The broken remains of the training puppets smoldered as silence settled over Ground C-7. A few instructors exchanged glances, scribbling notes on floating scrolls as the system reset itself for the next test.
Kaen's team gathered at the center, catching their breath—not from exhaustion, but from the sheer intensity of their synchronized combat. They were already ahead of the curve.
Lirien stepped forward. "Not bad. But today's lesson isn't over."
Before anyone could ask what she meant, the stone beneath their feet rippled. A crimson glyph spread beneath the team, and within seconds, they were surrounded by illusionary terrain—dense forest, flickering with unstable mana and distorted time.
"Simulation?" Selene asked, eyes narrowing.
"A high-level combat trial," Lirien said, stepping outside the glyph. "You're in a fragmented zone now. Monsters won't be real, but the pain and mana usage are. Your objective is simple: survive for ten minutes."
The illusion solidified. Trees darkened, their branches twitching unnaturally. The air itself began to warp.
"Of course…" Lirien added, smiling coldly. "You'll be separated."
The moment her words fell, the glyph pulsed—and the team vanished from each other's sight.
Kaen blinked. Trees. Shadows. Silence. His smirk returned.
"She's getting creative."
A hound made of molten bone lunged at him. Kaen caught it mid-air, snapped its neck with a flick, and let it dissolve into smoke. The forest tried to shift around him, but shadows responded to his will, anchoring the world itself.
Elsewhere, Zian stood poised, eyes calm. Her shadow soldiers manifested instinctively, slicing down spectral enemies before they reached her. Her memories of the battlefield—the one where she once stood alone—began flashing through her mind again.
Rin barely dodged a surprise strike, a barrier flaring to absorb the next hit. Leon shouted from somewhere unseen, locked in his own fight. Mira's explosives lit the trees on fire, breaking illusion patterns. Selene and Rayden held their own, adapting fast.
Time ticked.
At the edge of the simulation field, Lirien folded her arms. She watched Kaen the longest, noting every subtle motion.
"Even now, he's toying with the simulation," she murmured.
The Headmaster stepped beside her. "And the others?"
"Adapting," Lirien said. "They're strong—but he's something else entirely."
The simulation timer reached zero. A flash of light enveloped the field—and Kaen's team reappeared, breathless but standing.
All of them had survived.
Lirien nodded in approval. "Good. Next time, I won't go easy on you."
Kaen chuckled. "That was you going easy?"
Zian smiled faintly, her golden eyes flashing. "I wouldn't mind a real challenge next time."
And from the forest shadows that hadn't been part of the illusion… something watched. Not a creature, but a presence.
A remnant.
Waiting.