It has been 2 months since Zion Academy re-opened its gates for students. During this period, fear lingered in the air as the City Guard stepped up its patrols. After all, who would expect an attack on the Capital with no warning whatsoever? The destruction caused by the attack was clear to see, a testament of how dangerous the assailants were. There was even news that Headmaster Zilean was nearly killed by them, if not for the Lightning Saint, Ray's timely intervention.

Fortunately, the people of Nirvania had strong hearts. They consoled each other for the loss of their loved ones, rebuilt the school and then moved on with their everyday lives. After all, King Alan Stormfury had mentioned in his speech after the attack for all Nirvanians to band together in solidarity and to refuse to be cowed by these terrorists. He concluded emphatically with the kingdom's motto, "For justice, love and peace, we offer our lives."

Kai admired his body before putting on his uniform. His body had become more toned than before, since he hadn't been skiving for the past 2 months. On the contrary, due to the increase in the amount of free time he had, he underwent more training under Ray, who drilled him mercilessly despite having the 1st princess, Princess Nicolette, always clinging by his side. At least Kai had Adeline beside him throughout his training.

With Ray's intensive yet effective methods, Kai could proudly say that he was at least early Grandmaster tier despite the fact that he was only just starting his 2nd year at Zion Academy. Ray had praised his progress, claiming that he wasn't too surprised as he even added that Kai would surpass him in 10 years. This was extremely flattering, considering that Ray himself was deemed a prodigy when he was a student at Zion Academy.

During the past few months, Kai had heard that Julian and the rest of the clique were receiving special training from the other members of Saint Cross. In the last week before school re-opened, Saint Cross decided to register them for a B Class extermination mission under its name, which was actually illegal considering the fact that they were still C Class adventurers. However, thanks to the connections held by Saint Cross as the top-ranked guild, they were given the green light so long as Saint Cross was held fully responsible instead of the Adventurers' Association.

Kai was surprised with the execution of the mission. Shen was composed and detailed as ever, but Kai didn't expect Shen to possess so much firepower as he blasted their enemies from a safe distance. Shaw had taught him well on mana manipulation, allowing Shen to shape and produce more mana in every shot.

On the other hand, Jean grew more confident than before, as her barriers were not only sturdier, she could dispatch a few enemies on her own with offensive Light magic. Keith had been a good teacher as well.

Finally, Julian and Julia maintained perfect synergy with each other, but what was different about them was their ruthless efficiency in battle. Frost had inculcated in them the need to make every move count, teaching them to conserve their strength as they weaved through their enemies, cutting them down with just enough power as the opportunity arose. Kai was glad that all of them had grown so much stronger in the past few weeks, results of their blood, sweat and tears.

Back to the present, Kai bade farewell to his dear sister, Yuri, before rushing off to school. Yuri had been practising hard as well, and Kai would estimate her to be a high Intermediate tier magician with her Fire affinity. It felt great being at school once again, as even though Kai had attained far greater mastery in magic outside school, there were still things that Ray can't teach that could be found in school. Not to mention the friends Kai had made in school.

As Kai entered the school gates, he sensed something watching him curiously. Kai walked in the direction his senses were pointing towards and there, he found Terran, the nature guardian spirit in its kitten form. Before the school closed down thanks to the attack by Night Wing, Kai had actually grown pretty fond of the spirit, which seemed to particularly enjoy his company.

It really liked Adeline too for no apparent reason, always snuggling up to her when they were doing homework together in the garden, Terran's favourite hideout. Kai rubbed Terran's head as the spirit purred in content before rushing off to his first venue for the day.

Unfortunately, before he could enter the building, he found himself surrounded by a group of seniors. Kai asked calmly, "May I ask what's the matter? If there's nothing, I'm in a hurry, so please don't obstruct my way."

