Vale immediately let go of Toby and Cassie’s hands. It happened in a flash, too fast to follow, especially with the sparks of blue lightning wrapping around her body.

  Toby’s mouth fell slightly open, stunned by how incredible she looked even when she was only activating her Innate Card. And then… Vale was left behind as the two of them shot downward first.

  Three monsters were already chasing them, flying at full speed in their direction.

  A long spear formed in the girl’s hand, its blue tip crackling and bursting with energy. In the next second, she moved as if swimming through the air, darting back and forth, striking the monsters with swift, precise blows.

  For a moment, Toby almost forgot they were still falling. He pulled Cassie securely onto his back and gathered the blazer around them, closing it tight instead of spreading it out. If they slowed their descent, they would only interfere with the lightning girl’s fight.

  Vale surged forward, slashing quickly with her spear. The impact landed hard, followed by a loud, painful roar. She shot forward again, delivering another sharp strike. She twisted and turned midair with incredible speed, dodging the monsters’ lunges as they tried to tear into her.

  Something… like a blue bird with sharp fangs and a sleek, efficient form, seemed to follow her every movement as she fought.

  “She has an Elemental Innate Card,” Cassie’s voice rang out.

  “That’s insane,” Toby replied, still staring. “I heard Elemental types as Innate Cards are among the rarest.”

  Cassie nodded. “It means the power isn’t just borrowed. It is a direct inheritance. When a beast grants its full blessing to someone, not just a fragment but its core essence, the result is an Elemental Innate.”

  Then… It happened. The blue bird, formed entirely from lightning energy, shot forward in a sharp zigzag pattern, striking the monsters one by one.

  It moved too fast to track, crashing into each of them in quick succession before anyone could even react.

  [1st Prime - Rare Offensive Card - Skybreaker Talon activated.]

  At the same time, a massive burst of thunder echoed across the area, sending bolts crashing down and smashing the monsters with brutal force from every direction.

  “Toby!” a sharp, urgent voice called out.

  He flinched in shock, but what followed startled him even more. Suddenly, the world slowed down. No, not just slow. It moved at a crawl.

  What is happening…?

  Something felt strange inside him. It was as if he could see himself from the outside, and at the same time, everything around him became painfully clear. Every angle, every movement. As if he had eyes in every direction, like the world had opened up into a full, spinning field of vision.

  “Vale is in danger!” Cassie continued.

  Vale was losing power. The lightning around her flickered out, and she began to fall, faster than Toby and Cassie, dropping at a terrifying speed.

  Is this Cassie’s ability? Is this her power letting me see everything like this?

  He had to think. The ground was getting closer. If this continued, Vale would crash straight into it.

  “Cassie, hold on tight!” he shouted.

  Cassie immediately wrapped her arms tightly around his back. She was fully focused. Toby angled himself downward and dove after Vale, but the air resistance was not enough to match her falling speed.

  He gritted his teeth, frustration and anger rising in his chest.

  [Synthesis Equipment Card - Windstep Boots Tier-2 activated.]

  Toby shot downward, weaving between the monsters that were also falling wildly around him.

  He tightened his body and slammed his foot into one of the monsters midair. The impact landed with perfect timing. A heavy shock burst through the air as he used the creature’s falling body as a foothold to launch himself downward.

  His body accelerated.

  He struck another monster, using its falling mass as leverage, and propelled himself even faster toward the ground.

  If not for Cassie’s eyes guiding him, he would have already lost track of everything at this speed.

  The ground was dangerously close. They were going to crash. Toby clenched his jaw, and just as they were about to slam into the earth, Vale twisted her body midair and stretched out her hand.

  “Vale!”

  Toby grabbed both of her hands. He caught her.

  But they were still falling.

  Toby bit down hard on the end of the blazer tied around his body. A violent jolt shook them as their descent abruptly stopped in midair, Cassie gripping the two other ends of the blazer with all her strength, suspending the three of them just before they could smash into the ground.

  They hit the sandy ground hard.

  The moment Toby crashed down, everything went dark and chaotic. He could not see anything. The world spun violently as his body bounced and rolled across the burning sand.

  Each impact felt like it shattered something inside him. His ribs felt like they cracked. His arms bent in ways they should not. His vision flashed white, then red.

  He could taste blood.

  His face scraped harshly against the sand, skin tearing, warm liquid running down over his lips and chin. His body was thrown again and again, tumbling across the dry desert surface like a broken doll with no control over where it would land next.

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  Then finally, he stopped.

  Toby lay flat against the ground, barely conscious. His Innate Card had already deactivated. The faint glow that once surrounded him was gone. He was truly at his limit. He could feel it. Just a little more, and he would black out completely.

  But he was not going to lose.

  He refused to fail.

  Toby tried to clench his fist. His fingers trembled as he forced them to curl. He tried to push himself up.

  “Toby!”

  “Toby!”

  The voices sounded distant, almost muted, as if they were reaching him from underwater.

  Slowly, Toby forced his eyes open. His vision was blurry and faint, but he could make out enough to understand where they were. They had landed on open ground, a vast dry plain like a desert. The sand looked rough and cracked. He could feel the heat rising from it, burning against his skin.

  Then he saw them.

  Vale was pulling Cassie along as they ran toward him.

  Both of them dropped to their knees beside him.

  “Toby! Toby! Wake up!” Vale shouted.

  But he could not move. His body refused to respond. It felt like every bone inside him had been crushed into pieces.

