Euris eventually woke to the clank of metal, still sitting in the stands, watching the matches play out one after another.
At first, it had been interesting.
Even exciting.
But now—
"…God, this is a drag…"
His eyes flicked up to the clock again.
Then back to the arena.
Then back to the clock.
"…Still going…"
Another match ended.
Another team walked off.
Another group stepped in.
Same pattern.
Same outcome.
Euris leaned back in his seat, resting his head against the wall behind him.
"…At least if someone used a decent weapon style…"
he muttered under his breath.
But no.
Nothing worth analyzing.
Nothing like the short sword user from earlier.
"…Guess I'll have to wait…"
Finally—
The last match ended.
Silence settled over the arena for a brief moment before—
THUD.
Silas stomped his foot.
"Good work," he said, his voice carrying easily despite his relaxed posture. "Your points have been tallied."
Students straightened slightly.
"And now," he continued, "the teams that will move on to the next stage of this tournament will be announced."
A wave of confusion spread through the room.
"…Tournament?"
"…What is he talking about?"
"…Wasn't this just a class exercise?"
The whispers grew louder—
Until—
THUD.
Silas stomped again.
"IF you would let me finish," he said flatly, "you would already know."
Silence.
Instant.
Silas sighed, rubbing his temple slightly.
"As I was saying—this is a multi-stage evaluation. Those who performed well will continue competing until the strongest team is determined."
Euris groaned internally.
"…More fights…"
His shoulders sagged slightly at the thought.
But then—
A thought crossed his mind.
The short sword user.
If they advanced…
"…I might get another chance…"
A slow smirk formed.
"…Yeah…"
Fatigue faded slightly.
Replaced with something sharper.
Determination.
Silas stretched slightly before continuing.
"That will continue tomorrow."
A pause.
"…I'm too tired for any more."
Euris blinked.
"…That's it?"
Silas waved a hand dismissively.
"Class dismissed."
And just like that—
He sat down.
And immediately fell asleep.
"…You've gotta be kidding me…"
But no one questioned it.
Students started filing out almost instantly.
Talking.
Laughing.
Comparing results.
Euris stood and stretched.
"…Finally…"
He made his way over to the armory wall and returned the staff.
After a brief pause—
He checked it back out again.
"…Yeah, I'm keeping this…"
With that done, he headed out.
Dinner.
And more importantly—
"…Harry…"
Euris walked through the halls, weaving through the crowd.
Just as he reached the exit—
A hand landed on his shoulder.
Firm.
Heavy.
Euris turned.
"…Oh. Konner."
Konner looked down at him.
"Meet me in the training hall after dinner."
No explanation.
No elaboration.
Just that.
Then—
He walked away.
Euris blinked.
"…Alright then…"
He scratched the back of his head slightly.
"…Guess I'm training tonight…"
A small, uneasy feeling settled in his chest.
"…Yeah… I'm definitely not ready for whatever that is…"
Still—
He kept walking.
"…Welp. Food first."
The cafeteria was just as crowded as before.
Euris spotted Harry in line and made his way over.
"How are you, Harry?"
Harry turned quickly.
"…Oh—Euris!"
A smile spread across his face.
"…I'm good! The nurse's healing was amazing—I feel brand new."
Euris grinned.
"…Good. I'm glad."
Harry hesitated for a second.
"…Thanks, by the way."
Euris tilted his head slightly.
"You defended me," Harry continued. "Even though… we're both not exactly strong."
He looked down briefly.
"And you carried me to the nurse…"
Euris waved it off.
"Hey—you did the same for me."
He nudged him lightly.
"So we're even."
Harry smiled a little more at that.
"But enough about that," Euris said. "How was your combat class?"
Harry perked up slightly.
"Oh—it was actually really cool! Our instructor has red hair and uses dual daggers—his talent is super speed."
Euris raised an eyebrow.
"…Sounds dangerous…"
Harry nodded quickly.
"Yeah—and I heard his kid is in your class."
Euris paused.
"…Wait…"
A red-haired teacher.
A fast fighting style.
His mind flashed back to the girl with the katana.
"…That might be her…"
he muttered quietly.
"What was that?" Harry asked.
"Nothing," Euris said quickly. "Just thinking."
He shrugged.
"We've got a tournament tomorrow in combat class. My team might end up fighting him—or her."
Harry's eyes widened slightly.
"…That's actually kind of exciting…"
"Yeah," Euris said.
Then—
Harry tilted his head.
"…Wait—who's on your team?"
Euris answered casually.
"…Konner."
"…What?"
Harry stared at him.
"…Seriously?"
Euris shrugged.
"Yeah. It's just me and him."
"…Just you two?"
"Yep."
Harry blinked.
"…That's… weird…"
Euris chuckled.
"Yeah, I thought the same thing."
Harry thought for a second.
"…Maybe he sees potential in you."
Euris laughed.
"…Me?"
He shook his head.
"The talentless, elementless guy?"
Harry shrugged.
"…You never know. Late awakenings happen."
Euris smiled faintly.
"…I wish…"
Harry leaned forward slightly.
"No, seriously—there's gotta be something."
Euris sighed.
"…Or maybe I just make him look better by comparison."
They grabbed their food and made their way to the same corner as before.
Euris dropped into his seat.
"…Home sweet losers' table."
Harry winced slightly.
"…You don't have to call it that…"
Euris smirked.
"…I mean, are we wrong?"
Harry hesitated.
"…I mean…"
"…Exactly."
Harry sighed.
"…Fair…"
They started eating.
After a moment, Harry spoke again.
"…So what weapon did you pick?"
"A short staff," Euris said.
Harry's eyes widened slightly.
"…That's rare…"
"Yeah," Euris said. "No one really uses it."
He smirked.
"Which means no one knows how to fight against it either."
Harry nodded.
"…That's actually smart…"
"Plus," Euris added, "I'll handle the weaker guys while Konner deals with the monsters."
"…That's a solid plan…"
Euris grinned.
"Exactly."
He pointed at Harry.
"What about you?"
Harry sat up slightly.
"Well… I was thinking about my talent…"
"The bone thing?" Euris asked.
Harry nodded.
"Yeah—it lets me form a bone-like armor over parts of my body…"
He hesitated.
"…But it's slow. Takes time to activate."
Euris nodded.
"…So?"
"So I picked gauntlets," Harry said. "That way I can fight while my talent builds up."
Euris blinked.
"…That's actually really smart…"
Harry scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"…I guess…"
"No, seriously," Euris said. "That's good strategy."
He smirked.
"If I ever need a war general, I know who I'm picking."
Harry laughed nervously.
"…You're overestimating me…"
Euris shook his head.
"Nope."
The bell rang.
Dinner over.
Students began getting up and leaving.
Euris stood and stretched.
"Alright," he said. "I've got training."
He waved as he walked off.
"Don't wait up."
Harry smiled.
"…Okay. See you later…"
Euris' smile faded as he walked.
The closer he got, the heavier the air felt.
The training hall.
Even from outside, he could feel it.
Pressure.
Intensity.
"…Yeah…"
His grip tightened slightly.
"…This is gonna suck…"
He stood in front of the door.
Took a deep breath.
"…Alright…"
Then pushed it open.