“W-what should we do?” asked Athera in panic. She chewed her nails, and her eyes kept twitching.

Cold sweat formed on Zumi’s temples. Athera’s question rang again in her head. What should she do? She couldn’t rely on Kane this time because he hadn’t woken up yet. She regretted giving the information to him, but right now, she must be focused on the next action.

“Should we hide in the cave?” asked Zumi back. “The prince probably won’t find us.”

“I d-don’t think that’s a good idea… They have direwolves t-to track down our scent,” replied Athera.

Zumi agreed in silence. Seeing Athera begin to be more assertive made her proud. Back to solving the problem, she decided to follow her heart.

“Thera, I’m going to talk to him. If it becomes messy, I’ll give you the signal. Help me from afar,” she said to the elf before leaving the cave. She stepped on the wet ground, dirtying her white boots.

Athera opened her mouth without letting out any sounds. A moment later, she said, “Be careful, Zumi. The prince… he’s very strong.”

“I’ll be fine,” replied Zumi. She stood in front of the entrance while Athera hid in the prone position. Something bothered her mind, how did she know the prince’s ability? However, the thought was interrupted by the prince group.

The direwolves were smelling the ground, searching for their prey’s scent while the three were following the beasts. The prince’s group was drenched, leaving wet puddles as they walked. They eyed Zumi with a convulsed face. Calypso then asked her loudly, “You’re with that vile half-oni, correct? Have you decided to surrender and give me your remaining cores?”

The twins snickered in the back. At the same time, Zumi was trembling in her shoes. How could she win against three people with a prince among them, plus with two summons? Also, this was the first time clashing against people minus her playful spars with the orphans. Zumi tightened her fist and took a deep breath. “I bet you already have enough points. Why do you still want to fight us?”

With a half-smile, Calypso replied, “That is simply because of that friend of yours. Had he chosen not to humiliate me, I wouldn’t have wasted my energy to find you.”

Zumi clenched her jaw, glaring at the prince. So Kane was the only reason after all? If that was right, she should immediately give the core right now. The prince wouldn’t bother them anymore and the sure-lost fight would be avoided.

Calypso then offered his hand and said once more, “Bring me the half-blood along with the normal mana core and I will spare you. Fortunately for you, I am not a fan of hitting women.”

“Y-ye—” Zumi bit her tongue in the middle of the sentence. She remembered what Kane had said. The prince was lying about the money, which meant, maybe he was lying again this time. Zumi was unsure whether Kane was right or not, but she had to choose quickly.

“I won’t give you anything! I don’t believe in your lies!” she shouted, hoping she didn’t regret saying that.

Calypso’s eyebrow twitched, his nose crinkled. “Oh? When did I lie to you?”

“If you have the money back then, you wouldn’t have to enter this test!” Zumi twitched her finger behind her back, giving the signal.

Calypso flinched upon hearing Zumi’s words. The twins also showed a concerned look and whispered something to him. Brushing off his hair, the prince then said with a condescending tone, “Very well, you may have uncovered my deceptive words. Nevertheless, it’s futile to resist us! You two, go subdue her!”

“As you wish, my prince.” The twins commanded their wolves to attack her.

The direwolf leaped toward Zumi, showing their canine teeth. However, she had already chanted a spell secretly when the prince had been talking.

“Unranked earth spell: [Stoneflesh]!” A large brown magic circle appeared beneath her.

Her skin turned into grey, rigid, coarse texture, becoming stone. It started from her arms to her entire body in just a few seconds. Then, the air around her arms began to spin, enveloping them. The heavyweight that burdened her arms now was gone.

The first direwolf tried to bite her. Zumi immediately uppercut punched it right in the jaw. The beast flew up in the air. Before she could regain her posture, another one pounced from her left flank. She wanted to dodge quickly, but the spell hindered her movement considerably. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew from behind her. It slashed the wolf right in the stomach. The beast was also blown away by the push.

Without looking, Zumi knew it was Athera’s doing. She looked back and yelled, “Athera, enchant my feet with your spell!”

“Yes! Unranked wind spell: [Light Feet]!”

The wind engulfed Zumi’s ankles, making them lighter. “Thanks—” Before Zumi could finish her sentence, a spear made of ice was drawn near. She stepped aside albeit almost tripped herself. She underestimated how light her feet were. The stray spear penetrated the craggy wall, stuck in there until it’s removed or melted.

“Here I thought that half-blood would ambush me from the forest. It seems his injury was too grave, no?” asked Calypso as he stepped forward. “You two, lock her movement while I’m chanting my special spell. I’ve been wanting to give this spell a test,” he commanded, and began to chant.

“Yes!” the two shouted, charging forward. The direwolves too began to attack again despite their injury. It was now 5 versus 2. The twins faced Zumi from the front while the beasts flanked her from behind.

Unsure of what to do next, Zumi decided to deal with the twins first. She threw a straight punch at the right-most enemy. Somehow, he dodged the fist easily. He counter-punched Zumi in the abdomen. Her eyes bulged, grimacing. She kicked him below the belt as a retaliation. A pained cry escaped from his mouth. He kneeled, quivering while covering his crotch.

At the same time, the other twin struck Zumi’s face. She staggered for a moment, then she elbowed him, hitting the chest. She pushed away. But then, a direwolf from behind bit her arm with its strong jaw. Her skin started bleeding. The other direwolves had already fallen unconscious from Athera’s wind spells. It had many cut wounds all over its body.

“Get. Off!” Zumi then quickly chanted an earth spell. “Unranked earth spell: [Earth Shard]!” She aimed at its head.

