The temperature plummeted the moment Team Crimson crossed the threshold of the swirling blue gateway.
Instead of an open cavern, they emerged into a subterranean tunnel made of coarse, jagged stones. The air was thick with the heavy stench of damp earth, mildew, and stale rot. Hovering high above the ceiling were stone like jewels illuminating the passage way.
The ground was littered with hundreds of sun bleached human bones. Before Sitri or Aria could draw their weapons, a sharp, clattering noise echoed down the corridor. Dozens of skeletal warriors pulled themselves up from the dirt, fangs bared, wielding rusted iron broadswords.
"Stand back," Ansel said casually.
He didn’t even draw his rapier. The Second Prince simply stepped forward and raised his right hand. A brilliant, blinding orb of golden light materialized above his palm, swelling until it illuminated every corner of the dark passage.
Flash.
The radiant light surged forward in a concentrated shockwave. The moment the golden rays touched the horde, the skeletons didn’t just fall, they dissolved into fine, white dust. The rusted swords clattered harmlessly against the stone floor, completely devoid of energy.
Iver, standing at the rear, didn’t even blink as the dust blew past his boots. ’Pure light manipulation with high sanctification properties’, he noted internally. He didn’t waste a drop of mana. Clean and efficient.
"Clear," Ansel smiled, turning back with an effortless wave of his hand. "Let’s keep moving."
As they ventured deeper into the rift, the tunnel widened into a sprawling ruin filled with jagged obsidian pillars. Here, the true trial began.
Shadow Beasts and Slate Hounds burst from the gloom in coordinated waves, but Team Crimson moved with terrifying efficiency. Sitri flicked her slender, ice etched daggers, freezing the ground beneath a pack of charging beasts and shattering their limbs with sharp ice spears. Aria stayed firmly in the rear, her focus wand glowing soft blue as she cast precise speed and impact amplification shields over Ansel and Sitri. Ansel glided across the battlefield like a streak of golden lightning, severing monster cores before the beasts could even register his presence.
Iver matched their pace flawlessly. He coated his standard steel sword in a thin, controlled ribbon of crimson fire, parrying strikes and delivering lethal thrusts to flankers whenever Sitri’s crowd control left a opening.
’We sure make a good team’, Iver thought, felling a shadow beast with a swift strike to the neck. ’I just need to keep my performance balanced. Not too slow to drag us down, not too fast to draw unwanted eyes’.
Finally, the path opened into a massive circular chamber. In the center, hovering inches above a stone altar, floated a towering figure shrouded in tattered black robes. A crown of jagged ice rested atop its bare skull, and two burning violet flames flickered inside its hollow eye sockets.
"A Lich," Sitri warned, dropping into a low stance. "its this rift boss".
The Lich raised its bone staff, causing the air in the chamber to freeze instantly as dark mana began gathering around its ribs.
"Keep it busy!" Ansel commanded, stepping back as his ivory rapier flared with a blinding, sun like radiance. "Give me five seconds to charge a high density strike!"
"Understood!" Sitri called out, launching a wave of jagged ice spikes to draw the boss’s aggression.
Aria raised her wand. "Speed amplification!"
Iver was gone.
Sitri glanced sideways for a fraction of a second, her sharp eyes widening. ’Where did he...?
Pop.
Before the Lich could discharge its spell, a sudden, blinding burst of compressed fire erupted directly beside its floating skull. The attack struck with dead precision, shattering the creature’s dark barrier and interrupting its spell invocation mid cast.
Taking immediate advantage of the opening, Sitri drove her hands into the ground. "Glacial Bind!"
Thick columns of blue ice surged up from the stone floor, trapping the staggering Lich’s limbs and locking it firmly in place.
"Now!" Ansel roared.
He thrust his rapier forward. A beam of concentrated, golden light shot across the chamber like a fallen star, piercing clean through the core in the Lich’s chest. The creature let out a silent, agonizing screech before collapsing into dark ash, leaving a glowing boss core bouncing across the stone.
