"Are you not gonna ask me if Cyziel is a good person too?" Volus sarcastically said.

"He-He's not bad!" Ru objected but there was a bit of hesitation on her voice.

"He could have hurt him if he wanted but he didn't." Jorak calmly said.

"I don't care. He might not be good but for me, he is also not bad." Vera added.

Volus smiled then nodded his head. "Its great that you actually think highly of him. He is sometimes spontaneous, moody or just incomprehensible. A real pain in the ass but he is.... a really good friend. "

Vera's group simultaneously stared at Volus. They do not know much about him but they know that he is almost indifferent of everything around him. It seems that Volus doesn't care about a lot of things and the only exception was when he was talking about or talking with his friends. As a matter of fact, they are quite correct. The safety of his friends are his first priority then next was the survivors of his race.

"You seem to really care about him." Rika muttered. She just said what everyone else wanted to say. Of the group, she was actually the most outspoken.

Volus momentarily got flustered before calming himself down. He pulled his hood to further hide his face. "Nonsense. Let's continue watching his fight."

----- On the Dueling Stage ----

"If I am correct. You are challenging rank 123. Won't you?" Instructor Sara asked. Her previous worry disappeared from her face. She finally understood that Cyziel was still a kid. He might be strong or talented but he is still someone young. He might have some secrets that he is hiding but in the end, he is someone who just wanted to have some fun.

"Yep!" Cyziel admitted.

"Why don't you just ask immediately for someone in the top 50? Don't you think you are capable of fighting them?" Sara asked. She actually expected that Cyziel would immediately go ask for someone at least in the top 100. The other students might have not noticed but the teachers definitely knew that he passed a level 4 Earth exam with Larka. Just as Larka inspects the other Arena, the other instructors does the same.

Sara didn't really spoke quietly. She purposely allowed the people around to hear her. The students around were immediately alarmed, specially so for the one ranked 123. Even so, they really didn't get that much surprised. Just the previous showing of Cyziel already scared them. Their only concern was that he has only used low levels spells.

Cyziel scratched his head. "Uhmm..."

What people didn't know was that Cyziel also purposely started challenging people from the lowest rank. The reason for this was for his future opponents to be able to prepare against him. It is also the same reason why he was using low levels spells to their utmost efficiency. He is indirectly telling everyone that he is very strong.

"Well. Its your choice either way." Sara didn't pressed him further. "Rank 123 Aria! Are you willing to fight?" It is not illegal for others to surrender instead of fighting which is what happened with the fight against Jaza. She wanted to let the students remember that. To her surprise, Aria still entered the Arena.

"Hello! I am Aria Inchus! You are really strong but I would still like to try fighting with you!" A female Ocarian greeted Cyziel. Her eyes were glowing with anticipation instead of fear.

"Oh Hi! I am Cyziel Seratoris! Let's have a good fight!" Cyziel returned the greeting. He could not understand if the girl was really just courageous or just confident. Still, he would not go easy on her.

The instant that the dividing screen disappeared. Aria immediately gathered water essence.

"Quas Ula Arrer! Water bullet barrage!" She attacked in an instant. After seeing the previous fights, she knew that her opponent was fast. She needed to be the one to take action first. She needed to prevent him to attack.

The water bullets approached quickly towards Cyziel but he only stood still. The people thought that he was not able to react and he would finally be defeated. Sadly, it was far from the truth. The moment the bullets got close to his body, they dispersed. The only thing that it did was wet Cyziel. Cyziel then started walking slowly towards Aria.

"Why was it dispersing?" Aria looked around her. She could see the reactions of the instructors. It seems that even they are surprised. "Still I haven't lost yet. Let's see you get even more wet."

Aria didn't stop her barrage even when it didn't dealt any damage. Cyziel was now really wet from his head to toe but it didn't really slow him down.

Cyziel arrived just two meters away from Aria before stopping. "You better cast your spell or you won't have any time to do it."

Aria got surprised. Cyziel seemed to have known what she was planning to do but she already doesn't have any choice. She casted her spell. "Tronus Troquer! Electric shock!" A bright cone of electrical energy was discharged in front of Aria's hand. In addition to its speed, its area was wide enough to prevent most people from dodging. She successfully hit Cyziel. Her level 4 spell was a direct hit.

Cyziel jerked as the spell hit him. Aria was a bit blinded by her own spell but she felt Cyziel twitch so she thought that her spell affected him. A few minutes later, she could see the silhouette of Cyziel's body that was still standing in front of her so she empowered her spell. It lasted for a few more minutes until her energy was finally depleted. To her surprise, Cyziel stood in front of her unharmed. She could see that his body was covered with lightning. He was almost blinding to look at.

"Did my spell actually fail? How did you do that? Why are you unharmed? " Aria asked. There was still no fear in her eyes. Instead, she was looking at him with admiration.

Uhmm! She is looking weirdly at me. I probably should end this. Cyziel then raised his hand and pointed his finger at her. "Tronus Ducere! Conduction!"

Without needing to touch Aria, it seemed that Cyziel and Aria was connected by an invisible wire. The electricity that was flowing around Cyziel, flowed through Aria.

