Sora’s lips curled into a smile as he activated his buffs. Energy surged through him, his muscles coiling with newfound strength. “I’ll be fine.”

  Around them, the crowd buzzed with curiosity. They had expected a straightforward test, but the way Sora activated his buffs—his tanking-focused Martial Titan css paired with leather gear more suited for speed—fused them. Was this some kind of new meta? A strategy no one had see?

  Elena, however, didn’t care.She sighed, muttering something under her breath as she vanished from sight, reappearing right in front of Sora. Her cwed hands fshed toward his legs with terrifying speed, her movements almost invisible.

  But Sora was faster.

  Before her cws could make tact, he blinked out of sight, reappearing high above her, a trail of mana fshing behind him. The croed in awe—he wasn’t just keeping up; he was trolling the tempo.

  Elena gnced up, her grin widening with excitement. “You want to pete with speed? Fine.” She vanished again, zipping around the arena, but Sora was already there, intercepting her dash before she could gain momentum.

  Sora struck first, aiming for her chest. She twisted to the side, barely dodging, but his speed caught her off guard. His fist grazed her cheek, drawing blood. Elena’s eyes widened in shock. This guy wasn’t just fast—he was lethal.

  “You're savage, going for the face,” she muttered, wiping the blood from her cheek, her excitement now fully ignited.

  Sora didn’t relent. He dashed toward her again, his body blurring as he closed the distance. Elena grinned, matg his speed blow for blow. Every time they cshed, the ground trembled beh them. Sora’s movements were fluid, uable, weaviweerikes and tering with his fists, eae charged with mana. Despite her agility, Elena was finding it hard to keep up. She was fast, but Sora was faster.

  To the crowd’s astonishment, Sora ushing Elena back. His sheer speed and power were overwhelmi this level. She couldn’t gain ground, couldn’t outmaneuver him. Every hit he threw forced her to react, and each rea slowed her down just enough for him to nd a gng blow. His fists ected again and again, sending her skidding backward. She was being suppressed.

  But then, something ged.

  Elena’s pyful grin vanished, her eyes narrowing in cold focus. “You passed for the shadow badge. You asked for a Phoenix level assessment, don't bme me ter,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

  Without warning, her body flickered—and then she was goruly gone. Sora’s eyes widened as he felt the shift. When she reappeared, her speed had doubled, maybe even tripled, her movements so fast that even his enhanced seruggled to keep up.

  He braced himself as she shot toward him, her cws slig through the air. Sora raised his arms to block, but the force of her blow sent him skidding back. His mana shield absorbed the hit, but the sheer power behind it rattled him to the core.

  She didn’t stop there. Elena’s strikes came faster, harder, her cws tearing through the space around them with deadly precision. Sora found himself on the defensive, barely able to keep up as she blurred past him, her cws inches from his skin with each strike. He swung back, but she was too fast, dodging with an almost effortless grace.

  For the first time, Sora felt the pressure. He retaliated whenever he could, delivering powerful blows that even she couldn’t fully avoid. His fists ected, and blood flowed from her fresh wounds, but every time he hit her, she seemed to slip away, resetting the tempo and ing back even faster.

  The crowd watched in awe as the battle swung in Elena’s favor. She ushing Sora around the arena, her cws slig through the air like whips. Each time she nded a hit, the impact echoed through the space, but Sora’s mana shield remained unbroken.

  Annoyance flickered across Elena’s fao matter how fast or hard she hit him, she couldn’t break through the damn shield.

  Srunted, doing his best to hold oaliated whenever he could, throwing sharp, precise blows at her ribs, her arms, her legs. Every hit he nded made her flinch, the blood trig from fresh wounds a sign that she wasn’t untouchable. But it didn’t matter.

  Elena was relentless, her attacks growing mgressive by the sed. She targeted his oints—his joints, his legs—each hit aimed to cripple his mobility, but could not break past his defense. Sora was struggling to stay on his feet, his mana shield flickering as it absorbed the brunt of her furious onsught.

  Yet, no matter how many times she struck, she couldn’t destroy the shield.

