The sun had risen high over the academy grounds, turning the training field into a sprawling arena of stone and mana. Rectangular platforms dotted the field, each embedded with Seal Stones—crystalline runes that glowed faintly when activated. Their purpose was simple yet challenging: break the seals using magic, strength, or ingenuity.
Students streamed in, factions forming neat groups. Banners fluttered above their heads, representing fire, ice, lightning, illusion, and countless other elemental specialties. Whispers ran through the crowd.
"Lightning faction again…"
"They'll finish before anyone even starts."
At the center, Kairo and Riven stood apart, Eclipse Faction still a name many hadn't yet learned to pronounce properly. Their eyes scanned the field, analyzing each seal stone.
The instructor raised a hand.
"Begin."
Instantly, the field erupted. Students launched their attacks.
The Lightning Faction moved first. A blur of golden sparks, their arms and legs tracing arcs so fast that most eyes couldn't follow. In a single, fluid motion, several seal stones shattered, sparks flying like fireworks. Their speed was breathtaking, leaving other factions scrambling.
The Ice Faction approached more methodically. Each attack encased a seal stone in frost before shattering it, showing precision and patience. Other students noticed how their mana efficiency seemed unmatched, preserving energy for sustained control.
Fire factions moved with raw, explosive power, shattering stones in violent bursts, while illusionists like Igron's faction used phantasms to bypass seals entirely, making them vanish under deceptive strikes.
Kairo studied the field, crimson eyes flicking between fast-moving lightning, controlled ice, and chaotic fire. He traced a mental line through the battlefield, then focused inward, circulating his mana as he had learned.
Riven's wooden sword hummed faintly. Without mana, he relied entirely on strength and precision, swinging arcs that landed on Seal Stones with calculated blows, breaking them one by one. His method was slower but effective, each strike leaving the others in awe at his persistence.
Kairo's approach was different. He combined observation with bone magic, small arcs radiating outward as he struck the stones. Not the speed of lightning, not the finesse of ice, not the raw force of fire—but a strange, unnerving precision that seemed to anticipate each stone's resistance. Seal after seal cracked beneath him, often before other students could reach them.
Students and instructors alike paused, whispering.
"What kind of technique is that?"
"He's… manipulating the stones' resistance directly."
Igron, observing from a distance, smirked.
"Of course, the bone freak finds a shortcut. He always does."
By the end of the session, the Lightning Faction had the fastest finish, breaking the most stones in seconds. Fire and Ice followed closely, their styles obvious to all. And Eclipse Faction—Kairo and Riven—had fewer stones broken than the fastest, but each strike demonstrated ingenuity, adaptability, and teamwork the others didn't even attempt.
Kairo and Riven stood side by side, surveying the wreckage of shattered Seal Stones, crimson eyes gleaming faintly.
"Not bad," Riven muttered.
"We'll get faster," Kairo replied, silent in thought as always.
The instructors nodded, whispering among themselves. These two are anomalies… but they might just rewrite how the factions approach training.