(Lyon POV)
All Lyon could feel was a crushing weight. One moment, he was looking over the surroundings, wondering for what purpose they had been brought there.
The next thing he knew, he was suddenly fighting to keep his head from imploding.
While he was still busy trying to overcome the feeling of having four different wills imposed on his own, everything disappeared.
When Lyon's brain finally stopped trying to jump out of his cranium, he was able to open his eyes.
Taking in the new auditorium, Lyon couldn't help internally kicking himself for not taking his uncle's words seriously enough.
Looking back on it, it was obvious that his uncle had been warning him about more than just devious nobles when he told him to always be cautious.
Having tasted firsthand exactly what happened when he let his guard down, Lyon made a promise to himself to never take his safety at the Academy for granted.
Deciding to beat himself up for his blunder later, Lyon quickly took in the people in the room.
Seeing no more than fifty students in the room altogether, Lyon began to wonder how exactly the rest of the day was going to develop.
Not five seconds later, Lyon and some of the more sensitive kids in the class began to feel Kei energy gathering at the front of the room.
Watching with bated breath, Lyon wasn't too surprised when two familiar figures stepped out of the portal, with another two figures seeming to pop into existence beside them a split second later.
After introducing themselves and letting the students know about the rules and methods of the Hell Month, Lyon began to plan for his future at the Academy.
Half paying attention, Lyon ran through his options. The first thing he had to do was break through the Physical realm into the second Astral realm so he could begin to mold his combat style and profession.
He also had to decide whether he wanted to follow the path of his attributes, which were Lightning and Shadows, or if he should follow the ancestry path of dragons.
Before he could make any headway on his plans, he felt a presence observing him. He didn't let the other party know he felt their stare in case they proved to be hostile.
He would be able to react instantly and, hopefully, catch the other party off guard. He felt the stare intensify and couldn't resist the urge to look back.
He noticed a fairly average-looking teen staring at him with confusion and a bit of wariness.
"Oh," he faintly muttered to himself, too low to be heard by anyone but the four teachers with exceptional strength standing at the front of the class.
Lyon himself was honestly surprised that a new student, and a commoner at that, could tell that he wasn't as simple as he appeared to everyone.
Hearing Teacher Levina, Lyon watched her use her lightning power in ways that seemed so practical that he seriously considered begging her to take him as a personal student.
If for no other reason than to get taught that skill, or else he felt he would have wasted his time.
Her pure-blood status confused Lyon, knowing that no pure-blood elf should even be able to hold such a position on this Continent.
That was not to say that Alcatum was biased against elves, but it must be known that, according to common knowledge, every pure-blood elf has a mark that provides protection from the mother tree of life.
Because of this, there are side effects that lead to pure-blood elves becoming weaker the farther away from the tree they are.
With the condition getting worse the longer the situation persisted, the only exception was the royal family, who had a direct connection with the World Tree.
With his mind racing, Lyon watched as a pretty elf girl with long silver and blue-tinted hair volunteered to start the matches.
As he watched her, Lyon couldn't help becoming interested, not because of her looks, although they were pleasing to the eye.
It was the look in her eyes that actually drew his attention. He could tell she was planning something, and with a little bit of thought on his part, he was able to decipher her plans.
Since she wanted to establish a sort of dominance with her first match, she must be extraordinarily strong, or extraordinarily stupid.
Lyon was certain it wasn't the latter option simply because he recognized the insignia on her clothes.
As a direct descendant of the royal family of the Elven Natura Continent, this girl could be many things, but stupid was definitely not one.
While Lyon was content to simply watch and better plan his next steps before stepping up for the challenge, the situation took an unexpected turn.
The girl was pointing at him. Out of all the students in this place, she had somehow picked him to fight. Lyon didn't know if he should be laughing or crying right now.
This first day couldn't have been more out of his hands if he tried. Making his way down, Lyon was already analyzing the girl. No, she was the enemy at this point.
He hated to admit it, but the girl might be stronger than him. Lyon, as a respectable family heir, regardless of how they might have fallen, was still trained to a certain standard.
At least before he and his uncle went against the traditional training routines. One of those skills taught him how to read an opponent before they ever released any of their strength.
Reaching the arena, Lyon couldn't help but be amazed by its sheer size. The entire sub-dimension was roughly the size of a football field, giving the fighters enough room to move freely without ever feeling cramped.
Lyon faced the girl and could feel the stare from the average-looking guy had returned.
But Lyon easily ignored it in favor of examining the girl in front of him for any weaknesses.
"Alicia, nice to meet you…" the girl began while outstretching her hand, and Lyon reached his out to shake before their match began.
"I'm Lyon. I would say nice to meet you, but given you picked me for the very first fight, I guess we'll have to settle this before anything else."
