Enrico had just bought the fourth artifact at a shop in Sanos. While Yumeha, Rina, and Aoi went to deliver Emperor Renzou's letters so they could enter the academy, he received a message from the system.
[The arc of the confrontation against the crown princess has begun...]
Enrico immediately hurried ahead. He needed to return to the academy as soon as possible, so he left a message for the shop owner and departed. His friends had no chance of defeating Elowyn and her subordinates at that moment, especially after they had already been defeated once.
As soon as he arrived at the academy, he realized that the teachers had left to help protect the city. Without wasting any time, he ran inside, not even worrying about properly passing through the entrance.
[You'd better hurry, otherwise you'll miss your triumphant entrance.]
Enrico was about to respond in kind, but he was stopped by a girl who handed him Seraphina's letter. After recognizing the situation, he simply took the paper and continued quickly.
'System, this pact won't affect Yumeha? Are you sure?'
[Don't worry. The pacts only affect you.]
The pact would permanently remove twenty points from his maximum mana in exchange for improving one ability. For Enrico, however, there was only one ability that could truly be improved: Elemental Clone. When he arrived at the location and saw his injured friends and the number of enemies they had to face, he decided to accept.
Enrico stood still, observing everyone present and waiting for the first move. It did not take long for Jorge to advance. Upon realizing that they still had the numerical advantage, he decided to attack immediately, using his crystal magic to strengthen his sword.
"Crystal Blades!"
Several sharp crystals appeared in the air and were launched at Enrico. Jorge expected to see him get hit, but in the next instant, Enrico simply disappeared from in front of him and reappeared before him.
Enrico placed his palm against Jorge's chest and released a sphere of fire at point-blank range. The impact sent him flying backward. Enrico then used Fire Kick to propel himself in the same direction and, before Jorge could hit the ground, used the momentum again to reach him.
A kick struck his chin and sent him upward.
Jorge barely managed to understand what had happened when another kick struck his body, causing him to crash to the ground completely unconscious.
Enrico landed on the ground and observed the battlefield for a moment. Judging by Lan and Jorge's condition, he realized that the two were probably already tired after fighting the other students.
Meanwhile, Elowyn remained motionless. Her eyes followed every movement Enrico made, but her expression had changed. She seemed to be trying to understand something.
'Nothing...'
She narrowed her eyes.
'I see nothing.'
Elowyn's ability allowed her to see the essence of people's souls through their colors. However, when facing Enrico, there was no color at all. No light, no shadow, no mixture of shades. Only a void that her eyes could not interpret.
And, for the first time in a long time, she did not feel any discomfort when looking directly at someone.
'What is this?'
"Princess?"
Narisse noticed the change in Elowyn's behavior and began to worry. There was something about that boy that even the princess's ability could not see.
Elowyn, on the other hand, felt two things at the same time: curiosity and a strange sense of danger.
"Narisse, no matter what you have to do. Finish him. All of you, attack together!"
Narisse immediately nodded and signaled Diana, Velka, and Deymon to advance. Grark, however, remained a few steps behind. The orc gripped his axe tightly, but did not seem comfortable with that order. While the other four surrounded Enrico, he simply watched, as if he was still trying to decide whether he should really participate.
Enrico looked around and realized that everyone was coming toward him.
'Wait... are they really going to attack all together?'
[Good job. You managed to draw everyone's attention so your friends can rest.]
Enrico felt a shiver and gritted his teeth. It was not exactly the result he had expected, but there was no time to complain now. Diana was the first to attack, launching a blade of wind that passed dangerously close to Enrico's face. He leaned to the side and, in the next instant, felt a presence behind him. A black sphere appeared at his back, forcing him to jump immediately.
'No way I'm letting Deymon's magic touch me.'
Still in the air, Enrico extended his hand backward and launched a fireball. The attack struck Velka, who managed to envelop her body with her magic to reduce the impact. Enrico took advantage of the opening and advanced before she could recover her balance. He grabbed her clothes and pulled her forcefully.
Velka's eyes widened, surprised and slightly flushed.
"Wait—!"
Enrico threw her directly at Narisse. The two collided and fell to the ground, interrupting the next attack Narisse was preparing.
"Who is this guy?"
Narisse asked, quickly getting back up.
"Is he really Rank 31?"
Diana also took several steps back, watching Enrico more cautiously. She had expected to face someone who could be quickly defeated through the advantage of numbers, but he was managing to avoid their coordinated attacks without showing panic.
Deymon, on the other hand, became irritated. He placed his hands on the ground and spread his Corruption across the surface. The stone began to darken and deform, advancing toward Enrico.
"Nowhere left to run."
Enrico jumped before the magic reached his feet, as if he already knew exactly where the Corruption would appear.
Deymon's eyes widened.
"How...?"
On the other side of the field, Kai watched the fight attentively, still feeling pain throughout his body. Even injured, he could not take his eyes away from Enrico.
'He dodged before the magic even appeared...'
Valença also noticed the same detail. She pressed her staff against her body and watched Enrico's movements, trying to understand how he managed to deal with so many opponents at once.
'So this is how Enrico would face these magics?'
The question remained in her mind as she analyzed every movement, trying to learn from that fight.
Enrico created his fire bow and quickly fired two arrows. Diana and Deymon barely managed to dodge, but were forced to retreat.
'I need to end this quickly. My amount of mana is lower now, so I need to save as much as possible to face Elowyn.'
Then a shadow appeared behind him.
Grark advanced.
The orc held the axe with both hands and delivered a heavy blow toward Enrico. At the same time, Elowyn remained several meters behind, watching everything with her eyes fixed on him. Enrico immediately realized that this change in formation could only have come from an order from her.
"Sorry, human."
"You don't need to apologize."
Enrico turned his body at the last moment. The axe passed beside him and struck the ground with enough force to crack the stone. Taking advantage of the orc's movement, Enrico spun and delivered a kick directly to Grark's face.
The blow made the orc's head turn to the side, but Grark did not fall. He simply planted his feet firmly on the ground and faced Enrico again.
'So he has already unlocked the Earth's King's Resistance.'
Enrico knew that ability. As long as Grark kept his feet on the ground, his physical attributes increased considerably.
The orc advanced again, this time even faster.
Enrico dodged the first blow and retreated before the second axe could reach him. With every attack, he realized that Grark was becoming more difficult to fight.
Serenya watched the battle with widened eyes. She had seen Enrico fight before, but this was different. He was facing four people at the same time and still managed to control the distance between them.
"He's much stronger..."
Kai returned from the trees limping, supporting himself with his sword. Upon hearing Serenya, he looked at Enrico and also noticed the difference.
"We're falling further and further behind him."
Valença remained silent, but clenched her fist. Watching Enrico continue to grow stronger while they could barely stand after the previous fight awakened a mixture of admiration and frustration.
Serenya felt something similar, but for her, it was even harder to accept.
'I'm his leader.'
She looked at Enrico and gritted her teeth, not out of anger that her subordinate had become stronger. She was angry at herself for no longer being on the same level as her subordinate.
'If he keeps advancing like this, then I just need to become stronger too.'