Four days later, Kara finished another grueling training session under the supervision of her uncle Magnus, the academy's headmaster.
Sweat streamed down her face as she caught her breath, yet a confident smile remained on her lips.
For four days, she had repeated the same movements over and over again.
Every stance.
Every turn.
Every mistake.
Everything had been focused on a single person.
Lusian Douglas.
This time, she would not lose again.
As she descended to the first floor, a voice echoed through the academy corridors.
"Classification Match! Caleb Douglas versus Leonardo Erkham!"
Kara immediately looked up.
Another Douglas?
Without a second thought, she changed direction and followed the announcement to the main arena.
By the time she arrived, the stands were already nearly full.
At the center of the platform, two young men stood facing each other in silence.
One was Caleb Douglas.
The other was Leonardo Erkham.
It was Leonardo's first classification match.
Around the arena, several members of the Erkham family watched attentively.
Among them was Isabella.
Leonardo took a deep breath.
He could not afford to lose.
Not in front of his family.
Not before those who had waited years to see how far he could go.
Master Josh Bell raised one hand.
"Begin!"
Leonardo vanished from his position.
Lightning mana surged through his entire body.
Tiny bolts of electricity danced across his armor and sword as dark clouds gathered above the platform.
This wasn't merely a display of power.
It was his fighting style.
The longer he remained connected to his magic, the stronger his lightning became.
His speed exploded.
His sword descended wrapped in crackling electricity.
Clang!
Caleb blocked the strike with one hand.
Darkness slowly enveloped his blade.
Blue lightning and black mana collided violently before scattering across the arena.
The spectators held their breath.
Leonardo had poured everything into that opening attack.
And Caleb had stopped it without even taking a step back.
The young Erkham gritted his teeth.
Then Caleb advanced.
He didn't wait for a second opportunity.
With a sharp movement, he knocked Leonardo's sword aside and threw a straight punch toward his face.
Bang!
Leonardo's head snapped backward.
Before he could recover his stance, another punch landed.
Then another.
Caleb gave him no room to breathe.
Each blow forced Leonardo to reinforce his body with mana to avoid suffering serious injuries.
He was driven back several meters.
His breathing became uneven.
He realized the problem.
He couldn't continue fighting at close range.
Caleb was simply too strong.
He raised his free hand.
Four spheres of electricity appeared around him.
His mana consumption immediately increased.
But so did his power.
"Let's see if you can stop this."
The spheres shot forward.
Caleb raised his sword.
Seven projectiles of darkness appeared behind him.
Both attacks collided simultaneously.
The arena disappeared beneath smoke and crackling electricity.
When the cloud finally began to clear, Leonardo was still standing.
He had destroyed five of the projectiles.
But the remaining two had struck their target.
His body was thrown backward several meters.
Even so...
He stood up again.
The audience fell silent.
It wasn't common to see someone endure a direct attack from a Douglas.
Caleb watched his opponent with a faint smile.
"You've got endurance."
Leonardo wiped the blood from his mouth.
"I'm not finished yet."
The sky above the arena darkened once more.
Electricity gathered around his body.
Kara watched from the stands.
Her expression changed slightly.
This wasn't ordinary offensive magic.
Leonardo was gradually increasing his own power.
Every passing second made him more dangerous.
"Interesting..."
she murmured.
Then she remembered Lusian.
He had waited too.
He had also allowed his opponent to reveal their full strength.
But there was one difference.
Lusian waited for the perfect moment to win.
Caleb simply kept advancing, forcing his opponent to react.
Leonardo extended his hand.
The four spheres of electricity appeared again.
This time they shone brighter.
More unstable.
This was his final attack.
If it failed, he wouldn't have enough mana left to continue.
"Now!"
The spheres shot forward.
Caleb answered by raising his sword.
Seven dark spears materialized behind him.
The two attacks collided.
The explosion shook the entire arena.
When the smoke cleared, Leonardo was kneeling.
He had managed to destroy five of the spears.
But the remaining two had pierced his defense.
