The world flickered.
For a brief second, reality itself seemed to lag.
Then a pale blue screen unfolded in front of Julien's eyes.
Status Notification
Emotional Turmoil Detected
Condition Met: Forced State
Unique Trait Activated: Happy Face
The letters trembled.
The air in the training hall changed.
It was subtle at first.
A pressure.
A shift in temperature.
As if the space around Julien had quietly acknowledged that something inside him had crossed a line.
Alicia felt it instantly.
Her instincts screamed.
"This feeling…"
The twelve cards hovering around Julien did not simply stabilize.
They sharpened.
The edges gleamed faintly as wind began to coil around them.
Julien lifted his hand.
Not hurried.
Not strained.
Calm.
Three more cards slipped out from the deck at his waist.
Thirteen.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
His limit should have already broken.
Instead, the headache that had been crushing his skull… vanished.
'This is cheating.'
Julien didn't laugh.
He didn't speak.
He only smiled.
"Dash."
And the wind obeyed him
He vanished.
Alicia barely had time to react before a shockwave of compressed air slammed into her guard.
She slid backward across the floor, boots scraping.
So fast.
Too fast.
Julien reappeared midair, cards rotating like orbiting blades.
Wind wrapped around them, turning each one into a cutting edge.
Alicia clicked her tongue.
"So you really are a genius…"
She planted her foot.
Nature mana surged.
Vines burst from the cracks in the floor, weaving into a living shield.
The first card struck.
Then the second.
Then five more.
Leaves shredded.
Wood splintered.
But the barrier held.
Julien tilted his head slightly.
And then—
Water shimmered around two of the cards.
Not ice.
Not steam.
Just… clear.
Transparent.
They vanished from sight.
Alicia's eyes widened.
'Camouflage?'
The invisible cards curved through the air.
She sensed them at the last second and twisted aside.
One sliced through her sleeve.
Another grazed her shoulder.
Blood dotted the floor.
The hall fell silent.
Julien added two more cards.
Seventeen.
His mind was still calm.
Too calm.
'So this is what adapting property of the cards feels like…'
'Then what happens if a card itself adapts with both affinities simultaneously...?'
The wind cards struck again.
The hidden water cards followed from blind angles.
Alicia was forced back.
Step by step.
Until—
Green light flared.
Her affinity answered.
Nature surged.
Roots erupted from the ground, forming a massive shield and counterattack in one motion.
Julien crossed his arms.
"Barrier."
Water vapor condensed instantly.
A translucent wall formed.
The roots crashed into it.
The impact shook the hall.
The barrier shattered.
Julien flew backward.
Hit the wall.
Coughed blood.
His cards scattered.
The smile wavered.
The calm cracked.
And suddenly—
The pain returned all at once.
His vision went dark.
The last thing he saw—
Was Alicia rushing toward him.
And the system quietly updating.
Status Notification
Forced State Ended
Unique Trait Deactivated
User Unconscious