The air in the training room was thick with anticipation. Runes on the sparring floor flickered to life as Auriel and Fiona stepped toward the row of arcane dummies—each one humming faintly, ready to assess mana output and elemental impact.
Fiona pulled her gloves tighter, sparks already dancing between her fingertips. Auriel, ever composed, raised a hand that trailed a frost-silver mist.
Without a word, they moved.
Auriel stepped forward first. She drew in a breath, exhaled in steady focus, and summoned a sharp spike of mana to her palm. With a subtle snap of her fingers, a gleaming Ice Arrow took form crystal-pure. She released it with surgical precision.
The arrow flew like a whisper swift and silent before burying itself into the dummy's chest. On impact, the temperature dropped sharply. Frost spiderwebbed across the dummy's surface, and a burst of frozen mist bloomed outward. The diagnostic panel flared blue, registering high accuracy and mana efficiency, though noting moderate structural damage due to elemental dispersion.
Then Fiona stepped up. She planted her stance, shoulders squared, and focused. A pulsing Fireball bloomed in her palm dense, rotating slowly like a miniature sun. Unlike Auriel's elegance, Fiona's mana swelled like a pressure chamber, then launched forward with explosive momentum.
The fireball collided with the next dummy in a roar of heat and light. It detonated with controlled ferocity, engulfing the target in flames. The dummy reeled back blackened and glowing. The diagnostic panel pulsed crimson, showing widespread impact and concentrated thermal intensity, though slightly less efficient in mana conversion compared to Auriel's measured release.
The room was silent for a beat steam rising from one dummy, frost still clinging to the other.
Aaron whistled low. "I think the room just held its breath."
David crossed his arms, nodding. "Different approaches... same pressure. We'll be just fine."
Auriel cast a sidelong glance at Fiona. "You burn bright."
Fiona smirked. "And you freeze sharp."
Both Auriel and Fiona stepped toward their respective dummies, checking the glowing readouts projected just above the impact zones. Each panel displayed the same figure: 7.5.
They exchanged a glance mutual respect gleaming in their eyes and gave each other a small nod.
Auriel exhaled softly, then turned to Fiona. "Alright. You're in. You can join us on the advancement quest."
Just as the group began to turn and leave the training room, a voice broke the moment.
"Wait a sec," Aaron called out.
The others paused and looked back.
Aaron stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. "I, uh… I kind of want to give it a shot too. You know… see how much damage I can do."
Auriel raised an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity in her expression. David's arms were crossed, but he nodded, clearly intrigued. Fiona tilted her head, a flicker of interest in her eyes.
"Well then," Auriel said with a faint smile. "Let's see what you've got."
Aaron paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh… what if I accidentally break the dummy? I won't be held responsible, right?"
Fiona chuckled, a teasing smile tugging at her lips. "Don't worry. You can use your skills freely the dummies are reinforced to withstand up to 50 points of damage."
She gestured toward the glowing readout beneath one of the targets. "For perspective, most adventurers between level 1 and 10 hit around 10 points if they're well-trained. Of course, there are exceptions… but the highest ever recorded under level 10 was 25."
Aaron exhaled in relief. "Okay... good to know."
Auriel folded her arms, intrigued. David leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp with interest. Neither said a word, but both were clearly curious to see what their teammate was capable of.
Aaron stepped toward the dummy, drew a kunai from his pouch, and tossed it with a fluid flick of his wrist. The weapon struck cleanly but the display above the target lit up with a modest 5 points.
A small ripple of amusement passed through the others.
David smirked. "Well… that was something."
But Aaron didn't react. Instead, he pulled out another kunai, this time narrowing his gaze.
"Alright," he muttered, "let's try something new."
He focused, channeling chakra into his palm this wasn't the usual method he used for Gale Fang Cleave. Until now, he'd always shaped it into a standalone pressurized wind blade. But this time… he laced that compressed wind chakra into the kunai itself.
The weapon began to hum, vibrating faintly as thin arcs of pressured wind danced along its edge. The air around him shimmered, tense with compressed force.
With a sharp exhale, Aaron hurled it.
The kunai sliced through the air like a bolt of white lightning striking the dummy dead-center. A burst of wind exploded on impact, kicking up dust and sending a loud crack echoing through the chamber.
The damage panel blinked rapidly 15 points.
Aaron stepped closer, examining the shattered kunai embedded in the dummy. The blade had split clean through, unable to withstand the sheer intensity of the chakra he'd infused into it.
Auriel, Fiona, and David stood frozen surprised by the result. But before they could process it fully, Aaron made another hand seal.
A faint ripple of wind swirled around his arm, and in the next moment, a translucent chakra blade materialized in his grip sleek, weightless, and humming with condensed pressure.
Without a word, Aaron hurled the blade.
It struck the dummy with a sharp bang. A narrow, precise cut seared across its core as the panel blinked again 25 points.
Stunned silence filled the room.
Aaron looked at his hand, then at the panel. He'd used only 100 units of chakra, and already it was enough to make an impression. He knew he could push the technique further amplify the chakra and the maximum amount he could increase was upto 1000 units of chakra.
But Aaron knew this was enough. He didn't need to push it further.
A part of him didn't want to overshadow the others not when Fiona had just earned her place, not when Auriel's leadership and David's calm confidence held the team steady. He'd shown enough to prove he belonged… and more than enough to earn their attention.
And truthfully, he preferred it that way quiet strength, not loud declarations.
He turned toward them.