One had impaled his leg.
Another pinned his arm to the ground.
The tip of a final spear stopped just inches from his throat.
"Enough!"
Master Josh's voice echoed throughout the arena.
The shadows vanished.
Leonardo collapsed onto one knee, breathing heavily.
He had nearly exhausted all of his mana.
Caleb was breathing hard as well.
His shoulder was injured, and his uniform was slashed in several places.
It had not been an easy victory.
Josh raised his hand.
"Victory goes to Caleb Douglas!"
The students immediately began whispering.
Leonardo had lost.
But no one could call it a humiliating defeat.
Caleb sheathed his sword and walked past him.
For a few seconds, it seemed he would continue on without another word.
Then he stopped.
"Your control over lightning is good."
Leonardo looked up.
Caleb never turned around.
"But you rely too much on building up power."
He paused.
"A smart opponent won't let you reach that point."
Then he continued walking.
"Next time, force me to take you seriously from the very beginning."
Leonardo clenched his fists.
It wasn't mockery.
It was a challenge.
Kara watched the end of the match with her arms crossed.
Caleb had won.
Just as expected.
But the battle held her attention for only a brief moment.
Her eyes were already searching for someone else.
"Lusian!" she shouted.
The entire arena turned toward the young Douglas.
Lusian looked up.
"What is it?"
Kara stepped down from the stands without taking her eyes off him.
Confidence radiated from her expression.
For four days she had trained relentlessly under Magnus's supervision.
Every technique.
Every spell.
Every mistake.
Everything had been corrected.
This time would be different.
She stopped in front of the platform.
"I challenge you to a classification match."
Lusian let out a quiet sigh.
"Again?"
"This time you won't run away."
"I never ran away."
"Then get up here."
Lusian watched Kara's enthusiasm for a few seconds.
Finally, he shook his head.
"Fine."
Kara stepped back into the classification arena.
A confident smile spread across her face.
She had trained without rest.
She had corrected her mistakes.
She had perfected her movements.
She had pushed her body beyond its limits.
Every spell.
Every movement.
Every strike.
Everything had been prepared for one goal alone.
Lusian Douglas.
This time, she would not lose.
On the opposite side of the platform, Lusian let out another quiet sigh as he drew his sword.
"You again?"
Kara smiled.
"This time you won't get away."
Instructor Enzo Bell walked to the center of the arena.
"Classification match."
He looked at both combatants.
"Begin."
The arena erupted with mana.
Kara disappeared.
Her body became enveloped in a golden glow as body enhancement surged through every muscle.
But this time, it was different.
It wasn't simply more power.
It was greater control.
Her opening move wasn't meant to end the battle.
It was meant to measure Lusian's reaction.
Her sword collided with his.
Clang!
Lusian was forced back two steps.
The impact traveled through his entire arm.
The second strike came from a different angle.
The third changed direction halfway through its swing.
Lusian blocked them.
But for the first time since fighting Kara, he realized something.
She had learned.
She was no longer repeating the same attacks.
She no longer relied solely on brute strength.
Kara had eliminated her patterns.
"Surprised?" she asked as she continued attacking.
Lusian said nothing.
His eyes followed every movement.
Her stance.
Her breathing.
Her mana flow.
Kara fought far better than before.
Much better.
But one thing hadn't changed.
Her body enhancement still consumed an absurd amount of mana.
The attacks continued.
Punches.
Kicks.
Mana-enhanced sword strikes.
Each impact made the platform tremble.
Lusian blocked.
Retreated.
Deflected.
But never counterattacked.
From the stands, students began whispering.
"She's overwhelming him..."
"Kara is much stronger than the first time."
Magnus watched the battle in complete silence.
He himself had trained Kara over the past four days.
He knew every improvement she had made.
He also knew this strategy only had one chance to succeed.
She had to defeat Lusian before her mana reserves began to run dry.
Andrew, seated beside him, narrowed his eyes as he watched the exchange.
She's become much more aggressive...
he thought, remembering that when he had sparred with Kara, he had ended up bedridden for several days.