The small shard bored at the direwolf’s skull. It loosened its bite as its life sign faded away. Right when she moved her foot, an ice pillar burst skyward from underneath her. It was similar to a totem, except much taller. The ice lifted Zumi about 10 feet high. She could do nothing other than scream. The ice pillar turned into a mist in just a second and started falling.

*Thud!* Her shoulder crashed first, followed by her back. Even with [Stoneflesh], it couldn’t prevent the damage from gravity. She writhed in agony while lying on the ground. The sudden drop had dislocated her shoulder and injured her back. She tried to lift her body, but the pain was too much to bear.

The prince drew close to her in a nonchalant manner. He crouched down. “Did you enjoy my rank 1 water spell: [Ice Totem]? It’s powerful albeit requiring a long time to cast it.”

Zumi groaned as a reply. The tormenting pain occupied her mind; she couldn’t even maintain eye contact. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckled. He extended his hand toward the cave. As a blue aura enveloped his body, a white light shaped like a crescent hit his hand. The light vanished in thin air.

On the cave entrance, Athera stood weakly and leaned against the wall to support her body. She covered her pale face with the other hand.

“Your spell, rank 1 air spell: [Moon Slash], is not inferior. However…” Calypso extended his arm toward the cave and began to chant. “Rank 1 water spell: [Icy Spear]!”

The spear was launched. At the same time, a weak blue aura began to surround her body. It was useless. The spear penetrated her robe, stabbing her thigh. She was pushed backward, fell, and rolled into the cave depth.

“...your power is still inadequate. If your mana hadn’t run out, perhaps you could put up a struggle against me.” Calypso went to the cave, ignoring Zumi. He looked down and said, “We meet again, Athera Valvaris, the true daughter of Archduke Allisar Valvaris.”

“V-valvaris!” Zumi muttered. She had heard of the name quite often. A famous ancient elven family that reigned over half of the kingdom territory. They specialized in trading, scroll inscribing, and alchemy. The family had so much wealth that they rivaled the monarch gold deposit, though that was just a rumor.

She had also heard that the Valvaris had two children. Only one of them was showered in praise, and Zumi knew it wasn’t Athera.

“I’ve known your sister, or rather, step-sister quite well. A phenomenal prodigy mage of this generation, accomplishing quite a feat. Becoming an adept mage at 15-year-old is unprecedented. I must admit that she’s much stronger than me.” Calypso uttered a sigh. “However, are you, as the direct descendant, a match for her?”

He switched his gaze to the twins. They had recovered from their injury. “You two look for the half-oni. I’ll handle this one alone,” he commanded. The two nodded and entered the cave. They passed by Athera without giving a glance.

Athera opened her mouth a little, murmuring, “Don’t…” Her arms were shaking behind her back.

Her voice was quiet so Calypso stepped forward. “Speak louder.”

“D-Don’t compare me to her!” Athera’s eyes lit up. She revealed her hand and opened a rolled paper. A magic circle and runes were inscribed. They began to glow and a corporeal version of the inscription appeared. A powerful gust blew at Calypso. It began to tear his suit and slice his skin until he put up his aura. And yet, the wind was still able to scratch him. The pressure of the wind then blew him away, far from the entrance. The magic scroll turned into dust.

Athera stood up, reached out for her bag, searching for an item. She found it, a small glass bottle filled with blue liquid, and drank them until it’s empty. Grabbing the ice spear handle with both hands, she pulled them with her might and successfully removed it. She winced as the blood spurted out. She took out a healing salve from the bag, and then applied it to the wound.

With determination, Athera was panting. Her face convulsed due to the attack from before. She faced the downed prince. “This is for hurting Zumi!”

She shot a [Moon Slash]. The moment it clashed with the prince, his aura began to waver. The spell also pushed him backward. Athera didn’t stop. She chanted another same spell and shot it once more.

“And this is for me!” The same spell shattered his blue aura. However, no visible damage was given.

“Do not get cocky with a mere rank 2 scroll, elf!” Two magic circles flashed on both of his hands. He shot double ice spears.

“T-two rank 1 spells at the same time!?” Athera had put up the blue aura yet when she received them, the spears bored through the aura, and sent her flying. Her head hit the rocky wall first and fainted.

Calypso took a deep breath. “I, as a level 7 talent, never expected to be a little serious. However, you are as weak as everyone says.”

“Thera!” Zumi shouted. “You, bastard! I’ll never forgive you!”

He stuck his nose in the air, wrinkled his nose. “What are you planning to do in your current state?” Calypso sneered. “Moreover, haven’t you realized that this test is a competition? I merely did the classic approach to obtain the cores, by taking them from other fellow competitors.”

“B… But you have enough cores already…”

“Do you think I’m satisfied with that? The special prize is what I aimed for. It is unknown but…” He looked skyward at the observing creature. “I am certain it guarantees me to enroll in the famous class S.”

Zumi was silent. What on earth was he talking about? She wondered whether trampling other people was worth the prize. Still, she couldn’t say that to him because of the flaring pain.

“Enough idle chatter. It appears the twins have completed the task.” Calypso faced the entrance and saw his teammates exiting the hole. They were carrying Kane’s group pouch. “Did you find the half-oni and their cores?” he asked from afar.

“Aye, my prince. He was sleeping soundly. He didn’t bother us at all when we took the cores! Hahaha!” they cracked up. Their laughter roared through the forest until one of them suddenly fell. Something had struck him from behind.

The other twin became immediately frozen. By the time he reacted, a shadowy figure had bashed his temple with an ax. He rolled over the ground and ceased any visible movement besides breathing.

“You!” Calypso screamed, pointing at the person. “Impossible…”

Seeing this, Zumi gave a thin smile and whispered, “Finally…”

The horned figure lifted his chin, corrected his posture, and revealed his face. Kane strode over the twin’s body and said,

“You dare to hurt my teammates, huh.”