Leon Mercer’s request wasn’t accepted immediately.
The committee paused the release of the remaining pairings while it reviewed his petition. The stadium screens kept both names displayed above the field.
[Special Combat Request]
[Leon Mercer — Academy Combat Rank 1.]
[Requested opponent: Adrian Vale.]
Adrian studied the young man standing before him.
Leon wasn’t smiling. Nor did he wear the irritated expression Adrian had seen on students incapable of accepting that someone had broken one of their records.
He simply waited.
Examiner Bennett appeared at the edge of the field accompanied by two instructors.
"Direct challenges are permitted during the combat phase, but both participants must accept," she explained. "The result will affect your selection points and be uploaded to the local network as an official academy duel."
She looked at Leon.
"Do you maintain your request?"
"Yes."
"What is your reason?"
Leon didn’t take his eyes off Adrian.
"The mobility course demonstrated that he’s fast and capable of combining two abilities. Hollow Station proved that he possesses summons capable of fighting monsters above their rank. None of that tells me how he’ll respond when another representative forces him into close-range combat."
There was no contempt in his voice.
He was evaluating a potential teammate.
"The academy will send five representatives," Leon continued. "If he’s going to occupy one of those positions, I want to understand the difference between us before the tournament, not during it."
Bennett turned toward Adrian.
"You may refuse without losing points. The request was submitted after your test and wasn’t part of the original pairings."
"I accept."
The answer provoked another wave of noise from the stands.
Leon nodded.
"I want to face your personal abilities. Not your army."
"I intended to leave it out."
"Will you also leave out the beast?"
"No summons."
Adrian closed the manifestation link with Sovereign Territory. The five Star Guards and the Calamity Hound would remain inside even if he suffered damage.
Leon looked at the spatial fissures still fading above the course.
"And Rift Hunter?"
"You didn’t ask me to deactivate it."
"No."
Leon extended one hand, and a spear appeared between his fingers.
It was slightly over six feet long. The shaft was made from flexible gray metal, and the blade possessed two channels designed to conduct mana. It wasn’t a ceremonial weapon. The grip showed signs of use, and several nearly invisible repairs lay beneath the spearhead.
"Use whatever you consider necessary," Leon said. "I’ll do the same."
Adrian studied his stance.
Leon kept the point slightly low, aimed at Adrian’s abdomen rather than his chest. His rear hand controlled the reach, while the forward hand rested lightly enough to let the weapon change direction without resistance.
He wasn’t posing for the stands.
He genuinely knew how to use a spear.
"Then I’ll begin with one class," Adrian said.
He deactivated Rift Hunter.
His spatial perception disappeared. Hunter’s Mark and Riftbreaker Step became unavailable.
Calamity Beast was already isolated.
He also temporarily blocked War God’s Instinct. The ability didn’t occupy a synchronization slot, but it still belonged to Lyra. Using it would mean fighting with someone else’s instincts.
Only the golden core remained.
[Active Class: Starbreaker.]
[Starbreaker mastery: 18%.]
Leon frowned slightly.
"You don’t need to restrict yourself to prove anything."
"I’m not doing it for you. I need to discover how far I can go with Starbreaker before relying on another class."
Leon accepted the answer.
"Then I won’t give you time to change your mind."
The system registered both combatants.
[Official Academy Duel]
[Adrian Vale vs. Leon Mercer.]
[Victory conditions: Surrender, incapacitation, ring-out, or lethal strike registered by defensive barrier.]
[Invocations prohibited by mutual agreement.]
[Begin.]
Leon crossed six yards with a single thrust.
The spearhead reached Adrian’s chest before the announcement had completely disappeared. Adrian turned his torso, but the blade changed direction during the movement and opened a line across his shoulder.
[Defensive barrier absorbed potentially serious damage.]
Leon withdrew the spear and attacked again.
He didn’t treat the weapon like a rigid tool. His rear hand propelled the shaft while his forward hand altered its direction. Every thrust could become a slash, a lateral strike, or a retreat before completion.
Adrian blocked the second with his forearm reinforced by Starforged Body.
The third targeted his knee.
He retreated.
One, two, three thrusts forced Adrian back another four steps. When he attempted to move sideways, the spear shaft rotated and struck his ribs.
Starforged Body distributed the impact, but the force displaced him nearly two yards.
The stands reacted.
Leon hadn’t earned the academy’s top position because of his class rank.
He had earned it because he knew exactly what to do with that class.
[A-Class detected: Vanguard Lancer.]
[Primary combat principle: Distance Supremacy.]
The class name explained part of his style. The longer he kept an opponent within the optimal reach of his spear, the greater the acceleration of his subsequent attacks.
Adrian could feel it increasing.
The spearhead began leaving gray lines in the air.
