"Congratulations, you've passe—" Before she could finish her words, the striking blade had already reached her, gleaming brightly under the mana zone the stern sage had created.
Several more translucent green hexagonal plates appeared in midair, beside the one she had summoned earlier. It clung to it, then seemed to melt together as the line separating it disappeared.
*CLANG*
A deafening clangor reverberated throughout the training platform of the Mansion, echoing loudly.
'…What?' It was at this moment did he, belatedly, realize what had just transpired.
The familiar sound of shattering glass resounded once again, more than once this time. As Lieren realized the folly of his actions, he found himself eviscerating multiple translucent green hexagons lined up perfectly together, powerless against his brilliant stiletto.
A cold shiver ran down his spine, dowsing his cloudy and bloodthirsty mind.
'No! Wait, stop! Please!'
But he was already too late. The outpour of wild mana he had poured into both his swing and his striking blade was too much for him to stop abruptly, especially with how much dark intent he had put into it.
He didn't even have time to close his eyes.
And he didn't need to.
Just before the brilliant stiletto could rip her guts apart and spill her intestines to the floor, another plate appeared, this time much more robust and solid, with seven sides instead of six, and slightly orange in color. When the striking dagger met that floating plate of solidified mana, it felt like hitting an impenetrable mountain.
…Which was more than strong enough to keep her from suffering a terrible fate. Lieren's eyes widened as the orange plate seemed to lose its solidity and bend ever so slightly, curving inwards as the striking blade collided with its robust form. The stopped suddenly, sparks flying in the air.
Lieren immediately fell to his knees and huffed for oxygen, pumping air into his lungs and out like some dire worker at the end of his line. His lungs were burning, every cell in his body rushing to his body furiously and tantalizingly, barely keeping him alive. His bones felt like they were about to break apart. And his muscles were like dried rags, sucked out of any semblance of strength it could have possibly mustered, and then some more. There was a deafening noise obnoxiously ringing in his ears.
If Lieren hadn't known better, he might have already been dead.
But he was not. That much he knew for certain.
And even if he was, he would never let this be the end of him. At least not yet. Not now.
Somehow finding the strength to look up, he found the blood and battered form of the stern sage looking down at him with freezing sapphire eyes. It looked as if her eyes were crystalized vestiges of spiritual frost from an ice elemental.
"…. .... …." And then, she seemed to say something, but he was too tired to pay any attention to it.
He did, however, manage to make out one word:
"Passed."
With that last thought occupying his sleepy mind, Lieren reeled back, stumbled, and fell into the abyss of unconsciousness.
◇◆◇◆◇
The wind howled viciously as Selen's mana zone overtook the training grounds, her circle of consciousness extending beyond her own reach. It felt as if the world was at her fingertips, and that everything in it was rightfully and deservingly hers. But she knew otherwise.
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
Looking down, she saw a languid boy with bandages tied all over his body and limbs like a mummy, soaked with his blood, sweat, and tears. His face was contorted in a pained grimace.
"…Stupid kid." Dismissing her zone, she waved her wand and sent the emerald substance within downwards, into the cold asphalt, and willed the concrete floor to raise along with the boy. After a few crunching seconds, the black-haired boy was laying atop an earthen platform, battered and bloody.
This was not how it was supposed to go.
At first, she was merely going to test him, strain him a little, and maybe… just maybe make him bleed…
But, no. For the most part, all of the damage he had concurred had been done by himself to himself. The blood seeping his bandages was caused by the wounds he had opened up, the air that seemed to evade him was his own wish, and the way he seemed to grimace at the slightest motion — even between consciousness — was by his own volition.
If it had not been for her sudden intervention, and his late intuition, then things would have been different… maybe, surely. Probably.
Heaving another sigh flicked her wrist and sent the wind to envelop his bruised body. Aiding his recovery would have surely done wonders for his body. Spectacular, even… if she could have.
In truth, the healing spell she had so arduously learnt the secrets of was to remain useless. She had never improved it, which was no surprise, but she had created it with the most barebones way humanly possible. Sure, it wasn't the best out there — far from it, even. But she wad very proud of it.
…But alas, it had to remain dormant, unused and uncherished. Alone and abandoned.
'Unless…'
Putting her hand on the floating boy's chest, she willed the winds to keep him stable, and immediately felt the familiar resistive force fight against it. After a minute or so of concentrating, she was finally able to keep the boy afloat without much trouble. Still, the road there was surprisingly difficult.
Making certain that the boy was still alive — he somehow felt as if he wasn't — he pointed a winding wooden branch to him and muttered a soft chant.
As she did so, her wand gradually grew brighter and brighter. A soft, golden light emanated from the tip of the twisting wooden branch.
…And stayed like that for a couple of minutes.
When she felt the strain of casting such an advanced spell catch up with her, a look of utter frustration and anger befell her usually impassive face.
"Why won't it work?" She asked to nobody in particular, looking down at her blistered hands. She had worked so hard, studied so much, and sacrificed so plenty…
Why would it not just work?!
…But she already knew why; and how. She had known all along since she first tried to heal the damn boy.
'It's that dam resistance of his.'
If only it weren't for that, then things wouldn't have turned out this way. For her and for him.
Looking up at the grand mansion, a bitter smile parted her face. She was frustrated, but not angry. In fact, she was more motivated than ever. It was another new difficulty, another hurdle to overcome and conquer. She had faced her fair share of troubles; she wasn't about to give up now.
Conjuring a small drizzle of water, she washed the blood away from her face and took a deep breath and headed inside the mansion. There was a dark, inexorable expression on her face.
…And looking at her from above, a grim expression befell a white-haired beauty with vibrant blue eyes.