Sanctum had been the vastest building complex Jin had visited in his life, and with each new corridor, dozens of courtyards and open spaces were slowly revealed. In the back of his mind, he felt more and more like an animal navigating an endless maze.

Several unresolved matters loomed over Jin's head. But now he could calmly resolve one issue at a time as long as he played it smart. The first ahead of him would be the one that was pending for the longest time, not only on the back of his mind but also on his heart. His father Alaric's whereabouts at the time were a mystery, having not seen him since his first ritual in Sanctum. This made it unlikely for Jin to reach out to know about the ascendant on his dreams.

He knew very well where he was going this time, even though he and his brother were banned from traveling together by the Council of Sages, nothing stopped both of them from exchanging information or even sparring together.

Starting to get the grasp of the trajectory within Sanctum, Jin kept moving forward. Being guided by the memories and pushed by intuition he still had of going through here, it all seemed familiar to a point. This flight of stairs was already known, but what lay beyond it was completely new territory to explore.

Staring at the weird looking symbol above the entrance he uttered, "Second Floor Gate—the Disciple Insignia carved in the center—, this must be it."

It was difficult to find his way in an unfamiliar place, but he had to start his search somewhere. As his father had told him in the past, in times of indecision, any action is enough. He could have gone left, but a corridor that seemed to have no end awaited him. And the right didn't inspire much confidence either, a group of three leaned against the wall and Jin didn't want to try his luck being tackled while on a floor that was filled by opponents far more powerful than Elemental Warriors. Then he turned to the path in the middle, his attention being drawn to what he was hearing. Noises that were very similar to the sounds of metal banging against each other. Distant voices that firmly shouted words that to him had no meaning. But that got louder and louder until it the sounds evolved to something discernible as he got closer.

"Let's go!"

He had arrived to a balcony that circled all around, meeting at the middle that led to another small section of stairs to a lower section where several people were looking toward some sort of arena. This room was at least three times the size of the entrance hall of the entire building, which he'd already considered exaggerated for the number of people. Square with a length of approximately one hundred meters in diameter and another one hundred in width, surrounded by onlookers on all sides. Six individuals were the center of attention, all involved in such a way that Jin had for the first time not felt like people had stopped what they were doing to stare at him. And then he joined them to see what this was all about.

The situation looked anything but fair. Five armed men surrounded one. Despite the taunt to come at him, the five initially remained in their places, watching each other. The first to break the trend was the girl, who had quickly unsheathed her sword without thinking twice, attacking with a single blow with no regard for communication. As an immediate reflex, her body was flung after failing—unconscious almost immediately.

"Ringora, no!"

That’s when Jin realized… The one catching everybody’s attention by being outnumbered and still coming out on top was the one he sought, the Gray Lightning himself.

A circle of Disciples in the lower area had gathered to watch the fight, more coming by and filling the room at each second. In a matter of minutes, a couple dozen turned into a hundred. Seemingly attracted to fierce action like bees to honey.

Luckily, Jin had entered through the upper balcony and so had the privilege of watching the battle unfold from the best angle. The girl fell to the ground and those watching were still riveted on those who were still standing in the arena. Everyone there knew for a fact that a high reputation could be wiped out in seconds with any unmistakable one, and for many, that was a greater risk than losing one's life. It was an environment that highly favored the stronger over the weaker, where the daring ones only had to gain. Especially when there were so many witnesses to be in awe of your skills.

The closest man from the unconscious girl had been distracted by the quick growth of spectators approaching and lost focus. Distracted by the audience, the lone figure acted in a subtle movement, he took a punch to the stomach falling to the ground soon after.

"Arian!" One of the others shouted but the Disciple could only whimper in response.

Two down, three to go.

“This is not the moment to be distracted. Come at me!"

The remaining Disciples locked gazes once more, but now their eyes held a different emotion. Overcome with rage at seeing their colleagues knocked out with ease, the three of them advanced, unleashing attacks in Vendrick's direction. But every time the blade got close to his body, he leaned in using the momentum against his opponents.

One by one they missed the blows in quick succession. The Disciples all brandished steel weapons that could easily pierce animal and human alike, but Vendrick remained steady and calm in his place.

Like a rock that couldn't be moved an inch, Vendrick kept warding off thrust after thrust from the three opponents simultaneously surrounding him from all sides. Like hungry wolves, they circled Vendrick, keeping him in check. Trying to sniff out the flaw in his patient style. Time and time again they dashed towards his blind spot, and were parried back the way they came. All he had with him was a dagger on his right hand, as his left was held behind his back like a gentleman holding court. This was no common sparring session, it had layers. The fact they were using real weapons and no one but his brother was being handicapped compelled Jin to jump in the center and intervene.

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However, Vendrick showed no sign of concern on his face. In fact, he appeared serene as if this were normal and this situation was absolutely normal.

“You cannot simply strike a Sentinel without a good plan. In fact, your tactic wasn’t bad, but you can’t single-handedly try to decide the battle at the expense of your own life. That’s how easy eagerness can get you all killed.”

Clin pressed against the rear, delivering a curved blow toward the careless instructor. How dare he go down a floor and act as if he had something to teach. The least they could do was expose how close the gap between Disciple and Sentinels were.

