ADRIAN's arrival was not a rescue; it was a death sentence for VALEN's pride.
He didn't utter a word. Instead, an aura of lethal coldness filled the area—heavier and darker than the forest mist itself.
"Die!" VALEN shrieked, unleashing his "Storm of Silk Blades." Hundreds of threads, saturated with severing mana, shot forward to tear ADRIAN to shreds.
ADRIAN did not retreat. He charged straight through the storm.
He moved with a speed that defied the eye's ability to track. He contorted his body at impossible angles, allowing some threads to graze his cheek and arm without so much as a blink. Blood trickled in thin lines down his skin, yet he seemed not to feel the pain—or perhaps, he simply didn't care.
The Mana-Devouring Blade
In the midst of his dash, he extended his hand, and a long, black Odachi manifested—a pitch-black blade that refused to reflect even a glimmer of light. With one swift, sweeping motion, ADRIAN traced a semicircle in the air.
Fwoosh!
The threads weren't just cut; they "died." The moment they touched the black, mana-devouring blade, they dissolved and vanished into nothingness.
"I-Impossible!" VALEN froze in his tracks, his eyes bulging.
ADRIAN didn't grant him a single second to process the shock. He leaped into the air and drove his knee forward.
Crack!
ADRIAN's knee slammed directly into VALEN's face. The sound of nasal bones shattering was sickening. A spray of blood exploded from the noble's face before his body was sent flying backward, colliding with a massive tree and leaving a dark bloodstain on the bark before he collapsed into the mud.
VALEN scrambled up, gasping and spitting out blood and broken teeth. He tried to raise his hand to draw one final magic circle in a desperate bid for his life. "Silk... Shiel—"
ADRIAN descended before him like a nightmare. He didn't use the sword; instead, he brought his heavy boot down on VALEN's wrist.
Snap!
The wrist broke at a gruesome angle. VALEN let out a piercing scream of agony, but ADRIAN silenced him instantly. He reached down, grabbed VALEN by his mud-and-blood-stained hair, and forced his shattered face up to meet his cold eyes.
"You are far too weak," ADRIAN whispered, his voice devoid of emotion, as if he were speaking to a stone. "Your reliance on mana made you forget how to protect your fragile bones."
He said it with a malicious, subtle smile.
With one final, brutal movement, ADRIAN slammed VALEN's head into the muddy ground with crushing force. It wasn't a lethal blow, but it was enough to plunge him into a deep coma, leaving him a broken heap of shattered bones.
ADRIAN stood up and dismissed his sword back into the void. He snatched the pouches of medallions from the unconscious noble's waist, then turned and walked toward the terror-stricken NIKO without casting a single glance behind him.
ADRIAN walked with calm steps and said to NIKO, "Come on, get up, let's continue our way."
He moved with eyes scanning the path for any stray branches that might obstruct his stride. Behind him, NIKO struggled hard to keep up with ADRIAN's long paces without falling.
NIKO said, "ADRIAN, stop for a moment. I've been walking for so long; I'm starting to feel a bit exhausted."
ADRIAN stopped suddenly at a broken tree trunk, placing his foot on it to tie his loosened shoelace. "Exhaustion is a mental feeling, NIKO. If you convince yourself you are tired, your muscles will collapse. I am simply thinking of the bed waiting for me in my room. That incentive is enough to make me walk for miles more."
He then continued in a casual tone: "By the way, have you noticed the mist has started to fade? This means we've neared the Lighthouse's zone of influence. The Academy's mana there repels the natural fog."
"You're right, it's getting clearer," NIKO nodded. "ADRIAN, look there!"
NIKO pointed toward a gap between the tall trees. "The marble is starting to show. That's the Great Plaza."
The Face-off with Casparian
ADRIAN slowed his pace slightly and adjusted his shirt collar, which was stained with a bit of battle dust. "Fine, get ready. Now begins the boring part of the day. Too much talking, boasting of power, and probably some fool trying to stand in our way."
"Do you mean CASPARIAN?" NIKO asked, swallowing hard.
"I mean anyone who thinks standing before the gate gives them a right to someone else's property," ADRIAN replied coldly as he stepped out from the trees to set foot on the first white marble tile of the plaza.
The plaza was vast and cold, with the Great Lighthouse rising at the far end, its light beaming. In the center, CASPARIAN was leaning against a marble pillar, boredly playing with strands of his hair. When his eyes fell on ADRIAN, he flashed a mocking smile.
"Oh, look who's here..." CASPARIAN said loudly. "It seems luck was an ally to the weak today. I didn't expect to see the Adoptee and his lackey survive the Dusk Forest. Did you two hide in a rabbit hole until time ran out?"
NIKO looked on with suppressed rage, but ADRIAN didn't even blink. He put his hands in his pockets and looked at CASPARIAN with total indifference.
"Luck doesn't break bones, CASPARIAN. Perhaps you should ask VALEN when he wakes up from his coma about just how 'lucky' I was today."
This tension was cut by the sound of a metallic staff striking the marble floor. From the massive Lighthouse gate emerged PROFESSOR JORDAN; a man in his forties with eyes as sharp as a hawk.
"Time is up," JORDAN said in a deep voice. "You began the trial with 800 students, and only 312 managed to reach this plaza."
He unfurled a long magical scroll. "Reaching the Lighthouse is just the beginning. We do not accept into the 'Elite Class' (Class S) anyone except those who showed exceptional strength or gathered more than three medallions."
JORDAN began announcing the names:
"CASPARIAN... Class S."
"SEBASTIAN PLATOD... Class S."
"LILITH MALQUAR... Class S."
"ELENA... Class S."
JORDAN paused, raising an eyebrow in surprise at the next names on his list.
"ADRIAN VANIT, NIKO VANIT... Class S."
CASPARIAN burst out laughing mockingly. "PROFESSOR JORDAN! Is there a mistake? These two Adoptees have no mana to speak of. How can they be placed in the Elite Class with the PLATOD heir and myself?"
JORDAN looked at CASPARIAN coldly. "The results do not lie. The medallions ADRIAN VANIT brought, and the reports from the 'Observers,' confirm they have... 'different' capabilities."
NIKO jumped for joy, but ADRIAN remained silent. He was watching the expression on SEBASTIAN'S (SERVINA'S) face; she was looking at him with a gaze that said: "I know you are hiding a monster inside."
As ADRIAN walked away, he passed by CASPARIAN, who hissed: "Don't think you'll survive there, VANIT. The school year will be hell for you."
ADRIAN didn't turn. He continued walking, saying to NIKO calmly: "NIKO, do you remember what I told you about the food? Let's go eat some grilled meat. Arguing with fools works up an appetite."
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