The venue for her spar with Jihan was outside where a lot of pebbles, boulders, trees, and grass were around the area.

“Keira, your next opponent will be Jihan, a nature manipulator in his style of venue. He is allowed to use his powers to his advantage. The goal of this spar is for us to evaluate your capabilities as a stand-alone fighter. Good luck,” Kenon said. Keira nodded and turned to Jihan. He was once again wearing a tight outfit. Black leggings and a tight beige tee. He looks incredibly slim.

“You ready, Keira?” Jihan asked.

“Yes,” Keira responded and bowed her head. Jihan returned the favor and their sparring commenced. Alright, let’s calm down, we can’t go around initiating the first strike. They know how to counter. Closely analyze his moves and strike whenever you’re certain you’ll land one.

Jihan smiled and walked slowly around the field away from Keira. “We’re not going to have any winners if we keep stalling around, Keira. You know one of us has to strike so we can progress, right? I can see right through your tactic so I’m not going to budge,” Jihan said.

“And you’re alright with drawing against someone with no feline form yet?” Keira taunted Jihan. He looked amused and grinned even more.

“Darn, I thought I was the one with enough patience to handle mind games but you do make a very good point,” Jihan said and opened his palms upward. He levitated a number of pebbles and separated them into three groups. “Let’s see if you’re going to be able to dodge these!”

Brace yourself, here they come. Jihan released one group and Keira was able to dodge all of them but Jihan already started pushing the other group forward. Keira scouted the direction of the pebbles but Jihan was already near Keira. She tried to punch him but he caught her hand and pulled her towards him before kicking her chest causing her feet to slide across the ground. Then, he released the pebbles and struck Keira with each one.

“Jihan is extremely good at long distance combat but what’s scary is that he’s unafraid to go closer than he needs to be to increase the impact of his attack. Keira can’t let him get far from her because she wouldn’t be able to come closer but she also can’t let him come close enough for him to set up those sort of tactics,” Elysia suggested. “She’s gonna have to find a way to counter his plan before he could even think of that plan.”

“Keira is gonna have a lot of bruises after this one,” Anaia said with concern.

I just can’t get close. And every time he’s near me, I can’t seem to strike because he already calculated my movements. I need to at least end this fight with some damage to him.

“Don’t stress yourself, Keira, I can finish this as early as you want me to. But I still want this to be a learning moment for you so I’ll gladly drag it out,” Jihan sprints towards Keira and she quickly side steps but he manipulates the grass to reach out to her foot and trip her. And before she could stand, the grass acted as a lock around her wrists. “Looks like this one is over, you can say that you already forfeit so we can wrap this up, you know?”

No, he’s gonna be left unscathed if I forfeit now. I want to prove to them that I am capable. “Sweetie, you don’t need anything else but me. As long as you’re with me, you’ll be protected.” The voice of her mother suddenly entered her thoughts once again. No mother, I’m allowed to be able to protect myself. I should be allowed to try and learn how to be able to fend off those who put me in danger. “Trust me, Keira, I’ll be there for you. I’ll slaughter anyone who stands in our way. And I’ll make everybody who stood in mine pay.” NOOOOO! Keira screamed and the grass that was tied around Keira’s wrists were torn off. She stood up with green eyes, leaves swirling around her body and staring down Jihan.

“Things just got interesting,” Jihan emitted amusement.

“Looks like this confirms that Keira is a nature manipulator, doesn’t it? Now the matchup will be interesting,” Teacher Kenon said.

“It makes you wonder how she was able to show signs of attribute enhancement a while ago to now being confirmed as an elemental manipulator. Maybe she is like her mother,” Elysia said.

“I wonder what’s going through Keira’s mind,” Anaia muttered.

“Why?”

“When her eyes glow like that, it’s often because she had bad flashbacks of her past. I know that it’s going to help her with the sparring but I can’t help but be worried about what she is thinking. I’ve heard her scream like that before and after she calmed down, she would always say “it was a bad dream.” It’s turned into a code that means “I remembered my mother - the bad one, and I’m suffering because of it.” I really hope that that isn’t the driver of everything that’s happening right now,” Anaia explained. Elysia and Kenon both looked worried. Frydrick paid attention to Anaia but barely reacted and turned his attention to the fight.

Jihan threw boulders left and right towards Keira. She had enough control of her manipulation to crush them into dust every time. When he attempted to use the trees to catch her, she countered it by manipulating those exact trees. The ground looked like a calamity struck the forest. There were twigs and pebbles scattered. Jihan smiled at Keira.

“You’re quite adept at this,” he remarked. Keira stood still, remaining quiet. Jihan took a deep breath and looked at the crowd. He stared at Frydrick, “Looks like I’ll be losing the bet.” Keira was confused until Jihan opened his arms. And in an instant, he turned into a jaguar.

