Azmer’s physique, albeit stronger than average people, still paled in comparison to his opponent’s. With the golden sword in hand, he charged at Zeke but he only took a couple of steps before his target vanished into thin air.

Instinctively, Azmer swept his weapon horizontally, unleashing vast amounts of golden fire, which clashed against several lightning bolts shot from Zeke.

Using ‘Life Motus’, Zeke had closed the distance and attack, and when the successive ‘Voltage Zap’ were blocked, he ‘teleported’ again and swept his leg upwards.

He moved with impressive speed, one that Azmer couldn’t react to, thus getting hit in the shoulder and blown a couple of meters away.

Still, he landed on his feet and clasped the sword near his chest as a pillar of fire burst forth, spreading to all directions and forcing the approaching Zeke to leap back.

Azmer relied on his powerful Pyromancy to make a small explosion under his feet, launching straight at Zeke, the golden sword thrust forward and shooting a few massive fireballs.

Instead of dodging, Zeke stood his ground and made use of ‘Sreyzhanian Arts’ and ‘Voltage Conduit’.

The blue lightning, coupled with the ambiguous defensive arts, allowed Zeke to move at a seemingly slow pace yet extinguish the fireballs with his bare hands.

His open hands, in the form of a claw, clutched the fireballs and disintegrated them, much to Azmer’s surprise. However, that was only the beginning as from behind the dispersing golden fire came a 2-meter long spear made of pure voltage, whistling in the air as instantly crossed the distance and struck its target.

For the second time, Azmer was sent flying, his body rolling on the valley before it thudded to the ground.

He coughed a bit of blood and pushed his hand against the ground, his body stiffening as he heard the crackling lightning and saw Zeke’s shadow appear before him.

A pillar of fire surged from the ground, stopping Zeke at the last second. Azmer’s swift responses bought him enough time to stand back up and brandish his special sword.

Zeke’s glowing fists clashed with the blade, causing a rumbling shock wave that made both students stagger to the back.

Zeke’s left arm was tingling with pain and momentarily stiff, whereas Azmer’s face was slightly pale as he wiped the blood off his lips and slashed with the sword again.

The Dean had been training him how to efficiently use Aether and his ability, so, in terms of sword skills, he was lacking.

When the blade shining with golden light and enveloped in calm flames came at him, Zeke nimbly used his arms, one ‘brushing’ past the sword and shoving Azmer’s hand away, while the other, imbued with a high concentration of voltage, pressed against the target’s chest and delivered a potent electrical shock.

The force of the attack made Azmer’s flames flicker, almost disappearing, his body trembled twice as he barely held himself back from kneeling down. Alas, that surge of pain, coupled with the strong shock, made him defenseless as Zeke delivered a second ‘One-star Side-kick’.

Like a cannonball, Azmer was flung to the back, his body rolling on the ground. He kept tightly grasping the flaming sword, groans escaping his lips.

“I..I won’t lose!”

He confidently declared as more fire burst from his body, scorching the grass and dirt and forming a big wave of fire that cascaded into Zeke.

It descended upon him and then transformed into an unstoppable tornado that rose up to 20 meters in height, shining amidst the looming darkness of the falling night.

Stuck into the tornado, his view filled with nothing but raging golden flames, Zeke rooted his feet to the ground and concentrated.

As tenacious as his body had become, Azmer’s special flames burned through his clothes and injured his body, thus activating ‘Body Damage’.

Along with the pain from his charred left arm, Zeke had to use ‘Surge of Pain’ to bring clarity to his mind and continue the fight.

Now empowered and numb from head to toe, Zeke drew from the energy reserve in Rune of Life and retaliated by unleashing an equal amount of Voltage.

A miniature storm of lightning surrounded his body, protecting him and pushing away the tornado until it was extinguished.

However, much to his surprise, Azmer was holding his weapon with both hands and raising it above his head; When the tornado was gone, its caster swung his sword vertically.

It was a simple move yet it brought with it an impressive amount of fire as well as an invisible and dangerous type of energy.

Zeke used ‘Life Motus’ to dodge out of the way, but his pupils constricted when he saw the flaming ‘arc’ follow after him.

Right before it ravaged him, he used ‘Spark’, then rolled out of the way. The orb of lightning exploded once it came in contact with Azmer’s sword attack.

