The arena wasn't very big, clearly meant for simple duels.
A strong female voice echoed,
"Come on, hit harder!"
That bitch...
What did she think I was doing?
I had been hammering away at her for over an hour, throwing punches, high kicks, low kicks—I had tried everything.
And yet she hadn't moved an inch, blocking every one of my attempts with just one hand. She even yawned. Was she trying to help me or discourage me?
I gritted my teeth and went back on the offensive, aiming once more at her chin with the tip of my foot. She blocked it effortlessly with a single finger. I ducked down, sweeping my leg in an arc to try and knock her down, but it felt like hitting reinforced concrete.
She was immovable. Untouchable. Invincible.
"At least let me use magic!"
She smiled mockingly.
"No. If you rely on it too much, you won't even know how to stand on your own two feet."
What kind of logic was that?
Still, I could only follow her advice. After all, she had been here longer than I had. I suppose she knew better how I should train.
Not to mention I was pretty sure she could kill me with a single hand, given how easily she was toying with me.
I was sweating more and more as I continued my assault, trying to hit her from every angle and failing every time.
I was frustrated.
"We're taking a break. You've got ten minutes. Then we'll move on to magic training. Show me what you can do."
I sat heavily on the ground, slowly catching my breath.
She walked up to me with an empty bottle in her hand.
"Fill it."
"Just that?"
She smiled.
"You think it's that easy? Spill a single drop and I'll hit you."
That was abuse! I could file a complaint!
Still, something bothered me.
"How do you know my affinity?"
The brunette had a slightly condescending look on her face.
"Affinity isn't really random, at least not in ninety percent of cases. For example, someone hot-headed and angry is likely to have a fire affinity, while someone calm and reserved is more likely to have an ice affinity. Someone deeply virtuous often ends up with a holy or light affinity, while those with bloodstained hands tend to develop an affinity for darkness or death."
That didn't answer my question.
"So what about me?"
Her smile widened until it nearly reached her ears. She leaned close to my ear and whispered,
"Blood mages are extremely rare, but not because the element itself is rare… Almost all of them die young. Most go mad, capable of wiping out entire peoples without blinking. But you don't seem like that kind, so I'm leaning toward my second theory..."
"Which is...?"
"You killed your fam—"
*BAM*
"Looks like I hit the mark."
She had stopped my fist just millimeters from her face.
"How—"
She leaned in even closer, her eyes just inches from mine.
"Don't mind what I say. They're just harmless hypotheses, after all."
She was lying.
But how?
How did she know?
I had never told anyone.
The only person still alive who knew was that woman who had managed to escape me.
Were they connected? Had she approached me because she knew who I was? But that was impossible—I'm not even on Earth anymore.
Too many thoughts erupted in my mind in that moment.
Thoughts I had wished to forget.
"Your ten minutes are up."
Like hell I was staying with her.
I turned away, walking off without a word.
"Come on, kid. Don't you want to see her again?"
I froze.
What?
Don't tell me…
"Natalya."
My heart stopped.
My mind went blank.
That name.
I hated it from the deepest part of my soul.
And for the first time in years,
I wasn't smiling anymore.
I had to kill her.
She was affiliated with Natalya. I had to eliminate anyone connected to her.
I had promised.
I turned back, walking slowly toward her.
"What a terrifying expression~. But I'm not your enemy."
Lies.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"And what if I told you I want her head just like you?"
I paused for a second.
"Why should I believe you?"
She smiled, but this one wasn't like the others—it was soft, filled with kindness... or maybe pity.
"Do you really think you have a choice? I'm infinitely stronger than you."
She wasn't wrong. She could probably take me out in seconds.
And if she was telling the truth?
No, anyone who knows that woman has to be a liar or a demon.
But then why would she reveal herself like that?
Was she an idiot?
Highly unlikely.
A trap?
Most likely.
"What do you want?"
"I want to destroy them, obviously."
"Destroy them? Not just Natalya?"
She burst into a dark laugh.
"Oh, my poor child, if only you knew how insignificant you are compared to them. Now that you've seen the truth behind this world, how can you think a simple woman like her could pull off something like that without help?"
A flash of realization hit me.
She was right.
It would be impossible for her alone to have organized such large-scale experiments.
But some things still didn't add up.
How did I manage to escape?
Why didn't they come for me after I was thrown in prison?
If what this woman said was true, they could've easily done it.
Something was off.
Something incredibly important.
"And assuming you're telling the truth, how do you plan to do that?"
Her face lit up.
"Me? I'm not going to do anything."
"..."
Was she mocking me? How was I supposed to trust her?
"I'll just watch from afar, savoring the unquenchable flames devouring every last one of those bastards."
"And you're telling me all this because...?"
Her eyes sharpened.
"On average, out of over two hundred people, only one gets an element outside the four basic ones."
She was changing the subject, wasn't she?
"And in your little group of twenty-five, seven of you have a 'special' affinity. Don't you find that odd?"
I thought for a moment. If what she said was true, then yes, it was a bit strange. However...
"It could just be a coincidence. Statistically, anything is possible, however unlikely."
She said nothing more, simply pointed at the bottle.
"You've got training to finish."
I sighed and returned to my spot.
Was I really making the right choice?
Time would tell, I suppose.
I picked up the bottle.
Mana flowed through my body toward the glyph on my chest, making it glow through my black clothes.
As usual, I just thought of what I wanted to do.
Fill the bottle without spilling.
The blood materialized a few inches from the opening, flowing inside in a thin stream, neatly filling the small container.
"That's it?"
The woman looked shocked, for reasons I didn't understand.
"How did you do that?"
"I just wanted to fill the bottle. Isn't that what you asked?"
She frowned, puzzled.
"Make a cube."
I shrugged and did it.
"Now a pyramid."
The cube shifted into a triangular shape.
"How... Switch between them."
I was starting to get tired. Each shape shift was draining more and more energy. If they weren't so small, I would've been out long ago.
"Is that good enough for you?"
"You can talk while maintaining control of the shapes?"
Her jaw nearly hit the floor—nothing like her previous smug attitude.
"Control? I give an order and the blood obeys. I don't need to concentrate."
"That's impossible..."
What did she mean? Isn't that how you do magic?
Now that I think about it, the instructor had told me to circulate the mana but hadn't explained the rest. Maybe I was doing something wrong? Though judging by her face, I doubted it.
"You're supposed to manually shape the mana into what you want, not just command it! What the hell is this? It's like you're a Rakan."
It's probably due to the quality of my glyph. But I shouldn't tell her that.
"A Rakan?"
"Yeah, you must've learned about them. They live on this planet too, with Humans and Zelnhs. They're mostly bipedal reptiles. They can influence mana with just words."
Fascinating! If I learned their language, could I do that too?
"But you don't even need words—you just think it. In over twenty years, I've never seen anything like this!"
"You've been here for twenty years? I thought we only stayed three."
She put her smug expression back on, instantly making me want to slap her.
"I was born in the human capital of this planet. Not all humans are in the Babel Towers. Those are just training centers."
She seemed to enjoy my ignorance. I might as well use that.
"So I assume you know a lot, right? For example... what are the selections really about?"
Her face immediately turned serious.
"I can't tell you. It would disqualify you instantly. Don't try to cheat—he hears everything."
"He?"
"The tower's guardian. If this place were a school, he'd be the headmaster."
I didn't even dare imagine how powerful such a person must be.
Could he destroy mountains?
Split the sea in two?
Walk through space like it was a park?
Or even fly?
Just thinking about it gave me an irrepressible desire to grow stronger.
Who wouldn't want to fly, after all?