Inside the capsule, Darius stretched his shoulders and took in a deep breath.

  "I've been waiting for this," he spoke, voice laced with frustration. "You were insufferable the first time we met."

  Nico blinked at him with mild confusion. "I honestly don't remember you. But, ironically, isn't picking a fight based on one meeting quite insufferable on its own?"

  Darius's jaw flexed visibly, his face flushed the same hue as his tousled red hair. "Of course, that wasn't the only reason."

  "You're strong. I've got a knack for sensing these things." Darius pinched the bridge of his nose, clicked his tongue and tore off his jacket, flinging it aside with unnecessary force.

  'He's got quite a large frame, so it's hard to tell at a single glance. But that guy, he really is packed with dense muscles.'

  Was that really the physique of a fifteen-year-old?

  'It almost seems unreal.'

  Nico's hand drifted to his belt, and a dagger appeared in his palm. "And?"

  "I love nothing more than fighting strong bastards," Darius smirked.

  Nico's gaze lifted, meeting Darius's eyes with casual interest. "Ready when you are."

  Darius looked through the transparent wall at Aluis.

  "Professor," Darius called out. "Could I make a weapon request?"

  Aluis didn't move. "Specify."

  "A great axe."

  The rubber floor in front of Darius rippled like water. Earth rose and shaped itself into a heavy axe head and thick haft, crude but undeniably solid.

  Darius hefted it in both hands, swung it once over his shoulder in a practice arc, and the air hummed with the weight behind it.

  "He's strong." I looked around, and some students had flinched at the sound alone. "He's swinging that large axe far too easily."

  "So?" Elias crossed his arms, "In the end, he's gonna lose."

  "You sure?" I raised a brow.

  Elias scoffed, and slowly his brows knit together. "Strong? Fast? Talented? Doesn't matter; no one's beating him. Mark my words, don't take your eyes off Nico."

  I pursed my lips and turned back towards the fight.

  Nico twirled the dagger once more, then flicked it straight at Darius' chest.

  The throw was clean and quick, not something meant to kill, just to test reflexes and see how his opponent moved under pressure.

  Darius swatted it away with a perfectly timed sweep of the axe; a sharp ping echoed off the capsule walls, but the dagger didn't clatter to the floor.

  Instead, it curved back through the air like it was tethered to Nico's palm by an invisible string and snapped back into his grip with a soft slap. The crowd hadn't seen that level of weapon control before, and immediately sharpened their senses.

  "Mana control won't help you here!" Darius grinned and charged.

  His axe came down in a devastating overhead chop.

  Nico brazenly stepped in instead of away.

  He caught the blow on the flat of his dagger at a precise angle, redirecting rather than trying to stop the force outright. The impact shuddered through the chamber hard enough that I felt it in my teeth even through the barrier.

  Nico's wrist didn't buckle. He let the momentum carry him and repositioned himself perfectly to deliver a sharp kick to the side of Darius's ribs.

  Darius barely shifted

  "Hm," Nico flipped backwards out of range. "Tougher than you look."

  His left hand rose, and a second dagger appeared. One blade in each hand now.

  Nico started walking toward Darius at an unhurried pace as he juggled the daggers between his two hands.

  The sudden shift in his rhythm had people immediately guessing his intentions. Kai leaned forward with eyes peeled. I could see the confusion reflected in his eyes.

  'Logically, Nico should've ramped up the pace and blitzed Darius with his speed. However, the fact that he's slowed down is entirely unexpected.'

  He didn't seem the type to make such a rookie mistake. Which meant there was more to this.

  While the rest murmured about Nico's decisions, I found myself watching the floor instead of the fighters.

  I couldn't forget how Nico had appeared beside Elias in the cage last night. No visible movement. No warning. There had been just a flicker of shadow, and then he was simply there.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  'It didn't feel like speed. Then. Shadow magic? Was Nico's fighting style similar to a thief or assassin class from the game?'

  Nico played with the dagger in his right hand, flipping it from handle to blade and back. The other blade stayed perfectly still in his left hand, ready.

  He darted forward and threw again.

  Darius parried hard, axe sweeping the projectile aside with unnecessary force.

  But the throw had created the gap Nico needed. He instantly closed the distance between them, but just before he could strike, Darius growled and swung in a frenzy.

  Nico deflected the axe's follow-up with minimal blade contact, then he stepped forward and disappeared.

  Anticipation rippled through the crowd, and cadets leaned closer to the walls with bated breath and wide eyes.

  The next instant, Darius's shadow rippled, and a spectre shot out from it behind his back. Nico leapt and stabbed down, his falling dagger strike stopping exactly one inch from Darius's nape before he dashed back.

  Darius froze completely, his eyes drifted up, he patted his neck in disbelief and glanced behind.

  Nico landed lightly behind him and stepped away. "That should be sufficient, I'd say I win." He glanced toward Aluis.

  Darius spun around, anger rushing in to fill the space where shock had been. "No! You got lucky."

  Nico frowned. "What?"

  "I said it was a lucky shot," Darius snapped, and his grip tightened on the axe. "Stop playing tricks and let's fight head-on."

  Nico's expression tightened with a small crease between his brows, a subtle darkening in his eyes. He exhaled once through his nose.

  "Head on? If you want to bang your head against mine and determine the winner, then maybe you're as dumb as you are weak."

