All around the training field, students lingered in scattered clusters. Some were seated on benches, others were sprawled on the ground beside their recovering spiritual creatures, breathing hard from the morning’s drills. A handful of contract beasts were still growling lowly, reluctant to settle.
Kain leaned back on his palms at the edge of the arena, half-listening to Vauleth grumble about the stiffness in his legs from the intense training.
Then came the voice.
“Attention.”
The instructor’s voice cut through the haze like a blade.
Every conversation died. Even the ambient whining of tired spiritual beasts dimmed to a murmur.
The instructor stepped into the center of the cracked field, sweeping his gaze slowly across the Top 5s of each year. “You’ve all reviewed the announcement, I’m sure. As of this week, cross-year challenges are permitted. If you believe you deserve a position on the overall team, you need to prove it—publicly.”
A few students straightened. Especially some of the second and third years. Like Kain and the others last year, the first-years had no hope of entering the overall top 5, and so didn’t pay much attention to these cross-grade battles. But this year was different. Kain, Serena, and maybe even Soren still held out some hope of entering the College’s top team.
“You’ll be evaluated on skill, composure, tactics, and how you handle pressure. Those chosen will represent Dark Moon as the pinnacle of the college and compete against the best of the other colleges. There are no shortcuts. If you want a slot, you’ll fight for it.”
He paused.
“Any challenges?”
Silence.
Some glanced around. Others fidgeted. Several of the fourth-years, including Jade and Theo, had fought each other so often that issuing a challenge to each other felt pointless. But challenging someone new in a different year now felt like picking on someone younger. None of them wanted to be “that guy.”
Across the third-years, similar hesitation reigned. Kyria stood off to the side, arms folded, her eyes closed like a queen humoring the commoners. She didn’t even bother glancing around. Her stance screamed: I’m already in. I don’t need to prove anything. And if Kain and Serena didn’t succeed in bringing her down, she likely would be guaranteed a spot in the top 5 due to being 6-stars
Seconds passed.
Still no response.
And then—
“I have a challenge request,” Serena said.
Every head turned.
Kain blinked beside her.
She was already standing, her white hair catching the light like a blade unsheathing.
“I’d like to challenge Cressida,” she said calmly.
A few sharp intakes of breath rippled through the gathered students.
On the third-year bench, Cressida blinked once.
Her eyes found Serena’s across the field.
The corners of her mouth curled.
Then she stood, smooth as silk. No fuss, no dramatics. She simply rose, flicked her braid back over her shoulder, and smiled like someone watching a long-anticipated twist in a romance novel.
“Well,” she murmured, just loud enough for those beside her to hear. “How interesting.”
Even Rhiannon glanced up, raising a single eyebrow.
Cressida stepped onto the field, parasol now gone, posture relaxed but poised. Her smile never left her face as she walked toward the center.
The instructor stepped aside.
“All others, clear the field,” he said. “Match: Serena Storm versus Cressida Amoure.”
Eager whispers buzzed around the edges as the students and their contracts moved off to the periphery. A few professors from the viewing gallery shifted forward in their seats. One of them even pulled out a recording crystal.
Serena stood at ease, hands loose at her sides, expression blank.
Cressida approached without rushing. When she reached her opponent, she extended a hand.
Serena met it.
Their fingers clasped. Briefly.
Cressida leaned in just slightly, voice soft enough that no one else could hear.
“So,” she whispered, “does the winner get the boy?”
Serena didn’t blink.
She simply let go of the handshake.
And turned to face her half of the field.
Cressida’s smirk widened, but she said nothing more.
From the sidelines, Kain watched them interact with the strange sense that something was off. But he couldn’t quite place what it was. Serena and Cressida should have no prior connection, right?
The instructor raised one hand. “Match begins on my mark.”
A hush rippled through the field.
“Begin.”
Cressida didn’t move.
Not at first.
Then she exhaled.
Her Gift activated with the sigh that activated across the entire field.
Dozens of heads around the field twitched subtly, students blinking and glancing toward her without even realizing it. Her pink eyes shimmered faintly, no brighter than a sunrise, but it was enough.
Kain stiffened from where he sat, and Bea immediately reinforced the passive mental protections around his mind. Cressida wasn’t targeting him directly—but her gift had quite the range and even if not the main target will affect everyone nearby indirectly, and even the indirect influence was… unsettling.
Then came her contracts—all 5 of them appeared before the students not in her grade for the first time.
The familiar Brandshade Fox had already taken its place near her feet, trailing shifting pink-and-violet sigils under its footsteps..
Four other spiritual creatures followed in quick succession.
The second to appear emerged in a smooth ripple, almost unnoticed until it was already standing at Cressida’s left. It was a tall, willowy humanoid spirit with no discernible face—only a mirrored surface where its head should be.
Theo’s brows lifted, naturally as a member of a noble household known for its mental attributes, he was quite adept at mental attribute contracts. “A Reflection Wraith,” he murmured. “Rare. It passively mimics surface-level thoughts, alters them, and can then project them back at the target… usually to create false impressions or cause doubt in team settings.”
The third materialized high in the air before gliding downward—barely visible. A serpentine creature appearing to be made of see-through glass.
Jin whistled. “I didn’t think she’d be this serious against a second-year. Even summoned the Whispercoil Serpent… She rarely uses it after it left a classmate with brain damage they still haven’t recovered from during a class spar.”
Serena didn’t react to the murmurs. Her stance was still poised as she also began summoning her other contracts—yes, including Balens.
Cressida’s fourth contract came next. A spectral orb hovered in the air, and then, with a slow unfolding like petals blooming in reverse, it opened into an abstract, web-like jellyfish creature. Its tendrils writhed in lazy patterns, forming loops and spirals that shimmered in the air before vanishing.
Dmitri frowned, leaning forward, he knew quite a lot about spiritual creatures as well—only short of double majoring as an Evolutionary Planner like Kain—but he couldn’t recognize it. “That doesn’t look like a standard contract species.”
Theo nodded slowly, while clarifying his friends’ confusion. “It’s a partial conjuration—built out of her own mental energy and around a rare core scarcely produced in nature. It’s impressive that she has the means of making one.”
And then came the fifth.
This one walked out from beneath the others—slow, patient. A small feline with fur like liquid shadow and glowing runes etched along its flank. Its tail split into three midway through, each tip tipped with a tiny eye that blinked independently.
Alexei’s mouth twisted. “The Dreamgazer Cat. It makes you dream mid-fight. I’ve seen people fighting it swinging at imaginary targets until they collapse. It’s so annoying.”
The field fell into an eerie silence as the last creatures settled beside their respective summoners on each side.
The real battle was about to begin.
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