The atmosphere inside the arena remained charged even after the duel between Faelyn Elthar and Varkas Ashborn ended.
Large portions of the crowd still discussed the fight excitedly while magical screens replayed fragments of the battle high above the stadium.
More and more spectators had started paying close attention whenever members of Noctis’s group appeared near the battlefield now, because after the Battle Royale and the previous duels, one thing had become obvious to everyone watching.
That group was abnormal.
Meanwhile, Lyra looked like she wanted to disappear completely.
“You’ll be fine,” Kael told her confidently while leaning against the railing near our group.
“Probably.”
Lyra immediately looked horrified.
“That’s not reassuring at all.”
“It reassured me.”
“That explains a lot about you.”
Even Faelyn smirked faintly at that while Varkas silently cleaned one of his revolvers nearby.
Compared to the beginning of the examination, the atmosphere inside the group had changed completely now.
What started as temporary cooperation inside the Pocket Dimension had slowly become genuine trust.
Still…
Lyra’s nervousness remained obvious.
Unlike Kael, Faelyn, or Varkas, she never enjoyed combat itself.
Even after surviving the Battle Royale, she still looked far more comfortable healing wounds than standing inside an arena before thousands of spectators.
Then the professor’s amplified voice echoed across the stadium once more.
“Next duel.”
The crowd gradually quieted again.
“Lyra Valen.”
A noticeable portion of the audience reacted with confusion rather than excitement this time.
“That’s the healer, right?”
“The water mage?”
“She only survived because of the Darkness S Rank’s team.”
Lyra visibly tensed hearing that.
Pathetic.
People really loved underestimating support mages.
The professor continued calmly.
“Versus Cedric Vaelmont.”
This time, the reaction from the crowd shifted immediately.
Recognition.
A tall noble stepped onto the battlefield from the opposite entrance, his dark green cloak flowing behind him while a black staff covered in violet crystal veins rested calmly in one hand.
Toxic purple mana spread naturally around his body while the arena floor itself slowly started corroding beneath his steps.
Authority of Knowledge activated automatically.
Cedric Vaelmont.
Rank A.
Poison affinity.
High-level corrosion and toxin specialization.
Long-range mage combat expert.
Dangerous for most opponents.
But not for Lyra.
The noble calmly observed her from across the battlefield before smirking faintly.
“So they’re sending healers into the arena now?”
Several nobles sitting in the upper sections of the arena laughed quietly.
Lyra’s hands tightened slightly around her staff.
Cedric continued casually.
“Honestly, I’m impressed you survived long enough to qualify.
Most village girls would’ve died during the first day.”
Kael immediately frowned beside me.
“Okay, I already hate this guy.”
Faelyn crossed her arms.
“Join the club.”
Meanwhile, Lyra lowered her eyes briefly.
Still nervous.
Still doubting herself.
But unlike earlier in the examination…
She no longer looked fragile.
She looked restrained.
The arena barriers activated moments later while poison mana slowly spread across portions of the battlefield like creeping corruption.
Purple liquid dripped from Cedric’s staff before hissing violently against the reinforced stone beneath him.
Then he smiled again.
“Try not to cry too much when you lose.”
The crowd chuckled lightly.
And for the first time since stepping into the arena…
Lyra looked genuinely hurt.
That expression alone almost made Kael jump into the battlefield himself.
But I remained calm.
Because unlike the spectators…
I already knew how this duel would end.
The professor raised one hand.
“Begin.”
Poison exploded across the arena instantly.
Cedric attacked first without hesitation, launching massive waves of corrosive mana toward Lyra while toxic mist spread rapidly across the battlefield.
The arena floor blackened everywhere the poison touched while several spectators recoiled slightly after witnessing the sheer destructive potential of the spell.
Lyra barely reacted in time.
Water erupted around her body in rotating currents while translucent barriers formed instantly between her and the incoming poison.
The collision filled the arena with steam and violent mana reactions while toxic liquid continuously attempted corroding through the defensive currents protecting her.
Cedric smirked immediately afterward.
“Oh?
Better than expected.”
Then the poison intensified.
The battlefield slowly transformed into a toxic swamp beneath Cedric Vaelmont’s relentless attacks.
Purple poison spread across the arena floor in expanding waves while corrosive mist filled the air thick enough to distort visibility itself.
Every spell launched by the noble mage left permanent damage behind, blackening stone and melting sections of the battlefield beneath violent chemical reactions.
