In a flash three weeks pass and now the students are sent into the forest again.
For Leo and rest of team 13 this is more than a usual exercise but a test of how much they had improved after their battle with the Primordial beast
******************************
Currently within the edges of the assigned border the air was still. A silence that felt unnatural blanketed the glade as Leo stared up at the towering beast before him—ten feet tall, plated in obsidian bark with molten red eyes and thick, spiked limbs. Its breath steamed in the cool air, each exhale sending waves of heat through the ground.
A middle Nobel Beast.
Leo clenched his fists, heart pounding in his chest. "I don't have time for this," he muttered, violet flames flickering around his knuckles. "But I guess you're not giving me a choice."
The beast roared and charged.
Leo moved.
His body blurred forward, eyes focused, flames dancing along his fists. He weaved between the beast's sweeping claws and slammed a punch into its side. The impact exploded with a burst of spatial energy , sending the beast sliding back.
" Thick hide …but not thick enough"
The beast retaliated with a swipe but Leo stood strong slamming his leg into the beasts torso sending it crashing through trees until it hit a rocky wall and dropped to one knee.
"Not strong enough. Not yet. That Primordial would have not moved from that "
He moved again, breathing calmly. The flame at his fingertips now shimmered with hints of black extending to his forearms while a blue aura surrounds him
As the beast advanced, Leo shut his eyes, letting the pain fade behind focus.
"I'm not from this world. I've been holding back because I was afraid—afraid of what I'd become. But this isn't Earth. And I'm not just Leo anymore."
"I am Leo Chambres… "
Power Ignites answering his acceptance of the world and himself
The ground beneath him warped.
A sphere of violet flame burst from his body, twisting reality as it surged outward. The trees bent away. The air screamed. Time itself seemed to stutter.
The beast hesitated—but only for a second.
It roared again and charged.
But Leo didn't dodge this time.
He stepped forward and struck with his right fist—fully engulfed in violet-black flame.
The blow tore through the air like a meteor. When it hit the beast's face, the forest shook. A spiral of flame and warped gravity launched the creature backward into the cliff.
It didn't get up but breathed slowly.
Walking up to it Leo stretched out his hand in a slicing motion and a thin line of space leaves removing the beasts head cleanly and the trees behind him.
******************************
Moments later, branches parted beside him. Seth landed first, gravity and wind crackling around his fists. Arthur followed, Odachi drawn and coated in blue ice.
Alex, Sandra, Lucia, and the rest emerged next, eyes wide.
"You… took it down by yourself?" Veronica asked, stunned.
Leo turned, sweat rolling down his cheek, a grin spreading across his face. "It wasn't easy."
Seth's eyes narrowed with a mix of awe and jealousy. "That's the power of a world saint right there"
Sandra stepped forward, softly touching Leo's arm.
He looked at her, and something unspoken passed between them—curiosity, connection, fear.
But before it could settle, a voice rang out from the forest:
"LEO!!"
A group of the elite Class students stood in the trees. Their leader—a cocky boy named Jair—sneered.
" Just a common Nobel beast and you all act like it's some big deal"
Leo met his gaze coldly." I would like to see you fight one ."
" Hmph" Jair sneered then leaves with his group
By afternoon the exercise was declared over.
Professors recovered students who were injured or unconscious. News of Leo's fight spread like wildfire through the academy.
Some were afraid. Few impressed. But the others watching from afar, wore knowing smiles.
---
High above in the tower, Master Ren held the recording crystal from one of the scout orbs.
He watched Leo's final blow over and over, pausing at the exact moment the space rippled around the flame.
"It's starting," he whispered.
Behind him, Headmistress Calia approached with a sealed envelope. "There's… something else," she said cautiously. "The council confirmed it this morning."
Ren opened it and read the name.
" The inter school tournament"
A rear smile crosses his lips . "This will be interesting."
Calia nodded.
