Chapter 57: Ring Three

Grey dawn light cut through the high stone shaft, hitting the cold floor. I opened my eyes.

Seraphina lay on my right side. Isolde lay on my left.

Our breath moved in one calm rhythm. The stone chamber was quiet.

In my chest, the Abyssal Core spun steadily.

Ding!

`[Wife Resonance Milestone: The Trinity Union]`

`[Skill Evolution: Shared Mana Reservoir Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]`

`[Effect: Maximum Stamina & Mana Transfer Efficiency Doubled | Trinity Channeling Active]`

`[SP Earned: +300 SP]`

`[Current SP Balance: 5,150 SP]`

The dull ache in my ribs was completely gone. My mana ran hot and clean.

Outside, the academy bell struck iron.

Dong.

Dong.

Dong.

The chime shook the heavy stone walls.

Seraphina sat up as her golden hair fell across her shoulders. She gave a small, confident smile.

Isolde rose without a sound.

Her twin daggers sat on the stone table. She strapped the black sheaths to her belt.

"Round One," Isolde said.

We washed fast with cold water. We pulled on our dark academy uniforms.

Seraphina pinned her silver cape over her shoulder.

I picked up the tarnished Iron badge from the table. I pinned it firmly to my coat.

We walked up the hidden stone stairs. We pushed the secret door open.

We stepped out into the busy corridor of Wing 3. Dozens of cadets rushed past us in the hallway.

Heavy boots hammered the stone steps.

We walked into the Sector 4 arena. The place was massive.

Cold morning air hit my face.

Four dark granite rings sat in the sunken center. Each ring was thirty paces wide.

Iron chains held glowing mana lamps high above the sand.

Above us, hundreds of noble cadets filled the stone tiers. Silver and gold crests flashed brightly in the morning sun.

Down low, commoner cadets sat on plain wood benches. They sat under the long shadow of the south wall.

Every one of them wore a tarnished Iron badge.

Round One was always rigged.

The academy instructors always paired Iron commoners against Silver nobles for easy target practice.

The commoners sat in grim silence, expecting another one of their own to be broken.

Rook sat at the front edge of their bench. His thick arms stayed crossed over his chest.

At breakfast, Rook had told the commoner dorms to stay in their seats for Match Three.

Our eyes met across the arena floor. Rook tapped his index finger twice against his knee.

Two taps.

The signal.

It meant the commoners were watching, waiting to see if an Iron cadet would roll over like the rest.

’The Nameless Legion begins today.’

Loud laughs broke out from the noble stands above.

"An Iron badge in Sector 4?" a noble sneered.

"Look at his coat," another laughed loudly. "Cheap cloth."

"Cedric Vale is on Ring Three," a silver-ranked cadet shouted from the high seats. "He will break that commoner in half."

Seraphina did not look up at the shouting crowd. She stopped at the edge of the tunnel gate.

She stepped directly in front of me. Her hand pressed flat against my chest.

Her fingers felt the steady pulse of my Abyssal Core.

"Make it quick, husband," Seraphina said softly. "We have morning lectures."

Isolde stepped up behind my left shoulder. Her cool fingers brushed the side of my neck.

Her shadow mana coiled lightly around my boots.

"Leave enough to sweep away," Isolde whispered with a dark smile.

"Thirty seconds," I replied.

A heavy brass horn blasted across the open arena. The loud sound bounced off the stone walls.

The referee shouted across the stone ring.

"Match Three! Cadet Cedric Vale versus Cadet Cassian Voss!"

The noble crowd roared with delight. Heavy boots stomped on the stone risers.

I walked up the granite steps onto Ring Three. The dark stone was cold beneath my boots.

Cedric Vale marched out from the far side. Polished silver plate armor covered his broad chest.

A two-handed steel broadsword rested across his shoulder.

He smiled for the high stands. He raised his left gauntlet to the cheering noble crowd.

To the audience, he looked like a champion.

My Void Sense cut right through his arrogant show.

His skin was dead white. Cold sweat soaked the leather lining under his collar.

His bloodshot eyes twitched with raw panic.

Ding!

`[Target: Cedric Vale]`

`[Cheat Detected: The Heavy Knight System]`

`[Active Quest: Slay Cassian Voss on Ring Three]`

`[Failure Penalty: Core Collapse & Host Soul Deletion]`

`[Bounty Reward: +500 SP & Heavy Gravity Immunity for Seraphina]`

’Cedric is a false protagonist.’

’The World’s Will gave him a fake cheat system to eliminate anomalies like me.’

’Now his own system is holding a blade to his soul.’

’If he fails to kill me, his cheat will delete him.’

’No wonder he is sweating through his steel armor.’

Cedric stopped ten paces away. He planted the tip of his broadsword into the stone.

The steel clinked against the granite floor.

"You should have run, Voss," Cedric said loudly. His voice boomed for the first five rows to hear.

"Trash belongs in the dirt."

I kept my left hand inside my coat pocket. I looked at his trembling fingers.

"Your hands are shaking, Cedric," I said calmly.

Cedric’s jaw locked shut. His teeth ground together in fury.

His knuckles turned white on the leather grip.

"Fighters ready!" the referee yelled, raising a bright red flag.

Cedric dropped his hips into a low combat stance. Both gauntlets locked tightly around the heavy hilt.

His breath came out in short, ragged puffs.

"Begin!"

The red flag snapped down.

Boom!

Cedric roared, driving the steel blade directly into the floor. Blue light flared in his pupils.

`[Skill Activated: 4x Heavy Gravity Trap]`

A dark blue shockwave blasted out from his blade. It covered the entire thirty-pace surface of Ring Three.

The air turned thick and heavy. Four times normal gravity slammed down on my shoulders.

Crack.

The granite stone under my boots sank half an inch. Dust puffed into the morning air.

The noble stands went wild with cheers.

"The Heavy Trap!"

"He is pinned!"

"The commoner cannot even lift a boot!"

Cedric let out a breathless, savage laugh. His bloodshot eyes filled with wild relief.

"You are done, Voss!" Cedric yelled as he dragged his heavy sword along the floor.

He charged straight at me.

"You weigh four times as much!"

"You cannot dodge!"

"Die!"

I did not move a single muscle. I drew a slow breath through my nose.

The downward force pressed against my neck and spine. It felt heavy to an ordinary cadet.

To me, it was nothing.

Last night in the vault, I trained under ten times gravity. Four times felt like a cool morning breeze.

My Abyssal Core spun in my chest. It opened like a hungry furnace.

It drank the blue gravity mana straight from the floor runes.

Ding!

`[Environmental Pressure Absorbed: 4x Heavy Gravity Field]`

`[Abyssal Core Siphoning: Active]`

`[SP Earned: +100 SP]`

`[Current SP Balance: 5,250 SP]`

’Weak.’

’Too slow.’

I pulled my left hand out of my coat pocket. I rolled my left shoulder once.

Cedric closed the distance.

Five steps.

Four.

Three.

Cedric swung his massive steel broadsword upward. He raised both arms high above his head.

He aimed for a downward execution strike.

"Die, trash!" Cedric screamed.

I shifted my weight to my right toe. Black void mana sparked along the edge of my boot.

’Void Step.’