Adrian attempted to enter with a level change. He deflected the blade upward and advanced before Leon could withdraw it.
Leon released his forward hand.
The shaft slid between his fingers, reducing the weapon’s effective length. The lower end struck Adrian’s chin.
It wasn’t enough to knock him down.
The knee that followed nearly did.
Adrian blocked with one hand, but Leon had already restored the distance. The spearhead returned between them.
Thirty-nine seconds had passed.
"You’re better than your stance suggests," Adrian said.
"My stance shows exactly what it needs to."
Leon attacked.
Adrian avoided two thrusts and deflected the third. He attempted to apply Fracture to the shaft, but Leon felt the vibration and withdrew his weapon before the ability could spread.
He also knew about Starbreaker Fist.
Not the exact technique, but the danger of allowing Adrian to complete a punch.
Leon stopped attacking in long combinations. He thrust once, changed the angle, and retreated before Adrian could touch the weapon a second time.
He never repeated a sequence.
Each time Adrian seemed to understand one, Leon altered the rhythm.
A fast attack was followed by a pause. Two short thrusts prepared a sweep. When Adrian began anticipating a strike from the lower end, Leon used the motion to switch hands and attacked from the opposite side.
The spearhead grazed Adrian’s flank.
The barrier lit up again.
"Two clean hits," one of the instructors announced.
"Leon is controlling the distance," another said. "Vale can’t use Starbreaker if he can’t get inside."
Adrian knew that as well.
He had three solutions.
He could activate Rift Hunter and erase the distance.
He could summon the Calamity Hound behind Leon.
Or he could trust Starbreaker.
He chose the third.
He shouldn’t watch the spearhead.
It could change direction too quickly. Leon’s hands also modified its length and angle constantly.
Adrian began watching his feet.
Leon attacked.
His rear foot anchored against the ground a fraction of a second before Vanguard Lancer accelerated the thrust.
Adrian retreated.
Another thrust.
The same anchor, but a different angle.
Leon didn’t repeat attacks. He repeated the way he transferred force.
Adrian had absorbed sixty-three years of Starbreaker’s memories. Many belonged to battles against swords, beasts, and opponents wearing unfamiliar armor.
Some belonged to spearmen.
The memories didn’t move his body for him. They only showed him possibilities.
Adrian had to choose the correct one.
Leon thrust toward his throat.
Adrian didn’t block.
He turned just enough to let the blade pass beside his neck and struck the shaft with his palm.
[Fracture applied.]
The crack advanced several inches before Leon withdrew the spear. This time, Adrian followed.
Leon changed his grip and swept the weapon toward his legs. Adrian jumped over the shaft, but the spear stopped halfway through the movement.
A kick struck his abdomen.
Adrian was thrown backward and landed near the edge of the field.
One minute and forty-eight seconds had passed.
Leon recovered his position.
"I expected you to activate the spatial ability."
"I don’t need it yet."
"You’re two steps away from losing by ring-out."
"Then I’ll have to move forward."
Leon charged.
Vanguard Lancer reached its maximum speed. Mana covered the shaft and formed an extension around the spearhead, increasing the weapon’s effective range by more than three feet.
Adrian advanced toward it.
Starforged Body concentrated over his left shoulder.
The spearhead struck.
The barrier absorbed part of the damage, but not all of the impact. The blade penetrated the first defensive layer and left a deep cut.
Adrian trapped the shaft beneath his arm before Leon could withdraw it.
Fracture spread through the metal.
Leon released the spear immediately.
He didn’t attempt to fight over a compromised weapon. He advanced with Adrian and threw a punch toward his jaw.
Adrian blocked it.
Leon struck his knee, changed angles, and used his shoulder to drive him toward the boundary.
Even without the spear, he remained dangerous.
Adrian retreated half a step.
His heel hung beyond the field.
Leon attempted to complete the ring-out.
Adrian used Starbreaker against the ground.
The force didn’t create an explosion. It spread beneath the surface and returned through his leg at a different angle. Adrian pivoted around his forward foot without surrendering the remaining space.
Leon’s push passed beside him.
Adrian struck his flank.
Leon blocked with his elbow. Starforged Body appeared over his uniform through a secondary defensive ability, but the impact displaced him.
He didn’t fall.
He recovered the spear before it touched the ground and imposed the distance again.
Two minutes and thirty-six seconds.
Adrian was breathing harder.
So was Leon.
Both had stopped hearing the stands.
Leon attacked with a low thrust. Adrian avoided it.
The spear shifted toward his chest.
Adrian deflected it.
Leon withdrew the weapon and prepared a third thrust.
His rear foot anchored.
His hip rotated.
His forward hand relaxed its pressure to let the shaft advance.
Adrian had witnessed that transfer dozens of times during the last three minutes.
