In one of the training grounds, the earth was already devastated, and explosions still echoed here and there. With every blast, the ground trembled slightly.
Aeon deflected Alice's flame-covered spear, then bent his body to avoid a sharp wooden vine that came from behind her. The moment his foot touched the ground, Alice's spear was already inches from his face. Yet he did not panic. Using the back of his sword, he struck the middle of her spear, precisely altering its trajectory so that it collided with the vine that was still fiercely pursuing him.
Suddenly…
Without any warning, a green spell appeared behind Aeon, who had yet to regain his balance.
What was strange was that the spell had appeared out of nowhere, with no one behind it. This defied common sense. A spell should be cast very close to its user to make control easier; otherwise, placing it at a distance would drain a great amount of spiritual power just to transfer mana, and it would risk collapsing due to the difficulty of controlling one's spiritual force over longer distances.
If this had been the work of someone of a high rank, no one would have been surprised. But this was Janet—a mere blue-ranked individual. This truly broke common logic. The spiritual strength of someone at her level was weak, and her mana reserves were not large. Half the mana sent would simply dissipate into the air.
Worse than all of that, there was barely any benefit to doing this. The spell would become weaker and suffer from heavy fluctuations, making it easier to detect and avoid, posing little to no real threat.
Yet Janet, thanks to her talent, used her senses as a guide, and the surrounding mana as both a guide and a channel to transmit her spirit, allowing her to form any spell anywhere within a range of about two hundred meters—without significantly draining her spiritual power or her own mana.
In fact, the spell retained the same strength as if it had been formed near her body. However, this did not come without weaknesses. Its instability made it easier for enemies to detect, and the ability required intense concentration—if she were interrupted suddenly, she would suffer a violent backlash. Moreover, its accuracy decreased the farther the spell was from Janet's body.
Aeon quickly drove his sword into the ground, fixing it in place. Using it as a pivot, he twisted his body and evaded the sudden vine attack, placing the vine's body between himself and Alice to create a barrier that would delay her pursuit, if only slightly.
Then, while still suspended in the air, he gathered a sharp aura around his sword and sent it flying toward Janet. She panicked, unable to move quickly enough to avoid the strike.
But Alice, who had been rushing toward Aeon, abruptly changed her target. She vanished from her spot and reappeared in front of Janet, blocking Aeon's sword aura with her spear.
As Janet steadied herself and prepared for another round against Aeon, she noticed Alice frowning while looking behind her.
"We lost, of course… again," Alice said in a tone filled with frustration.
Startled, Janet turned her head back—only to see Aeon smiling, the tip of his sword pointed at the back of her neck. A chill ran down her spine. How had she not sensed any danger? How had he moved and appeared behind her so quickly…? She let out a frustrated sigh.
Aeon said with a smile, "Well, don't be discouraged. This time, you were close to defeating me." His breathing was uneven, and sweat poured down his body. Alice and Janet were growing stronger rapidly—especially Janet, whose development was nothing short of monstrous.
"What a stupid consolation, big brother…" Alice muttered under her breath with a pout. Perhaps if there was one thing she wanted more than anything in her life, it was to put an end to Aeon's arrogance during training.
"Alright, alright, enough with the gloom. It's only a matter of time before you can defeat me. That's enough training for today—let's go rest," Aeon said as he drew his sword back into his spatial ring. He did not notice the sadness that suddenly appeared in Alice's eyes.
Her older brother was the greatest genius she had ever seen, even within this academy. Yet, because of his inability to use mana… she feared his path would come to an end, watching his peers grow stronger day by day. For someone with Aeon's pride, he would rather die than face that.
The three finished their training for the day and went their separate ways to their respective residences.
Days passed quickly. Every day, Aeon trained Alice and Janet, and of course, he did not neglect his own training either.
Janet improved rapidly and began to develop her own vision for her path—a vision Aeon could not give her. Only she could discover and walk it. Her control became smoother, her power stronger, her spells more violent, and her casting faster. Even Aeon himself was astonished by this absurd growth.
Aeon estimated that if Janet were to fight Cyril Valerian, Cyril would need to use his full power to defeat her—of course, that was if he did not use the Heaven and Earth Rune.
The Heaven and Earth Rune would cause mana to be drawn toward Cyril, ignoring Janet entirely. No matter how close Janet was to mana, or how much mana favored her, it would be of no use.
The absurdity of the Heaven and Earth Rune lay in its suppression of those of lower rank. For example, if Cyril possessed a fifth-rank rune and fought someone of the fourth rank, that person would barely be able to endure for a few breaths before being defeated, as they would be completely suppressed.
As for someone of the third rank or lower facing a fifth-rank Cyril? They wouldn't even be able to move—let alone fight.
It was like a governmental hierarchy, where those of higher standing could restrain those beneath them.
And the higher the rank of your rune, the more favored you were by the heavens and the earth themselves. This meant greater luck, an easier path in training, and varying degrees of support depending on rank.
Of course, once Janet obtained a rune—even a fourth-rank one—Cyril would be able to fight her on equal footing. Her affinity with mana would compensate for the difference.
During training, Aeon proposed several special combat ideas tailored to her ability. Although Janet had only grasped the outward form of these techniques and had yet to understand their essence or integrate them into her combat instincts, it was still enough to multiply her combat power several times over.
As for Alice, Aeon had no need to worry. After securing first place, he had the right to choose one reward, and he chose the Crimson Salamander Scale.
The Salamander was a savage beast known for its immensely powerful fire attribute. That was why he chose it and gifted it to Alice, who already possessed strong fire abilities.
She spent nearly a month absorbing the fire of the Salamander Scale, and she would fully integrate with it before the midterm exam.
This would elevate her strength qualitatively, not just quantitatively. According to Alice, the Salamander's flame ranked 487 on the list of savage beast flames—a level more than sufficient for someone at her current stage.
The next day arrived quickly, and classes passed as usual. As the familiar trio made their way toward the training room, the badges hanging from their school uniforms suddenly began to glow with an intense red light.
The moment Aeon and Alice saw this, killing intent burst fiercely from their eyes.