Jihan pounced on Keira but she dodged his claw. He quickly adjusted his body to attempt a double-back kick onto Keira. She managed to jump backwards. After Jihan turned around, Keira tried to send pebbles towards him but he intercepted them by freezing them in place. Keira crushed the pebbles causing Jihan to get caught up in the smoke. She entered and landed a punch within the smoke.

“It’s hard to tell if that’s Keira or not. She’s already so skilled in combat for her level, right?” Anaia claimed. She clasped her hands together and brought it to her face.

“Jihan is probably holding back because he knows she’s new. He had the choice to end this early yet he didn’t,” Frydrick argued. He was looking dead straight at the battle. “No way is it believable that a newbie is on the level of the top three students. If Macky could beat her, there’s no doubt in the world that Jihan will.”

Anaia looked at him with contempt. She was about to open her mouth but Elysia tapped her shoulder; the Meoon Elite shook her head. “You make a good point, Frydrick but you’re underestimating her growth of improvement. She may lose against you three today but once she starts getting some experience, she’s no doubt going to be one of the best combatants that our race has. She’s got more than a little motivation to be one.” Frydrick didn’t say a word. He nodded slightly in agreement.

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Keira was already gasping for air. “Looks like endurance isn’t your strongest suit, huh?” Jihan teased. He channeled the leaves to swirl around him. Keira used the twigs to mimic the tornado-like shield of Jihan. “You learn a lot in a very short period of time. It’s honestly impressive. I doubt Frydrick will admit that but trust me Keira, you’re exceptional. But there’s a fine line between you and me,” Jihan swiftly released the leaves to cut open the shield made of twigs. “And that’s experience.” Jihan went full speed towards Keira; he used his head to strike Keira’s stomach. She coughed spit. She took a few steps back and fell on her knees.

“That’s a wrap,” Kenon said. Keira and Jihan bowed at each other. Anaia ran towards Keira. Jihan slowly walked towards Frydrick. He gave the jaguar a subtle nod of approval. Elysia watched as Keira and Anaia walked in her direction.

“That was such a great showing from you, Keira! Now we know that you’re a nature manipulator,” Anaia rejoiced. She was using water from a tiny glass flask to soothe Keira’s bruises.

“However, it is still possible that you possess Attribute Enhancement as well,” Elysia claimed. She sat down to explain. “As long as we haven’t seen your feline form yet, it’s still not guaranteed if you’re a regular Meoon or not. Kenon and I talked about this and we noticed that you possess qualities unheard of from any Meoon. We’ re going to look into this further. For now, congratulations on your excellent performance against the top students thus far. And good luck against Frydrick.” She walked off to go and talk to Kenon.

“Hey, Keira,” Anaia gulped. “When you activated your nature manipulation powers, what was going through your head?”

How’d she know? Keira’s eyes widened before releasing a big exhale. “It was nothing much. I just felt like power was surging within me. I only thought of wanting to find out what I’m capable of. I was like, “I don’t want to end this fight without even landing a single hit on him,” and I felt a part of me unlocked,” Keira stated. Anaia smiled at Keira. There’s no doubt, she’s unconvinced.

“I’m glad," Anaia sighed in relief. "I remember your eyes glowing like that whenever you have a bad flashback,” Anaia explained. “But don’t think about it too much, I was just being my usual worried self. I’ve witnessed your breakdowns the most after all.”

I’m so sorry. I just can’t seem to admit the truth when it comes to my mother. Whenever she’s involved, my mouth just will not cooperate. I want to tell you everything, Anaia but… I don’t know. Keira took Anaia’s hand. “Sorry for making you worry. I promise that it wasn’t that serious. I was just as surprised as everybody else so maybe that’s why I looked like I was having another panic attack. Thank you for your concern as always, Anaia.” Keira hugged her cousin.

It was finally time for Keira against Frydrick. The field was the same as with Jihan. Kenon had a few Meoons help with cleaning it up because of the previous spar.

“I specifically requested the field to suit your strengths because you’re going to need it,” Frydrick stated. His presence feels so different from watching him fight, Keira thought.

“Thank you very much for that request, then. I already lost twice in a row so maybe I’ll be needing a slight advantage,” Keira told Frydrick. They both looked at Kenon to wait for the go-signal. When they received a nod, they turned to each other and bowed their heads.

“Don’t let Frydrick bully you, Keira!” Anaia shouted.

Frydrick transformed into a caracal right away. Nobody in the audience looked shocked, not even Keira. He’s doubling down on his fighting style, huh? But there’s really no way for me to match it because of the gap we have. But I just have to do my best to at least last. He ran towards her from the side but suddenly appeared in front of her. “What the-” Frydrick slashed the cheeks of Keira. Three slash marks appeared on Keira’s face. Blood dripped down her neck.

