“Is Rynel… okay?”

  Aira cracked open her eyes.

  Inside the red flames,

  there was no wind, no sound.

  Silence settled in, slowly.

  As the fire began to die,

  a silhouette appeared at the center.

  Rynel was still standing there,

  his face expressionless.

  Around him,

  light traces flowed in a circle,

  like a transparent curtain.

  Telekinesis.

  He had blocked the heat and shock of the fireball like glass.

  “Rynel…”

  Aira’s voice carried disbelief.

  “That was… a spell with insane power.”

  Monero let out a sharp breath, stunned.

  At that moment—

  Rynel’s fingertips moved, just slightly.

  “……!”

  Nesto, who had been held in place, was flung backward as if shoved away.

  It looked like a light flick.

  But the impact wasn’t.

  Nesto spun once and rolled across the floor before he finally stopped.

  And Karin’s eyes changed.

  Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

  Her jaw clenched hard as she tried to drag up what mana she had left.

  “…That’s a C-rank adventurer?”

  Karin’s hand moved on instinct,

  sliding inside her robe near her chest.

  A hard, familiar shape.

  A B-rank adventurer badge.

  Her fingers hovered there for a heartbeat,

  and in this training hall,

  that badge felt strangely small… and light.

  All three of them froze.

  A hush swallowed the hall, down to the sound of breathing.

  The first to move was Rynel.

  He quietly reached to his waist and pulled out a small magic scroll.

  He lifted it slowly.

  The scroll drank in light,

  then tore away into nothing.

  A magic circle rose in its place.

  Red lines crossed,

  mana rippled,

  and a huge boulder took shape in midair.

  Rynel’s fingers made a small motion toward the front.

  “……Fly.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  The boulder spun and shot toward Nesto.

  Straight line. Simple direction.

  Just speed and mass.

  But that simplicity turned into crushing weight.

  “Vertical Slash!”

  Nesto narrowed his eyes and raised his sword high.

  With a shout, he drove the blade down.

  Crack.

  The boulder split cleanly in two.

  The rupture rang through the hall as the halves swept past Nesto’s sides.

  For an instant,

  the corner of Nesto’s mouth twitched upward.

  Then his expression locked.

  Rynel’s hand closed again.

  “……Pull.”

  The two halves stopped in midair,

  then changed course.

  Like magnets,

  they snapped back toward Nesto’s back.

  “Damn it… annoying!”

  Nesto ducked low and rolled away.

  He avoided it, but there was no ease left in his face.

  Irritation and tension rose together.

  Behind him, Karin.

  Her mana surged fast.

  A red magic circle overlapped and spun at her fingertips.

  A huge sphere of power compressed,

  and heat came alive in the air.

  “Explosion!”

  The sphere flew at Rynel.

  Rynel gathered the stone fragments with telekinesis and layered them in front of him,

  stacked like shields,

  packed tight to block gaps.

  KWAANG!!!

  The blast shook the hall.

  The floor trembled, the walls vibrated.

  Smoke and dust exploded outward.

  Watching from the steps, Urs frowned and took a step forward.

  A deep crease formed between his brows.

  *…Do I step in now.*

  But Urs stopped.

  His lips pressed tight, his gaze fixed.

  *…Not yet. Not yet.*

  “Nesto!”

  Karin’s short call.

  Nesto dropped his stance immediately.

  “Phantom Drive.”

  High-speed movement.

  His motion overlapped, afterimages splitting apart.

  There was only one real body.

  But eyes that couldn’t keep up would mistake it for two.

  At the same time, Karin continued her chant.

  Two magic circles completed at once.

  Left hand: scarlet light, Explosion.

  Right hand: red light, Fireball.

  For most mages, even one would be heavy.

  Karin didn’t waver.

  She drove deeper.

  Her face said she meant to make it bigger. Make it louder.

  “…Brace yourself. This time’s different!”

  Both spells fired at once.

  They overlapped in the air,

  fire and detonation twisting together into a rougher wave.

  KWAAAANG!!!!

  A massive blaze swallowed the training hall.

  The ceiling boomed, the floor cracked.

  Shockwaves spread in all directions.

  Beyond the window—

  “Hyah…!”

  Aira covered her eyes on reflex.

  Monero kept staring, lips pressed tight.

  After a long moment—

  The flames vanished,

  leaving only heat and dust.

  And at the center,

  a single silhouette stood clear.

  “…How…”

  Karin swallowed hard.

  Rynel.

  He was still there.

  Around him floated tiny stone pieces, precisely fixed by telekinesis.

  Like a transparent shield,

  placed at angles that looked calculated.

  Inside that shield,

  Rynel’s breathing hadn’t even broken.

  “…No way…”

  Nesto’s eyes shook.

  Then—

  Rynel’s fingertips moved, barely.

