Chapter 64: The Tryouts (7)

The battlefield had become increasingly difficult to recognize.

Floating platforms drifted through the enormous stadium, many of them cracked, shattered, or reduced to little more than chunks of reinforced stone. The sounds of battle echoed from every direction.

Explosions.

Shouts.

The roar of Essence.

The occasional crash of an Awakened being sent through a wall.

Yet on one particular platform, there was an eerie calm.

A red-haired young man stood in the center of it.

Fire surrounded him.

The flames were by no means ordinary.

It was so dense and powerful that the air itself shimmered around him.

Several unconscious Awakened lay scattered across the platform.

Some were burned.

Others had simply been knocked unconscious by the sheer force of his attacks.

Luvian stood among them with his hands hanging loosely at his sides.

His expression was bored.

Until he saw something.

His brown eyes narrowed.

Several hundred meters away, across the floating battlefield, Eden was walking toward another platform.

And sitting there was Alexis.

Luvian clicked his tongue.

"There you are."

His lips curled into a vicious smile.

"Finally."

He had been looking for Eden since the round began.

Every time he thought he had found him, the battlefield had separated them again.

But now...

There was nothing between them.

Luvian could finally see him.

His fingers slowly curled into fists.

’I finally got you.’

He took a step forward.

The fire surrounding him intensified.

He was about to leave the platform when a sudden voice halted him.

"Hey!"

Luvian stopped.

His expression darkened.

A girl’s voice.

He slowly turned his head.

A brown-haired girl stood several meters away.

Bright blue eyes.

A calm but determined expression.

And her right arm was already glowing with brilliant pink Essence.

The energy around her fist was so dense that it almost seemed liquid.

Luvian frowned.

"And who the hell are you?"

The girl didn’t answer immediately.

Her eyes remained fixed on him.

Then Luvian noticed the badges hanging from her clothes.

A lot of them.

More than enough to pass.

He counted quickly.

Then frowned.

’She has more than me.’

That irritated him even more.

"What do you want?"

The girl raised her fist slightly.

"I want to stop you."

Luvian stared at her.

"...Stop me?"

"Yes."

"From doing what?"

"Getting to Eden."

The name immediately changed his expression.

"...Ah."

"So you know him."

"I do."

"I could feel your killing intent towards him way before the Round even began."

Lucy stepped forward.

Luvian’s eyes narrowed.

"And what exactly are you to him to stick up like this?"

Lucy hesitated.

"I’m..."

She looked away for half a second.

Luvian’s eyebrow rose.

"...His girlfriend?"

Lucy’s face immediately turned bright red.

"W-What?!"

Luvian blinked.

Lucy stammered.

"N-No! That’s not— We’re not— I mean, we’re friends, but—"

Luvian stared.

Then smirked.

"Right."

Lucy’s cheeks burned even more.

"That’s not what I meant!"

"I believe you."

He very clearly didn’t.

Lucy clenched her fist and snapped out of it.

"It doesn’t matter what I am to him."

"If you want to get to Eden, you have to go through me first."

Luvian’s smile disappeared.

"Fine."

His killing intent returned.

"I don’t care who you are."

The fire around his body suddenly exploded.

A pillar of crimson flame shot upward.

Several nearby contestants stopped fighting and turned their heads.

"What the hell was that?!"

"That’s C-Rank Essence!"

"No, look at the flames!"

Luvian stood in the center of the inferno.

His S-Rank fire was already beginning to influence the battlefield.

The heat was oppressive.

Luvian’s muscles tightened.

His eyes locked onto Lucy.

"If you’re standing between me and Eden..."

He lowered his stance.

"...I’ll have no choice but to put you down."

He moved.

Or rather, he tried to.

Lucy disappeared first, far faster than his eyes could track.

Luvian’s eyes widened.

’What—?’

She appeared directly in front of him.

’That skill!’

His instincts screamed.

"Burst-Step?!"

Lucy didn’t answer.

Her right fist was already glowing.

Luvian threw both arms upward.

Crimson flames coated his forearms.

He braced himself.

Then Lucy’s fist connected.

Pink Essence exploded.

The blast swallowed both of them.

The platform beneath their feet shattered.

A shockwave ripped outward.

Several nearby floating platforms shook violently.

Awakened contestants were thrown from their positions.

Dust and fragments of stone filled the air.

