From Akira's perspective

I saw it happen.

I saw Elise crying.

She was with Eric Morris.

What's going on between those two?

I can guess most of it.

Eric must be Elise's ex-boyfriend.

He must have broken her heart badly.

I feel an inevitable showdown coming between Eric and me, as a man.

"Hey, are you listening? What’s with the zoning out?"

Alejandro's voice from the next seat snaps me back to reality.

"It's time for the Tutorial Dragon battle."

That jolts me back.

Right.

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After being promoted to the Phoenix class, another chance for promotion came almost immediately.

If I score high in this battle, I'll earn the right to challenge someone from the Dragon class.

It's a rematch for the class placement test.

"Elise..."

"I’m ready. Let’s do our best."

The magic we’ve registered to use is Basic Earth for me and Field Ground for Elise.

"Aren’t you going to use any healing magic?"

"The Tutorial Dragon battle is about how much damage you can deal in a short time. If we waste time healing, we won’t finish first."

I nod, understanding the trick to scoring high.

I felt a reassuring confidence trusting Elise.

As instructed, I put on the headset and lose consciousness.

When I wake up, I'm in a sandbox world.

Brown blocks are stacked high, forming steep slopes.

It seems this battle is set in a hilly area.

The Tutorial Dragon flies above, prepping its fire-breathing attack.

"We’re going to rack up points quickly."

Elise casts Field Ground.

This magic, affecting friends and foes alike, boosts the power of earth attacks by 1.2 times.

Stacking the effect, casting it four times doubles the power, and twenty times multiplies it by 38, which is no small feat.

I dodge a flame deftly and land a hit with Basic Earth.

Damage indicators and animations confirm the hit.

Our attacks are definitely having an impact.

After repeating the chants of Field Ground and Basic Earth 25 times each, time’s up.

"Provisional first place!?"

Looking at the score and the rankings, I'm utterly shocked that moving to the Dragon class might not be just a dream.

"Well, as long as you know the strategy, the Tutorial Dragon battle is easy. With your abilities, such scores are expected," Elise says, as if it’s nothing special.

"Now, the only question is who we’ll be challenging in the swap match."

Swap match?