While walking outside, Keira asked about the fight. “Hey, Anaia, you’re a fishing cat, aren’t you?” Anaia nodded. “So, you’re able to manipulate water?”

“It’s kind of more complicated than that. Like, we can use water to heal other Meoons or convert them into mana at the cost of our own. But yes, we may also manipulate water for combat but it’s hardly useful when the main water sources are mainly in other regions," Anaia revealed a tiny wurtz flask inside her pocket. It contained water. "This is something almost all of us have in case we need it. It may not look like much but this amount is helpful in treating some of the worst wounds imaginable. So, fishing cats in Celestia Raeon are very adept at giving support but not so good in combat. But I feel that I fit that role very well.”

Keira listened intently. "You're a very caring person." She then turned her attention to Elysia, “Is it really possible for you to take on those two?”

“Yeah, I’ve done it before and I beat them both on all those occasions,” Elysia said. “The main thing that separates me from top tier fighters from the academy is my experience and who I got those experiences from. Ever since becoming an Elite, it’s become routine to be taught different philosophies and approaches to combat. I’m not saying that they keep losing because they don’t work together enough, because honestly, they make a great team. It’s just that their mindset when it comes to combat is too narrow. Instead of focusing on beating their opponent, they need to focus on how they can seem vulnerable without being vulnerable. Focusing on the end goal almost always leads to failure because your head space is in the future. You need to have a feel for the fight in the moment. This is also why carefully laid out plans on winning don't work because it’s just a fact that not everything you predict or calculate will come true. You need to have spontaneity when it comes to combat.”

They continued walking until they got to an open field near a volcano and a forest. Keira looked around in awe of the view. The contrasting gray colors of the volcanic rocks paired with the vibrant green leaves of trees was a sight she never thought she’d see. “There’s a place like this?” she asked. Elysia and Anaia just smiled. These are the places I never get to see back at Etherclipse. It’s no wonder since I’ve been quite isolated from the rest of the world. Keira continued to look around. They heard footsteps coming from the direction they had walked from. Frydrick, Jihan, Kenon, and other Meoons followed Elysia and company.

“We’ll be having combat here in the open field,” Kenon said. Elysia nodded. Beside Kenon were the two students, Frydrick and Jihan, looking both eager and nervous.

“What’s the matter, boys? We’ve done this drill numerous times before. You better show me something new,” Elysia said. “Maybe this time, you guys will have applied the advice I’ve given you.”

“Go, big sis! Go!” Anaia was cheering from the side. Keira went beside Kenon and watched on the battlefield. The two students step forward and create distance between them and Elysia.

“Commence!”

Jihan quickly manipulated the pebbles from the ground near the trees. Frydrick directed his palms towards the rocks to heat them up. Elysia stood unfazed. She jumped at the last possible second, causing the pebbles to crumble to dust, creating smoke. Frydrick charged at Elysia and tried to strike with punches and kicks. Elysia blocked and dodged every single one before sweeping Frydrick. A storm of leaves rained down on Elysia as Frydrick’s fall was obstructed from her view. She noticed the ground heating up causing her to jump. Jihan let go of the control over the leaves, exposing Elysia’s location and immediately, Frydrick kicked her shoulder towards the ground. The elite Meoon easily landed on two feet but Jihan was fast enough to raise the ground and launch Elysia back up. Frydrick tried to do the same trick but Elysia caught his leg and tossed it towards Jihan.

Jihan used the leaves to create a cushion for Frydrick to land softly. Elysia disappears from their sight and appears behind both of them. They quickly cocked their heads but Elysia swept their feet and kicked them both upwards. She jumped to their height and tried to drop them with a sledgehammer fist. Frydrick blocked the attempt and Jihan pulled up rocks just above Elysia and rained it on her. Elysia almost fell flat but she planted one of her hands on time to land safely. It took her long enough for Jihan to enclose her again with a storm of leaves. The swirling leaves were sharp and the only way out was up. She jumped and saw volcanic rocks hurling towards her. She dodged every one to the best of her abilities and Jihan redirected the storm of leaves towards her direction. I have no choice. Elysia looked at the sun and quickly absorbed its light. She transformed to her feline form. A clouded leopard appeared before everyone. With a ferocious roar, she blew away the leaves and stopped the magma rocks on their tracks.

“Looks like she’s getting serious,” Frydrick said.

“How long are we going to last, exactly?” Jihan contemplated.

“We’ll just have to find out.”

“Looks like the plan of those two just failed right before their eyes,” Kenon said.

“How so?” Keira asked.

“Their attacks were sharp, precise, and even effective during the initial stage of the battle. And that’s the problem, they were too effective. It drained a lot of their mana and Elysia was not even at full-power yet. Though she might take this as a loss as well since she’s not used to having to transform to take on these students,” Kenon replied. “But lasting this long against an Elite is especially impressive for those two. Elysia takes pride in her stamina. She likes to take things slow whenever possible. She keeps a few tricks in her sleeves so that she can readily keep up with her opponents. She likes to make sure that her opponents think that she doesn’t have any way out. That’s one of the things that separates her from the crowd. She’s not too ferocious, she’s patient, and most importantly, she’s competent.”