Aria immediately groaned in pain. The sudden shock in her whole body caused her to spasm momentarily before falling down the floor. What she didn't know was that Cyziel only transmitted a part of the electricity flowing around his body. Additionally, Aria was not wet so the electricity only lasted a few seconds.

Cyziel finally dispersed the electricity in his body then casted a heating spell that evaporated the water around him. "You should not look down on yourself. You actually did great. That was your own spell." Cyziel said as he reached out his hand to help Aria stand up.

Aria pulled herself up with the help of Cyziel's hand then as she stood up, she purposely let herself fall towards his body then hugged him. *I knew it! I know that you are special! Won't you please be my teacher~* She then seductively whispered on Cyziel's ear.

Cyziel was instantly flustered and froze on stage.

Seeing Cyziel's reaction, Aria chuckled. She was not letting go. She didn't think that someone as strong as him would also have a flaw like other men. *I will assure you that you will have a great time teaching me! I promise!*

*Okay! Okay! Just please let go! Everyone is looking at us!* Cyziel whispered back, not knowing if he should push Aria away from him.

Stolen story; please report.

"Aria! What are you doing? Get off him and get down the stage if you admit defeat!" Sara shouted, seeing the commotion that they are generating.

Aria finally let got of Cyziel, winked at him before jumping out of the arena.

--- Morgan's Group Location ---

"Mara did you see that?" Morgan asked.

"Yes. I honestly didn't know that Cyziel was this strong." Mara replied. Auntie might have been right about him!

"No! I am not talking about that! Did you not see how Aria hugged him!" Morgan scowled at Mara.

Is Morgan jealous? This is a first time for her! Mara chuckled. "You should not take it out against Aria!"

"Of course not! Cyziel probably did something to her!" Morgan declared, slowly rolling her fingers into a fist. "I'll definitely see through him!"

Oh no! Has she really have fallen for him! Mara quivered, looking fearfully at Morgan.

"There you are Mara! Were you also watching the fight? That Cyziel guy is really amazing!" A woman with a mix of blue, purple and violet hair appeared. "Oh Morgan. I didn't notice that you are here!"

"Stop praising him Liana! You don't know even know him!" Morgan uttered, fiercely staring at Liana.

Liana crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What's wrong with you Morgan? Did he like rejected you or something."

Ughh! This is bad! They might start a fight again! Oh who is that! Mara looked at the arena and saw someone enter. "Hey look! Someone is challenging Cyziel!"

--- Vera's Group Location ---

"That girl! Who does she think she is?" Ru sulked, placing her two hands on her waist.

"Uhh.. Just ignore that girl!" Jorak answered.

"You know her?" Ru viciously stared at Jorak.

"No! No! I just heard of her since we have the same race!" Jorak immediately denied. "I just know that she usually go for those strong guys."

"Well! That is normal but Cyziel is far above her!" Vera coldly interjected.

The rest of the group stared at Vera but didn't really said anything else.

--- Aqola's Group Location ---

"He is really strong isn't he?" Makan asked.

"Isn't that obvious already?" Watako calmly replied. "I already warned you all before."

"He only defeated someone rank 123. You are all exaggerating!" Zaga shouted, annoyed at the other's reaction.

"Why don't you challenge him then?" Myla chuckled.

"You dare to talk to me loser! You just lost to a weakling!" Zaga retorted, smirking at Myla.

"You-you! Don't think I am afraid of you-"

"Enough!" Aqola shouted then continued staring at the stage. The others didn't knew what he was thinking but they knew that he was not in a good mood.

--- Back on Dueling Stage ---

"Still having fun? Do you want to challenge again another student?" Sara asked.

"No! No! I'm done for today!" Cyziel turned around and almost jumped down but he paused as someone entered the arena. He wanted to retreat for now because he already got too much attention and he was still a bit embarrassed of what happened.

"I request to challenge him!" The large young man pointed at Cyziel while speaking with instructor Sara. He was no Corynis but instead a Varian with a rare mutation. He was both tall and bulky. His arms a bit hairy and the hair of his head was thick.

"That's fine! Cyziel! Do you accept his challenge?" Larka asked.

Cyziel turned around then looked at the man before smiling. "Of course! I accept all challenges."

Sara immediately activated the arena barrier and the middle divider signifying that the duel was accepted.

"You actually accepted without even asking my rank. Well it doesn't matter. The strong doesn't have anything to fear. I am Aractos! Rank 7! Prepare yourself!" The arms of Aractos suddenly bulged then he performed neck stretches causing a creaking sound.

"Impressive but unfortunately, this is a magic battle!" Cyziel shook his head.

"Hahaha! You are right! My rank is a bit deceiving but there is still a lot of ways to fight!" Just as he finished talking, the divider disappeared.

Aractos immediately charged towards Cyziel while simultaneously casting rock fist on his arm. He is not allowed to cast reinforcement arts so instead he used wind magic to propel himself forward. He punched forward containing the momentum of his run. The punch was so strong and fast that the wind around his fist can be felt. Unfortunately, it missed as Cyziel dodged sideways to the left.