“Hey! That’s going too far!” Anaia shouted and tried to interrupt in the field but Elysia grabbed her left hand and pulled her back. Anaia turned to Elysia out of shock. “Big sis, don’t tell me you’re going to allow this. I thought this was a spar, not an actual fight?”

“Keira is going to be alright, Anaia,” Elysia assured her. “Kenon already talked to those three and we trust them to not go overboard. This is just the style that Frydrick is most accustomed to. Besides, we can easily heal Keira after the fight like you’ve always done,” Elysia gave Anaia a light smile. Anaia bowed her head, unable to hide her anxiety. She was tapping her right fingers against her thigh.

Keira pulled a boulder behind Frydrick and pulled it towards her. Frydrick managed to jump in time to be on top of the boulder. She crumbled it and caused Frydrick to fall. She quickly pounced on him but to no avail. He rolled to his side and landed on his feet and leapt at Keira’s face again. She blocked by crossing her hands in front of her face but Frydrick still scratched her. He jumped back and heated up the ground where Keira was standing. She noticed and pulled pebbles to her feet to counter the heat. Frydrick tried to pounce and slash again but Keira caught one of his paws. She pulled him in and landed an elbow to the Caracal’s nose. Frydrick landed but was taken aback.

“You’re keeping up with me,” Frydrick deadpanned. “Too bad that will not last.” She tried to pull another boulder behind his back but he side-stepped to dodge. Keira used the boulder as a cover to hide her next move. She pulled in leaves to envelope her in a shield but Frydrick drove head first, piercing through the shield. Keira looked surprised and got caught with a spinning kick from him.

“Frydrick heated up his body to pierce through the shield. He used that against me often,” Jihan said. He was seated on the ground beside Anaia’s leg. “Caracals counter Jaguars in every way possible. I’m kind of glad that we’re on the same team for the most part. Imagining him as an enemy is quite scary even if I am capable of beating him.”

“He’s not the rank 1 for no reason. However, knowing Frydrick’s fighting style, it’s impressive to see Keira last this long. He’s not someone to intentionally drag out a fight because he’s always out there to prove something,” Elysia replied.

Keira looked more bruised than in the fight against Jihan. Frydrick was constantly trying to convince her to give up but she kept shaking her head. Frydrick sighed. He picked up a boulder and used his tail to volley it towards Keira. She held out her hand and caught it but it was heated up, causing her to drop it right away. Frydrick appeared in front of her; he immediately kicked Keira’s chest hard enough to get her lying on the ground.

“You gotta stop this! She’s already down and bleeding, Frydrick already won, there’s no more reason for this to continue,” Anaia complained. She looked at Macky, then Jihan, then Kenon, then Elysia.

“But Keira hasn’t conceded defeat yet. It’d be disrespectful for her to stop this. Besides, we’re not even past the time limit,” Macky argued.

“I’m sure if Frydrick knows that the battle is over, he’s going to call for Teacher Kenon to stop it. Clearly, he’s seeing something we’re not seeing but I do agree with Anaia, Keira is already down,” Jihan claimed.

Elysia looked tense as if she was waiting for something to happen. Kenon remained calm and watched the fight play out. “If I call for it to end now, we may not get to see Keira’s potential unlocked. Us, Meeons, we have a fixed amount of power that was given to us through divinity. We are able to cultivate and find our powers through the experiences that we have. But once our potential is known to us, we cannot ever cross that limit. Hence, this is crucial for Keira to know where her limits are and make sensible decisions moving forward,” Kenon explained. He crossed his arms in front of her chest slowly. “I’m not an advocate for violence but there’s something within Keira that’s waiting to just explode. And we’re about to witness that.”

Frydrick analyzed Keira’s body. She looked unconscious until she started getting up. “I knew you weren’t finished yet. Though this has been dragging out way too long. Let me finish it.” Frydrick pounced on Keira as she was standing up. He struck her with his tail causing Keira to fall down again. But she tried to stand up one more time. Frydrick clicked his tongue and heated up his body. He shot himself like a bullet straight to Keira. She was on one knee and the moment she opened her eyes, Frydrick was already in front of her. However little distance they had between each other, it was never closed. Frydrick was knocked back, still he landed on his feet. Keira glowed and everybody’s jaw dropped. A jaguar with a white-base skin color, orange hexagonal spots, and a black lining all over her body stood where Keira was supposed to be. It let out a roar.

Frydrick was stunned; so was the audience. This was until the jaguar fell down and reverted back to Keira. What just happened? This was her last thought before seeing black.