The next day began differently.

  I decided:

  It was time to show that I, too, was growing.

  At least a little.

  Not to show power—

  but to show thought.

  And when we were led out to the field again and paired up, I caught Finn’s gaze.

  He smirked.

  “So, Zen. Let’s see what you pull today.”

  I replied calmly:

  “We’ll see.”

  He went on the offensive immediately.

  The air around his arm trembled—pressure resonance building.

  Fire flared and stretched forward—

  a tongue of flame ten meters long.

  The impulse was massive. The temperature—dangerous.

  I had no intention of taking that hit.

  A rapid wind dash forward.

  A thin layer of water on my skin—steam protection.

  It absorbed part of the heat, turning it into steam and dispersing the energy.

  The approach was swift, like a gust of wind.

  Finn was surprised.

  “You… that fast?..”

  He tried to push off with wind and widen the distance.

  But I was already thinking two steps ahead.

  I slammed my hand into the ground—

  a stream of water shot out beneath Finn’s feet,

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  and in the same moment I cooled it to a crackling chill:

  an icy surface.

  He hit it at full momentum and started to slide.

  Exactly what I needed.

  While he was losing balance, I:

  — froze his boots to the ground with thin threads of ice,

  — stepped forward,

  — and struck the solar plexus just hard enough to knock the breath out of him, without injuring him.

  Finn collapsed to the ground.

  The instructor raised a hand.

  “Winner — Helvard.”

  I exhaled.

  My first honest victory.

  Finn, rubbing his chest, grinned.

  “Alright… that was actually cool.”

  Siren stepped in front of me, energized.

  “Ready? On three.

  One. Two. Three!”

  He vanished.

  Or rather—accelerated with wind, almost smearing through the air.

  I instantly raised an ice wall in front of him.

  He punched it—and at that same moment I dissolved the wall into water.

  It crashed down from above.

  And while the droplets were still falling—

  I froze them all at once.

  Hundreds of tiny ice needles clung to Siren, locking his movements.

  He froze for a fraction of a second.

  The instructor announced:

  “Victory.”

  I wasn’t even tired.

  Finn had been harder.

  Noah was a difficult opponent.

  Not because of strength.

  Because of illusions.

  He started classically—triple image, doubling, blur.

  At the same time—a water shot aimed at my head.

  I sidestepped, accelerating with wind.

  Noah’s illusions broke if you pressured him.

  If you gave him time—he’d build a perfect one.

  So I simply…

  moved forward.

  Fast.

  Relentlessly.

  Not giving him time to breathe.

  He tried to:

  fire water shots,

  distort his silhouette,

  blur the space.

  But tempo shattered everything.

  After a few seconds, the illusions began to collapse—unevenly, nervously.

  Then I repeated the pattern:

  water droplets → crystallization.

  He froze, encased in ice.

  “That… I didn’t expect…” he breathed.

  The instructor nodded.

  “Helvard. Victory.”

  With her… I had no intention of showing everything.

  She stepped out confidently, calmly, as if she already knew the result.

  “We’ll see,” she said. “How much you’ve grown.”

  And she began.

  Four spears of water—

  precise as arrows.

  Six waves of wind—

  destructive, aimed at my legs to break my footing.

  I formed ice beneath me,

  anchored myself with stability mantras,

  dodged—left, right, up—ducking under the gusts.

  She increased the pressure.

  Every movement—sharp.

  A series of jumps—almost aerial.

  I understood: she was stronger than most mages here. A real talent.

  She needed footing.

  She made it with wind.

  I had to catch that moment.

  And I did.

  When she went for the decisive lunge—

  I crystallized the entire space around us within a five-meter radius.

  She was caught.

  For one second.

  But her strength…

  her output…

  her will…

  She tore through the ice around her as if it were cloth.

  And slammed me to the ground.

  The instructor declared:

  “Victory — Princess Elinia.”

  She stood over me, breathing fast, but smiling.

  “That was interesting,” she said. “Make it harder for me next time.”

  I nodded.

  The other students looked at me:

  “I’m next!”

  “No, me!”

  “I want a rematch!”

  “Me too!”

  A hunger for growth.

  A hunger to compare.

  A hunger to find out what they were capable of.