“3… 2… 1…”
“Begin!”
The moment Carpet’s voice echoed inside the arena…
Lucy’s feet exploded with ice.
The ground beneath her cracked instantly, and layers of frost spread at terrifying speed until the entire arena looked like it had been dragged into a brutal winter within a single second.
Lucy smiled while spinning her staff between her fingers with arrogant confidence.
“Come on then… show me your trash.”
But…
The trio did not move.
Lucian, Dastan, and Genika stood in their positions in complete silence.
Their eyes were fixed.
No fear.
No tension.
Not even the intention to rush.
The audience immediately burst into laughter.
“They froze from fear!”
“As expected!”
“They’re scared just standing in front of a professor!”
Lucy sighed mockingly, raising an eyebrow.
“What is it?”
Then she smiled sarcastically.
“Did you already wet yourselves?”
The cold wind from her aura made her hair sway lightly, while dozens of ice swords began forming behind her.
One sword…
Two…
Five…
Ten…
Until the air behind her was completely filled with sharp icy blades reflecting the sky like mirrors.
Rosaline bit her lip hard.
Her heart was pounding violently.
She knew…
This was not a joke.
Lucy could actually hurt them.
As for Lucian…
He simply glanced at Genika for a brief moment.
A small signal.
But it was enough.
Suddenly—
Genika threw one of the bombs Talia had taught her.
A gray explosion covered the entire arena.
Smoke swallowed everything.
The crowd screamed immediately.
“Cowards!”
“Smoke at the start?!”
“What kind of fight is this?!”
Lucy sighed as she released her cold aura.
A wave of ice exploded from her body…
Tearing through the smoke completely.
But…
No one was there.
The trio had vanished.
Her eyes widened slightly.
“Huh?”
The crowd grew louder. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“They ran away?!”
“Shame of the academy!”
“They couldn’t even take one hit!”
Behind the stands…
Ozex smiled faintly while looking at the director.
“Their eyesight is really poor.”
Ravina did not respond.
But the corner of her lips rose slightly.
And at the same moment…
Lucian appeared directly behind Lucy.
No sound.
No trace.
A blade of light in his hands suddenly lit up like a sun flash inside darkness.
Lucy smiled confidently.
“Found you.”
All the ice swords rushed toward him at once.
But—
Dastan appeared behind her at the same time.
His fist struck her side with overwhelming force.
He did not use his full power.
It was clear he was controlling it so he wouldn’t destroy her body.
But this made Lucy understand the plan.
“They are creating an opening for Lucian.”
She smirked.
Then focused her ability directly on Lucian’s position.
An ice blade shot forward and pierced his chest.
Blood scattered.
Rosaline gasped from her seat.
“Lucian!!”
Lucy laughed in victory.
“Is this your level?”
But…
Lucian’s body began to fade like light.
A clone.
Her eyes widened.
And at the same moment—
Another smoke explosion.
Dastan also vanished.
Lucy released her aura again violently, shredding the smoke, freezing the ground, even the air becoming painfully cold.
But…
Only emptiness remained.
Then—
She felt it.
She looked up.
And Lucian…
was falling from the sky at terrifying speed.
Light surrounded his entire body.
He had been there from the beginning.
“So the first one was just a decoy…”
He slammed his sword down.
A massive explosion of light shook the arena.
Lucy was pushed back for the first time.
The audience fell silent.
Some students stood up without realizing it. Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
A professor…
retreating?
Even though the hit was not fatal, the impact on Lucy’s shoulder was clear.
But Lucian frowned.
His focus on the light was still incomplete.
And that was obvious.
Lucy breathed slowly…
Then the smile slowly disappeared from her face.
The audience noticed immediately.
This was no longer “teaching students a lesson.”
She was now…
fighting to preserve her pride.
And a terrifying killing intent ignited in her eyes.
Only then…
she understood.
She had already lost the moment she entered their plan.
Lucian was never with them from the start.
The clone she stabbed…
was a fake.
The one attacking from above…
was a distraction.
Dastan…
was not the main attacker.
He was the restraint.
And Genika…
was the real weapon.
The weapon that had been hidden until the very last moment.
Lucy’s eyes widened slightly.
“Students…?”
No.
This was not how students fought.
This was how people who had survived fought.
People who had learned to make their opponent lose before even understanding the battle.
The black spear was now falling at terrifying speed.
Gravity around it distorted the air itself.
Even light bent around it.
The screeching of the ground…
The cracking arena…
The trembling sky…
Everything screamed one thing.
“If it hits… she will die.”
For the first time in many years…
Lucy felt real fear.
Her survival instinct exploded.
Her icy aura erupted violently.
Walls of ice appeared around her.
Layer upon layer.
Dozens…
then hundreds of ice blades circled her like a defensive storm.
But…
It was not enough.
She knew it.
The spear would pierce through.
And in the moment the strike was about to land—
Ravina moved.