Dozens of mini lightning bolts rained down on the valley, pulverizing everything. Zeke’s body was pushed back and, eventually, he fell down, a grievous bloody wound on his right shoulder.

When he looked at Azmer, he saw him ready to repeat the same attack, therefore, Zeke hastily got up and consecutively used two ‘Life Motus’, reaching the opponent and kicking him in the stomach.

Surprisingly, Azmer bore through the pain and didn’t budge, his cold eyes fixated on Zeke as the sword was slashed down again for the second time.

With the so little distance between the two, Zeke was unprepared to block the attack and, like a helpless feather, he was engulfed in the blinding sword attack.

His body was like a kite, blown high-up in the air before it crashed to the ground, motionless for a couple of seconds.

Azmer was gasping for air, his tired hands devoid of strength as they tried to keep hold of the sword, which became much dimmer and barely visible.

Zeke laid on the scorched ground, half of his pants were gone and his body let out black smoke, seemingly lifeless. After a couple of breaths, he groaned and slowly stood up.

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He was in a horrible condition, but thanks to ‘Surge of Pain’, he didn’t feel any pain.

His exhausted and wounded body obeyed his will and moved normally despite the numerous wounds, external and internal.

Azmer was shocked to see Zeke stand up again, especially after directly hitting him with that attack. The sword in his hand was gone as he gathered all of his remaining Aether from one final move.

Within seconds, a shiny ball of fire was manifesting in front of Azmer; Alas, he wasn’t given the attack to finish it as Zeke, after recuperating for a couple of breaths, used ‘Over-drive’ and ‘Self-injection’.

With his stats and overall prowess significantly empowered, Zeke literally transformed into a bolt of lightning that let out a deafening thunderclap as it shot at Azmer, piercing through his abdomen.

Over-Drive lasted for two short seconds, and when it was gone, Zeke was standing straight and looking at his opponent.

Azmer’s ultimate attack was canceled, his knees hitting the ground and his hand touching his profusely bleeding stomach. He vomited two mouthfuls of blood, his hollow eyes and his turbulent mind in shock, still processing his defeat.

With all the strength he had left, the blond-haired youth turned his head and looked back at Zeke.

“...”

He tried to say something but couldn’t, his body falling to the side.

Albeit how talented Azmer was, Zeke was confident in his own strength. He had gotten rid of his low self-esteem and believed in himself, which steeled his heart and gave him the strength to emerge victorious.

Nevertheless, Azmer turned out to be tougher than he had anticipated. After all, he was hoping to win without relying on ‘Over-drive’.

If left alone, the unconscious Azmer would definitely die in such a state, therefore, Zeke approached him and took out a small vial filled with a dense white liquid.

It was an Elixir, one that healed the consumer’s injuries. Zeke had entrusted Sulong to buy as many such Elixirs as possible, but the prices were exorbitant and they were able to buy only three with their remaining savings.

Zeke poured it into the youth’s mouth before sitting down on the burned ground. He too, was injured, but his body was different from normal humans. It had been altered by the System, and further enhanced by Voltage Conduit, rendering his regenerative capabilities verging on the superhuman ‘level’.

Admittedly, he needed a lot of rest, but that was about it. There was no need to waste another Healing Elixir for this.

Less than a minute later, Azmer coughed and then opened his eyes. He instinctively touched his stomach but found no signs of the wound.

The fatal wound had closed up and he even felt a bit rejuvenated, though the over-exertion of Aether left him mentally fatigued.

“I lost, huh…” Muttered the youth, his voice containing a mix of disappointment, disbelief, and frustration.

Still, he neither spouted excuses nor denied the truth. Instead, he sat up and looked upwards, at the black-haired youth who used to bully a while ago.

“As per our agreement, I will do anything you ask. Speak.”

“...”

Zeke didn’t instantly respond, he sighed and stretched his arms, focusing more on the left one. While wrapping a bandage around the blackened skin, he calmly said,

“Honestly, I thought of making you kneel and sincerely apologize. Making you leave Erys, or do something shameful in public. But I’m above such banalities as they would give me no satisfaction nor comfort.”

“...”

Azmer listened to him with a straight face, opting for silence.

