CHAPTER 54: THE EYE

Liam didn’t waste time. His hands moved in fluid gestures, and the temperature in the hall dropped noticeably as his ice ability activated.

Walls of crystalline ice erupted from the stage floor between them, shimmering barriers that reflected the harsh stage lights. Liam used them as mobile cover, positioning himself strategically while preparing his next attack.

Sharp ice spikes materialized in the air around him, hovering like frozen daggers before launching toward Jelo in rapid succession.

Jelo’s hands came up, energy gathering despite the awkward positioning of his recently freed arms. Dragon Claw projections formed and launched forward, meeting the ice spikes head-on. The translucent energy constructs shattered through the frozen projectiles with precise strikes, ice fragments scattering across the stage.

They traded blow for blow, neither gaining a decisive advantage. Liam would create defensive ice formations, and Jelo would break through them with concentrated Dragon Claw attacks.

When Liam pressed forward with offensive barrages of ice spears, Jelo would dodge with carefully timed movements, his enhanced reflexes keeping him just ahead of the strikes.

Each time Liam seemed to gain momentum, creating larger ice constructs, forcing Jelo into defensive positions, Jelo would pivot with Wingburst, his body blurring as he dashed to a new position, dodging the incoming attacks and retaliating from unexpected angles.

The burst of speed would catch Liam off-guard, forcing him to reset his strategy and giving Jelo breathing room.

The fight stayed perfectly balanced, neither fighter able to secure a clear upper hand. The crowd watched in growing fascination, the expected easy victory for the Class 2 student turning into a genuine contest.

Liam’s expression shifted from bored indifference to focused concentration, then to frustrated determination. This rank F student was supposed to be easy prey. Instead, he was matching Liam strike for strike, adapting to his techniques, refusing to go down.

Finally, Liam decided to end it with overwhelming force.

He slammed both palms into the stage floor, channeling massive amounts of energy into one final attack. The temperature plummeted further as frost spread across the entire surface. Then, directly beneath where Jelo stood, the stage cracked.

One massive ice spike erupted from the ground, easily six feet in diameter, rising with tremendous speed and force.

It was aimed to impale Jelo completely, to pin him like an insect to a board. There would be no dodging this, the spike was too large, too fast, too overwhelming.

Except Jelo had been waiting for exactly this moment.

As the massive ice spike burst upward, Jelo activated Wingburst with perfect timing. His body blurred, phasing through the attack in that split-second dash, the ice spike passing harmlessly through where he’d been a fraction of a moment before.

Jelo reappeared directly in front of Liam, who was still kneeling on the ground, exhausted from channeling so much energy into that final attack.

Jelo’s hand was already forming a Dragon Claw projection, the energy gathered and compressed, aimed with surgical precision.

The translucent claw slammed directly into Liam’s chest.

The impact lifted the ice mage off his knees, driving him backward. The frost that had been gathering around his body faded immediately as his concentration shattered. He hit the stage floor hard, his body going limp, consciousness fleeing.

[Opponent defeated; +40Ess]

Jelo stood over him, chest heaving with exertion, sweat dripping down his face. His body was covered in bruises and small cuts from ice fragments that had gotten through his defenses.

Xino stepped forward, his expression dark with barely contained frustration. The smug confidence he’d worn earlier had cracked significantly, replaced by visible irritation that one of his Class 2 students had just been defeated by a supposed rank F first-year.

He forced a smile onto his face, though it didn’t reach his eyes. "Well," he said, his voice carrying false cheerfulness that fooled no one. "Since Jelo has managed to win his first match, he’ll naturally continue to his next opponent. After all, that was the arrangement, one on one, back to back, until he can’t fight anymore."

Xino turned and gestured toward another Class 2 student. "Skyler. You’re up."

A gangly boy shuffled forward from the line of waiting fighters. Skyler had an unusual appearance that immediately caught Jelo’s attention, not just because he was tall, but because his posture was so extreme.

He stooped forward dramatically, his spine curved so severely that his actual height was effectively halved. His shoulders hunched, his head hung low, and his arms dangled loosely at his sides like they had no strength in them.

He moved like someone who’d never stood up straight in his life, shuffling rather than walking, each step seeming to require tremendous effort. His hair hung down over his face, obscuring his features, and he kept his gaze fixed firmly on the ground.

Jelo stared at him, confusion mixing with his exhaustion. How was this person supposed to fight? He looked like a strong breeze might knock him over. Was this some kind of joke? A psychological tactic to make Jelo lower his guard?

Skyler stopped about twenty feet away from Jelo, still in that extreme stoop, still staring at the ground. For a long moment, nothing happened. The hall had gone quiet, everyone watching with the same confusion Jelo felt.

Then Skyler raised one hand, a slow, deliberate movement that seemed to take significant effort. His palm faced upward, and suddenly energy gathered there, a bright, crackling sphere of electrical light.

The sphere shot upward like a flare, rising high above the stage until it hung in the air perhaps thirty feet above them. Then it transformed, reshaping itself, the energy coalescing and taking on a new form.

An eye.

A massive, floating eye that hovered in the air, easily three feet in diameter. It had a white sclera, a vivid blue iris, and a black pupil that contracted and dilated as it focused. The eye moved independently, swiveling to survey the stage, and when its gaze landed on Jelo, he felt an uncomfortable prickle run down his spine.

It was watching him. Tracking him