One of the students snapped, "Hmph! You really are a stuck up brat! Ever since you have been popularised as a disciple of one of the 10 Saints, not to mention that you participated as a member of the Resistance and survived, you have been the focus of attention all over school together with that female companion of yours! Despite your tender age, even the Year 3 and 4 girls are ogling you! I can't believe they'd be attracted to a snotty-nosed brat like you!"

Kai replied with a slight annoyance in his voice, "I can't control what they choose to look at, can I? I don't have such an ability. Unlike what you believe, I didn't participate in the Resistance to obtain fame, I fought because it was the right thing to do. Now, I would appreciate it if you would kindly move out of the way."

The ringleader of the group cried, "Get him! Show him that us Year 3 students are no pushovers!" On cue, Kai activated his Luminos immediately, erasing mana out of everyone present to knock them unconscious. Thanks to his training, Kai had improved his use of his Luminos in terms of activation speed and control over the amount of mana to erase. Generally, his [Erase] can't remove that much mana to knock out high Expert tier individuals even at maximum capacity, but the boys that surrounded him were just too weak.

They all collapsed to the ground instantly as Kai shook his head while he stepped over their bodies gingerly before heading towards his first lesson.

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The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, as Kai's mastery of magic, unarmed combat and the spear were far beyond his years. He had used the time in school to work on areas he was weaker in, for example, other elemental magic which he had little affinity to in order to ensure that he wasn't over-reliant on Lightning magic.

Though Kai was pretty uncomfortable with the other elements, his foundation which was developed under Ray's training allowed him to match the magic of his peers who had affinities to their respective elements. Kai paid particular attention to Light, Water and Earth magic as they either had synergy with his Lightning magic or covered up for a certain weakness of his.

After school, as Kai was walking towards his meeting place with Adeline just before training with Ray, someone obstructed his path. He was pretty tall and solidly built. Kai asked, "Sorry, I'm in a hurry, would you mind stepping aside?"

The stranger responded, "My name is Jonathan, I'm a Year 3 student enrolling in the Soldier Course, specialising in unarmed combat. I heard that you took out quite a couple of my friends earlier. Is that true?"

Kai answered nonchalantly, "Well, they ganged up on me and were prepared to use violence against a junior in school. Surely I'm entitled to the right of self defence?" Jonathan laughed, "Of course! I've already berated them for their disgraceful behaviour and I came here firstly to apologise to you on their behalf."

Kai snapped, "What else do you want apart from apologising?" Jonathan replied with a grin, "You're pretty sharp. I want a duel. An all-out duel, you and me, with no restraints. I want to see how good the acclaimed student of the Lightning Saint can be. Please honour my request." He ended with a bow.

Kai initially wanted to reject his request, but after thinking about Jonathan's specialisation as a close combat specialist, Kai had second thoughts. His close combat was good, but recently he had started to rely a little too much on his magic.

Ray had always taught him that the most effective offensive magic need not be the strongest or flashiest, it's the one that achieved the outcome of hurting the enemy the most. Melee attacks, despite their short range, are guaranteed to be fatal if applied at the correct position with good precision and technique. What better way to practise his newly acquired [Lightning Blade] than now?

Kai and Jonathan took up their respective positions in the field. Jonathan said, "Don't hold back, because I won't. Let this be a real duel between men." He then removed his shirt after unbuttoning it, revealing his extremely toned body. Jonathan entered into a boxing stance just as Kai readied himself.

In a flash, Jonathan disappeared and Kai instinctively shifted to his left, where a punch brushed past his right cheek. Kai spent the next minute or so dodging well-placed punches and kicks. Kai smiled. This was the perfect opponent, one who relied more on technique than power.

Up till now, the opponents Kai had faced largely relied on their magic or Enigma Abilities, prioritising brute power over controlled technique. Jonathan was different. Kai could tell that every attack thrown at him was not simply a random flail, but rather a calculated strike that attempted to throw him off balance while he was dodging.