High above the plaza, the massive mana leaderboard flickered, updating Team Crimson’s clear time.
[RANK 1: TEAM CRIMSON ..... 04:12]
Explosive cheers and hushed murmurs erupted across the Central Plaza as the screen updated.
"Did you see that?!" a student shouted, pointing up at the magic mirror projection. "The guy with the steel sword, he completely vanished for a second!"
"He appeared right in the Lich’s blind spot and broke its spell! Who even is he?"
"The black haired girl’s ice control was insane too!"
"As expected from Prince Ansel, though! That final light beam finished it off instantly!"
"They make an incredible team..."
Standing near the front of the crowd, Adela Zephra crossed her arms, as her eyes remained fixed on Iver’s name on the leaderboard.
’’As expected from him,’’ Adela murmured softly to herself, a subtle, confident smirk appearing on her lips. "Though I won’t lose next time."
Up on the high stone balcony, Vice Principal Weston stood surrounded by senior academy instructors, all staring at the rapid clear records.
"Ansel’s performance is, as always, flawless," one senior instructor noted, stroking his beard. "But who is the black haired girl? And that boy in black?"
Weston adjusted his spectacles, his sharp gaze lingering on Iver’s profile. "Sitri of House Vael, and Ares from zephra. Their combat coordination was off the charts. Not a single wasted movement." Read this novel at NovelPing for the best experience.
...
A few rows back in the crowd, two students stood side by side, watching the leaderboard update. The girl had long black hair and striking, cold red eyes, while the boy beside her had sharp white hair and matching crimson gaze.
"Hey, sister," the white haired boy whispered, nudging her arm. "Doesn’t that guy... kind of look like our father?"
The girl glanced at the magic mirror, her red eyes narrowing slightly. "He does bear a slight resemblance. But I saw him standing with House Zephra earlier. He’s likely just a guard."
he paused, letting out a small, disdainful scoff. "For a second, I thought the disgrace our mother kept talking about had come back... but that’s giving that trash far too much credit. He wouldn’t perform like that."
The girl chuckled. "You talk like you’ve actually met him."
"He was banished before we were even born and died two years ago," he replied coldly, turning his gaze away. "Yeah... he got what he deserved."
Neither of them realized that the boy they were discussing was standing just a few hundred yards away, stepping out of the portal gates.
"I expected us to clear it fast," Ansel said with a light chuckle as Team Crimson walked out of the glowing rift portal to the sound of thunderous applause, "but not that fast."
Ansel cast a subtle, intrigued side glance toward Iver. Hmm... ’as expected, he didn’t fail to impress. His timing was absolute perfection’.
Sitri sheathed her daggers silently, her dark eyes still fixated on Iver’s back as they crossed the courtyard. I didn’t even feel his presence when he moved, she thought, a chill running down her spine. He didn’t move like a front line sword user. He was akin to an assassin.
As Vice Principal Weston’s voice boomed over the crowd, officially announcing Team Crimson’s top record, Iver walked quietly beside his squad.
As they passed the line of waiting students, Iver’s eyes flicked sideways.
He caught sight of two figures standing in the front row of the next group, a girl with long black hair and cold red eyes, and a white haired boy with the exact same crimson gaze.
Low whispers rippled through the nearby crowd. "Look, those two... aren’t they from House Vorne?" "Yeah, the main line... scary..."
Iver didn’t give them a second glance. He looked straight ahead, his expression completely flat, though a faint, cold realization settled in his mind.
So he remarried, huh... Iver thought, his heartbeat remaining completely calm. Those are my step siblings in this world huh.
He didn’t harbor anger, nor did he feel a trace of resentment. They meant nothing to him.
"Next team, Team Obsidian,!" Weston’s voice echoed across the plaza.
Iver stopped in place with Team Crimson as the two Vorne siblings stepped forward, heading straight into the swirling blue light of the rift portal.