The next four days blurred into discipline.
Morning lectures.
Afternoon drills.
Evening formation training.
Night analysis.
The first-year leaders barely had time to sit.
The eastern training coliseum became their second home.
Circular.
Layered mana barriers humming softly.
Stone floor etched with faint combat inscriptions.
Each day they improved.
Each day, they failed.
And each day, the gap between them and what they needed to become felt painfully obvious.
Priya slammed her palm against a practice construct.
Flames erupted violently.
The construct staggered but did not fall.
"Again," she growled.
Raivan exhaled sharply, frost crawling from his boots outward.
"Your flames spike too high at initiation."
Priya shot him a glare.
"And your ice spreads too slow under heat pressure."
Manaswini's voice cut between them calmly.
"Arguing wastes oxygen."
Avdhoot stepped forward.
"Reset formation."
They moved instinctively now.
Square.
Breathing synchronized.
Constructs launched.
Metal limbs.
Rotating cores.
Mid-tier combat models.
They clashed.
Flame met steel.
Ice reinforced impact points.
Inscription grids shimmered under strain.
Avdhoot darted forward — fire pulsing beneath his feet.
Precise.
Measured.
Never excessive.
But—
When Professor Isha Kapoor entered the coliseum that afternoon—
Everything changed.
Manaswini adjusted her gloves.
Then spoke.
"We are stagnating."
Priya blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"We are improving," Manaswini corrected calmly. "But without a superior benchmark, our improvement lacks measurable stress."
Raivan tilted his head slightly.
"You're suggesting?"
She turned toward the entrance platform.
"We request Professor Isha Kapoor to duel us."
Silence.
Even Avdhoot's eyes narrowed slightly.
Priya grinned slowly.
"Now that sounds interesting."
Raivan's lips curved faintly.
"Agreed."
Avdhoot nodded once.
"Yes."
They approached the instructor platform together.
Professor Isha Kapoor watched them from above.
Arms folded.
Sharp eyes.
Silver-lined hair tied back.
Presence steady like carved stone.
Manaswini spoke first.
"Professor."
"Yes?"
"We request a full combat evaluation."
Kapoor raised a brow.
"All four of you?"
"Yes."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"Hm."
She stepped down into the arena.
Mana pressure filled the air instantly.
Heavy.
Controlled.
Superior.
"I will not hold back entirely," she said calmly.
Priya grinned.
"Wouldn't want you to."
Kapoor's eyes glinted.
"Begin."
The barrier sealed.
Silence.
Then—
Kapoor moved.
Not forward.
Up.
A pulse of wind lifted her effortlessly.
Her hand flicked.
Ten light constructs formed midair.
Advanced tier.
Faster than their practice models.
"Formation!" Avdhoot called.
Manaswini's inscription grid flared instantly.
Raivan spread frost beneath them.
Priya ignited.
The constructs descended.
Impact.
Clang!
Crack!
Boom!
Priya shattered two instantly.
Raivan slowed three.
Avdhoot cut one cleanly through the core.
But Kapoor was already casting.
No chant.
Just movement.
A spiral of compressed air slammed into their formation.
Manaswini stumbled.
Grid flickered.
"Stabilize!" she muttered.
Too late.
Kapoor landed in the center of them.
Her palm struck Raivan's guard.
Ice shattered.
She pivoted.
Kicked Priya backward.
Blocked Avdhoot's blade with bare fingers reinforced by mana.
His eyes widened slightly.
She whispered—
"Predictable."
Then—
She released a shockwave.
All four were thrown back.
Dust filled the arena.
Priya coughed.
"Again!"
She charged recklessly.
Kapoor sidestepped.
Tapped her shoulder.
Priya collapsed.
Temporarily paralyzed.
Raivan roared in frustration.
Ice surged violently toward Kapoor.
She froze it mid-air.
Then shattered it.
Manaswini launched layered inscription traps.
Kapoor broke them with precise strikes.
One by one—
They fell.
Until only two remained standing.
Avdhoot.
Raivan.
Breathing heavy.
Mana reserves draining.
Raivan wiped blood from his lip.
"…Again."
Avdhoot glanced at him.