  “How is this possible?” she muttered under her breath, her cws sshing at his neck. He barely dodged, tering with a swift punch to her side, but she evaded, dashing back before he could follow up.

  Elena paused, frustration creeping into her expressiotacks were fast, her strength undeniable, but this guy... he was impossible to break.

  "You fight like a coward, face me without that shield," Elena growled, stepping forward, her toing. “How much mana do you have? Why isn’t this shield breaking?”

  Srihough he anting heavily. “Are you seriously askihat? Cut the crap and break it if you .”

  For a moment, they stood there, both catg their breath. The crowd was silent, watg the standoff with wide eyes, unsure what to expeext. Elena’s movements slowed, her frustration evident. She had pushed herself to the limits of the Phoenix-level power, but still, Sora stood tall.

  Just as Elena was about to charge in for another round, the short man who had overseen Kara's test hurriedly stepped in, waving his arms. “The exam is over!” he shouted, his voice filled with urgency.

  Elena blinked, gng at the short man in annoyance. “Already? But I wasn’t finished—"

  He shook his head, clearly worried. “Let’s not turn this into a bloodbath. Going beyond your current strength would be cheating.”

  She hesitated, then sighed, wiping the blood from her cheek once more. “Fine,” she muttered. But as she turo Sora, her eyes gleamed with renewed i. "ime, kid,” she said, smirking, “e find me for your Celestial Badge Challenge. I'll make you bleed.”

  Sora smiled, 'Are all test givers crazy like Areva and Elena ? Well... that short man sycho who burned his friend with lightning earlier'

  The atmosphere in the arena buzzed with iy as the dust settled from the fight. Shadows flickered from the dim torches mounted along the walls, casting faint silhouettes og pyers.

  Whispers spread through the ranks of the shadohoenix badge pyers, their eyes filled with disbelief. Sora, a level 62 pyer, had stood toe to toe with someone far beyond his level, holding his ground.

  Some of the shadow badge pyers shook their heads, exging gnces of frustration. "How’s a kid like him even at this level?" otered, adjusting his gaus. “That’s not normal. At least his teammate makes seh the healing powers she’s got.”

  A phoenix badge pyer nearby scoffed. "Sure, he’s fast, but he’ll hit a wall soon enough. You thihe first upstart we’ve seen trying to punch above their weight? Give him another year or two and he'll hit a wall. He's pursuing too many paths at once.Good pyers don't pursue several paths"

  But others weren’t so quick to dismiss him. Another phoenix badge holder folded his arms, his brows furrowed. “You see how he dodged her? That wasn’t just speed; it was experience. He’s not some reckless novice. There’s something about the way he used his skills... like this isn't everything he's got.”

  The versations among the lower-ranked pyers shifted from curiosity to unease. Many khey couldn’t match that kind of power at their current levels, but they also saw the differeween raw stats and mastery. Sora’s trol over his mana, his physical prowess—those weren’t typical for a warrior still in his level range.

  Meanwhile, the Celestial pyers, those above level 80, stood in clusters around the arena, watg with more calg eyes. Some leaned against the walls, their gazes sharp as they evaluated the fight. These were seasoned veterans, pyers who had long surpassed the ranks of shadohoenix.

  One of the Celestial pyers, a tall man with silver hair and a rge broadsword strapped to his back, smirked. “The kid’s got potential, but let’s be real. If it were one of us team leaders in the ring, he’d have no ce. We’re pying a different game.”

  A woman beside him, her eyes glowing faintly with a magical aura, nodded. “True, but did you notice the way he trolled the tempo of the fight? It's like he's been fighting for years, which is weird sidering his retively low level. He’s talented — And people with this talent who have fought for years are usually beyond level 100... He should quickly catch up though”

  "Maybe," the man replied, "but for now, he’s out of his league. That shield of his is tough, but it won't hold against someone who knows how to deal real damage."

  The versation among the higher Celestial ranks drifted into mild amusement. Most of them could beat Sora without much effort, but none of them were foolish enough to pletely dismiss him. With such talent, they were sure he would be noticed by the higher ranks, and it would be impossible for them, team leaders, to affect his position in the iure battle..

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