Kai could see through Jonathan's ploy, and simply played along with him, making sure that he didn't lose his balance as he dodged Jonathan's every strike. Kai could tell that Jonathan was starting to feel fatigued as beads of sweat started forming on his forehead.

Jonathan quickly jumped away, giving himself time to catch his breath. Kai seized this opportunity to test his defence. Upon landing, Kai had quickly sent a [Lightning Surge] against Jonathan, who couldn't dodge in time. BOOM! Kai knew his attack successfully connected against Jonathan.

When the dust cloud settled, Kai was pleasantly surprised to see that Jonathan was barely hurt. Jonathan smiled, "To make me reveal my trump card so early, you're good, Kai."

Kai realised via his Luminos that Jonathan was actually practising inner mana manipulation! Most warriors and mages alike practised largely external mana manipulation, which involves releasing mana from the various mana pores all over the body before altering its shape, amount and characteristics for magic users.

However, inner mana manipulation simply focused on controlling the flow of mana within the body, keeping it enclosed within as it is sent directly to the organs. This had the effect of augmenting the body's offensive and defensive abilities physically.

For instance, mana could be sent under the skin to harden it, or sent to the biceps to generate more punching power. Such a style is highly efficient, as no mana is released and lost to the surroundings. However, such a style is also highly difficult to master, as improper regulation can lead to a breakdown of one's mana circulatory system and organs.

Kai remarked, "That's a pretty dangerous technique you've got there, but it's certainly pretty useful." Jonathan smiled, "Oh, you recognise this? I've got to say that your knowledge is remarkable. Guess I should surprise you a little more." Jonathan adopted a weird combat stance, which involved standing on his right leg solely with his left knee bent 90 degrees, with both arms spreading backwards and his palms facing back.

Without warning, he disappeared in a flash and the next moment, Kai realised that Jonathan was going for his legs! Kai quickly jumped as Jonathan's left palm struck the ground instead. Upon contact, the impact of his strike left a large palm-shaped crater on the ground, a testament of the strength exuded in that attack.

Jonathan continued his relentless assaults, as Kai found it incredibly hard to dodge Jonathan's palm strikes. Jonathan's style was very unorthodox, as he struck with cleaving motions instead of a direct strike. This made his attacks very flexible and hence unpredictable, with Kai barely dodging each attack by a hair's breadth. Normally, such attacks would generate very little power with its awkward motions, but Jonathan's inner mana manipulation provided the requisite sustained power to make every strike dangerous.

Jonathan remarked, "Wow, you certainly are good, dodging my [Scalpel Palm Style] for such a long time. Most would have fallen victim within the first 10 strikes." Kai smiled in acknowledgement as he attempted to study Jonathan's moves.

Ray had taught him during their numerous sparring sessions that everybody has a natural attack pattern that they are accustomed to. Even if they tried to alter it to catch opponents off guard, eventually, under fatigue of a drawn-out battle, they would return to the pattern most comfortable to them.

Kai was slowly connecting the dots as he barely dodged each and every strike. Finally, when he was confident of his analysis, he jumped in. As the saying goes, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Kai slipped through Jonathan's strikes and placed a well-aimed [Lightning Blade] against his chest. Jonathan expressed surprise as he felt the sharp electricity cut through his skin on his chest. To be able to cut his skin so easily despite his mana-hardened flesh, if Kai had been a serious enemy, he would have been killed by that strike already.

Jonathan smiled as he raised his hands in defeat, "You got me. You're indeed as good as the rumours say. Meeting people like you is what motivates me to train harder, for it means that the world out there is much bigger than we believe." Kai returned the smile and replied humbly, "You're pretty good yourself. I had barely dodged your attacks and if any were to hit me, I would have been done for. I've learnt a lot from this duel. Thanks for this opportunity."

Jonathan wiped the blood off his wound as he put on his shirt, before waving goodbye and taking his leave. Kai smiled as he sprinted off to the meeting place, glad that he found a new rival.