'Even after all my attacks, that bastard is still standing.'
Blow after blow, Evan unleashed a devastating barrage of attacks against the goblin. To his advantage, all he needed was to touch the creature's skin, and the flames would take care of the rest.
At least, that was what Evan believed.
Even though he had taken part of the damage from the countless explosions, the Goblin King's body was in far worse condition.
'The flames will burn until there's nothing left. I just need to keep holding on...'
The Goblin King showed no signs of surrender. He wore the same twisted grimace he had since the beginning of the battle.
With his energy draining rapidly, Evan decided to keep attacking with everything he had. The flames around his fists pulsed as if they were alive, waiting only for Evan to strike.
The boy unleashed a rapid sequence of punches, constantly switching the point of impact, while the goblin tried to block with what remained of his daggers.
Seeing the blades coming toward him, Evan quickly activated his ability.
"Emperor's Command."
Taking advantage of the seconds in which the creature would be paralyzed, Evan released his flames at full power, until a massive explosion erupted from his fists.
GHUAAA!!
A deafening roar echoed through the hall. Slowly, the walls began to crack, while the stone ceiling showed signs of collapsing.
From the blast's impact, Evan was violently thrown against the hall's walls.
'G-ghrl... I can't move my body anymore... At this rate, I won't be able to endure...'
But after only a few seconds, Evan collapsed completely, having exhausted all his mana reserves.
Taking advantage of the opening Evan had created, Karin stared at the Goblin King's figure, severely injured after Evan's attacks.
The flames were already consuming more than half of the creature's body.
"This is where it ends."
Karin whispered as she prepared an attack with all the strength she had left.
The Goblin King remained completely incapacitated. Not even he, a D-rank creature, believed he would be defeated by mere humans below his level.
His skin, as tough as steel itself, was now largely charred.
But something filled him with absolute dread: the figure of one of the girls he believed to be completely unconscious.
An energy so dense radiated from her hands that not even the enormous beast could believe the power of that attack.
Within seconds, a powerful strike of condensed water pierced straight through the creature's chest.
"I-I did it..."
Those were Karin's last words before she collapsed after her final attack...
....
"Where am I?"
Evan asked after finally waking up. When he looked around, the place seemed like an infirmary, with several other students being treated by academy professionals.
Beside him was one of the nurses responsible for his care.
"You're in the academy infirmary. Please try not to push yourself too much."
The woman said gently, while Evan wondered how long he had been there.
"How long was I unconscious?"
But the nurse's answer completely shocked him.
"You've been here for 4 days."
'What?!'
"F-four d-days...?"
The boy reacted in disbelief.
He couldn't clearly remember what happened after he passed out. The only memories that came to his mind were of him unleashing his Combustion skill at full power and being caught in the blast.
After that, he had no idea what happened. That was when panic took over him.
"Do you know how the rest of my group is doing? Are they okay?"
Evan asked desperately.
"I don't have information about the other students. I was only assigned to monitor you during this period," the woman explained.
'Ghr! Please... let the others be okay.'
...
One day after waking up, Evan was finally released from recovery.
The first thing he did was look for information about the rest of his group.
Leaving the room in complete excitement, Evan bumped into a girl in front of him.
"Watch where you're going!" the girl grumbled.
But when their eyes finally met, a feeling of relief washed over Evan.
"Karin?!"
He asked happily.
Matching his surprise, Karin replied:
"Evan? How are you? I tried to visit you, but they wouldn't let me in."
She explained.
Noticing her concern, Evan could hardly recognize the famous Karin Roughstone from the story he admired so much.
"A-ah, I'm better now... I heard I passed out for a full four days... How are the others?"
Avoiding direct eye contact, Karin spoke in a lower tone.
"Quelbert woke up recently. But the doctors couldn't do anything about his arm. As for Katherine... her condition is a bit more delicate. She's still under medical supervision."
She finished, clenching her fists.
Deep down, Evan could imagine how she felt. The helplessness of not being able to handle everything alone was probably eating Karin alive.
"And what about the other groups? Any news?"
Even though it might not have been the best moment, the anxiety of knowing what happened to the others—especially Mikael—forced Evan to ask.
"From what I've heard, there were some casualties in other groups. But the Director himself scheduled a meeting with all the students involved on Monday morning."
Karin said as she turned toward her room.
"Anyway, if you don't have any more questions, I need to go."
Karin finished as she walked away from Evan.
Now alone in the corridor, all Evan could do was return to his room.
'Let me see...'
{10:47 – Saturday, January 1st, 2087}
"Looks like I'll still have the weekend off."
As he walked through the halls, Evan decided to take a look at the training zone, and what he saw made him genuinely happy.
Mikael, one arm wrapped in bandages, dueling against one of the training humanoids.
"There was no way that guy wouldn't be fine, right?"
Evan returned to his room with a huge smile on his face.
Once inside, the first thing he did was take a long, relaxing shower.
Looking at his body, he couldn't help but feel amazed at how quickly his wounds had healed.
'Just how far do an elemental's powers go?'
He couldn't forget the sudden surge of strength he had felt during the fight against the Goblin King.
'It definitely has something to do with that.'
While getting dressed, a spark of curiosity rose within Evan about his attributes.
'It's been a while since I last checked them.'
"Status Window."
Evan said, as a translucent screen appeared in front of him.
-------------------------
Name: Evan Thompson
Potential: ???
Rank: G
Strength: G
Speed: G
Endurance: G+
Intelligence: G
Mana Capacity: G
Luck: G+
Charm: G-
Affinities: Primordial Fire (Elemental)
-- Art --
Swordsmanship (G)
The most basic level of swordsmanship, lacking its own style and patterns.
-- Skills --
Combustion (D)
The user can generate fire sparks using acetylene particles, allowing explosions through combustion.
Emperor's Command (E)
When activated, the targeted opponent is subjected to pressure, forcing them to freeze for 1.5 seconds.
-------------------------
"Looks like that damn dungeon was actually worth it. My speed and mana capacity attributes increased."
Even though his attributes had improved, a headache began forming in his mind.
'Now that my odachi is gone, I seriously need something to complement my fighting style.'
Reviewing his last duel, Evan realized how compatible his abilities were with close-range combat.
Even though his body wasn't the most robust, he still had enough muscle mass to fight a creature three full levels above him.
As he recalled the battle against that savage creature, the image of Christian's dead body resurfaced in his mind.
Even though Christian wasn't a character with much relevance to the main plot, Evan still felt the weight of losing someone.
"I don't want something like that to happen to me."
The boy said, clutching his chest tightly.
"I have a lot of work ahead of me."
Evan sighed, before falling asleep like a rock on his bed.