He didn’t need to know which attack Leon would choose.
He only needed to reach the moment before the choice.
He entered before the spear accelerated.
Leon attempted to shorten his grip, but Adrian struck the shaft at the point where he had applied Fracture.
The metal broke.
Leon released the severed section and attacked with the remaining half as though it were a short spear.
Adrian tilted his head. The blade passed beside his face.
Leon raised one knee.
Adrian blocked it with his leg.
They were now within a distance where the spear offered no advantage.
Leon immediately switched to close-quarters combat. He threw an elbow toward the wound in Adrian’s shoulder, attempting to force him to protect it.
Adrian didn’t.
Starforged Body distributed the impact.
Leon understood the exchange a fraction of a second too late.
Starbreaker Fist stopped against the center of his chest.
The force never entered his body.
It didn’t need to.
The defensive barrier detected the damage it would have inflicted.
The entire field turned red.
[Duel terminated.]
[Lethal strike registered.]
[Winner: Adrian Vale.]
The timer stopped.
[Combat duration: 3 minutes, 14 seconds.]
Adrian withdrew his fist.
Leon remained motionless for a moment. Then he looked at his broken spear and the dark mark the barrier had left across his chest.
"You could have activated Rift Hunter," he said.
"Yes."
"And you chose to learn my rhythm."
"That too."
Leon picked up the broken half of his weapon.
He didn’t look embarrassed. He was replaying the battle in his head, searching for the precise moment when he had allowed Adrian to begin reading him.
"I focused too much on preventing you from entering," he acknowledged. "When you began attacking the shaft, I should have changed weapons or abandoned full thrusts."
"It would have taken me longer to reach you."
Leon raised his head.
"But the result would have been the same."
Adrian considered the question.
"Not necessarily."
The answer appeared to surprise him.
Adrian pointed toward the spear.
"You changed the rhythm every time I began understanding it. You withdrew the weapon as soon as you detected Fracture and continued fighting after losing your reach. You’re good."
Leon stored both sections of the spear.
"I just lost in three minutes."
"You forced me backward for two of them. Most students wouldn’t have made me take the first step."
It wasn’t consolation.
Adrian had needed Starbreaker’s memories, Starforged Body, and a deliberate injury to enter Leon’s guard. If Leon had possessed more experience against fracture abilities, the battle would have lasted much longer.
The system confirmed how much Adrian had gained from those three minutes.
[Starbreaker combat application evaluated.]
[Prolonged single-Class combat completed.]
[Technical understanding increased.]
[Starbreaker mastery: 18% → 24%.]
The golden core stabilized within his chest.
The inherited movements no longer felt entirely like borrowed memories. A greater portion of Starbreaker’s experience had begun to truly belong to him.
The screens updated the official result.
[Opponent defeated: Leon Mercer.]
[Opponent status: Academy Combat Rank 1.]
[Ranking points awarded.]
[Local Rookie Ranking: 43 → 19.]
[Representative Selection standing: 1.]
The noise from the stands returned.
Adrian had begun the evaluation ranked forty-third in the city.
Now he was among the top twenty.
Leon extended one hand.
"If we both finish among the five representatives, I want another fight before the tournament."
Adrian accepted the handshake.
"Next time, I’ll use Rift Hunter."
"Then I’ll bring a second spear."
"Bring three."
A brief smile appeared on Leon’s face.
"I understand why Hart sounds irritated whenever she talks about you."
Evelyn was approaching from the edge of the field.
"You don’t need to speak to him for that to happen," she said. "Sometimes his presence is enough."
Adrian looked at his wounded shoulder.
"You could show a little concern."
"The barrier prevented serious damage, and you allowed the spear to hit you."
"It worked."
"That phrase is going to get you killed."
Leon watched them both before turning his attention toward the remaining pairings.
"The survival test begins tomorrow. Several teams will be formed according to the current standings."
"Are you offering to cooperate?" Adrian asked.
"I’m saying that I would prefer to see how you lead a team before the selection ends."
It wasn’t a promise of friendship.
Nor was it another threat born from wounded pride.
It was the beginning of a possible alliance.
Adrian was about to answer when pressure ran through Hollow Station’s core.
It didn’t originate inside his body.
It was an alert transmitted through his bond as the owner.
The evaluation panel disappeared from view and was replaced by the dungeon map.
A secondary entrance had just opened beneath the academy district.
It didn’t belong to any route authorized by Meridian.
[Hollow Station Core Alert.]
[Unauthorized access detected.]
[Owner authorization: Absent.]
[Operating Authority authorization: Absent.]
Three presences crossed the boundary before the core managed to seal the route.
One carried a device designed to conceal itself from the dungeon system.
[Illegal entrants detected: 3.]
[Warning: Intruders are approaching the Dungeon Core.]