After the incident at the campsite, no clear answers ever came. No suspect was named, no hidden enemy revealed, and no explanation was given to the students. The academy quietly reinforced patrols, increased barriers, and tightened schedules, but outwardly everything returned to normal.
Monster attacks slowed to a rare occurrence again, just enough to make the danger feel distant but not forgotten. Rumours filled the space where truth should have been — that a forbidden mage had entered the grounds, that a student had gone missing, that royal knights were secretly hunting someone — but the academy offered nothing but silence, and over time the whispers faded into background noise.
The theory exams came and went, long days of written tests and sleepless nights of revision replacing fear with exhaustion, and when the last paper was turned in, the academy announced the annual challenge event — a public tournament held in the great stadium where any student could challenge any other, regardless of rank or status, and victory was determined only by strength, skill, and endurance.
It was meant to release tension, to encourage growth, and to remind everyone that power could be earned, not inherited.
The stadium filled quickly on the day of the event, seats packed with students, nobles, merchants, guild representatives, and teachers, the air humming with mana and anticipation. Challenges flew one after another, laughter and cheers mixing with the clash of spells and steel.
Two noble heirs tried their luck against Lily first, drawn by her beauty as much as by her reputation, but neither lasted long. Her movements were fluid and sharp, her magic precise, flowers and roots blooming and striking with terrifying elegance, and within moments, both challengers were defeated, not humiliated, but unmistakably outmatched.
Neo was challenged next by a noble girl whose jealousy burned hotter than her magic, anger fueled by the fact that her own partner admired Neo openly. The duel was fast and emotional, bursts of light clashing against refined mana techniques, but Neo held steady, her control stronger than her opponent's spite, and she won with calm grace, earning both applause and resentment.
Lara stood near the edge of the field, hands clenched, when three nobles stepped forward to challenge her — the same ones who had mocked her, whispered about her unstable mana, and laughed when she struggled. Her face went pale, but she didn't step back.
Before the duel, Eira stood beside her quietly.
"You're not the girl they remember anymore."
"I'm still afraid."
"That's fine. Fear doesn't mean weak. It means careful."
She nodded.
"I'll watch for the moment you hesitate. Don't hesitate."
Lara entered the field with shaking hands and left it exhausted, barely standing, but victorious. Her mana flared unevenly, her control imperfect, but her will was stronger than her fear, and when the final noble fell, the crowd erupted into confused applause — not for a flawless victory, but for a stubborn, undeniable one.
Then Jack stepped forward.
This time, he was different.
His posture was sharper, his movements tighter, his mana heavier, and the air around him felt thick and wrong, like gravity itself had grown hostile. Eira felt it before the duel even began — a pressure not just on the body, but on the spirit.
The moment the signal sounded, Jack attacked with relentless force, gravity folding and crushing space itself, slamming Eira to the ground again and again before he could even regain balance.
Eira fought back with everything he had, speed, technique, instinct, his blade flashing with magic, but nothing seemed enough. Jack's power was overwhelming, unnatural in its intensity, and his eyes carried something empty and cold that hadn't been there before.
The fight grew brutal.
Steel rang. Mana exploded. Stone cracked.
Eira pushed himself beyond his limits, blood on his lip, breath ragged, body burning, but every strike was crushed, bent, or thrown aside, and finally, gravity slammed him into the arena floor hard enough to shatter stone beneath him.
The crowd went silent.
"Stop! That's enough!"
Ken leapt into the arena, blade drawn, positioning himself between Jack and Eira, and Lily rushed forward to Eira's side, dropping to her knees, hands glowing as she tried to stabilise him.
Neo ran to them, panic breaking through her calm.
"Please, stop it — he's going to die!"
Jack stood still, breathing heavy, his expression unreadable, the strange pressure around him fading only slowly.
The teachers called the match.
Eira didn't hear them.
He had already lost consciousness.