The girl practically dragged Kael down Cloudspire's spiraling steps to its base, where two factions squared off beneath the tower's shadow. On one side stood broad-shouldered warriors bearing flame-emblazoned insignias marking them as Blaze Citadel elites—the combat academy's equivalent of Celestial Haven. Opposite them clustered the mages, their silver-trimmed robes rippling with defensive enchantments.
Kael's eyes narrowed at the familiar figure leading the magi. Jaxon stood front and center, his usual aristocratic composure replaced by icy resolve as he faced a hulking warrior gripping a two-handed claymore.
"Still playing guardian after last time's beating?" The warrior leader's voice boomed across the courtyard. "Don't make me embarrass you again, Jaxon."
The noble mage didn't flinch. "Your Blaze Citadel bullies crossed the line today, Jack. And unlike our last spar, I'm not holding back ceremonial courtesies."
As tensions crackled, Kael turned to the panting girl. "Why's a training field dispute escalating to inter-academy conflict?"
Her cheeks flushed with indignation. "They seized all eight elemental chambers this morning! When our first-years protested..." She gestured at a cluster of apprentices nursing minor burns. "Then Jack arrived—last year's tenth rank in the Arcane Combat Tournament."
Recognition dawned. The annual tournament's rules notoriously favored close-quarters fighters below eighth-tier—a sore point for mages restricted from area spells in confined arenas. Three consecutive victories by Blaze Citadel's reigning champion Ethan had deepened the rivalry.
Kael studied the brawny warrior commander with renewed interest. Tenth place meant Jack could likely shrug off intermediate spells barehanded. Yet Jaxon stood unfazed, his staff's gemstone pulsing in rhythm with Cloudspire's defensive wards. The air itself seemed weighted, elemental energies coiling like springs beneath the courtyard's flagstones.
"Fine! Let's see what you've learned this year!" Jack growled, his calloused hands tightening around the claymore's leather-bound grip. Muscles coiled like steel springs as he exploded forward, the blade erupting in crimson flames that warped the surrounding air.
Kael's eyes narrowed. The warrior's aura pulsed at late fifth-tier strength, brushing against peak-level potency. Such speed at close quarters spelled disaster for most mages - even a peak fifth-tier wind specialist like Jaxon.
The flaming arc descended with a roar like splitting timber. "Incinerate!"
Jaxon's staff flashed emerald. "Windward Bastion!" A swirling barrier of compressed air materialized inches from the singeing blade. The collision detonated a concussive boom, shattering the shield but buying precious milliseconds. Jack's follow-through strike carved through residual magic currents as Jaxon's boots skidded backward.
"Zephyr Step!" The noble hissed through clenched teeth. His form blurred into afterimages as wind currents propelled him sideways, the claymore's edge grazing his robe sleeve. The scent of smoldering fabric mingled with ozone.
Jaxon's chest heaved. Across the scorched flagstones, Jack shifted into a battering ram stance, claymore flames deepening to molten-core intensity. Every instinct screamed retreat, but the mage stood his ground - the weight of Cloudspire's honor pressing down like the tower itself.
The Blaze Citadel contingent erupted in roaring approval as Jack's oppressive aura forced the mages back several paces. "That's the rematch from last tournament!" the girl whispered urgently. "Jack took tenth rank by defeating Senior Jaxon in the quarter-finals!"
Kael observed Jaxon's hands tightening around his staff. Emerald and crimson energies spiraled upward as the noble shouted, "Scorchwind!" The hybrid spell fused searing flames with turbulent air currents—a rudimentary but devastating fusion that cleared the battlefield in a twenty-meter radius.
Warrior apprentices shielded their faces from the blistering gale. Seasoned observers tensed; dual-element spells rarely manifested below sixth-tier mastery.
Jack charged straight into the inferno. His claymore hewed downward as earthen combat aura erupted from his frame, colliding with the firestorm in a thunderclap that cracked nearby windows. When the smoke cleared, the warrior stood unscorched though trembling, his blade's edge glowing white-hot.
"Predictable!" he barked, exploiting Jaxon's momentary shock. The claymore became a meteor trail as Jack channeled every ounce of fifth-tier strength into a gutting thrust.
Too slow to reinforce his barriers, Jaxon crossed his staff in desperation. Steel met enchanted oak with a sickening crunch. The noble's body arced through the air before slamming onto cobblestones, blood staining his chin.
Groans rippled through the mage cohort. Across the square, warriors pounded their chestplates in triumph. Jack planted his smoldering blade tip-first into stone, breathing heavily but triumphant. The message rang clear: Blaze Citadel's dominance remained unchallenged.