You look like scared rats. Don't worry, we don't want to hand over your corpses to your families."
He put his hand in his pocket and took out a silver necklace with a glowing red gem.
"Each participant will be given one of these: 'The Token of Sacrifice'."
He held the necklace up to catch the light.
"This necklace is single-use. When it detects a potentially fatal blow to your body, it activates and casts an absolute shield around you. Simultaneously, it eliminates you from the competition. So don't worry about dying."
Gregory paused. An evil smile settled on his lips.
"But a warning... this necklace prevents 'death', not 'pain'."
He lowered his voice, making everyone's hair stand on end.
"When a sword hits you, you will feel the burn of flesh tearing, bone breaking, and the shock of impact with your entire being, before the necklace activates. Pain teaches faster than any book. So try not to get hit."
The silence of the hall became heavier.
No one in the hall mistook this for a game anymore.