  Why have they not eliminated me from the trial yet?

  That thought barely formed before—

  Suddenly, his heart jolted violently.

  His body was lifted up without warning. Vale had slipped her left arm over his shoulder and was forcing him upright.

  “Toby, we have to run! A massive wave is coming!” Vale shouted.

  A massive wave.

  Toby forced his eyes open and followed the direction Vale was pointing. His body was on the edge of collapse, but the sheer size of what he saw dragged him back to awareness.

  Was this not supposed to be a desert?

  In the distance, something rose above the horizon. A wave. Towering. Unnaturally tall. It surged forward with wild, unstoppable force, swallowing the dry land as it advanced straight toward them.

  “We have to run.”

  Toby bit down hard on his lip, using the sharp pain to keep himself conscious.

  [Innate Core Card - Second Pulse activated.]

  [Synthesis Equipment Card - Windstep Boots Tier-2 activated.]

  The activations stacked almost instantly. Even so, his vision was fading again, the edges dark and unstable. He turned his head and spotted a formation of massive rock pillars in the distance, rising high like natural stone towers.

  “We take cover behind those!”

  With everything he had left, Toby lunged forward. He pulled Cassie close and hoisted her onto his back, forcing his battered body to move.

  Lightning burst around Vale once more, crackling fiercely as she matched his pace. Together they ran across the scorching sand.

  They ran.

  Toby gritted his teeth. His legs trembled. His foot slipped in the loose sand, nearly sending them crashing down, but Vale grabbed his arm and yanked him forward, keeping him upright.

  This was no longer about skill or power. They were running on whatever scraps of strength their broken bodies still had left.

  The rock pillars loomed ahead, enormous and solid.

  “Almost there!” Vale shouted.

  In the next second, she grabbed Toby tightly and dragged him down.

  They slammed against the ground just as the massive wave crashed into them, roaring with terrifying force and hurling them violently against the towering rock formation.

  The impact came with brutal force. Their bodies were dragged violently, pulled as if by invisible chains. They clung to each other, fingers digging into fabric and skin, but the current was too strong.

  This was not enough. The line of towering rocks behind them was not enough to hold back something like this.

  Toby gripped Cassie and Vale as if he were holding on to their very lives. They locked onto one another, arms wrapped tight, refusing to let go.

  It was not enough.

  Their feet could not stay planted. The water swallowed them, smashed into them, spun them around. The pressure felt like it was trying to tear their bodies apart.

  [2nd Prime - Rare Defensive Card - Radiant Sentinel activated.]

  Then, suddenly, a massive shockwave burst outward around them.

  A golden figure emerged.

  It was like an aura taking shape, the upper half of a long-haired woman rising from the ground itself. The radiant form wrapped around the three of them, embracing them in a protective hold.

  Cassie’s 2nd Prime Card had summoned it.

  The raging wave split slightly upon impact, forced apart just enough to weaken its crushing force, though it still slammed into them with terrifying strength.

  Cassie was seated at the center, her fingers interlocked tightly in front of her. Her eyes were open, glowing faintly as golden light covered her entire body.

  Vale held Cassie from the side, arms wrapped around her protectively, anchoring her in place so the wave would not rip her away.

  Toby braced himself on the other side, pressing against them both, doing everything he could to keep the three of them together.

  Could anyone else withstand a wave of this scale? This was insane.

  The water surged again, smashing against the golden avatar.

  Cassie suddenly coughed violently, a mouthful of blood spilling from her lips as the immense pressure battered her from all sides.

  At last… the final wave lost its force.

  The three of them were thrown down together, completely drenched, their bodies slamming hard against the soaked ground.

  Toby gagged immediately. He rolled onto his side, coughing violently as he tried to pull air back into his lungs. Water poured from his mouth as he forced himself to throw up everything that had flooded into his throat and chest.

  His whole body felt numb. His arms trembled uncontrollably. Even breathing felt painful.

  He lay there, gasping, staring blankly ahead.

  Death had been right there. Just a moment ago, it had been close enough to touch.

  Slowly, he turned his head toward the two girls. Vale was holding Cassie from the side, supporting her upright.

  “We survived because of Cassie,” Vale said quietly.

  Toby gave a weak nod.

  “Is the trial over?”

  He forced himself to look around.

  Beyond the tall stone pillars, in the distance, he could still see other applicants scattered across the area. Some were barely standing. Some were kneeling. Some were not moving at all.

  At this point… there could not be more than a hundred participants left.

  They had started with a thousand. The selection had been truly brutal, reducing their numbers without mercy. And yet… Why did it feel like this was still not over?

  Cassie’s Innate Card had fully deactivated now. The golden aura was gone. She slowly lifted her head, her eyes unfocused, almost empty.

  Then she looked up at the sky.

  Vale followed her gaze.

  Toby did the same.

  And what they saw above them was something they were not ready to face.

  Up there, beneath the blazing sun, shadows began to circle above them.

  At first it was only shapes against the light. Then the forms became clear. They were not just one. Not ten. Not even twenty.

  Hundreds.

  Winged figures with wide, stretching spans. Long necks. Sharp, curved beaks that gleamed under the sunlight as they rotated slowly in the sky, waiting.

  “The predators are here, huh?” Toby muttered with dry irony.

  He let out a weak breath.

  He never expected securing a place at Eclipsion Academy would be easy, did he?

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