Seth staggered out of the ring, his muscles throbbing from his first defeat of the day. He had won two matches in a row before facing Jenna, the Rank-18 Warrior who had just beaten him. His high Agility and Nightmare's bonus attributes had given him an edge against the other Warriors, but not against her. The young woman had a fighting style focused on swift strikes with her twin blades, putting to use her own terrifying Agility, which was the highest among the Warriors' group.

And she was a commoner.

Seth couldn't help but admire that. She hadn't relied on noble lineage or expensive spells—just raw talent, honed skill, and sheer determination. If she could get that strong, then so can I.

'You should have bitten her ear off like I said,' Nightmare said mockingly as Seth waited on the side for his next fight. 'The opportunity was there.'

Seth forced himself not to facepalm. Early in the fight, he had brought Jenna to the ground, and the direwolf had shouted at him to bite her. 'Sorry, I was a bit busy dodging punches.'

'That's no excuse.'

"Listen up, students!" Captain Michaelson's voice thundered across the coliseum, interrupting Seth and Nightmare's exchange. "For the final hour, we'll be mixing the groups. It's essential to learn how to adapt to various classes' fighting styles. In the field, you must be prepared to face any opponent, regardless of their approach or spells."

The Paladin pointed to the Elementalist's ring. "For the first fight, it will be Commoner Seth versus Lucius Faertis in ring one," he announced, slowly gesturing toward each ring. "Commoner Jenna versus Theo Crestor in ring two, Commoner Hug versus Dreus Seralp in ring three, Commoner Blake versus Marina Daty in ring four and finally, Commoner Zephyr versus Steven Yelis in ring five."

Commoners versus nobles, Seth sighed inwardly. The captain had clearly planned to let the nobles assert their superiority. By crushing commoners like insects.

'Let me get out,' Nightmare growled from within the necklace. 'Together, we'll make him pay for the drunkard's arms.'

'Not now, it's too risky,' Seth answered, making his way to the Elementalist's ring. 'It's just a training exercise for class. We'll have our chance for revenge later.'

'Fine,' the direwolf grumbled, sitting down inside the teardrop's domain with a loud huff. 'Have fun losing.'

'Thanks. But I don't plan to.'

Seth halted in front of Professor Mate, the Elementalist instructor. "Sir, in a real battle against an Elementalist, I'd use my bow while closing the gap and my dagger for close combat. May I have a bow and a dozen arrows for the fight?"

The man's brows knit together, hinting at his annoyance, but after a brief moment of consideration he reluctantly nodded. "Fine."

After digging into his Endless Pouch, he pulled out and handed Seth a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a thigh strap for his dagger. The professor then filled Seth's belt with eighty uniums for the fight.

"As if a bow would make any difference," Lucius said inside the ring. "Stop wasting everyone's time and let's just finish this."

Ignoring the noble's jeers, Seth stepped into the white circle. He calmly sheathed his long dagger and secured the quiver on his back before nocking an arrow on his bowstring. Then, looking up, he locked eyes with Lucius and cast Identify.

Lucius Faertis Class: Elementalist Rank: 17 (High-Copper) Subclass: - Strength: ??? Arcane Power: ??? Toughness: ??? Well Capacity: ??? Agility: ??? Regeneration: ???

He's less dumb than the others, Seth thought, disappointed Lucius had remembered to wear his concealment artifact. Even if Rank 17 placed him in the top ten percent, it wasn't impressive considering the noble's background—he'd only risen three Ranks in the last two months.

"Activate your belts!" Professor Mate shouted, thrusting his hands in the air.

Seth and Lucius both infused their belts with aether, enveloping themselves in the thin azure barrier. Seth's grip tightened on his bow, and his other hand pulled back the string as he slowly exhaled, letting his inner beast take over. Bloodlust surged through his veins and flooded his mind with visions of Lucius lying down with his neck sliced open. Almost instantly, Seth's core stirred in his chest, unleashing its energy in powerful waves.

Across the ring, Lucius smiled, wand ready by his side. Fireball, Mud Hand, Barrier Wall—Seth remembered all too well the noble's spells from their fight two months ago. There were likely more, but hopefully none were stronger than those three.

The professor's voice boomed once again. "Fight!"

Seth instantly loosed his arrow and sprinted forward. Lucius responded with a flick of his wand, summoning Barrier Wall. The translucent, crescent-shaped shield materialized before him and the arrow shattered upon impact. As expected.

Lucius swung his arm, and a Fireball burst out forth from his wand. Seth dodged to the side, evading the blazing projectile while simultaneously nocking another arrow and imbuing it with Shocking Strike. It was time for a distraction.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

As the noble hurled a second Fireball Seth's way, he kept charging and sent his lightning-clad arrow straight into the blazing spell, causing a spectacular explosion that sent sparks flying in all directions and veiled the ring with smoke.

Using the blast as cover, Seth quickly infused lightning into another arrow and shot it high in the air to avoid the noble's crescent barrier, which only shielded against frontal attacks. The moment Lucius caught sight of him, the noble thrust out his wand again, and brown aether hovered above the ground for an instant before surging toward Seth.

Mud Hand.

Just as the spell was about to erupt beneath Seth's feet, the arrow he had shot sooner found its mark and struck Lucius' shoulder. Lightning rippled across the Elementalist's body, digging into his muscles and causing him to howl in pain. His scream echoed throughout the arena—instantly, the Mud Hand and Barrier Wall both vanished.

