On the next morning inside the academy,
Nadiko-sensei stood beside Professor Michael.
She looked as if she was about to say something important.
The students stared at her, waiting for what she would say,
and finally, she spoke:
"Please take this paper, pass it among yourselves, and let each of you write your element."
The students passed the paper around until it reached Rain.
"By the way, Rafi, what is your element?"
"Water. And yours?"
Rain was struck by disappointment after learning that his element was the only one that seemed useless.
"Ash… what a worthless element, right?"
"I don't agree. In this world, nothing is truly useless. Who knows? There might be legendary professionals who possess the Ash element. It's fine, don't worry."
"Ah… okay."
The paper returned once again to Nadiko-sensei.
"Thank you. Now head to the arena. You will undergo a short training session with the golden and silver students before your real test."
After a few moments, the students changed their clothes and headed to the arena.
Rain walked with hesitant steps and saw the higher-level students.
They possessed an obvious presence, an aura that proved their strength.
Rain felt extremely weak just from looking at them.
"Will I even be able to compete with them?"
Then he heard a voice calling out to him:
"Rain!"
He turned around to find Rafi in her training outfit.
She looked truly beautiful.
The students' gazes turned toward them as usual—looks of envy and jealousy.
"What do I even have for you to envy me, you idiots?" he thought to himself.
"Come on, let's line up."
Rain followed Rafi,
and the students lined up behind one another.
Nadiko-sensei appeared once again atop the platform.
"Your training will consist of one-on-one matches between two students. The selection will be random. Don't worry, the match will be virtual only."
"And now we begin. Our first contestant is Roy Tang from Silver Class A. Please step onto the platform."
A tall, handsome young man with white hair stepped onto the platform.
Rain looked at him and thought to himself:
"I hope he won't be my opponent…"
But Nadiko-sensei said:
"And his opponent is… Rain Hall from Bronze Class C."
The news struck Rain like a lightning bolt.
"What?!"
He looked around and felt all the students' gazes fixed on him.
His body moved involuntarily as he climbed onto the platform.
"Damn it… I'm dead."
Rain stood face to face with Tang
and felt the powerful aura radiating from him.
"The rules of the match are simple. Use the elements placed in front of you. If they run out before the match ends, you lose. The duration of the duel is three minutes."
Rain looked beside him and found ash—his only element.
Then he looked at his opponent and saw flammable objects and a small flame.
"So, a fire element…"
Tang didn't say a word at first, then spoke with contempt:
"What? Ash? How weak. I'll finish you quickly."
Anger flared inside Rain, and he wanted to punch him despite knowing he would likely lose.
He looked toward the audience and saw Rafi cheering for him.
"Come on, Rain! You can do it!"
He felt a bit of warmth and thought to himself:
"Damn it… I've found a plan."
The starting whistle sounded.
Tang attacked first with his flames,
and Rain struggled to dodge them.
"Damn it… this is harder than I thought."
Tang continued his assault, while Rain still hadn't attacked.
"Attack already, you weakling!"
Rain smiled faintly to himself.
"Just wait… and we'll see who's weak."
One minute passed…
Then two…
And Rain still hadn't attacked.
"Damn it, I'll end this now!"
Tang gathered a massive fireball and hurled it at Rain.
Dodging it was impossible.
Rain was hit hard and fell to the ground.
Tang approached him, laughing:
"I told you you'd lose. This is over."
But something was strange…
Rain was laughing.
"I see you're the one who's going to lose."
Tang looked around
and saw massive amounts of ash gathered everywhere.
Rain had used the ash produced by the objects Tang burned with his fire.
"Impossible…!"
The amount was enormous—so large that controlling it became difficult.
"Tang… remember this well."
Rain slowly stood up, his eyes steady.
"W-what?"
"At the beginning of this match—and even before it—I thought my element was nothing but trash.
But when I saw your element, I realized one thing…
When fire burns out, nothing remains but its ash."
"And I used your ash… thank you for it.
Now… lose."
The ash poured down on Tang all at once like a massive rock, slamming him to the ground.
Tang screamed in pain.
The ash entered Tang's nose, mouth, and eyes.
It was rough and suffocating, as if tearing his breath apart from the inside.
He tried to ignite fire again, but his concentration shattered.
Every breath became harder than the last,
as if the ash wasn't attacking his body alone… but his will as well.
For the first time since entering the academy,
Tang felt true fear.
"Ah! My eyes! I can't breathe! I can't spea—!"
The final whistle sounded.
"The winner of this match is… Rain Hall!"
Whispers spread among the students:
"A Bronze student defeated a Silver student?!"
"That's incredible!"
"Let's applaud Rain for his achievement!"
Cheers erupted.
Some shouted his name, while others remained silent in shock.
Rain looked at Rafi and smiled:
"Thanks for cheering me on, R-a-f—"
He didn't finish his sentence
and collapsed unconscious.
The students covered their mouths in shock.
At that moment, Nadiko-sensei's expression completely changed.
Her usual calm vanished, and her eyes widened in genuine shock.
She leaped from the platform without hesitation
and ran toward Rain at a speed no one expected.
She placed her hand on his chest, checking his breathing.
"Medical team, now!"
Moments later, two ambulances arrived.
Rain was taken in one, and Tang in the other.
Rafi approached, and Nadiko asked her:
"Do you want to come?"
"Yes."
They both got into the ambulance, and Nadiko
ordered the driver:
"Go at full speed."
As the ambulance drove away,
Nadiko-sensei looked back at the battlefield covered in ash and thought to herself:
"The Ash element…
Since when has it appeared like this?"