“Do you boys want to continue?” the clouded leopard asked. “Because I suppose that you can take this as a win. Neither of you managed to push me to this level before.”

“No, we’re going to keep going,” Frydrick said. He was visibly panting. “As long as we’re not out of mana, we’re still in condition to fight. Right, Jihan?”

“Yeah,” Jihan replied. “We have a lot of respect for you but we’d rather lose while giving it our all rather than lose because we gave up.”

“You got a lot of heart, I give you that,” Elysia said. “But, it’s time for my counterattack.” She enhanced her speed to circle around Jihan and Frydrick. She was going so fast the illusions were created and the two attacked to no success. Then, Jihan took a deep breath and pulled a massive boulder from near a tree and Frydrick heated up the ground to stop Elysia’s tracks. And as soon as Elysia jumped from her position, Jihan quickly pulled the boulder towards Elysia but she anticipated it and enhanced her strength to carry the boulder and smash it to the ground. Stone dust covered the field. Jihan and Frydrick got swept and piled on top of each other. The clouded leopard stood tall.

Every student in the academy clapped. Keira was in awe of how skilled Elysia looked. But she also paid attention to Frydrick and Jihan who were able to last quite some time against Elysia. This is the level that I need to achieve in order to keep up.

“That will be all for today’s session, Keira. I hope you were able to absorb everything that you have watched because tomorrow, you’ll be the one participating in a non-magic sparring contest against Frydrick, Jihan, and Macky,” Kenon said enthusiastically. “For the meantime, try to consult with Elysia how you’re going to be able to transform into your feline form so we’ll know what kind of powers you possess.”

I’m being pitted against the top three students in the academy? Is this really such a good idea? Keira thought to herself.

“Why is Keira going to fight the top three students in the academy, teacher Kenon?” Anaia asked. “Will that not be too much to handle for her?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Tomorrow will just be an evaluation on what level she is at before she’s ready to do THAT,” Kenon said and gave an eyebrow raise to Keira. “Anywho, I’ll make sure those three don’t do anything funny so don’t worry about any shenanigans they might pull. Anyways, Elysia, take it away from here. Class, it’s a wrap up today, you can all go home!”

----------------------------------------

The following day, Keira was face-to-face with Macky, the third best student in the academy. He was wearing a regular white t-shirt and a brown vest on top of it. He had very loose shorts which highlighted his defined thigh muscles. She gulped but stood her ground. Alright, you gotta remember the basics, striking and grappling, no magic. Just wait for him to initiate and counterattack. Macky smiled and just walked towards Keira. Damn, he looks like he’s underestimating me. Alright, come closer. As soon as they were around 4 ft apart, Macky swung her right leg to roundhouse kick Keira but she ducked to dodge. He quickly rushed to deliver another kick while Keira was in a vulnerable position. Keira blocked the left kick to her temple but Macky immediately put his left foot down and used his right foot to side kick Keira’s stomach.

That hurt. Keira was holding her belly.

“Come on, Keira, fight back. You can’t just dodge and block and expect to win a fight. Offense is the best defense after all. I’m even being merciful because teach told me to,” Macky said. Keira stood up straight and finally ran towards Macky. “That’s more like it!”

Macky leapt forward and ducked to Keira’s hip-level and delivered an uppercut but Keira caught his fist and gripped it tightly. While Macky’s face was right at her quads, she brought her right knee upwards and struck Macky. He was stunned and Keira tried to keep the momentum by rushing towards him and tried to strike with her elbow. She connected to his cheek but Macky seemed unfazed despite the two strikes.

Those were incredibly close blows, how is he not knocked out?

“You know, I swear I’m not using any of my attribute enhancement because Tigers are just naturally durable. I can take as many hits as possible and still be on my feet. Unlike Jihan and Frydrick who are very tactical, I’m more of the straightforward type.” Macky sprinted in front of Keira. “And this is where the fun begins.” He rained punches on Keira before landing an uppercut that sent her down.

“KEIRA!” Anaia screamed.

Gosh, that was rough. Keira spat on the ground and slowly stood up. “You’re not holding back, huh?”

“Teacher Kenon did say to test you till your limits,” Macky smiled. “So, no.” He leapt again and tried to punch Keira but she ducked and tried to sweep him when he landed. Macky jumped out of reflex. Keira brought her knee up and hit Macky in the stomach. Macky stepped back and coughed a bit. “You’re quickly adapting to this, aren’t you?” Macky looked to the stands, “Hey, teach, may I use my feline form against her?”