Seizing the opening, Seth funneled aether into Haste's grooves and unsheathed his dagger. Propelled by the speed-boosting spell, he then lunged forward and slashed Lucius with a series of lightning-imbued strikes. Bolts of electricity surged across the noble's body, eliciting a second agonized scream.

As Seth drove his dagger toward the noble's chest, a sudden blast of wind struck him and sent him hurtling across the ring. He hit the ground with a thud, pain shooting through his back, but he quickly pushed himself back up.

On the arena's opposite side, violent gusts of wind spiraled around Lucius, forming a raging tornado. Seth reached for his bow and nocked yet another arrow, gaze fixed onto the noble, who was struggling to stand up inside the eye of the massive vortex. He then drew back the string, casting Shocking Strike again, and released. The projectile sailed toward Lucius, but as it neared him, the powerful winds shattered it instantly.

Rich brat, Seth cursed. That spell is definitely Epic. No shit, he doesn't need to evolve spells.

Within the cyclone, Lucius glared at him and waved his wand, conjuring another Mud Hand. Fueled by Haste, Seth launched himself forward and leapt over the giant hand that burst from the arena's floor. If his arrows couldn't pierce the wind barrier, he would have to break through himself.

The fierce winds whipped and slashed Seth's body, threatening to tear him apart as he pressed into the storm. Lucius, clearly sensing the danger, launched a Fireball to halt Seth's advance.

Seth's core flared in his chest and he dove to the side, barely avoiding the scorching projectile. Amidst the tornado's fury, he stood up and rushed forward. The powerful winds kept battering him, dust and debris scouring his face, and his feet struggled more to find the ground with each step. Lucius raised his wand again.

I can't reach him, Seth realized.

With no other option, he poured all his remaining aether into his arm while casting aside his bow. He then grabbed his dagger and, with a final burst of strength, hurled it toward Lucius. The blade tore through the tempest, but the wind still knocked the weapon off course, causing it to miss by only inches.

Lucius grinned, and the tornado surged with increased strength. A fierce blast knocked Seth off his feet, flinging him into the air. His body spun uncontrollably, tossed around like a ragdoll, then he slammed onto the ground.

"Argh!" Seth growled, trying to ignore the pain as he struggled to push himself up with the nausea from having a fully depleted Well.

Just as he mustered the strength to stand, the ground quaked under him and a massive hand of earth erupted. The giant fingers grabbed him, wrapping around his torso with tremendous force. He immediately tried to free himself, but the spell didn't budge.

"You really thought you could win?" A smile appeared on Lucius' lips as he strolled closer, the vortex dissipating around him. "So what if you hit me a few times? In the end, you lose, and I win. Again."

Seth opened his mouth to retort, but the large earthy hand tightened around his ribs.

'I'm coming out!' Nightmare bellowed from within the necklace. 'I'll tear his—'

'No, don't!' Seth exclaimed inwardly, wincing while staring at Lucius' creepy smirk. 'We'll make him pay later. Doing it now will only backfire.'

'He's hurting you on purpose!'

'I'm fine—'

Seth let out a grunt of pain as the pressure intensified, threatening to crush his bones while eating away his aether barrier.

"I already told you. Commoners like you don't belong here," Lucius spat, halting a dozen feet away. "No one would even bat an eye if I were to kill you right now."

"Do it, then," Seth replied, somehow managing a wide grin despite the pain.

Anger contorted Lucius' face and the noble raised his hand, clenching it into a fist. The large earthy fingers squeezed Seth's ribcage, forcing all air out of his lungs.

'I've had enough of this!' Nightmare roared.

'No! Let me—'

"That's enough!"

Captain Michaelson's voice cut through in the coliseum and the giant hand encircling Seth crumbled into dust, sending him slumping to the ground, coughing and wheezing.

The man's stern gaze was locked onto Lucius. "You really thought torturing fellow students during a fight was permitted, Faertis? Next time, it's a month-long suspension."

Lucius turned away and walked out of the ring, muttering under his breath, "Commoners don't really count as students."

Forcing himself upright, Seth managed to get on his feet and headed out of the arena, shooting a fierce glare at Lucius as well as the Elementalists' instructor, who hadn't lifted even a finger. Professor Reat had warned him that such things would happen, but experiencing it firsthand was still infuriating.

Link's bonus attributes put me around Rank 17, Seth thought, clenching his teeth. So my Rank isn't an excuse. That bastard is simply stronger.

"Next fight for ring one, Sophia Datis versus Darius," Captain Michaelson called from the middle of the coliseum.

Seth took his place on the sidelines, joining the Elementalist students to watch the next fight.

"How are we supposed to win against someone with a Double-Tiered spell like Protective Tornado?" a student next to him grumbled to the others. "It's absurd."

Seth frowned and turned to him. "What's a Double-Tiered spell?"

"A spell that grows through two Tiers," a girl behind him answered. "It's way stronger than any other spell you can learn at Copper—even Epic ones. And when you reach Iron, it basically breaks through with you and becomes an Iron spell."

"Thing is, they cost three or four times as much as regular Iron ones since you can use them while Copper," the young man beside him muttered, shaking his head. "So, practically no one buys them. Except the wealthiest nobles, who don't care about throwing money away."

Great, Seth sighed inwardly.

As the two next students prepared themselves in the ring, Seth replayed his fight against Lucius over and over in his mind. Even if he'd tried stalling by running in circles to avoid that Protective Tornado, the noble would have eventually cornered him against the ring's edge. No matter what I did, there's no way I could've won there.

His hands rolled into fists, nails digging into his palm. I'm just not strong enough.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.