And little by little…
Lyra started getting pushed back.
Water barriers continued forming desperately around her while healing light flowed constantly through her body to counter the poison invading her mana circuits.
The problem wasn’t raw power.
Cedric specialized entirely in attrition combat.
Every toxic cloud forced Lyra to spend mana purifying the battlefield.
Every minor wound required immediate healing before the poison spread farther.
He was trying to exhaust her.
And the crowd could see it.
“She’s struggling…”
“The poison’s overwhelming her defenses.”
“A support mage can’t win a direct duel like this.”
Cedric clearly heard the reactions too because his smirk widened further while another wave of violet poison erupted from his staff.
“You should surrender already,” he called casually from across the battlefield.
“There’s no shame in admitting combat isn’t for you.”
Lyra blocked another spell with a rotating wall of water before stumbling backward slightly from the impact.
Her breathing had become uneven now.
Sweat covered portions of her face while purification light continued flickering desperately around her body to neutralize the poison trying to invade her system.
Still…
She refused to fall.
Because unlike the crowd, Noctis could already see what Cedric failed to understand.
Lyra wasn’t losing.
She was adapting.
Every time poison entered her water magic, the contamination disappeared faster than before.
Every healing spell became more efficient.
More precise.
More natural.
Cedric thought he was exhausting her through repeated corruption attacks.
In reality…
He was feeding her understanding of his magic.
Another barrage of poison spears crossed the battlefield suddenly.
Lyra reacted instantly this time, her water currents spiraling around the incoming attacks before purification light surged directly through the liquid itself.
And for the first time—
The poison disappeared completely.
Cedric’s smile faltered slightly.
The crowd noticed immediately.
“Wait…”
“She purified it?”
“That poison was Rank A magic…”
Meanwhile, Lyra slowly raised her staff again.
Water flowed calmly around her now while faint traces of golden light shimmered beneath the surface of the currents surrounding her body.
Cedric clicked his tongue before slamming his staff against the arena floor.
Toxic mana exploded outward violently.
“Venom Domain.”
The battlefield shook beneath the spell as massive pools of poison erupted across the arena simultaneously.
Purple mist flooded the combat zone while gigantic venomous spikes burst upward from the ground in every direction around Lyra.
This time, several spectators genuinely gasped.
Because Cedric had stopped holding back.
Lyra immediately got overwhelmed.
Poison spikes tore through portions of her defenses while corrosive mist invaded the battlefield faster than she could purify it.
Water barriers shattered repeatedly under the pressure while several cuts opened across her arms and shoulders from attacks she narrowly failed to block completely.
Kael slammed both hands against the railing near us.
“Come on Lyra!”
Faelyn’s expression had grown far more serious now.
“That poison keeps forcing her to burn mana healing herself.”
“She’ll adapt,” Noctis answered calmly.
Varkas glanced toward him briefly.
“You sound very confident.”
“I am.”
Meanwhile, Cedric slowly walked forward through the toxic battlefield, looking completely in control now.
“This is the difference between real mages and support trash,” he declared loudly enough for the audience to hear.
“Healing magic exists to support superior fighters.
Nothing more.”
Another explosion of poison erupted directly beneath Lyra afterward, sending her crashing backward across the battlefield.
Several spectators winced seeing the impact while toxic corruption immediately started spreading across the ground around her fallen body.
For a brief moment…
The arena genuinely believed the fight was over.
Then water suddenly erupted upward.
A massive spiral current exploded around Lyra’s body while golden purification light surged violently through the battlefield.
The poison surrounding her started disappearing faster than before now, almost instantly evaporating wherever her mana touched it.
Cedric’s expression changed completely for the first time.
Because he finally understood.
His poison…
Was becoming ineffective.
The atmosphere inside the arena shifted completely the moment Cedric Vaelmont realized his poison was no longer spreading properly.
Purple corruption continued flooding the battlefield, but everywhere Lyra’s water touched it, the toxins dissolved almost instantly beneath waves of purification light.
For the first time since the duel began, the noble looked unsettled.
Meanwhile, Lyra slowly stood back up at the center of the ruined battlefield.
Her breathing remained uneven, several injuries still marked her arms and shoulders, and parts of her uniform had been damaged by the poison earlier.
Yet despite that, the fear inside her eyes had started disappearing.
Water flowed calmly around her now while golden light shimmered beneath the currents like liquid sunlight.
Cedric clicked his tongue in irritation.