“Just because you were lucky and were born with talents doesn’t mean you stand above others. If I wasn’t here, another Defect would have risen up and won against you. That is to say… your views are erroneous. A higher lineage doesn’t give you the right to dictate the fate of others, neither does it give you the right to pointlessly preach for the removal of those less fortunate than you from Erys.”

Once he was done bandaging his left arm, Zeke shifted back his gaze to the quiet Azmer.

“Whatever, I doubt I’d be able to change your deeply-rooted opinions. I won and I proved to you that Defects aren’t as weak as you portray them to be.”

Azmer wanted to retort and say that Zeke wasn’t a Defect anymore, but he still chose silence. In situations like these, the losers had no place to object or argue.

“You are smarter than Rodrick, so maybe you’ll eventually learn to sympathize. Who knows…”

Zeke shrugged and turned around to leave but stopped once Azmer called his name.

“Zeke… I’m sorry.”

“I already told you, Azmer. I don’t care about an apology… this battle was me moving on from that past. It wasn’t just to prove something to you, but to myself as well.”

“Still, I want to apologize for bullying you. Call it self-reflection or a loser’s punishment, I don’t care.”

Zeke, with his half-turned head, scoffed and waved his hand as he went down the half-destroyed valley.

Five minutes later, Azmer was motionlessly lying on the ground. He stared at his hand and muttered,

“Next time, I will win.”

The Healing Elixir did wonders in dealing with his wounded body, but he was still too tired to move, much less leave this place. The blond-haired youth kept staring at the night sky, absent-minded for a while.

He only snapped out of it when he heard light footsteps heading his way. He warily sat up and looked at the source of the sound only to see a girl.

She had light beige, almost blonde hair that was slightly curly and relatively long, an average height, and facial features that were neither too ugly nor too beautiful.

Still, Azmer was shocked as he recognized her.

“Hehehe… you remembered me.”

With her hands on the edge of her pretty dress, she leaned her face closer to him and beamed.

Azmer, however, was on-guard, feeling suspicious to see her appear out of nowhere. In fact, she was Olivia’s assistant, the same girl who had freed him from his bounds back in that hidden laboratory.

Back then, he didn’t know why she aided him, he didn’t have the time to ask since she immediately fled the scene.

“Who are you?”

The girl put a hand over her face and after a couple of seconds, her appearance was subject to a minor change.

To be accurate, her body and face matured a bit; She became a bit taller, and she no longer looked like a teenager, instead, she seemed to be between 25 and 30 now.

“First-Year student, Veronica Serpens of class C.”

She playfully bowed, the beautiful smile still plastered on her face. When she saw his confusion, she giggled and added,

“As for my true identity…”

She fished a triangular badge made of oak, waving it at him, “I’m a disciple of the Ivory Oak Order. Pleased to meet you, Azmer Lorson.”

“Ivory Oak Order?” Upon the mention of that secret organization, the youth tried to distance himself but his body was too weakened.

“Don’t be alarmed, I didn’t come here to kidnap you or harm you.”

“Then what do you want? I don’t want anything to do with your order.”

“By your reaction, I take it you don’t know much about us. We’re not like the other organizations… meaning we don’t engage in wanton killing and ridiculous rituals. Moreover, I have come to you without the consent of my group.”

“...”

Seeing his hesitation and wariness, Veronica sighed and sat next to him while pouting her lips.

“I’m one of the Defects of Erys, surely you’ve heard of me. Principal Solas hasn’t expelled me yet even though I’m constantly absent, why do you think so? It’s because I’m not planning to harm the school or its students. We have an agreement.”

“You still haven’t told me what you want from me.”

“Ah! I was getting to that! I want you to join me… no-... join us. I believe we can help each other. For example…”

She pointed in a certain direction, “That freak of nature who beat you. You’ll be able to surpass him."

When he discovered she had been watching everything, Azmer frowned and tried to use his ability but to no avail.

“I’ve witnessed everything. You can easily climb to the 2nd or 3rd spot in the Rankings. I’m genuinely impressed. Anywho, this can be considered an official invitation on my behalf. I’ll be waiting for your answer!”

Then, out of blue, she planted a kiss on his cheeks and darted away while giggling. She had left behind a golden envelope with a white seal on it, but the dazed Azmer noticed it only later…