Lyon could tell Alicia was genuinely confused, something he would capitalize on. At least, that was the plan until she smiled.
It was so beautiful it caught him off guard.
"I see that there are still people here who understand how to use all the aspects of a fight to win."
Alicia spoke with practiced confidence. "As you can see, I will not be so easily fooled by such low-level tricks."
She had such a belief in her words that Lyon knew more bantering would be pointless.
Pleasantries over, Lyon jumped back away from the center of the arena while Alicia followed suit on the other side.
He could feel it, that rush of adrenaline as his heart started pumping more blood, the way his Kei energy seemed to jolt in his body before circulating quicker and more fluidly with each passing moment.
Taking a deep breath, he breathed out, and his life chain door (first seen in chapter one) popped into existence behind him.
Facing this girl, he could tell it would be a tough fight. Even now, she was simply standing there, and when her two, repeat two fucking doors, popped up behind her, Lyon could only grin.
This was it. This was why he was here, to face off against legendary geniuses and triumph.
Before she could decide to let out either of her innate spirits, he was gone. Lyon's figure vanished into the shadows brought about by his own door, which had already spread through half of the field.
"Bang!"
Alicia was pushed back two steps, turned with the second, and brought down a sword that magically appeared in her hand right where Lyon was.
Too bad, he was already moving before her swing could even start.
Coming up behind her, Lyon swung again and again, each time trying a different angle, each time being deflected by the little princess.
Feeling her adapt to his ambushes faster and faster each time, Lyon changed tactics. After ducking a close overhead swing that came just inches from taking his head, he charged forward.
Slightly thrown off by the abrupt change in combat style, Alicia faltered for half a second, her feet stumbling slightly, and Lyon capitalized.
He swung his hand, wrapped in shadows just the same, but with an extra 'kick' he hadn't used until now.
As Alicia thrust her innate spirit in the form of a sword toward Lyon's hand, he opened his fist, turning it into a grabbing motion.
When his hand came into contact with the sword for the first time, a zap, barely loud enough to be audible, came out.
"Shit!"
They both jumped back from each other, Lyon with his hand covered in a thin layer of frost, Alicia with her dominant hand now trembling slightly.
Despite himself, Lyon could feel a grin forming on his face. If there was one thing that he couldn't get enough of, it was a good battle.
Now, Alicia was no longer so calm. She had a serious look on her face, but Lyon was surprised to see she was smiling very slightly.
"You are good, so I think it's time to up the stakes a bit," Lyon said, still grinning even as his mind raced, trying to decide how much to show here and what he should try to hide.
"Swoosh!"
Lyon jumped up, barely avoiding three crude ice spears that were aiming at him from behind.
"I see your other spirit has been busy, and here I thought you were confident to take me out without using it, haha."
Lyon was trying everything to buy time. Azera was working on a large-scale spell that would make this fight an almost assured win.
The problem was—
"Swoosh!"
Alicia had obviously given her other innate spirit a similar task.
Finding himself entangled, Lyon could only hold on while letting Azera do her thing unless he wanted to reveal some of his trump cards already.
Which he knew wouldn't really work anyway, considering his current situation.
Using shadows to catch and misdirect an ice spear here and there, or charging a cloud with a jolt of lightning and luring Alicia into them with feints and jabs there, the two students traded blows across the whole field.
Finally, after five minutes of back and forth, Azera notified him that she was done, and he immediately told her to act.
Suddenly, a storm of darkness descended, and Alicia attempted to escape, only to realize the whole arena was already within the bounds of Azera's technique.
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Alicia decisively called both of her spirits to her side.
Lyon finally saw that she had a queen Dryad for her other innate spirit. The queen took the sword from Alicia, and with it in her hand, Lyon attacked with the intent to finish the battle right there and then.
"Dark Age," Lyon muttered, and in the depths of the shadows, Azera responded with her eyes glowing an ominous red.
The shadows paused, a terrible energy building up, almost as if a dam that had been standing for years was about to burst.
"You should make sure to block this one. It's going to be big," Lyon found himself saying to Alicia.
He had enjoyed the fight with her and would like to fight her again when their positions in the class weren't being held in the balance.
Alicia, for her part, hadn't said a word and simply looked at the Dryad, who looked back at her, nodded its head, and began to glow with a vibrant green.
Meanwhile, the sword began to shine a brilliant white. The colors grew and intertwined, becoming a rotating dome of green and white covering Alicia and her innate spirits.
At this point, the Dark Age had commenced with the third and last step, the descent.
All of the air in the auditorium seemed to shake for a second, and the sound of rushing rapids could be heard coming from the shadow-covered field.
After a whole minute, the shadows seemed to run out of steam, slowly dissipating and not leaving a trace of their existence.
Looking towards the makeshift arena, there could vaguely be seen a figure.