******************************
The midnight moon pierced through the high canopy of the school forest, casting scattered beams over moss-laden rocks and trembling branches. The forest had grown eerily quiet. Birds no longer chirped. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Leo crouched beside a creek, his eyes closed, palms resting gently on his knees. Flickers of violet fire coiled around his arms like lazy serpents. The warmth was no longer painful—it pulsed with life, like a heartbeat in tune with his own.
He exhaled.
This… feels natural now, he thought. Like it was always mine.
The chirp of a disturbed bird broke his focus. Leo's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly with amethyst light.
"Come out," he called quietly.
A low growl answered. From the thickets emerged a beast—six-legged, fur like razors, and glowing blue eyes. A normal awakened beast , the Feral Lurker.
Leo's lips curled upward.
"I was hoping for something stronger."
The beast pounced, claws shimmering with venomous energy. Leo didn't flinch. With a shift in space, the slash hit but it didn't hit Leo but an invisible barrier,
Leo smiles and lunges forward his fist cloaked in purple flame. He struck upward into the creature's chest. There was a flash—then an explosion of heat.
The Feral Lurker crashed into a tree, its body engulfed in violet fire. It writhed, screeched, and finally collapsed.
Leo's flame receded, but his excitement didn't.
Each fight makes it clearer... " I'm getting stronger"
He looked at his reflection in the creek's surface. The Leo of this world—the one born here—stared back. And yet, behind the eyes… another conscience shimmered.
---
Elsewhere in the forest, Veronica darted across vines, blades laced with poison slicing through a massive tusked boar. Her movements were fluid, deadly—a dancer of shadows.
"Not bad," she muttered as the beast fell with a heavy thud. "But still not enough to push me."
She looked up, eyes glinting with wonder " Where's Leo?"
---
Arthur was knee-deep in a battle of his own. His odachi glistened with frost as he clashed with a two-headed serpent. With a grunt, he swung in an arc that froze the creature mid-motion. The next strike shattered it like glass.
Panting, he steadied himself.
"I could've handled that faster," he murmured. "Still sloppy."
From behind a tree, Seth whistled. "You just froze a twin-core beast in under thirty seconds. Relax, Mr. Perfection."
Arthur turned to him, annoyed—but smiled.
"Where's your kill?"
Seth points back to the broken bodies of beasts behind him with a large grin
---
Not far off, Sandra stood surrounded by illusions—reflections of herself created from moonlight. Four beasts darted in confusion, attacking the wrong targets. She stepped between them, finishing each with silent grace.
As the last one fell, she whispered, "Leo…"
Her thoughts lingered on their moment alone. The brief spark that made her heart pound. She shook her head.
Focus. This isn't the time.
---
On other sides the forest buzzed with action. Alex, shirtless and bleeding slightly from his shoulder, grinned as he clenched his fists. He launched a punch that sent a charging beast flying into a boulder, leaving a crater behind.
Mathew landed beside him , cracking his knuckles.
"You done showing off?"
"Not even close," Alex laughed. "But you can take the next one."
Their bond, forged in competition, was only getting stronger.
---
By midnight a bell rang throughout the forest—a signal for them to return from their night exercise.
One by one, the students gathered at a midpoint.
Leo arrived last, still smoldering faintly. Eyes turned toward him—some in awe, others in fear. The rumor of his power was spreading.
"Was that… purple flames?" one student whispered.
"I thought he was supposed to be average…"
Sandra stepped beside him, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You're glowing," she teased softly.
Leo looked at her, a smirk playing on his lips. "Can't help it."
Another presence stirs from the forest, not one of team 13 but another group of elite students lead by Anthony.
Both groups stand facing each other Leo's and Anthony's auras flaring instantly
Before a fight breaks out master Ren's calm voice is heard .
" You all did well , now head to your dorms . Tomorrow we start weapons training."
---
The students of Skycrest where being stretched thin but when the strong emerge from the flames tribulations they will be reborn stronger than ever
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