“Behind you bastar—”

But before he could finish uttering those words, Clin found himself grappling with the icy ground. It came so quickly it was like there was no chance of reaction. He rummaged through his memory trying to find where he had failed, but according to the books his attack had been on the most advantageous terms possible. The pain was accompanied by an overwhelming sense of shame. He was as good as dead. Other Disciples watching the fight from the surrounding area chuckled, his cheek already scarred with the soiled sole of a boot, stamped across the face like the signature of humiliating defeat.

"How did you hear me coming?" Clin asked clutching his fists in anger.

"I didn't even need to hear you coming, your steps are loud enough as they come."

And just like that, three Disciples were out.

"Shall we continue?" Asked Vendrick, his head slightly tilted as the crowd cheered louder.

The question was surely genuine but in a stage like this, it made his appeal to the crowd grow tenfold with the subtle taunt.

The pair bit their lips, Wollman and Verpast had a unique idea, and this time Vendrick had no criticisms to offer. As the first attacked aerially, hurling daggers, Verpast forced him to look in the opposite direction to deflect the attacks of his blade that continued to come one after the other.

Typically a Disciple wouldn't stand a chance in hand-to-hand combat against a Sentinel, but in this case, Vendrick had agreed to the terms, to him the rules were interesting as even himself was unsure of what could ensue. He could use nothing but a small wooden dagger, the weapon given to warriors who haven’t yet grown used to the ways of the blade and may cut themselves while sparring. The spear on his back and the garments he typically wore were still present on his body, but only to increase the load and slow him down. Forcing himself to train against lesser opponents under unusual circumstances made even the most seasoned warrior uncover small weaknesses and breakthrough to Guardian.

The sudden attacks coming in Vendrick's direction required his full attention given the diameter of the small dagger he used. A deflection that was an inch wrong would have him losing his fingers in ninety percent of the cases.

And that was why diverting his attention was essential, now with a chance and a card up their sleeves they had a chance to turn the tables. Although Vendrick saw Wollman leap into the air and hover toward him, as long as his prediction taking into account the gravity pull was accurate, he didn't need to worry ahead of time.

But Wollman particularly had no issues with Vendrick seeing through his leap. Throwing daggers at a Sentinel at full strength would be like throwing rocks at the most hungry tiger. However, they had the numbers and Wollman was not necessarily a warrior to be taken lightly. Having attained Disciple Rank, they both had already advanced from the Elemental Warrior Step; so now he had the ability to collect elemental energy from the environment and use it in his attacks without having to compromise his own life force in the process. An act that seemed desperate at first, now was the combat strategy they used working together to defeat an opponent superior to them.

『”Ignis— Give me strength!”』

Calling the elemental energy he had stored within, he focused on bringing the energy forth through his hands. As his hands began to feel the power being invoked, he externalized the technique and transferred the energy to the thrown dagger.

『Ignis – Velocitatem』

Naturally, there was no need for any warrior to announce their elemental technique being called into play, but for Verpast and Wollman knowing what they were about to unleash was the secret for their coordination. And so communication was key.

The speed of the dagger took on an entirely different dimension the moment Wollman finished uttering the sacred words. It was like the daggers descending with a force of gravity ten times greater than normal. All he needed now was to trust Verpast to keep the Sentinel's attention on the duel.

"Come on keep him busy... Come on Verpast!"

Attacking and dashing back with consecutive slashes, Vendrick focused so much on the defensive that to Jin it looked like he had gone into a trance of concentration. He was moving and still reflecting the attacks coming his way, but he didn't seem to be aware of what was going on around him.

“—

And that's when he felt, throbbing in his leg just below his knee, he'd been hit full on. He didn't count on using ranged weapons in combat training, but he couldn't blame the Disciples for thinking beyond what was stipulated in the rules. After all, anything that is not mentioned as prohibited is perfectly acceptable to be used to your advantage.

The blade that had grazed Vendrick's leg hadn't quite pierced his skin, yet his leg continued to throb. a pain that seemed to burn like a fire that spread farther by the minute like flaming waves.

Vendrick had been on the defensive for over five minutes and if he continued like that he would lose it all. It wasn't for very little that he hadn't had his thigh completely torn open. But the fight was far from over.

Vendrick raised his eyebrows at the ceiling, his eyes following something invisible as if he were seeing ghosts in the upper level. But as the only Sentinel present, he felt responsible for everyone in this place regardless, whether or not they were on his side.

“Something is not quite right, there is a strange aura flowing,” Vendrick said to his opponents, appealing to their good side, “I think—"

“Watch out!” Jin shouted, as the steel rushed towards his brother's neck. Vendrick crouched low, strands of his gray hair scraped by the tip of the fast-moving sword. There was not an inch of hesitation from his opponents, who seized the opportunity to relentlessly counterattack.

Tactically retreating after the last technique, Verpast moved in a style totally in contrast to Vendrick. With long strides and sharp attacks, it looked like he was sliding over an ice floor. His feet found no challenge to move against the grounds he stood on. Every time Verpast advanced, Vendrick turned out to be too slow to reply in time.

"Time to change the strategy." Whispered Vendrick, his eyes gazing at the dagger that was bruised by the offensive pattern of his opponents.

"You guys have really worked hard!" Smiled Vendrick as he checked if his knee was also burning on the outside. “This technique is really something, I can’t feel my right leg!”

Jin bit his lip in apprehension, his brother's golden eyes now taking on a different aspect. His golden eyes sparkled with a distinct light inside.

His eyes held streaks that weren't natural for any human. Indeed, the spark that consumed his iris was the sign of Fulgur, the elemental god of thunder.