"Your hand-to-hand and mana enhancing skills are pretty decent for your level. Your battle senses are similarly well developed,” Vincent said, patting his clothes and walking in the direction of the exhausted Olivia, “But you depend too much on the eroding and corrosive qualities of your mana. And while the last strike did manage to push your physical capabilities a notch forward… you have to sacrifice too much stamina for that little boost. Leaving you spent after a single use.

“Though it is more than enough for this little test.” Waving his hand, Olivia’s body drifted away from the arena. Vincent took back his notepad and called out the next guy on the list. “Next! Dante…"

The next duels weren't that interesting. Not like Seth cared as his whole attention was on the exhausted female on the side.

And no, he wasn't staring at her ass.

The black eyes, skin and hair were the peculiar features that all the natives from the Cimmerian Forest share—the humans at least. There were a lot of speculations about the origin of these traits, as they were unique and exclusive to the people born inside the region. And, as bizarre as it sounded, even the direct descendant of two natives wouldn’t inherit the whole pack (hair, eyes and skin) if he/she was born somewhere else.

It was odd… but not as much as seeing two natives in a remote place like Darkhold City.

Seth took a moment to go over the information he had, which wasn’t much.

The Cimmerian Forest was a region located northeast of the Southern Border, known for its vicious ecosystems and housing one of the most ancient clans on the dominion. It was a rather exotic place to come from even if Darkhold City wasn’t particularly far away from the border of both regions, but the journey would be anything but short if someone decided to get his/her ass there.

Probably a year or two, if you were lucky, Seth reckoned. It made him wonder about their motives for coming here.

Which came with another topic: The Wiccan Clan.

While Wiccans weren’t, strictly speaking, considered a totally different ethnic group, they did have one particular trait that pushed them apart from their brothers and sisters—aside from making up one of the strongest and oldest factions of the dominion.

Their Physiques.

Unfortunately, Seth's knowledge of the topic was rather lacking. But it didn't stop him from making some wild assumptions after going over Olivia’s aspect properties and overall performance…

Soon, it was Seth's turn.

“Next examinee, Seth Blakura! Please come down!" Vincent called out.

Seth walked down the stairs and quickly stood a few meters away from the young novice, giving him a short nod and unsheathing the blade hanging by his waist.

Vincent raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t you a bit too young for this, kid?”

Seth returned the gesture. “Still half a cycle away from my thirteenth birthday and, by the way, I'm already at the Red Core Stage." He crossed his arms, "See for yourself if I'm fit as an adventurer or not.”

There wasn’t anyone above or below the red core stage in this group of examinees, but Seth was probably the youngest one—and the only one at the very base of the stage.

“Oh, so it seems we have the second little genius of the day,” Vincent commented, amusingly. Giving him a wide smile as his right hand grasped the thin sable hanging on his waist, “Since you appear to be so confident in your advancement, let's see how you do with that black stick of yours.”

Seth’s brows furrowed as he peeked at the flat blade in his hand. There was a stark contrast between the fiery red handle and the matte-black edge and scabbard. But much better than the shiny golden-silver sable.

The narrow blade was straight and thin, thinner like Vincent’s sable. It had a double matte-black edge that ended into a sharp tip, making it perfect for both slashing and thrusting motions—as he liked it. It would have been even better if the raw materials used were of higher quality as they weren’t the best, honestly.

At least, the mana conductivity and the metal's toughness and flexibility are decent, Seth thought.

It was a pity that caltling iron wasn’t meant for wielders of negative aspects, as it was a perfect conductor of heat and lightning. He would probably need to change it for the following stages.

It looked cool, at least.

“Let’s begin, then,” Vincent said, lowering his stance and positioning his left hand on his back.

Seth, instead, grasped his blade with both hands. His attention focused on every piece of information he could gather from the opponent in front of him.

Vincent sprang forward, closing the gap between them in an instant, lunging his sable in the direction of his heart.

Seth sidestepped, and the sable flowed through his side. Willing mana into his legs, he sent his elbow towards Vincent’s midsection. But just as he was about to connect, Vincent's body twisted, and he missed. However, using the momentum from his attack, Seth generated a potent blow in the form of a reverse wheel kick that connected with the head.

