Velren exhaled slowly, tightening his grip around the hilt of his katana.
For the first time ever, this was an actual fight against another person.
Not against Fenrir. Not against Skoll.
Those two were monsters—legends in their own right. No matter how much training he endured against them, he was
still
no match for their overwhelming strength. They weren’t a fair measurement of his skill.
Which made this moment all the more interesting.
How does he compare to his peers?
The ice-wielding student—let’s call him Ice—forged another jagged spear of frost, his breath visible in the suddenly chilled air. His teammate, a broad-shouldered brawler with knuckle-guards, cracked his fists.
"You gonna keep standing there?" Ice taunted, hurling his spear forward.
Velren flickered.
A
blur
of movement.
The ice spear pierced through his form—only for it to vanish into empty air.
"Tch—again?!"
The brawler moved instinctively, turning his head just in time to see Velren materializing behind Ice, flashing his katana.
"Behind you!"
Ice reacted fast—raising his arms as a thick wall of frost surged up between them.
But Velren didn’t stop.
His blade struck the frozen barrier—
CRACK!
—splintering through the ice.
A heartbeat later, a vortex of ethereal black tendrils spiraled into existence from his free hand.
Gravemaw.
A
pulling
sensation gripped the battlefield.
The shattered shards of ice, loose dirt, and even the air itself seemed to warp as the semi-null space opened.
Ice staggered, causing his footing to slipped. "What—"
But his teammate reacted fast. The brawler
lunged
through the force, swinging a brutal punch toward Velren’s ribs.
’Whoa!’
Velren barely managed to disengage, shifting his weight and twisting his body to avoid the blow.
But the brawler wasn’t done.
He stomped down—shattering the ground beneath him—and launched a devastating uppercut.
Velren leaned back, narrowly avoiding the impact. The sheer force
whooshed
past his face, strong enough to crack the bark of a nearby tree.
’Damn, that’s heavy.’
Velren’s feet barely touched the ground before Ice took advantage of the moment, slamming his hands down—
A surge of frost burst from the ground in jagged, towering spikes, encasing everything in a frozen cage.
Velren barely managed to weave between the rising ice pillars.
But just as he slipped through—
SWOOSH!
A second barrage of ice spears was already in mid-air, all locked onto him.
"Let’s see you dodge this!"
Velren’s eyes sharpened.
’Then I won’t dodge...’
A flicker—his katana
flashed
in rapid motion.
The first spear shattered. The second deflected. The third—
Velren twisted—he launched himself into a dizzying spin, his katana carving a spiraling arc around him. Each turn scattered shards of broken frost outward, the whirling motion making his figure erratic, harder to target directly.
Mid-air.
He
spun
—and suddenly, Gravemaw
manifested
once more.
This time, he aimed it
below
.
A vortex of dark energy expanded, pulling at the ice spears, dragging the frost down into nothingness before they could reach him.
Then, he
dove
.
His blade
screamed
through the air, targeting Ice’s unguarded flank.
"Shit—!"
A desperate wall of frost rose to shield him—
Too late.
Velren’s katana
sliced through
.
Not deep—but enough to
force
Ice back, staggering, a thin cut marking his forearm.
"Damn it," Ice growled, stepping back as his breath became more ragged.
But his brawler teammate was already
rushing forward
.
A straight punch—Velren sidestepped.
A follow-up kick—he barely ducked under it.
A feint—
shit
, Velren felt the fist connect this time, slamming into his side and sending him skidding backward, causing him to coughed by the impact.
’Alright. That one hurt.’
"You guys... hit hard, huh?"
Ice grinned despite the wound.
"Yeah? Try keeping up."
Velren just simply smirked, rolling his shoulders.
Ice narrowed his eyes. "Cocky bastard—"
Before he could finish, Velren was
already moving.
A blur. A step forward—then another.
Velren suddenly dropped low, sliding across the frost-slicked ground like a speeding bullet. The unexpected maneuver made Ice instinctively hurl his ice shard toward where Velren
should
have been standing—only for it to soar harmlessly over his crouched form.
Ice hesitated—flicking his eyes between the sudden shift in position.
That mere hesitation was enough, Velren was already in front of him with his katana on the ready.
"Tch—!"
Ice barely managed to summon a shield of frost in time, forming the icy wall between them.
But—
CRACK!
A sharp hiss filled the air as Velren’s blade
split
the frozen shield in half.
Ice reeled back, but his brawler teammate was already charging forward, aiming to intercept.
Velren saw him coming.
’Good. Come closer...’
As the brawler swung his fist, Velren
leaned back
, narrowly avoiding the impact.
Then—
Gravemaw.
A vortex erupted in the space between them, creating a sudden force that yanked the brawler
forward
, throwing him off balance.
"What the—?"
Velren capitalized on it.
He spun—bringing his katana’s pommel up—
slamming
it into the brawler’s jaw.
THUD.
The blow sent the brawler stumbling, causing his vision to swam.
One down for now.
Velren turned back to Ice—
Only to see the air
freezing
around him.
’That... looks bad...’
A sharp cold swept through the battlefield. Ice had abandoned defense—he was going all in. But Velren had already felt it before he even saw it.
A storm of razor-sharp
ice shards
burst from the ground, swirling around him in a deadly vortex.
"Let’s see you cut through this!" Ice shouted.
Velren’s gaze sharpened.
Fine.
Then he’d just have to
break
through.
He sprinted
straight
into the storm.
The ice slashed at his skin. but Velren didn’t slow down.
He zigzagged in sharp, erratic bursts—dashing right, then left, each motion breaking the predictable rhythm Ice had expected. His katana swept in wide arcs, not merely blocking but breaking the flow of the incoming shards, creating pockets of safe paths within the maelstrom.
"What—?"
Velren’s katana
whistled
through the air—
And struck.
A sharp pain bloomed across Ice’s arm as Velren’s blade cut past his defense.
"Gah—!"
Ice staggered, causing his stance to faltered, but Velren didn’t give him time to recover. With a final push, he
vanished
—flickering behind Ice, resting his katana’s edge just above his shoulder.
"Game over."
Ice tensed, and his frost magic faltered.
Defeat.
The brawler, still dazed, groaned from where he’d fallen.
Velren gasped for breath, lowering his blade.
Unfortunately for the two, they had no idea what kind of opponents he had been up against before.
Beasts that dwarfed human capabilities in every way. Creatures that had shredded through his defenses time and time again, pushing him to the very brink of survival.
Velren shivered slightly at the thought of those training montage that he had endured...
He then shook his head, exhaling through his nose before turning on his heel.
Time to check on Eterna... He sprinted toward the beacon, his katana was still in hand.
But then—he noticed something.
The beacon.
What was supposed to be a blue light soaring high above the sky earlier... had now turned red.
Velren’s steps slowed for just a moment, his brow furrowing.
That means—
He quickened his pace.
***
The battlefield should still be in chaos.
Should be.
But as he broke past the tree line—
What greeted him was not the sight of a battle in progress.
No.
The fight was already over.
A lone silver-haired girl stood near the base of the beacon, her rapier was lowered at her side, completely unscathed.
And around her—
Four unconscious bodies lay strewn across the battlefield.
Velren stopped in his tracks, staring.
Then—he let out a hollow chuckle.
"She’s a monster..."