And just like that… a blinding light erupted across the training hall.
"Where is he–?!" Thalene's voice cut through the white haze.
"I can't see him… I'm blinded–!" Aelion added, panic creeping into his tone as his healing support faltered.
"WHO DID THAT–?!" Sylendor's roar followed immediately, completely disoriented.
Faelar blinked rapidly, waving a hand in front of his face. "Hey–what the hell? I just came here."
"Lucien! What did you do? I can't see a thing!" Elandris shouted, trying to stabilize his stance.
Valenis clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed. "Damn brat… what did you do?"
Caeleth narrowed his eyes, though his vision was gone. "…A full sensory rupture field. Clever."
Erendil exhaled slowly, shifting his footing even without sight. "So this is what his answer to pressure…"
Thalindra tightened her grip on her staff. "I can't see anything… and something's interfering with my mana flow too."
From somewhere in the haze, Blaze shouted.
"Hey kid what the hell?! I'm on your side!"
Byakuren followed immediately, calm but firm. "He's right. You should have warned us."
In the center of it all, I stood still. Listening.
Waiting. Everyone was blind. Everyone was reacting. Everyone… except him. Elandor.
Standing completely still with his arms crossed. Unmoved. Unshaken. Or is he? Well, there's one way to find out. I bent down slowly and picked up one of Thalene's arrows from the ground. Then I threw it toward him.
*TWIP.*
He caught it instantly. Without hesitation.
Without even looking. Silence. Then Elandor spoke calmly. "I can't see a thing." He tilted his head slightly. "But blinding the battlefield doesn't mean you're in control of it."
I froze slightly…Damn. This grumpy elf's senses are ridiculous.A few seconds passed. Then–
"–ugh… my eyes…" Thalene muttered, blinking rapidly.
Aelion rubbed his face. "Same… I can see again… barely."
Around us, everyone was doing the same–wiping their eyes, adjusting, regaining focus one by one.
Sylendor squinted. "Tch… that was annoying."
Faelar cracked his neck like nothing happened. "Yeah… next time warn people."
"Uh... that's the point of it... It's a surprise..." I answered
Valenis stepped forward, gaze locking onto me. "Hey, kid." His tone dropped. "Explain. What the hell did you just do?" He gestured with his hand. "What do you even call that thing?"
Elandris immediately backed him up. "Yeah! That's not fair–you're hiding stuff like that!"
"…uh," I scratched my cheek. "Actually… I just thought of using it that way yesterday…" I paused. "And I, uh… call it… Mercy Flash."
Elandor tilted his head. "Mercy… what now?"
"…Flash," I repeated, smiling awkwardly.
Silence.
"…that name needs work," Sylendor muttered.
Elandor ignored him and looked straight at me. "Explain."
I exhaled. "Basically… I used Healing Impact, but in a much weaker state. Weak enough that enemies can't properly detect it–or won't detect it at all." I raised my hand slightly, mimicking the motion. "I compress it into a small orb… then throw it. When it bursts, it releases a blinding light made of healing magic."
Aelion leaned forward. "Healing magic… blinds?"
"Yeah. It overloads vision and disrupts mana flow temporarily when used by force," I continued. "But since it's still healing-based, it also slowly restores them… so they regain their sight after a bit."
"…that's insane," Thalindra muttered.
"And the disruption?" Erendil asked.
"Smaller scale than Healing Impact," I said. "This one is more like… interference than shutdown."
Aelion raised his hand immediately. "Can you teach me that?"
"…uh…"
Elandor cut in before I could answer. His gaze shifted to Aelion, then back to me. "Don't ever show that in Valerión."
"…yeah, that sounds about right," I muttered.
Valenis clapped his hands once. "Alright, enough." His tone snapped the atmosphere back into focus. "You'll be facing Faelar and Thalindra next."
"…again?!" I blinked. Too late.
Faelar stepped forward, rolling his shoulders. "Name's Faelar. S-rank tank." He tapped his shield with a grin. Thalindra lifted her staff calmly. "Wind mage. S rank."…yeah, this won't end well.
"Begin." No warning. Faelar moved first.
*BOOM–!*
The ground cracked under his step as he charged straight at me–no hesitation, no restraint. Like a bull locked on target.
"–!"
I sidestepped just in time, but then– Something grabbed me. Not physically. But it felt like it. "…what the–?!" My body jerked sideways mid-motion as invisible force wrapped around me.
Wind. Thalindra. Before I could react–
*WHOOSH–!*
She threw me. Straight toward Faelar.
"–!"
*BANG–!*
His shield slammed into my back like a truck.
"–gah!" The impact launched me straight into the wall.
*CRASH–!*
Dust exploded around me as my body hit stone. "…cough–!" A small amount of blood spilled from my mouth. Silence for half a second. Then–
I pushed myself up slowly. Green light flickered across my body. "…that went overboard…" I muttered, healing the damage. "…but I'm fine." Inside, though– Damn. That combo was clean. Thalindra was using absurd amount of magic spells, good thing I have a control to my copy skill now, that it stopped acting like a passive skill. "…so that's how they play," I muttered under my breath. "Control and impact…" I tightened my grip on my sword. Step. I rushed forward. Faelar swung his big ass broadsword–
Too obvious.