  Darius' knuckles went white around his weapon. "Who the hell are you calling weak? You're just a coward."

  Elias twitched beside me and shook his head. "Hss, he shouldn't have said that."

  Nico took a breath and turned back. "Didn't you hear me? You're weak. You're heavy-handed. You think that makes you dangerous." He paused. "In the end, you're just a frog in the well."

  Darius' face flushed dark red, and he slammed the axe on the ground. "Everyone does that," he muttered. "Judges me without knowing what I'm really capable of."

  His eyes locked onto Nico's with renewed determination. "When I crush you, maybe you'll shut up."

  Nico took one last glance at Aluis, but as he turned back, his entire posture changed. The casual laziness drained away. He adopted a lower stance, settling into a lunge. Both daggers angled forward with predatory focus.

  I saw it again.

  The shadow behind Darius flickered. It was just a subtle ripple across the floor like ink disturbed by an invisible hand.

  Nico rushed straight forward, and Darius swung his axe for the intercept, confident that the taunts had finally pulled his opponent into a tactical mistake.

  However, again, Nico vanished into the shadow at his feet.

  One moment charging directly ahead, the next emerging from darkness behind Darius. His dagger traced across Darius's leg, shallow but precise.

  Blood splattered on the ground, and Darius jerked back, but the heavy axe dragged his balance with it, making him slow and predictable.

  Nico darted and flickered away.

  He materialised near Darius's right flank and slashed the upper arm. Then his side. Then his shoulder. Using the shadows in the chamber to make quick entries and exits that Darius simply could not track.

  As Nico blitzed him, Darius swung wide at empty air. Spun and struck at nothing. Another slash appeared across his back while he was still completing the turn. Darius's breathing turned ragged. His eyes started darting frantically, looking for a way to win.

  Blood began to drip, then flow more freely, streaking down his uniform and staining the floor beneath his boots.

  The crowd's silence was almost oppressive. Even the students who'd been enjoying the fight seemed spooked by Nico's ruthless display.

  "Stop." Aluis' voice cut through the tension, and a wave of magical aura gripped the capsule, forcing both fighters to freeze in place.

  Nico stepped out of his last shadow transition and stood perfectly still, daggers lowered but not sheathed. He didn't look winded, only mildly irritated by the interruption.

  Aluis glared at the blood pooling on the ground and frowned; his tone carried a distinct chill now. "The spar is over. Cadet Sylwyn is the winner."

  "Wait.." Darius heaved and panted for breaths, but his cries fell on deaf ears.

  Nico looked away and turned to Aluis, "I'm finished here."

  He walked out of the capsule without looking back, dismissing both his opponent and the watching crowd with equal indifference.

  Aluis watched him go, then spoke quietly. "If that is your choice."

  Inside the capsule, Darius swayed on his feet, but the axe dipped toward the floor. He tried to take a step forward, and his knee buckled slightly as he managed to catch himself on the weapon's haft. A mixture of pain and humiliation lingered on his face, which was difficult to witness.

  Aluis tapped his band once.

  Medical staff arrived with practised efficiency, hands already glowing with stabilising magic. They guided Darius and laid him down carefully on a stretcher, removed the conjured axe from his grip, and lifted him out of the room.

  As they carried him toward the medical bay, low murmurs started rippling through the crowd again.

  Aluis turned his head slightly.

  "Quiet."

  He gestured toward the now-empty capsule, using it as a teaching aid. "That demonstration was instructive, though not in the way originally intended."

  "Both fighters allowed their emotion to dictate tactics," Aluis continued. "At the same time, both also used taunts to force responses. Then they fought using their preferred methods rather than playing into the enemy's hand."

  He paused.

  "In genuine combat, there are no rules about honour or fairness," he said. "You fight to survive, nothing more, nothing less."

  His attention drifted toward the approach Nico had used. " Cadet Selwyn employed his speed and only used his shadow manipulation to control engagement range. He only revealed what was necessary and ended the encounter pretty early on."

  "However. The spar was not stopped there." Then Aluis' gaze swept across the assembled students, "Cadet Reed, could you answer why?"

  I snapped out of my thoughts and contemplated his question. But a moment later, only one thing came to mind.

  "You wanted us to see the difference between an experienced and inexperienced awakened?"

  "Half right." Aluis smiled, " In the real world, fights aren't always over when you think they are, and unexpected variables always factor in. The reason I allowed the spar to continue was to teach you all two things."

  "Firstly, sometimes holding back and not effectively neutralising your threat can mean the mission is not yet done." He held up one finger.

  "And second. Challenging a stronger enemy is not always the smartest course of action. Otherwise, the consequences are apparent."

  A subtle tension colored the room, but Aluis continued his lesson.

  "Now then, Cadet Hilston, can you share what you learned from watching the spar?" Aluis singled out Mira from the crowd.

  Mira recalled the spar, sifting through her memory, "Both Cadet Sylwyn and Cadet Vale displayed excellent physical prowess in their speed and strength. Eventually, Cadet Sylwyn won through his use of magic."

  "Excellent answer. If you intend to integrate magic effectively into combat," he said, "your physical conditioning must match your magical development. Your tactical thinking must match both. Otherwise, whatever magic you can muster will be useless."

  Aluis raised one hand and pointed toward the remaining sparring capsules.

  "We will work on physical conditioning and tactics in future lessons. For now, you must continue with your partner selection and spar at least one round before the lesson ends."