Lilith smiled thinly. It seemed Damon had finally found a worthy opponent. However, she needed to make sure things didn't get out of hand.
Yuka von Penrose belonged to the esteemed Penrose family—renowned swordsmen fiercely loyal to the imperial family. There was no doubt that Yuka had been trained rigorously from a young age, his skills honed to perfection as a scion of his lineage. Among the first years at the Imperial Academy, he was ranked third.
This year's Imperial Academy freshmen were exceptionally talented. The institution was improving, but that wasn't a concern—Aether Academy had its own prodigies. In both quantity and quality, Aether remained superior. Its Spartan training regimen wasn't for nothing; the academy was brutal in every sense, forging warriors through both physical and mental trials.
She couldn't help but think of the upcoming end-of-semester evaluation.
'Damon won't have it too easy this time…'
