Jasper burst onto the training grounds, boots crunching gravel, heart thundering with anticipation. The yard sprawled dusty and scarred cratered earth ringed by rune-etched walls, straw dummies slumped on frames amid scorch marks and debris. Twin suns baked the air with ozone and rot shadows twisted over crystalline grasses chiming in spell-winds. Novices fumbled mana wisps, but the silver-haired elf dominated, her green-blue vortices shredding dummies into vine confetti.
Spellbook open leather cracked, pages brittle he scanned chants: Earth Spike: "Terra bind, core pierce, spike rise." Wind Gust: "Ventus gather, blade form, gust release." Feet rooted, breath steady.
Mana rushed cool through veins. Earth. Palms to soil, bronze glow. "Terra bind, core pierce, spike rise!"
The spike detonated violently twelve inches of razor earth lancing upward with a ground-shaking crack, punching straight through a dummy's chest and shattering the wooden frame behind it in a spray of splinters and exploding straw. The force rippled outward, kicking up a fan of dirt that peppered nearby novices. "Boom!"
Gasps rippled across the yard. A burly trainee mid-fumble dropped his mana orb entirely, eyes bulging. "What the did you see that spike? Was that his first chant no way?!" Another girl, her own pebble-spell still fizzling, whispered wide-eyed to her partner, "He's a fresh-merger... how? Mine barely tickled dirt!" Murmurs swelled: "Power like that day one? No way..." "Check his status window insane!" Heads turned, novices pausing their weak casts to stare, mix of awe and envy thick in the air. Jasper just grinned, flexing fingers as residual mana tingled.
Wind next. Arms arced wide, air compressing with building roar. "Ventus gather, blade form, gust release!" The gale erupted as a howling crescent blade, not just severing the dummy's head but vaporizing it in a whirlwind maelstrom that hurled shredded remnants twenty feet, toppling two adjacent dummies like bowling pins. The shockwave flattened grasses in a perfect arc, dust devil spinning wild.
The yard fell silent a beat, then erupted. "Holy suns that gust sheared three dummies?!" The burly guy gawked. "First spell? I took three days for it to form!" The girl yelped, "It's like he was born casting!" Whispers buzzed louder: "Watch him—might be academy topper already." "Affinity off charts..." Even distant guards craned necks, muttering approvals.
The silver Elf paused, silver hair settling, blue eyes sharp. She glided near, vines sprouting at steps, aura wild. "Passable opener for a human. Solid start not half bad for basics. Yard's buzzing over your blasts."
Jasper dusted hands, locking eyes with cocky grin amid stares. "High praise from the dummy-shredder heard 'em all gasping too. Jasper from Earth, fresh merger. Day one magic hitting like you? Smooth as silk break it down step by step. What's the trick behind those vines?"
"Clara Bel Flores, elven merger today dropped here same as you. "Forest Heartbeat talent carries it: full symbiosis with nature itself. Weather answers my call like an old friend, flora moves on instinct, green spells? Pure breathing no force, just flow. Your spikes shook the ground impressive raw power."
Jasper whistled low, crouching to prod twitching vine while novices edged closer, whispering. "Seamless doesn't cover it—it's alive, twisting like it thinks. Show the full status window, lay out the specs. Mine's dual earth-wind grinding strong; let's stack 'em side-by-side, see what we're working with. Crowd's waiting for the show."
Clara flicked fingers, azure hologram shimmering crisp for all to glimpse: Race: Elf | Level: 2 | Talent: Forest Heartbeat (S) | Magic: Intro 30%, Gust Lv.1, Vine Lash Lv.1 | Circles: 1 (rapidly forming 2). "Nature cranks affinity sky-high mana regeneration's through the roof already. Your turn, Earth-boy. Impress or expose the gap they're all eyes on you now."
Jasper's grin wolfed wide, sapphire screen blooming vivid: Race: Human | Level: 1 | Talent: Genius (SS) | Magic: Intro 20%, Spike Lv.1, Gust Lv.1 | Circles: 1. "Boom Genius slashes every single grind time in half, pure efficiency machine. Spike chain remix firing now: Terra bind triple feel that? Watch the yard freak again." A quick chant-test spiked minor, drawing more awed murmurs.
Felnire strode up, robes eddying amid the growing cluster. "Strong openings. Dual solid; nature fierce. First casts drawing proper crowd."
Clara tossed her silver mane hair , smirk thorny. "Day one belongs to me. You can't sustain the pace of my improvement talent chasm looms, even if his blasts hype the peanut gallery."
Elder tossed a waterskin bag. "Hydrate. Backlash hunts the reckless. Clara said to jasper boasting don't cast spells."
"Results do." Swiveling to Jasper, eyes blazing: "Make it real: second circle race, head-to-head? First to lock it solid wins . Winner command's the loser to anything for a full week nonstop. You in, or folding early with the crowd watching?"
Jasper snagged waterskin, chugging icy gulps before slamming it down, fist thrusting high as onlookers leaned in. "Hell yes, deal locked tight! Day one's basics? Already mine spike and gust sealed clean, yard's proof. Second circle grind? I'll bury you deep. Stack my food plates sky-high with spice when you lose hot enough to melt those elven vines. Who's hyped?!" Cheers rippled from trainees.
Her laugh cut like wind shear, blue eyes sparking. "Overconfidence drips off you. Forest Heartbeat taps nature's infinite flow direct you'll choke on the distance. Kitchen trays sing your name already, human crowd or no."
"Big talk from vine-girl. Dream on l'll toast every spicy bite while you sweat the runs. Ready to weave and wow 'em?"
Day erupted rivalry: Jasper chaining ("Terra bind triple thread tighter now, how's the weave holding under pressure?"), Clara blasting ("Folium storm, ventus rage, bloom tear—sync to nature's pulse first, brute mana just snaps brittle!"). Talent gleamed—her vines mid-gust, clouds brooding. Novices spectated, betting whispers flying.
Month hammered: Dawns ("Flood core—second ring grip, lock!"), noons ("Spike seven—steady!"), nights ("Stars deep—grow!"). Clara clinched second week two (Circles: 2), wildflowering maelstroms. "Lagging hard? Clockwork predictable."
"Gap closing—eat barrage!" Dusks screens: hers Vine Lv.2, his Intro 92%. "Talent deep-dive?" amid storms.
"Nature feeds paths whisper-soft," ivy shielding. "Yours halves clever, rootless sluggish."
"Roots plunging. Gust Ventus gather, blade form, gust release full force!"
Month-end, Clara vine-throned (Circles: 2): "Deadline crashes. Did I win, or lose?"
"Cycling fever Terra bind, core pierce, spike rise!" Second Circle 100%. "Boom! Was it a tie