The fireball hit nothing but air. From my left, the atmospheric pressure shifted a subtle ripple in the airflow that screamed danger. I reacted on instinct, pouring more mana into my golden shield. The impact was deafening. The attack slammed into the barrier with great force ; the resulting kinetic rebound sent the attacker tumbling a dozen steps back through the undergrowth. I finally locked eyes with my assailant, and my blood cooled. A Rank 5 Black-Winged Mantis. How insulting. I was being pressed by a bug a goddamn overgrown insect.
The shield dissolved into sparks as the mantis hissed, its wings blurring as it lunged. It swept a jagged, serrated blade toward my throat. I didn't retreat; I stepped into the strike, parrying the flat of the limb with my forearm while my other hand shot out like a viper. I gripped its thorax, the exoskeleton slick and cold, and unleashed a catastrophic surge of lightning. The air turned to ozone as the bolt shrieked, blasting the mantis backward. It smashed through three thick trunks before collapsing in the dirt. It twitched, trying to find its footing, but I didn't give it the chance. I manifested dozens of flaming spears in the air above it vibrant, searing projectiles that rained down, pinning the creature to the earth and incinerating its insides until only ash and the smell of burnt husk remained.
"Boring," I spat, turning my back on the pyre.
Behind me, the sound of cracking bone stopped me cold. The mantis was rising. Its shattered limbs didn't just heal; they fused back together with a sickening squelch as oily black veins pulsed across its crimson shell. Its aura didn't just grow—it exploded, surging from Rank 5 to a suffocating Rank 7. The sheer weight of the malicious intent forced me to plant my heels in the dirt just to stay upright.
Wait—corruption? Here, in the middle of a sanctioned exam? My mind raced. This was beyond the curriculum. If a student was caught in the radius of that rot, their soul would be flayed. What the hell were the proctors thinking?
The mantis was a blur of black and red. I couldn't even track its movement before the first strike connected. It tore across my chest, shredding my armor and carving deep furrows into my chest. The force sent me tumbling through the dirt, blood spraying the leaves. I scrambled to my feet, my head ringing, only to take a heavy, kick directly to the temple. The world tilted. As the mantis brought its primary blade down for the kill, I threw my hand up in a desperate gambit. The steel drove through my palm—a sickening schlick—but I used the impalement to wrench the blade's path, forcing it into my shoulder instead of my neck ,
agony flared. I reached for my sword, my fingers grasping for the familiar hilt, but they met only empty air. No blade. No sheath. My stomach dropped. Wait... this bitch.
"SHATTER!" I screamed, my voice echoing with a mental shockwave.
I slammed my willpower against the fog in my mind, crushing the invading mana that had been feeding the hallucination. The nightmare evaporated. The Rank 7 monster and the crushing pressure vanished, replaced by the quiet forest and the face of Hope Sierra. She stood there, her golden hair shimmering and her eyes cold as ice, her actual blade buried deep in my hand and shoulder. She was beautiful, a literal vision of a goddess, but all I felt was a murderous, boiling rage.
"How dare you," I whispered, the words vibrating with the mana beginning to cook in my veins. A massive shockwave erupted from my core, the sheer pressure of my release blasting her backward. She skidded across the grass, her boots carving ruts in the earth as she stabilized herself, a small frown marring her perfect features. I could feel the wounds in my chest and shoulder itching—the meat and skin knitting back together at a visible, unnatural speed.
"Damn you!" I roared. I triggered Flashstep, lacing the movement with jagged bolts of lightning. I was a streak of gold and blue. Before she could even raise her guard, I was in her space. I buried a fist into her stomach with enough force to shatter stone. Her feet left the ground, her eyes widening in genuine shock. Before she could fly off, I caught her by the throat, the heat from my hand searing her skin, and slammed her spine into the dirt.
I cocked my fist back to finish it, but she was fast—her sword hissed through the air, forcing me to catch her wrist. She used the leverage to drive her forehead into my nose with a sickening crack. I staggered, my grip loosening just enough for her to land a heavy kick to my ribs, launching me back and creating the breathing room she needed to vault to her feet.
"That's no way to treat a lady," she panted, her golden eyes glowing as she fell into a high-guard battle stance. I didn't answer. I reached behind my back, my fingers finally closing around the cold, reassuring weight of my real hilt.
I flashed a jagged, predatory smile, and we collided. Metal screamed against metal. She lunged with a piercing thrust; I sidestepped, my blade whistling toward her jugular. She drew a hidden dagger with her off-hand, the parry throwing sparks into my face. I spun, my sword a blur of blue, blocking her counter-strike before it could take my ribs. She landed a heavy kick to my chest, pushing me back, but I used the momentum to transition.
"Moon 12 Formation: Second Form, Crescent Moon!"
A vertical arc of mana tore through the grass. She crossed her blades to block, but the raw power of the technique sent her skidding back until she smashed into an ancient oak. I didn't give her a millisecond to recover. I was a shadow in her vision.
"Seven Series Slash: First Slash!"
She caught it on her blade.
"Second!"
She deflected it, her arms trembling.
"Third!"
This one bit deep, carving a line of crimson across her shoulder. She twisted her body, narrowly avoiding a decapitating follow-up.
"Fourth!"
The blade hissed through the air, opening a jagged wound on her thigh.
"Fifth!"
"First Form: Falling Petals!" she shrieked in desperation. Her sword became a blur, delivering twenty stabs in a single heartbeat. My golden shield flared into existence, but the sheer speed of her desperation move pierced the barrier in half a dozen places, riddling my arms and legs with punctures.
"Tidal Wave!" I bellowed. A wall of pressurized water erupted from the earth, slamming into her and sweeping her through the trees like a ragdoll. "Flaming Gust!" I followed up instantly, the water turning to scalding steam as a wave of fire incinerated the path. Through the haze, I saw her trying to crawl to her feet. "Flaming Spear!"
The bolt of fire struck her center-mass, and her body shattered into a thousand fragments of light.
"Lightning Sphere," I muttered internally. I didn't turn around. Instead, I expanded a dome of high-voltage electricity behind me. It collided with the real Hope Sierra as she tried to phase out of the shadows for a backstab. The discharge was blinding.
She collapsed to the grass, her body seizing and twitching as the lightning cooked her nerves. "Do you really think I'd fall for the same trick twice?" I looked down at her, my eyes cold.
She struggled to lift her head, her golden eyes meeting mine. Despite the pain, despite the defeat, she smiled. "Yes," she whispered. Then, her body dissolved into a cloud of iridescent butterflies that fluttered away into the canopy.
Silence returned to the forest. I stood there for a long moment, the adrenaline slowly receding, before a low chuckle escaped my throat. That laugh turned into a full, dark bark of amusement. This girl... she was going to be a problem. An interesting, dangerous problem.
I flicked my wrist, activating the hologram to check the scoreboard:
Lucien Moonstar – 500 points
Tkos Van Gold – 400 points
Damien Hunt – 380 points
Tamari Crimson – 300 points
Amil Cover – 200 points
Hope Sierra – 200 points
Xander Mygave – 200 points
"The whole gang's here," I murmured, my eyes lingering on Hope's name. I'd wait. Let them play their little games and hoard their points like dragons. There was no sense in harvesting them now when the pot was still so small. 100 points for a Rank 1, with a multiplier for every rank higher... I could afford to be patient.
I need a meal, I decided, wiping the drying blood from my cheek. I sheathed my blade with a sharp click and vanished into the darkening woods, walking toward the sunset.