Her pen almost slipped across the page. She flustered. "I… I just thought they were being disrespectful!"

"Mm." He smirked, red eyes glinting faintly as they caught hers. "Sure. Nothing to do with liking me at all."

Her blush deepened instantly, spreading across her face as she ducked her head further into her parchment. "Focus on the lesson," she muttered, refusing to meet his gaze.

Tirel, seated ahead, stifled a laugh behind her hand, her shoulders shaking slightly as she leaned back to glance at them. Byun shook his head from the row behind, though a quiet smile tugged at his lips.

xxxx

The morning sun had barely crested the academy walls when the training fields filled with the ring of steel and the hum of mana. The cool air still carried traces of night, but the heat of bodies and clashing power burned it away quickly.

Dust rose in lazy plumes beneath boots, mixing with the faint tang of iron and sweat. Students paired off across the packed earth, their sparring matches sending sparks and stray winds into the air.

A fireball exploded in the distance, answered by the shattering echo of an ice shield. Instructors shouted corrections over the din, their sharp voices punctuating the chaos with order.

The training fields were alive, as always. But today, the attention of most students seemed fixed on a single ring.

Jae stepped into the center of the arena, the dirt crunching beneath his boots, shoulders loose but his steps carrying a quiet weight. The gazes pressed down on him harder than the morning sun.

His name had spread too far and too quickly since the battle against the Shadow General. Some looked at him with awe, some with envy, and some with a wariness that bordered on fear.

To them, he wasn't just another student anymore, he was something that didn't quite fit inside the neat borders of the academy.

And they wanted to see it with their own eyes.

Byun was already waiting for him. His blond hair gleamed where the sunlight caught it, and a crooked grin curved his lips, playful yet edged with focus.

Shadows coiled lazily around his hands, flickering like they had a mind of their own, darting in and out of his palms as though eager to be unleashed. He twirled a thin strand between his fingers like a coin, his posture deceptively relaxed.

"Don't go easy on me," Byun said, his grin widening.

Jae smirked faintly, tilting his head. "I'll try my best. Besides, you're too slow anyway."

Byun barked a laugh, shaking his head. "Slow? I'll show you slow."

The arena shifted as Mrs. Lira stepped closer to the edge of the circle. She was supervising this session, her expression calm but her eyes sharp.

Even the rowdiest students lowered their voices when her gaze swept across them. She raised a hand, waited until both boys met her eyes, then lowered it in a swift motion.

"Begin."

The word had barely left her lips before Byun moved.

Shadows surged forward, snapping outward like spears loosed from invisible bows. They tore across the ring in jagged lines, fast and precise, each one aimed to pierce Jae from a different angle.

The ground hissed where they grazed it, leaving thin trails like scorch marks, though the power behind them was cold rather than hot.

Jae didn't flinch. His body glowed faintly, mana rising around him like heat from a forge. Fire coiled along his arm, condensed into shape in a single breath.

The Dragonfire Blade shimmered into existence, its edge a solid blaze that left streaks of light in the air. With one sweeping strike, he carved through the first wave of shadows. They burst apart, dissolving into smoke.

The crowd murmured. A few gasps rose from the sidelines.

Byun clicked his tongue, though his grin never left. "Show-off."

"Complaining already?" Jae asked, voice even, though there was a glimmer of challenge in his eyes. He stepped forward, blade held loosely at his side, advancing with measured calm.

Byun's grin widened. Shadows wrapped tighter around his arms, then split apart into a dozen strands. They lashed out in unison, not as scattered spears this time but as a coordinated net.

They aimed for Jae's arms, his waist, his legs, every limb, every opening, trying to bind him completely.

The attack should have landed. It should have at least slowed him. But the moment the shadows brushed against him, the air cracked with heat.

Jae's skin glowed suddenly, molten light racing across him in flowing streams. A sheen of fiery armor spread across his body, crawling over his chest, arms, and shoulders in a heartbeat.

It gleamed like liquid metal, red-gold and shifting with each breath. The shadows that touched it recoiled instantly, hissing into smoke as if they had been cast against burning steel.

Byun froze mid-step. His eyes widened, disbelief flashing across his face. "What the..?"

"Surprise," Jae said simply. His voice was calm, but the faint grin at his lips betrayed his satisfaction. He flexed his arm, the glow rippling across him like sunlight over lava. "You'll need more than that to win me"

For a second, Byun only stared. Then, slowly, he broke into laughter. "You've been hiding that from me?" He shook his head, still grinning. "No wonder you look so smug all the time."

"Smug's just my face." Jae brushed a hand back through his blond hair, his red eyes glinting with heat. "Don't tell me that's all you've got."

Byun's grin sharpened into something fiercer. "You wish."

The shadows surged again, heavier this time. They thickened into dense pillars, slamming into the ground with the force of battering rams.

Each impact cracked the dirt, sending tremors through the field. Dust rose in choking plumes, and a few students at the edge stumbled back from the shockwaves

Jae slid a foot back, lowering his stance. Heat flared around him, fire trailing from his steps. In the blink of an eye, he blurred forward using Ember Step.

His body left only a streak of smoke and fading sparks behind. The shadows struck empty air, slamming into the dirt where he had been an instant before.