“Absolutely not!” Anaia shouted. “Teacher Kenon, you know that Keira doesn’t have her feline form yet. Who knows what could happen to her! She’s just training, she shouldn’t have to receive the full force of her sparring partners.” Anaia’s eyes were growing teary.

“Hey, Anaia!” Keira shouted. “Don’t worry about me, I got this!” She winked. Anaia still looked doubtful but nodded.

Kenon shrugged at Anaia and turned to Macky. “Looks like you got permission from your opponent.”

“Sweet!” Macky said. Now, it’s time for the real battle. After transforming, he quickly leapt towards Keira but Keira swiftly side-stepped. Huh? Was I that fast before? She was confused by her speed but Macky didn’t seem to notice and tried to jump on her again. Keira analyzed the direction of his claws and determined that he was going to pound with his right arm. She guessed correctly but barely jumped over his right claw. She tripped mid-air but landed on her feet flawlessly. “What the? Even in your non-feline form?”

Keira looked as confused as Macky.

“That’s interesting. Earlier, she showed a sudden burst of speed that I didn’t expect, now she has incredible balance. Maybe she’s not an elemental manipulator after all,” Elysia said. Frydrick was listening closely to Elysia and looked curiously at Keira.

“She seems experienced for her actual level, don’t you think? It’s quite odd how she casually keeps up with Macky,” Frydrick stated. “Nonetheless, when she crosses my path, I won’t drag it out for even a second longer than necessary.”

“Will you not make this about yourself?” Anaia demanded. “You keep talking, pointing out things about other people only to have it be about you. Don’t think you’re so high and mighty being the rank 1 student of this academy.”

“Don’t even continue yapping. I’ve moved on from your constant lectures and it’s time for you to do the same, Anaia,” Frydrick deadpanned. Anaia lowered her eyebrows.

“Hey, you two, quit arguing. I swear, if you really hated each other that much, you would stay as far away from each other as possible,” Jihan argued. Frydrick stood still but Anaia went a little farther from Frydrick.

The fight went on for a while until Macky was able to grab a hold of Keira’s neck, poised to strike her. “That’s enough,” an order from Kenon.

Keira was gasping for air, looking at Macky before bowing down her head. Macky returned the gesture. “You did really well for your first fight. I could tell you have potential, as expected of the daughter of a well-respected soldier.” Keira smiled.

Anaia ran towards Keira as she was limping slightly, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just tired from all of that,” Keira took a deep breath. “How did I do, though?”

“You did so amazing back there!” Anaia assured Keira. “It was like you were not a beginner. Everybody was at the edge of their seats and you looked like you were showing signs of attribute enhancement.”

“Which was not expected, if I’m being honest,” Elysia said. “It feels odd seeing you show attribute enhancement potential. But at the same time, if that was your actual raw abilities, you’re doing a great job at absorbing what you have learned so far.”

“It felt weird being able to dodge him during those final sequences. However, his experience shone through and was able to catch me. Even if it felt like he was slower than me due to his size it still felt like he was always on the verge of catching me by the tail. Now, I have to prepare for Jihan, and he’s a nature manipulator,” Keira said then murmured, “the same as my real mother.”

“Don’t be nervous, you got this!” Anaia patted her back.

“Keira, you did a great job during your first bout! Next up, you’ll be facing Jihan and I told him that he’s allowed to use his elemental manipulation. Best of luck to you.

Attribute enhancement, huh? Keira thought. She was sitting on top of a tree alone as a request to recollect herself. An hour has passed since the fight with Macky. It did feel weird being able to move so quickly and land on both feet almost every single time. But if I got two, is that even possible?

“Hey, there,” Elysia called from the ground. “You doing okay there?”

“I was just thinking about what happened during the fight a while ago.”

Elysia jumped to grab the branch Keira was sitting on and swung her body upwards and landed on the branch beside Keira. “What about them?”

“You guys mentioned attribute enhancement a while ago. Did it look like I possessed two of them?” Keira asked. Elyisa looked surprised.

“Even you, noticed that?” Elysia grabs her own chin. “I did somehow see that you were able to blitz dodge one of Macky’s attacks and be able to land on your feet when you were clearly going head first. It’s possible that you are just really adept at traditional combat like your mother. Because even as a nature manipulator, she’s one of the most incredibly gifted hand-to-hand combatants.”

Interesting. “Thank you, Elysia,” Keira responded.

“However, it is indeed a curious case. In the world of Meoons, everyone is born with only one feline form, meaning, only one access to a power. The only one born with multiple powers, by multiple, I mean all, is the Guardian. And they are the ones who will be choosing the Elite who deserve to have access to all their powers in their categories - either Elemental Manipulation or Attribute Enhancement. They can’t get both. Now that we bring this up, I really do think that you should meet the Guardian. Maybe he’ll be able to explain that phenomena,” Elysia suggested.

“I’ll think about it. For now, I’ll have to prepare myself for Jihan,” Keira stated.

“Best of luck!”