  Whirr.

  Fragments ground into powder lifted lightly,

  and dozens of pebbles poured toward Nesto and Karin like a swarm.

  Karin bit her lip.

  *…This can’t be happening.*

  But just before the pebbles hit—

  Everything stopped.

  In the hush,

  Urs walked out to the center of the hall.

  Without a word,

  he raised his right hand slightly.

  Rustle.

  As Rynel lowered his hand,

  the stones fell to the floor.

  The mana holding them went with them.

  “Enough.”

  Urs’s voice was firm.

  Rynel dipped his head once and stepped back.

  Urs looked at him quietly.

  A thin smile appeared at the edge of his mouth.

  “This is… sufficient for a spar.”

  Then he looked between Nesto and Karin.

  “…Is that enough to convince you?”

  Karin couldn’t speak.

  Mana still clung to her fingertips,

  but she knew she couldn’t continue.

  “…What… is this….”

  Only her lips moved.

  It wasn’t pride anymore.

  A heavy, sinking defeat pressed down from the bottom of her chest.

  Nesto lowered his head, calm, eyes turned toward the wall.

  Not quick surrender… more like a face that had already accepted the gap.

  And then—

  Nesto’s gaze shifted beyond the window.

  Eyes met.

  Aira, and Monero.

  “U-ugh?!”

  Aira panicked and dropped below the window.

  “W-we got seen? We got seen, right?!

  That totally looked like a secret spar…!”

  She braced a hand on the floor and whispered.

  “Hey, Monero! Get down! What are you doing!”

  But Monero stayed there, silent in front of the window.

  Eyes. Jaw. Still.

  A moment later,

  he turned without a word.

  And he walked back into the estate.

  “…Monero? What’s with you?

  Don’t just leave me, where are you going?!”

  Aira hissed and hurried after him.

  Monero didn’t look back.

  ◇

  “Thank you for making time today. It must have been a great help.”

  Inside the hall,

  Urs spoke to Rynel in a softer tone.

  He looked like he was smiling,

  but there was weight in his eyes.

  Rynel bowed quietly.

  “Yes. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

  A formal greeting.

  With no hesitation in his steps,

  Rynel left the training hall.

  ◇

  “Monero! What is going on with you?!”

  Aira’s frustrated voice echoed down the corridor.

  Monero didn’t answer.

  He went into his room and started rummaging through a drawer,

  as if searching for something.

  Then he grabbed a black strap.

  “…Monero?”

  Without a word,

  he placed it on his head and tightened it.

  Then he turned.

  His eyes were different now.

  No jokes. No swagger.

  “…I want to get strong too.”

  Aira blinked.

  “Well… yeah. Obviously?”

  Monero shook his head.

  “No. I don’t mean it like that.”

  He clenched his fist.

  His voice trembled.

  “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

  If I go to school like this… I’m going to be dead weight again. I know it.”

  His words broke.

  His shoulders shook once.

  “…I really want to change.

  For real.”

  Aira pressed a hand to her head and sighed.

  She was thrown off, but worry rose first.

  “Monero. I get it.

  But there’s such a thing as steps.”

  She looked away for a beat, then met his eyes again.

  “Rushing doesn’t make it happen.

  If it were that easy, everyone would have everything they wanted.”

  Monero’s eyes wavered.

  Aira kept going.

  “Calm down. You knew Rynel was strong.

  I get that it hit you, but don’t let it turn into panic.”

  Advice.

  And a hand on the shoulder, without touching.

  Monero lowered his head and sank to the floor.

  His curled shoulders dropped heavy.

  “…I’m pathetic…”

  “…What?”

  Aira asked back, thinking she misheard.

  Monero slammed his fist down on the floor.

  “I said I’m pathetic!”

  It came out close to a sob.

  Aira flinched and stepped back, then quickly lifted both hands.

  “…Okay. I won’t joke.”

  She took a breath,

  sat down beside him,

  and spoke at eye level.

  “This isn’t like you, Monero.

  You always laugh it off. That’s why this surprised me.”

  Aira paused for a beat.

  “Let’s build it, piece by piece.

  We’re not the kind of people who can call it ‘special talent,’ right?

  So we have to pack the basics in harder.”

  Monero pressed his lips shut, head lowered.

  Aira finished, voice pressed down and steady.

  “If you grip something too hard because you want it…

  it breaks.”

  “…And greed can backfire.”

  She nodded once.

  “We have school.

  We train there, and we earn recognition.

  Let’s do what we can do… properly.”

  Monero’s eyes lifted slowly.

  A clearer light had returned compared to before.

  Aira saw it and smiled faintly.

  “…Yeah. That look is enough.”

  She stood and said,

  “Come on. Training starts now.”

  Monero nodded quietly.

  A small, certain step.

  He walked out into the corridor.