(A/N Big thanks to everyone for the Power stones and Golden tickets, they mean a lot. As usual, please don't hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

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Seris dropped her stance, resetting her anchor. "Ready?"

Caelum exhaled slowly, flexing his hands once. "I'll draw them in. You find the gap."

She smiled.

"Got it."

Caelum moved first.

He compressed the distance in short bursts, not large, just enough to gain fractions of seconds. His first strike hit the nearest opponent's guard. The impact rippled outward, throwing the attacker off balance.

Seris appeared at his flank, Anchor flashing faintly underfoot. She twisted under a swing and kicked low, sweeping her opponent's leg cleanly before snapping back to her original point in an instant.

"Left!" Caelum warned, ducking under a cross-swing.

Seris pivoted, catching the blow with her forearm, redirecting it with a twist. Her expression was calm, but she could feel the weight behind each hit. These weren't ordinary students; Kaelen knew what he was doing when he selected them.

Kaelen's voice rang out, sharp. "Spread!"

His team obeyed instantly, breaking formation into pairs. Two went for Seris, three for Caelum, each coordinating their strikes.

Caelum's focus sharpened. He couldn't outmuscle them, so he narrowed his range instead — compressing space within a two-meter circle around him. Every movement felt heavier, slower, and disruptive except for his own. When the first attacker lunged, their swing stumbled mid-motion, and Caelum countered cleanly with a straight palm to the chest.

The second swung from behind — Caelum dropped low, grabbed their wrist, and let the compression's pull carry their momentum forward. The boy fell flat, gasping.

Seris was having a harder time. Her opponents pushed in fast, alternating blows to break her anchor stability. She flicked her hand once, refreshing her point, but the effort was starting to cost her a lot of mana.

She ducked another strike, but the next clipped her arm, drawing a shallow line of blood.

Caelum saw it. "You alright?" He asked, his voice high enough to reach her.

"Still standing," she shouted back.

Caelum nodded faintly before surging forward, compressing the distance between him and his opponent.

Kaelen had been waiting for that. The moment Caelum shifted focus, Kaelen's reflection pulsed. The distortion bent space around him, and for an instant, Caelum's sense of direction blurred.

He felt the shift just in time — twisted sideways — but the edge of an attack still grazed his ribs. He grunted, the pain sharp but manageable.

Seris saw it and frowned.

"He's redirecting your compression now." She commented, shrugging off an attacker.

"Then I'll change how I use it," Caelum replied.

"How?" She asked with a raised brow.

He didn't reply. Instead, he flicked his fingers and folded space slightly beneath his feet — small, deliberate compressions. He wasn't sure it'd work, but it was the best idea he had to at least gain a sense of stability during Kaelen's interruptions.

Seris caught on quickly. She reset her anchor radius, pulling the field tighter — not wide and spread, but close and dense. The space immediately around her became rigid, resistant to Kaelen's pull.

Kaelen's expression shifted slightly.

Seris smirked.

'You're not the only one who learns fast.' She thought.

He lunged for her then. Seris ducked under the first strike, twisted, and kicked — her heel hitting Kaelen squarely. He retaliated with a sweeping palm.

Caelum stepped in, intercepting him mid-motion. Their forearms collided. Kaelen slid back a step, a frown marring his face.

The five teammates were still not out — two had regrouped, charging Seris again, one bloodied but still standing. The other two circled Caelum warily, hesitant now after seeing how their last attempts failed.

Caelum adjusted his breathing, focusing on rhythm over strength. Each movement came a fraction before his opponent's. He dodged with Kairos' step, countering with simple, efficient blows — short jabs, controlled sweeps, all designed to conserve energy.

Seris moved differently. Her style was fluid, almost unpredictable, with anchored footwork turning every dodge into a potential strike. When one attacker tried to dodge with Kairos step, her Lattice Sense caught the instability — she disrupted it, before it could be completed, elbowing the girl squarely in the jaw.

"You're good," Kaelen commented, genuinely impressed.

Seris shrugged mid-motion.

"I know." She said, a smirk on her face.

Kaelen's palm shot forward to strike. Seris tried to side step but couldn't complete the motion when she was tripped by a teammate on the ground. Her footing vanished, and she fell forward.

Caelum reacted.

He compressed the air between them, the burst redirecting Seris just enough for Kaelen's attack to miss. She hit the ground, rolled, and reappeared at her anchor point. Her breathing was rougher now.

"That was close." She commented with a sigh.

"Try to keep your footing next time," Caelum said.

"Thanks for the advice," she said back, her tone bland.

Despite the strain, a small smirk passed between them.

Kaelen's remaining teammates regrouped again. The exhaustion in the air was thick now — all of them breathing harder, slower, watching for mistakes.

Two of Kaelen's boys charged Caelum with reckless force. The moment they entered the compression field, their momentum slowed — Caelum caught both their shoulders and used the fold of air to slam them both into the ground. They didn't get back up, exhaustion and disorientation knocking them out.

Another came for Seris from behind, but she caught the movement. Without turning, she raised her hand. The ground pulsed once, and the Anchor dragged the attacker's leg off-balance. She spun, delivering a quick strike to his neck.

"Three left," she said, voice low.

Kaelen and the last two teammates rushed forward, their goal clear.

A few minutes later, Kaelen stood alone — three of his teammates unconscious, one crawling, the last limping back toward him.

"Stay down," Kaelen ordered, voice calm despite the damage. "You've done enough."

The boy hesitated, then obeyed, collapsing beside the others.

Kaelen's gaze rose to meet Caelum's and Seris's. His clothes were torn, his breathing laboured, but the composure remained.

"You've earned this," he said quietly.

"Save the praise," Seris replied.

He smiled faintly.

Before either could react, he exploded away from his position, running as fast as he could.

Seris blinked.

"He's running." She said, stunned.

Caelum exhaled slowly, scanning the clearing.

"Doesn't matter. Leave him." Caelum replied.

She brushed a hand across her forehead, smearing dirt. "We should've finished it."

"You would've risked injury," he said simply.

"Besides, we're both tired." He said.

"Barely," she muttered.

He gave her a look. "Barely gets you eliminated."

She sighed, a tired smile forming. "You really can't switch off, can you?"

He didn't answer.

They quickly knocked out the remaining guys and shared the sigil stones before slumping on the ground to rest.

For a while, they just stayed there — the forest quiet, faint traces of distorted air marking where the fight had been. The smell of earth and mana lingered.

Seris broke the silence. "That was rougher than expected."

"Because we underestimated him," Caelum said.

She nodded. "True. But it was still a good warm-up."

Caelum glanced at her, dry amusement flickering in his eyes. "If that was a warm-up, I'd hate to see your definition of difficult."

She grinned. "Guess we'll find out soon."

He checked his stone. His rank had shifted, fifth. Seris still remained at Second.

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