Then nodded.
They moved together this time.
No verbal cue.
Just instinct.
Fire and frost weaving.
Precision and aggression aligning.
For a moment—
Kapoor had to step back.
She deflected Avdhoot's blade.
Blocked Raivan's spike.
But her eyes sharpened.
"Better."
Then—
She disappeared.
Avdhoot felt it too late.
A pressure behind him—
He turned—
Palm strike to chest.
Air left his lungs.
Raivan lunged.
She caught his wrist.
Twisted.
Pinned him to the ground.
Silence.
The barrier dissolved.
Kapoor stepped back calmly.
"Enough."
Both boys lay on the stone floor.
Chest rising heavily.
Sweat mixing with dust.
Priya slowly regained movement.
Manaswini sat up, breathing unevenly.
Kapoor looked at them.
"You have talent."
Pause.
"But talent without humility becomes arrogance."
Raivan clenched his fist.
"I was not arrogant."
"No," Kapoor replied calmly. "You were angry."
Silence.
She looked at Avdhoot.
"And you hold too much back."
His gaze flickered for half a second.
She continued.
"Rest."
"Train."
"Then ask again."
She turned and left the arena.
Leaving behind four students staring at the ceiling.
Raivan stood abruptly.
His boots echoed sharply against stone.
"…This is unacceptable."
Priya exhaled slowly.
"We lasted longer than expected."
"That is not victory."
His voice cracked slightly.
"I refuse to enter the Trials like this."
He turned sharply.
"I'm training alone."
And walked out.
Manaswini followed shortly after.
"Recovery is necessary," she said quietly.
Priya looked at Avdhoot.
"You?"
"I'll stay."
She nodded once.
Then left.
Silence filled the colossal arena.
Avdhoot sat cross-legged.
Breathing slow.
Recovering mana.
The arena dimmed as evening approached.
He stood slowly.
Scanned the perimeter.
Empty.
Confirmed.
His eyes sharpened.
Wind gathered around his fingers.
He sliced upward—
Wind blades scattered into the sky.
Then—
He infused lightning beneath his feet.
And sprinted forward.
The wind blades fell like rain.
He crossed through them at high speed.
Sparks crackled.
Fire ignited in his right palm.
He maintained it steadily while controlling wind vortex in his left.
Three elements.
Simultaneously.
His breathing grew heavier.
Mana reserves draining rapidly.
But he did not stop.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Twenty minutes.
Then—
His legs gave out.
He collapsed onto his back.
Chest rising violently.
Stars above.
Clear sky.
Himalayan air cold and sharp.
The academy sat high among mountains.
The sky here…
Was vast.
Beautiful.
He stared upward.
Remembering.
His first day.
His fracture.
The Wildwood.
Krishna.
His stomach growled.
"…Seriously?"
He tried to sit up.
Failed.
Then—
A shadow blocked the stars.
Raivan stood above him.
"Sleeping?"
Avdhoot smirked weakly.
"Think whatever you like."
Growl…
Raivan's lips curved slightly.
"…Is that so."
He crouched.
Hooked Avdhoot's arm over his shoulder.
Lifted him.
Avdhoot blinked.
"Why are you helping me?"
Raivan didn't look at him.
"Think whatever you like."
Avdhoot chuckled faintly.
"Is that so…"
They walked slowly toward the academy.
Silence.
Then—
"Do you think we can win?" Avdhoot asked quietly.
Raivan stared ahead.
"…Yes."
Pause.
"We have a chance."
A small chuckle escaped both of them.
Not loud.
Just real.
After food.
After Veer complained about mana overuse.
After being half-dragged to bed.
Avdhoot lay staring at the ceiling.
His body ached.
His mind burned.
"I'll win."
He muttered softly.
"Make sure we win."
Deep within a sealed chamber beneath the Academy.
A figure sat in darkness.
Watching a floating projection.
The duel.
The exhaustion.
The hidden training.
The bond forming.
A faint smile curved beneath the shadows.
"This competition…"
A low chuckle.
"Hehe…"
"Let's see what you do this time."
The projection flickered.
Focused on Avdhoot's face.
The smile widened.
[End of Chapter 25]