Luvian’s body shot backward.

He crashed through one platform.

Then another.

He finally slammed into the edge of a third platform and rolled across the ground.

Luvian slowly lifted his head.

His hair was disheveled.

His clothes were damaged.

A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

He wiped it away.

His expression was furious.

Not because he had been badly injured.

He hadn’t.

But because she had actually sent him flying.

Luvian was far more Irritated than he was injured.

’That girl...’

Luvian slowly stood.

’She’s not a pushover.’

His eyes narrowed.

’A rare Elite-Skill like Burst-Step...’

’And her physical strength is absurd for a C-Rank.’

’And whatever that pink Essence attack was...’

’It had enough explosive force to seriously injure me if I tank it directly.’

Luvian glanced toward Eden in the distance.

’I can’t use Flame Heart yet.’

The thought irritated him.

His SS-Rank skill was powerful.

Far too powerful.

But Flame Heart came with a price.

It burned through his Essence at an absurd rate.

Worse, his body wasn’t yet strong enough to handle prolonged use.

If he went all out now, he could potentially defeat this girl quickly.

But afterward?

He would be exhausted.

His body would be damaged.

And Eden would still be waiting.

’No.’

Luvian clenched his fist.

’I need to save it for him.’

He looked back at Lucy.

"You’re stronger than you look."

Lucy raised her guard.

"I get that a lot."

Luvian smirked.

"Don’t get cocky on me."

"Wasn’t planning to."

They moved at the same time.

Lucy used Burst-Step.

Luvian’s flames erupted.

Their attacks collided.

A wave of heat and pink Essence spread across the platform.

Lucy slipped through the flames.

Her fist struck Luvian’s shoulder.

He retaliated with a flaming elbow.

She ducked.

His knee came upward.

Lucy blocked it with her forearm.

The impact sent her sliding backward.

She immediately charged again.

The fight became a blur.

Neither fighter gave the other a moment to breathe.

Luvian quickly began noticing something.

Lucy’s attacks weren’t all exploding.

Only some of them did.

The devastating strike from earlier had required preparation.

He saw it now.

Whenever her right fist began glowing more intensely, she was charging.

’So that’s the trick.’

Luvian smiled.

"You need time to charge that attack, don’t you?"

Lucy didn’t respond.

That was answer enough for him.

Luvian’s smile widened.

’Then I know exactly when to attack.’

The next time Lucy began charging her fist, Luvian immediately moved.

He rushed forward.

Lucy expected it.

She stepped back.

Luvian launched a flaming punch.

She avoided it.

He followed with another.

She blocked.

Then another.

Lucy continued retreating while keeping her Essence concentrated around her fist.

Luvian laughed.

Lucy gritted her teeth.

’He’s figured it out this quickly?’

Luvian pressed harder.

He didn’t give her enough space to charge.

For several seconds, the battle seemed to shift in his favor.

Then Lucy smiled.

Luvian’s expression changed.

"Got you."

Her Essence suddenly surged.

Boom!

The first explosion hit him.

His eyes widened.

"What—?!"

Boom!

The second detonated almost immediately.

Luvian was thrown sideways.

A third explosion engulfed the platform.

The entire area disappeared beneath pink Essence.

The floating platform cracked.

Then broke.

Nearby platforms were blasted apart by the shockwave.

Luvian was sent flying again.

He barely managed to catch himself against a floating slab.

His ears rang.

His vision blurred.

For a moment, he couldn’t hear anything.

’Fuck—’

’What was that?!’

’She can charge it that quickly?!’

He looked toward Lucy.

She stood in the center of the destruction.

Her arm was smoking slightly.

Her breathing was heavier.

But she was still standing.

Luvian’s eye twitched.

"You..."

Lucy smiled.

"I didn’t say I had only one trick."

Luvian wiped blood from his cheek.

"So you were holding back too."

Lucy didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to.

’To think someone else of my Rank had the audacity to hold back against me...’

Luvian laughed bitterly.

"Fine!"

The fire around him intensified.

"I guess He isn’t the only one worth hunting."

Lucy raised her guard.

Luvian’s expression became serious.

"But I wasn’t slacking off either."

The flames exploded outward.

A massive wave of fire swept across the battlefield.

Nearby contestants immediately fled.

"What the hell?!"

"Get out of here!"