Aractos continued to chase after Cyziel. He rained him down with punches and kicks and Cyziel only dodged. He started to cast magic in between his attacks but Cyziel also casted defensive magics to protect himself. Even so, it was pushing Cyziel little by little towards the barrier. This lasted for quite a few minutes until Cyziel was finally cornered.

"You just keep on dodging! Let's see you dodge this!" Aractos then swept his left leg towards Cyziel. "Iara Aeze!" He actually casted a blast of wind using his leg. Cyziel jumped high to dodge the spell but Aractos jumped even higher. "Nowhere for you to run now!" Aractos punched downwards hitting Cyziel and causing him to crash with a great speed towards the ground.

Before Cyziel could hit the ground, earth essences under him condensed then turned into sand. The bed of sand caught him and reduced the impact. It then pushed him up, helping him to stand.

Cyziel wiped his clothes to remove the sand even though it was a pointless action since the sand also disappeared after a few seconds. "Not bad! After all, It is not illegal to fight hand on hand as long as one doesn't use combat arts!"

"You were actually able to block that! You were even able to gather sand to catch you." Aractos then smirked. "Unfortunately, low level spells are still low level even if you practiced them to their utmost efficiency!"

Aractos charged again but before he got near, he almost slipped. Their was actually a puddle of water beneath his feet that almost caused him to lose balance. "I told you your petty tricks are useless! You should have learned higher level spell!" Aractos stomped on the water, scattering them away.

"And here I am praising you for your courage but if you look down at me like that! Then I should return the favor." Cyziel lost his smile before turning his head towards instructor Sara. "Don't worry, I'm still gonna pull my punches."

Aractos was further enraged with what he heard. He actually challenged him because he was angry at him for flirting with Aria. At first, he was still wary of Cyziel but he noticed that Cyziel was not able to fight back as he kept on fighting him up close. Now that he cornered him, his arrogance even rose higher as he felt that there was no longer a need to keep his fake courtesy.

Fire essences suddenly gathered between the two hands of Aractos. "Firas Riclus Laxae!" With a single shout, he casted two fire vertical fire walls in his right and left trapping the both of them between the wall of flames. "You actually try to look down on me! Where are you going to run now?"

Aractos raised his fist and more rocks piled on top of it. His fist has became larger than his whole head before he brought it down towards Cyziel. In his surprise, Cyziel met it with his own fist. He almost laughed but Cyziel's fist momentarily got covered by a crystalline structure before the impact happened. The rock covering his fist was crushed. Whatever crystal covered Cyziel's hand was much harder than his own. Additionally, Cyziel's own strength seem to be not lower than him. It is out of his calculations.

The aftermath was that his fingers were bent in different fashions. It was painful to look at but it was even more painfull for Aractos. Due to the speed of the clash and the wall of fire surrounding them, a lot of people around was not able to understand what happen. They only noticed that Aractos was trying to punch Cyziel. Cyziel's punch was too quick for a lot of people and his spell also only happened in an instant before dispersing.

The flames surrounding them also almost disappeared when they clashed but Cyziel took control of it and empowered it. Aractos didn't even notice that the flames around was no longer under his control. It was the same as the time he fought Flint.

"What are you saying again about low level spells? Aren't you also using low level spells?" Cyziel asked his opponent who was crying of pain due to his dislocated fingers.

"Ahhh!!!" Aractos was holding his left arm with his right hand as he screamed, before hearing Cyziel speak. "Wha--I mean I was mistaken--- Gahh.."

*If you don't understand, I meant that all the spells that you are using are low level spells to me!* Cyziel whispered in front of Aractos. "I'll show you what a high level spell is! I do not know yet if any of your books have this!"

"No! Get away from me!" Arctos ignored the pain in his left hand as he punched at Cyziel with his remaining hand.

Cyziel caught Aractos' fist with his left hand. As soon as Cyziel touched Aractos hand. Aractos went limp in the ground while the flames surrounding them blazed even stronger. The pupils in Arctos eyes were missing and the beat of his heart stopped. The sound of his breath went silent as even a hint of movement were non-existent.

At exactly one minute, he moved. He didn't know what happened but he felt scared. He felt really cold and weak. It was like he felt an eternity of darkness that he would no longer woke up. "I'm alive! I'm alive! Its not cold! Even my fingers are okay! Was everything a dream?" His monologue was interrupted as he saw the face of Cyziel looking at him from above. He didn't know when but he was now lying on the ground.

"Of course its not cold! We are surrounded by fire!" Cyziel stared down, smiling at Aractos.

Aractos immediately crawled away then jumped up on his feet. I'm alright! I could still fight! I could win this!

"Are you sure you still want to fight? You already died once you know?" Cyziel raised his left arm. Some kind of essence was surrounding his arm. It seemed that it was not a simple elemental essence.

Aractos recognized the energy in Cyziel's arm. It was the feeling of death that he just had undergo. He immediately ran towards the opposite side of the barrier. "Let me out! I surrender! I surrender" He continued to push on the barrier that when it disappeared, he immediately fell off the stage. He ignored the stares of the surrounding people and ran away.

"Cyziel! What did you do this time?" Sara asked, observing Cyziel thoughtfully.