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[PHASE TWO: RESOURCE ASSET RECOVERY & SURVIVAL]
Objective: Accumulate 50 Combat Points via Core Extraction.
Total Examinees: 664 | Passing Quota: Top 300 Only.
Mechanics: Every examinee carries a single 10-Point Core.
Protocol: PvP Direct Engagement Enabled.
Notice: To pass, examinees must forcibly extract Cores from competitors. Extracted Cores update to the live Arena Leaderboard instantly.
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Shit.
Callista’s internal alarm bells were blaring in full corporate panic mode. Her magic was still in its trial period; weak, unoptimized, and practically begging for an aggressive liquidation.
She was about to be dead weight dragging down Corvina, a woman whose full, terrifying capabilities were still entirely off her radar.
They were in a central arena, a massive, ruined colosseum filled with cracked marble pillars.
The examinees who survived Phase One stumbled out of the dark exits and flooded the cobblestone pit.
"Callista..."
The voice arrived like a low, irritated growl. Alistair.
Corvina’s brow furrowed, dark eyes narrowing. "What are you doing here?"
"I’m here to protect her."
"Are you delusional? She’s my partner."
From Alistair’s perspective, Callista was simply playing some bizarre, high-stakes game of hard-to-get.
And if playing along meant dragging her back to his side, he’d gladly indulge her little rebellion.
Behind him stood his current teammate, a tall, hauntingly striking man with storm-grey eyes, a high ponytail, and a face so utterly void of emotion she might as well have been a stone monument.
"Deal," Corvina snapped without missing a beat. Her pride was far too colossal to retreat from a direct challenge. "I’ll gladly demonstrate just how pathetic your tiny d*ck is."
A collective, choked gasp rippled through the nearby examinees. Even Alistair froze, his royal composure instantly fracturing.
Since when did the polished villainess start dropping locker-room insults?!
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[ARENA MATCHMAKING COMPLETE] ────────────────────────────────────────────
[CURRENT LIVE STATISTICS]
Active Candidates: 664 / 664
Disqualified / Cores Extracted: 0
Leaderboard: [UPDATE PENDING...]
[COUNTDOWN TO COMBAT INITIATION]
00:03...
00:02...
00:01...
[PHASE TWO: START!] Protocol ╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Before Callista could even process the match signal, a shadow lunged.
A calloused hand clamped firmly over her mouth, dragging her backward in a sharp, sudden motion. It was Alistair’s silent partner, the tall man with the high ponytail and dead-eyed, storm-grey gaze.
"Move or scream, and your core gets yanked," the man murmured against Callista’s ear, his grip like iron. "Then both you and your loud little friend fail."
"Mmmph!" Callista thrashingly squirmed, her eyes wide with mounting panic.
A hostage play?! On day one?!
Any tiny shred of pity she’d harbored for Alistair instantly dissolved into disgust. This wasn’t chivalry, this was predatory!
Corvina took a fierce step forward, dark magic surging around her hands, but froze as the ponytail man’s fingers hovered directly over Callista’s core chest-seal.
"Playing dirty like you always do," Corvina hissed, her crimson eyes practically glowing with lethal intent.
"I’m merely adapting to your playstyle," Alistair sneered, drawing his rapier with a metallic click.
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[LIVE ARENA MONITOR]
Remaining Candidates: 615 / 665
Disqualified: 50
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A giant, warhammer-wielding student charged Corvina from behind.
Without looking, she whipped her wrist, blasting him backward with a shockwave of condensed shadow that instantly shattered his chest-seal and popped his core like a cork.
Extractions were happening in seconds, but Corvina and Alistair didn’t break eye contact for a single breath, their blades and spells striking blindly at any desperate examinees foolish enough to wander into their personal warzone.
"You really think holding my asset gives you leverage?" Corvina warned, her voice dripping with dangerous, calm malice as she crushed another stolen core in her fist, sending her points skyrocketing on the floating leaderboard. "You’re just stalling your own execution."
They kept their dance, while Callista was still in the same position.
Her core seal was right on her sternum, right under the ponytail woman’s hover-glove.
Standard defense? Useless.
The woman was taller, faster, and could rip her out of the exam before she could even summon a spell.
But the terrifying reality was that she had zero combat training.
She didn’t know how to chant, she didn’t know how to summon elements, and she barely understood how her own magic worked.
All she knew was that her ’Suture Magic’ felt like grabbing invisible strings in the dark.
Desperate, she squeezed her eyes shut and reached out blindly with her mana, feeling for anything near the woman’s grip.
She sensed a cluster of tight, structural threads right against her shoulder, the intricate stitching of the woman’s leather gauntlet, and the reinforced seams holding her combat pants together.
Please work please work please work!
Callista didn’t finesse it. She just mentally grabbed every string she could feel and yanked with all her might.
RIIIIP.
The internal seams of the woman’s gauntlet instantly disintegrated, the leather sliding completely off her hand.
At the exact same second, the heavy stitching along her knee-guard blew out with a sharp pop.
"What—?" The woman gasped, her stoic facade shattering as her armor fell apart and her knee buckled beneath her.
Callista didn’t hesitate. She shoved the stumbling woman backward and scrambled away on her hands and knees.
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[LIVE ARENA MONITOR] Remaining Candidates: 482 / 664 Disqualified: 182
Top Rankings:
Team Shadow-Rose (Corvina / Callista) — 80 PTS
Team Royal Crest (Alistair / Unknown) — 70 PTS ╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