Magnus never looked away from the arena.
Lusian could barely deflect the attacks.
He retreated again and again, blows grazing his body by mere inches.
And yet...
He never counterattacked.
As though he were waiting for something.
Kara increased the intensity.
Her body shone even brighter.
Her speed multiplied.
She appeared directly before Lusian.
Her strike crashed down against his guard.
Boom!
Lusian's sword bent slightly from the impact.
The force broke through his defense.
The blow slammed into his side.
The young Douglas was hurled several meters away.
He hit the ground.
A murmur spread through the stands.
Lusian slowly got back to his feet.
His breathing had changed.
A sharp pain pierced his torso.
Two of his ribs were fractured.
This wasn't a superficial injury.
Every deep breath sent pain shooting through his side.
Kara looked at him seriously.
"Are you still going to continue?"
Lusian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Yes."
He raised his sword once more.
"You're not finished yet."
Kara gritted her teeth.
She charged again.
But now Lusian had changed.
He no longer blocked every strike.
Some he deflected.
Others he avoided by mere centimeters.
He had stopped enduring.
He had started reading her.
Every one of Kara's attacks became stronger.
But each one also required more mana.
Every explosive movement demanded another layer of body enhancement.
And Lusian only needed to survive.
Andrew watched intently.
The golden glow surrounding Kara began to fade.
Only slightly.
Almost imperceptibly.
But it was happening.
Meanwhile...
The darkness surrounding Lusian's sword remained unchanged.
Its intensity never diminished.
There wasn't the slightest sign of exhaustion.
Andrew felt a chill run down his spine.
Impossible...
Magnus glanced toward Andrew.
"Do you see it?"
Andrew took several seconds before answering.
His eyes remained fixed on Lusian.
"Yes..."
He paused.
"If he were really only a Delta, he'd already be showing signs of exhaustion."
Magnus gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Neither of them added another word.
There was no need.
This fight was confirming both of their suspicions.
At the very least...
Lusian had to possess an Epsilon affinity.
But rather than reassuring them, that conclusion only raised an even more disturbing question.
What if he's something beyond that...
Andrew pushed the thought aside.
No.
There was still no proof.
Kara launched another attack.
Lusian blocked it.
This time he didn't move back.
Surprise flashed across the young woman's face.
It was the first time he had completely stopped her.
A sphere of darkness appeared in Lusian's free hand.
Kara destroyed it with a single strike.
But another appeared.
Then another.
They weren't powerful attacks.
They weren't meant to injure her.
Only to force her to spend more mana.
Kara's breathing became labored.
Her body still glowed.
But the brilliance was no longer the same.
"No..."
she whispered.
She understood too late.
The battle had never changed.
She had been trying to defeat Lusian.
Lusian had been defeating her stamina.
Kara gathered the last remnants of her mana.
Her entire body blazed with light once more.
Her final attack.
Her last chance.
She disappeared.
An instant later, she appeared before Lusian.
Her decisive strike descended.
But this time, Lusian was ready.
He rotated his sword slightly.
He didn't stop the force.
He redirected it.
Kara's own momentum carried her one step forward.
That single step was enough.
Lusian slipped inside her guard.
He struck her wrist.
Her sword fell.
Then he twisted the hilt.
The blow beneath her chin threw her off balance.
A second later, the tip of his sword rested against her throat.
Silence.
The entire arena stood frozen.
Enzo raised his hand.
"Victory goes to Lusian Douglas!"
Kara stared at the sword before her.
She had improved.
She had corrected her mistakes.
She had given everything she had.
And still...
She had lost again.
Lusian slowly lowered his sword.
His breathing was heavy.
The pain in his ribs was still there.
But he smiled faintly.
"This time, you came much closer."
Kara clenched her fists.
It wasn't a humiliating defeat.
It was worse.
Because now she knew exactly how far away she still was.
From the stands, Magnus watched in silence.
His niece had grown stronger.
But the young Douglas...
Remained a mystery.