Eleanor was surprised when Aeon suddenly lost consciousness, but she quickly refocused on the collapsing wooden masses.
Some of the masses slammed into the ground, causing it to shake violently to the point where she felt she might lose her balance. Then one of the wooden masses fell and struck Eleanor's barrier directly—the one protecting Aeon, Janet who had lost consciousness, and Alice who was tending to them.
The impact of the heavy mass caused fine cracks to form in Eleanor's barrier. She immediately poured more of her spiritual power and mana into it, repairing it and even making it larger than before.
The smell of dry, burnt wood spread through the air due to the collision.
That was the only mass that truly threatened them. The rest fell in different parts of the arena. Soon, the scene came to an end with one final tremor, after which the arena fell into silence.
Nothing remained except some dust lingering in the air and the scent of ash and burning.
Eleanor quickly dispelled her barrier, as it consumed a great amount of spiritual power to maintain. When she saw what had happened to the arena, she could only be shocked by such ridiculous power coming from a mere blue-rank spell.
Alice, who was carrying Janet on her back, said to Eleanor:
"Can you help me carry my older brother to the infirmary?"
Eleanor was slightly surprised that Alice had referred to Aeon as her older brother, but she nodded. She then carried Aeon on her back. She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed—she had never been in such close contact with a man outside her family.
Trying to shake off that feeling, she quickly said:
"You said Aeon is your older brother… are you related by blood or something?"
"No… we're more like childhood friends. He's from the same kingdom as me, and he trained me for several years. We're basically like siblings," Alice replied, shaking her head. Her face was slightly pale from using her spiritual power in a hurry. She hadn't built a stable channel for it, causing a large portion of her spiritual energy to dissipate outward while carrying Janet.
Suddenly, an idea crossed Eleanor's mind:
"I saw you during the entrance exams. Your strength was incredible—I even hesitated to fight you. Does part of that strength come from Aeon?"
Alice smiled gently as she answered:
"Not part of it… he's the entire reason. My talent is barely considered average here. Ever since I was a child, I've had a personal dream—to see the entire world. But I'm a princess, and I have duties… The only way to escape that responsibility while repaying my family is to become extremely strong. So I asked Aeon to train me—and he didn't disappoint me."
Eleanor looked at Alice for a moment, then shifted her gaze forward. They had already reached the exit.
They were surprised to see several students from neighboring training fields already outside, looking at each other in confusion. Their attention was quickly drawn to Alice and Eleanor, who were carrying Aeon and Janet.
Especially when they saw Eleanor, they all looked at Aeon with strange expressions. The male students couldn't hide the jealousy and envy in their eyes… they all wished they were in his place, even if they were just an unconscious body. Eleanor was one of the most beautiful women in the entire kingdom—her beauty could truly topple nations. If looks could kill, Aeon would have died ten thousand times over already.
Ignoring the onlookers, Alice and Eleanor hurried toward the infirmary, leaving the spectators confused about what had just happened. While they had been training, a terrifying aura had suddenly erupted, making them tremble uncontrollably. Shortly after, the ground and walls began to shake violently, then everything stopped. And when they came out, they saw Eleanor carrying an unconscious Aeon.
One of the onlookers stepped toward Training Field No. 5, where Eleanor and Alice had come from. The moment he saw the arena, he drew in a cold breath and shouted in disbelief:
"What the hell happened here?!"
Others quickly gathered when they heard his shout. When they saw the destroyed arena and the massive blocks, they could only gasp in shock. Some even used mana-recording devices to capture the scene.
---
In the infirmary
The nurse had just left after reassuring the two girls that Aeon and Janet were fine. She gave them a pill to help restore their spiritual energy and bodies.
It didn't take long before another visitor arrived—an instructor from the second year. He asked them about what had happened in the arena. Alice quickly made up a story, saying it had been a four-person match that ended in an exaggerated way. Despite his suspicion, the instructor wrote his report and left.
Eleanor left shortly after him, following a brief conversation with Alice.
---
Aeon's Aura Rocket technique relies on continuously compressing energy and sealing it within a small sphere using spiritual power to prevent it from exploding or dispersing. However, Aeon had always described this move as impractical, since it required a long charging time—more than 10 seconds.
Ten seconds might seem short, but in a battle, even a fraction of a second can mean death or severe injury. Who in their right mind would give you 10 seconds to charge your power?
Of course, there are rare situations where one can exploit an opponent's mistake to restrain them with aura and prevent movement—just like Aeon did with Arthur during the entrance exams. Arthur had already been in a weakened state, and the moment he made a mistake, Aeon seized the opportunity to lock him in place and force him to take the finishing move.
Even worse, if you make the slightest mistake in guiding your energy within your body, it can cause severe internal injuries. And if you rush and forcefully drive your power through your body, it will cause intense pain in your energy channels—or even destroy them.
The reason Aeon lost consciousness was because he used his bloodline power and exhausted it completely to gather all his aura into that final strike. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been confident in destroying both the core and the spell at the same time.
---
Aeon woke up after just two hours of rest, having already recovered about 70% of his condition. The moment he woke up, he heard voices nearby—it seemed Janet had already awakened before him and had regained some of her strength, although her face was still pale.
In the end, she hadn't used much of her bloodline power or mana. What she had truly exhausted was her spiritual energy. If it weren't for Alice, her fate could have been unknown—either death or a long coma…
"Big brother, you're finally awake!" Alice exclaimed excitedly when she saw Aeon open his eyes.
He smiled at her gently, then turned his gaze to Janet. Despite the fatigue on her face, the excitement in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"Congratulations on your new power. Get ready—it's going to be refined and sharpened intensely," he said with a smile. Even he couldn't hide the excitement in his voice. He had never expected to discover such a power.
"Yes!!" Janet replied enthusiastically, her voice loud and full of determination.
She was completely ready to open a door she had never even imagined before.