“You’re seriously starting to annoy me.”
Another wave of poison exploded forward immediately afterward, this time concentrated into dozens of compressed toxic projectiles moving fast enough to tear through reinforced stone.
Lyra answered instantly.
Water surged upward around her body before rotating outward through the battlefield in enormous spiraling currents.
This time, however, the magic looked completely different from earlier.
The liquid no longer reacted defensively.
It pushed forward.
The poison collided against the water—
And vanished.
The crowd erupted in confusion.
“She erased it!”
“How is purification output that high?!”
“That’s not normal healing magic!”
Cedric’s expression darkened further afterward. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“You little—”
“Village girl?” Lyra interrupted softly.
The entire arena fell silent.
For the first time since entering the battlefield, she looked directly at him.
And Cedric immediately realized something important.
She was no longer scared of him.
The noble slammed his staff against the ground violently while enormous amounts of poison mana erupted outward once more.
“You think cleansing poison makes you strong?!” he shouted angrily.
“You’re still just some bouseuse who got lucky enough to be carried by monsters stronger than you!”
The words echoed across the arena.
And something inside Lyra finally broke.
Not sadness.
Not fear.
Anger.
Real anger.
Water exploded violently around her while golden light surged across the battlefield hard enough to force several spectators to shield their eyes instinctively.
Even the professors sitting near the central platform visibly straightened afterward.
Because the mana radiating from Lyra had changed completely.
Noctis slowly smiled beside us.
Finally.
Cedric either failed to notice the danger or simply reacted too late.
“Know your place!”
Poison storms erupted across the arena one final time.
And Lyra walked straight through them.
The crowd froze.
Golden light spread around her body while every toxic spell touching the aura dissolved instantly into harmless particles.
The entire battlefield started purifying itself around her with every step she took.
Cedric’s eyes widened slightly for the first time.
Impossible.
No.
He finally understood.
He had chosen the worst possible opponent.
Poison corrupted.
Healing restored.
And light purified.
From the beginning…
Lyra had been his natural counter.
Still, hesitation remained visible inside her eyes for one final second.
The habit of holding back.
The fear of hurting someone.
Then Noctis’s voice echoed calmly from the spectator platform.
“Lyra.”
She looked toward him instinctively.
And unlike everyone else watching the battle…
He wasn’t worried.
He was certain.
“Stop being afraid of your own power,” he said calmly.
“And massacre this arrogant noble.”
Silence.
Then Lyra raised her staff.
The world turned gold.
An enormous magic circle erupted beneath the battlefield while water spiraled upward around her body in gigantic floating currents infused entirely with light mana.
The pressure flooding the arena became so intense that even several professors stood up abruptly in shock.
“Impossible…”
“That level of light affinity…”
“She’s only a first-year candidate…”
Cedric panicked instantly.
Poison erupted everywhere around him while he desperately started building defensive barriers across the battlefield.
Too late.
“Sacred Tidal Judgment.”
The spell descended like divine punishment itself.
A colossal wave of luminous water crashed across the arena while golden light consumed everything in its path.
Cedric’s poison vanished instantly on contact before the attack swallowed him completely beneath overwhelming purification mana.
The entire stadium shook violently.
Then silence fell.
For one brief moment, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because the battlefield itself had been erased.
The poison was gone.
The arena floor had been completely purified beneath shimmering golden water slowly evaporating into particles of light.
And Cedric…
Did not exist there anymore.
Transfer light slowly activated near the edge of the arena several seconds later before the noble finally reappeared outside the Pocket Dimension system, unconscious and completely overwhelmed by the attack.
The crowd exploded.
Not cheers at first.
Shock.
Pure shock.
Even the professors looked stunned after witnessing the sheer offensive power Lyra had unleashed.
Meanwhile, Lyra herself stood frozen at the center of the battlefield breathing heavily while staring at her own hands in disbelief, as though she couldn’t believe she had really done that.
Then the arena barriers disappeared.
And the first person reaching her was Noctis.
Lyra barely had time to look up before he pulled her directly into a hug.
“I’m proud of you,” he said quietly.
For a second, the noise of the arena disappeared completely around her.
Lyra’s eyes widened slightly before she slowly relaxed against him, exhaustion finally catching up to her while emotions she had suppressed since the beginning of the examination threatened to overwhelm her completely.
When she finally looked back up toward him afterward, their eyes met silently for several seconds.
No fear.
No doubt.
Only trust.