And... nothing happened—or at least nothing he had expected.

It was as though he had kicked a piece of solid wood—it hurt like hell. Without any option, he was forced to retreat as the piercing pain on his fingers made him aware of what could happen, again, if he didn't wield his mana efficiently.

Vincent cocked his head in his direction, curving his lips slightly. “I must admit your proficiency with the blade is remarkable, but if that’s all you have…” he glanced at his foot, “Then you will end up with more than a cracked finger.”

As these words left his mouth, his sable began glowing with a yellowish hue. Seth frowned.

So, he is in the Yellow Core Stage, Seth said to himself, raising his weapon. If I want to have a chance against him, I have to use everything I have.

Of course, he didn’t believe he had the slightest chance of beating an older guy two stages higher than him, but the mere fact that Vincent was using his aspect was already a good excuse to see how far he could push him.

From his core, a stream of blistering mana travelled through his pathways. It made his muscles twitch in discomfort as an alien sensation filled him. Outside, all the attention was on his blade, or better say, on the edge imbued in black fire.

Even Vincent’s expression was that of pure wonder and puzzlement—Seth could imagine the reasons behind it.

“That’s quite a peculiar… aspect, kid,” Vincent muttered, eyes focused on the calm, dark flame running through the blade. Cold and silent. Like the breath of something beyond the realm of understanding.

While Seth didn’t mind the rather intense stare, he was running short of time. He launched himself forward.

“Wha— Vincent's words got stuck as he found the blade on his side, rushing with a force and speed unnatural for an early red core practitioner. But he reacted in time.

As the sable and blade collided, Seth immediately felt the strength of the Yellow Core Stage in the flesh. It was massive—more than a few times than what he could typically muster with his crude pure mana enhancement skills.

But he held back his footing with surprising ease.

Under normal circumstances, the clash would have blasted his blade out of his hand and left a few cracked bones behind. Neither of these happened.

Smirking, Seth took a step forward, sending a strike to Vincent’s sternum.

He didn't know which were the physical limits of his body while utilizing his aspect to its full potential—as had never had the opportunity to test it. The perfect time to do it, he thought, seeing Vincent stop his blade with his glowing sable.

The two of them soon fell into a flurry of attacks. They slashed, lunged, kicked and punched each other until they found themselves at a stalemate.

Not for long, though.

Considering the pace at which Vincent was increasing the strength of his strikes and the physical burden Seth’s aspect put on his body, he wasn’t going to last long.

So, there wasn’t a point in holding anything back.

The exchange continued, their swings and stabs growing fiercer and faster as if they were trying to test the limits each other could handle. Every moment Seth parried or dodged an attack, Vincent would kick them up a notch, not letting him get used to a rhythm, outmatching him just with his superior skills and experience.

Despite that, Seth had managed to make him express a certain degree of seriousness that wasn’t present in the beginning.

Still… It wasn’t enough.

Under Seth's direction, mana slithered like roots to every corner of his body, into his skin, his muscles, and the core of his bones. It felt as though his body was dissolving from the inside out.

Seth didn’t care.

Flickers of black fire sprung to life around him as a new sense of strength filled his being, and adrenaline rushed through his veins. However, at the same time, he could feel how rapidly the technique emptied his core. He couldn't keep it up for long, but he didn't need to.

Seth exploded with force, the coal black blade blurring as it arrived at his opponent's side instantaneously.

There was a long, frozen instant where their eyes met. A look of stupefaction plastered in Vincent’s sky-blue eyes. His sable blurred, shining brighter than ever.

A shock wave travelled through the arena as their weapons clashed.

“That’s quite a good move, kid,” Vincent said, voice strained as a single, bead of sweat ran down his cheek. A broad smile plastered over his face. “But I think this is your limit.”

Seth didn’t answer. Instead, he sent a feeble, slow punch.

The outcome?

Seth didn't know as darkness overwhelmed him even before his arm travelled half the distance.