*Feint.*
I slipped past it and moved behind him. "Got you–"
–but then–
*CLANG–!*
His shield was already there. "…what–?!"
*BOOM–!*
The hit sent me flying upward. "–tch!" Before I could recover, The wind grabbed me again. "…not again–!"
*SLAM–!*
Thalindra pinned me straight into the ground.
Pressure locked my body in place. "…damn it," I muttered, struggling. No way. I'm not becoming a puppet. I drove my sword into the ground.
*SHUNK–!*
Anchored. The pressure fought back– but I held. Then, Faelar charged again.
"–!"
No time.
*BOOM–!*
The impact hit me again, sending me airborne. And immediately, The wind caught me. Again. "…this is getting annoying," I muttered. Left. Right. Up. Down. They were tossing me around like they are playing basketball.
Then–
I smirked slightly. "…got you." While being thrown, I had already started compressing mana. Low. Hidden. Just like before. When Thalindra grabbed me mid-air again to slam me down– I released everything. Fire ignited beneath me.
*BOOOOM–!*
I accelerated downward. Faster. Harder. "HEALING IMPACT–!"
*BOOOOOOM–!!!*
The ground exploded on impact. Shockwave tore through the training hall–
–but–
*CLANG–!*
A barrier snapped into place. It's Faelar. He planted his shield, magic flaring. The shockwave slammed against it–and stopped. Dust settled.
Silence.
Then–
Sylendor grinned. probably because the cracks on the ground before are from him, and now someone did much worse. "…now I like this kid."
Valenis didn't move immediately after the dust settled. He just stood there, watching me. Measuring. Then he stepped forward. "You've done enough…" His voice was calm, but it carried weight. "Now it's my turn."
…great. Out of everyone here, it had to be him. My grip tightened slightly. How the hell am I supposed to beat that guy? He's the one handling Ravenshard. Mid-tier S-rank assassin. That alone already says everything. Fast. Precise. No wasted movement. If Elandris and Erendil are already hard to keep up with… then this guy? Yeah. Different level. I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself. Can I even catch him off guard even once…?
Then–
A faint pulse. From my side. I blinked…Valaerion? I hadn't even used it since I got here. I'd been sticking with the practice blade this whole time. "…what?" Without really thinking, I reached for it. The moment my fingers wrapped around the hilt– Something shifted. The blade responded. Not metaphorically. Physically. The long, elegant sword began to shrink, compressing into something smaller… lighter…A dagger. "…you've got to be kidding me." Around me, I could feel the shift in attention. Even Valenis paused for a fraction of a second.
VALENIS'S POV
…That's new. I've heard stories about the Divinarchs. Adaptive weapons. Living constructs. Choosing their wielder. But reforming mid-combat?
I narrowed my eyes slightly. "…interesting."
This just got a lot more valuable.
LUCIEN'S POV
No time to think. Valenis moved. Gone.
"–!" I barely reacted in time–
*CLANG–!*
Sparks flew as his twin daggers slammed into mine…wait. I blocked that? There's no way– "I actually blocked him?!" I thought, heart racing. No way I'm that fast…Valaerion. It's helping me. Boosting me. Enhancing something. I don't know how long this lasts. But.. "…guess I'll just go all out," Pro gamer move, baby!!!
*CLANG–CLANG–CLANG–!*
We moved. Fast. Too fast. From the side, I could hear voices–
"…I can't even follow them–!" Elandris
"They're gone from my sight…" Thalene
Even Erendil stayed silent. Good. Because I didn't have time to think. Valenis pressed in relentlessly. No wasted motion. Every strike aimed to end something. I twisted, parried, stepped in, He vanished again.
"–?!"
*SHINK–!*
A dagger flew straight at my face. I tilted my head..but that was the bait.
*THUD–!*
A kick swept my legs out from under me.
"–tch!"
I hit the ground hard. Before he could follow up, I rolled back, forcing distance, then surged forward again. My dagger cut through the air –Valenis leaned slightly. Too clean. Too precise.
*WHAM–!*
His fist slammed into my face.
"–gh!"
My vision shook –but I reacted. My leg snapped upward, aiming for his head. He ducked instantly. "…seriously?!" We separated again. Breathing.
Adjusting.
Then–
He flicked his hand. Another dagger. I didn't dodge. Instead– I kicked the ground.
*CRACK–!*
Chunks of broken stone shot upward. The dagger deflected off the rubble mid-air.
"…not bad," Valenis muttered.
I didn't stop. I grabbed one of those chunks mid-motion and hurled it straight at him. He tilted his head– Barely moved The rock shattered past him.
"…annoying," he added.
We clashed again. Faster. Sharper. But then–
Something felt off. My body felt… heavier. My reactions– slower. "…no way…" The boost
It's fading. Damn it. Valenis noticed instantly.
Of course he did. In one smooth motion. He slipped past my guard. Twisted. Pinned me down.
*THUD–!*
My back hit the ground. Before I could move–
His dagger stopped. Right in front of my face.
…just a few centimeters away. Silence. I exhaled slowly. "…yeah. That checks out." Valenis stared down at me. Not angry. Not impressed. Just… evaluating.
"…so that's your limit," he said quietly.
And for some reason, that felt worse than losing.
End of chapter.