Eileen burst into laughter at Karl’s words.
“Haha, confidence is great—but beating me takes more than talk.”
“I know that well. But underestimate me, and you’ll pay dearly.”
As he spoke, Karl drew the sword at his waist.
Meanwhile, Eileen placed her right hand over the ring on her left middle finger and gave it a light tug. In the next heartbeat, a crimson spear slid smoothly from the silver band.
“A Spatial Ring?!”
Karl stared, utterly astonished. This was the first spatial equipment he’d ever seen besides the Lost Ring.
After all, Spatial Rings were exceedingly rare—beyond the reach of most nobles.
That Eileen owned one spoke volumes about her status.
Seeing Karl’s stunned face, Eileen smiled.
“What? Want it? I have another. Defeat me, and it’s yours.”
Karl’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Serious? Don’t back out later.”
Eileen grinned with unwavering confidence. “My word is my bond.”
She raised her spear into stance.
Karl mirrored her, sword ready.
At the arena’s edge, Glot swept a hand through the air. “Begin!”
The moment the word left his lips, silvery lightning erupted around Eileen.
She vanished in a flash and shot toward Karl.
“A lightning-affinity physique? Tricky…”
Empowered by the storm, her body surged to peak Silver Rank strength.
In a heartbeat, wreathed in crackling silver light, she leaped like a falling thunderbolt and slammed down.
Karl didn’t dodge. He channeled his own magic—and lightning flared around him too.
He shared the same lightning affinity.
BOOM—!
A blinding explosion of sparks erupted where spear met sword, arcs of electricity dancing wildly.
From the sidelines, Jelo turned to Glot. “Headmaster… who wins?”
Glot replied calmly, “Eileen, without question. Raised by the Great Fairy Losta, her magic affinity dwarfs ordinary humans. Even with matching lightning affinity, she’d crush him.”
To Glot, Karl’s defeat was certain.
Eileen had grown in the Fairy Realm under Losta’s care—her magic resonance was simply unmatched.
Even lightning on Karl would pale beside hers.
Then—a figure flew backward through the electric haze.
Glot’s eyes widened. Pupils dilated.
It was Eileen.
“What?! How… impossible?!”
He couldn’t believe it.
Mid-air, Eileen flipped gracefully, landed steady at the ring’s edge—and beamed.
“Amazing!! How?! How did you unleash that power?!”
Far from angry, she vibrated with excitement.
She knew Karl was mid-Silver Rank, same as her.
Yet that strike? Peak Silver Rank. Bordering initial-stage Gold Rank!!!!
Unthinkable! A mid-Silver Rank unleashing near-Gold Rank power?!
Karl offered a slight smirk. “Secret.”
Glot stood speechless. *How?* Could this boy also be raised by a Great Fairy?
Even Freya had no answer. She knew Karl was strong—but not *how*.
Truth was, Karl cheated—just a little.
Others channeled magic through magic circuits. Karl used meridians.
In his past life, he’d been a Chinese medicine practitioner, intimately familiar with meridian pathways.
Curious, he’d tried routing magic through them. The result shocked him: meridians amplified output several times over magic circuits.
But like circuits, meridians required gradual unblocking.
So far, Karl had cleared only two of the twelve.
Back on the field, Eileen hefted her spear, eyes blazing.
“Then I won’t hold back!”
Lightning flared. She lunged like a bolt.
Karl rolled aside.
Undeterred, Eileen slapped the ground—magic surged—and a stone spike erupted beneath him.
He leaped back just in time.
Before he landed, an ice spike shot down at his head.
Tempered by lightning, Karl’s reflexes flashed. Sword rose. *Clang!* Ice shattered.
“You resonate with *three* magic elements?! And silent-cast instant spells?!”
Karl was stunned.
Silver Rank usually mastered one element. Gold Rank, two.
Yet Eileen—still Silver—commanded three.
Absurd!
Eileen’s lips curled. She raised her spear. “Four.”
A green wind blade sliced toward him.
Karl twisted aside. The edge grazed his cheek—a shallow cut.
Staring at the girl wielding four elements, Karl felt utterly speechless.
*Girl… are you the legendary protagonist?!*