"It’s spreading!"

The fire engulfed entire sections of the floating battlefield.

Luvian stood within it.

His crimson eyes burned.

Lucy stared.

’So He’s been holding back this much?’

Her heart raced.

She couldn’t help it.

She wanted to beat him.

Not because she cared about the badges.

Not because she wanted to prove herself to the Association.

Because Eden was somewhere out there.

And Luvian had been looking for him.

’I won’t let him reach Eden.’

She tightened her fist.

At the same time, another thought entered her mind.

’But I can’t show everything yet.’

Round One wasn’t the end.

There were two more rounds.

She had no idea what the Association had prepared.

And if she wanted to impress Eden later...

She couldn’t reveal every card she possessed now.

Lucy took a slow breath.

[Essence Accelerator]

Her Essence Accelerator activated.

The skill spread through her body.

Her pink Essence began multiplying.

[V2.]

Her Essence output doubled.

The energy around her became dramatically denser.

Luvian noticed immediately.

His eyes narrowed.

"Another trick?"

Lucy smiled.

"Something like that."

She disappeared.

[Burst-Step]

Luvian raised his arms.

The collision came nearly instantly.

Pink Essence exploded.

But this time, the attack was different.

Faster.

Stronger.

More concentrated.

Luvian was pushed backward.

He planted his feet.

Fire erupted beneath him.

He stopped himself.

Lucy appeared again.

Another punch.

Luvian blocked.

The impact sent a shockwave across the platform.

He countered.

Lucy ducked.

His fist passed over her head.

She stepped inside his guard.

A pink explosion detonated directly against his chest.

Luvian flew backward.

He landed on one knee.

Then laughed.

"This is getting fun!"

Lucy wiped sweat from her forehead.

"You’re enjoying this?"

"A little."

Lucy didn’t bother hesitating, and instead charged again.

The two collided.

Again.

And again.

The battlefield around them slowly ceased to exist.

Every exchange destroyed another section of the floating platforms.

Luvian’s flames carved through stone.

Lucy’s pink Essence shattered it.

Neither could establish dominance.

Whenever Luvian gained distance, Lucy closed it with Burst-Step.

Whenever Lucy charged her explosive attacks, Luvian forced her to defend.

Whenever Luvian attempted to overwhelm her with fire, Lucy slipped through the gaps and struck from close range.

They were different fighters.

Different strengths.

Different weaknesses.

Yet somehow...

They balanced one another perfectly.

In the observation room, Neville had stopped smiling casually.

He was genuinely interested now.

"That’s impressive."

Choi watched the fight carefully as he recalled Eden’s words.

’No wonder he was so confident when he demanded a second invitation to the tryouts.’

’And yet...’

"They’re both holding back." Neville continued, finishing Assistant manager Choi’s thoughts.

Levi nodded.

"Quite significantly."

Luna’s eyes remained fixed on Lucy.

"Her Essence seems to... multiply."

She smiled faintly.

"Interesting."

Choi adjusted his loose tie.

"Neither wants to reveal everything."

Neville laughed.

"That’s what makes it so entertaining."

He leaned forward.

"Those two could probably continue like this for quite a while."

Levi glanced toward him.

"You think neither will overpower the other?"

Neville shrugged.

"Not if they keep fighting the way they are."

His eyes moved between them.

"They’re both protecting something."

And as the Timer above the battlefield continued counting down toward the end of the first round, one thing became increasingly obvious.

Lucy and Luvian were evenly matched.

A perfect stalemate.

Status Report!

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[STATUS]

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Name: Lucy

Level: 147 [C-Rank]

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Attributes

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Strength: 300

Agility: 400

Vitality: 320

Essence: 400

Perception: 100

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Skills & Authorities

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Essence Accelerator [SS]

Allows the Awakened to multiply their Essence and output.

Essence Combustion [S]

The Awakened’s Essence can be charged until it combusts in an explosion. The severity of the explosion depends on how much Essence has been charged.

Burst-Step [A]

Instantly crosses a designated distance through a rapid Essence-enhanced movement.

Quick Charge [B]

Immediately charges the Awakened’s Essence. Creates several charges in exchange for a greater amount of Essence, and can be combined with any Charge-type skill.

Aura Blade [C]

Manifests the Awakened’s Essence as a sword. Passive skills can be applied to the blade

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