As he got a good look inside, Theo froze.

’What the hell is that?’

At the center of the room, a single figure stood.

The figure was covered in a thick, dark, rock-like armor, completely encasing him from the outside.

It was nearly twice the height of a normal human, with thick horns protruding from its head.

All around it, dark earth spikes had grown out of the ground.

Theo’s eyes widened.

’A demon?’

No, that wasn’t it.

He knew that mana all too well.

The person inside that armor was definitely Owen.

’What... is even happening?’

Another familiar figure floated above Owen.

Waves of gray mana spread from his palms, encasing the room with chaos element as best as he could.

Then, his head snapped to Elise.

"Don’t worry ’bout it," he said. "I got it under control."

Elise didn’t respond, only tilting her head slightly as she looked at Owen.

’’It doesn’t look like it,’’ she finally said, her tone even colder than before.

Adrian let out a short breath, his gaze flicking back to Owen.

"I said I’ve got it," he muttered. "His core’s just acting up—"

CRACK.

The sound cut straight through his words as a deep fracture spread across the armor.

Everyone’s eyes snapped back to Owen immediately.

The massive figure shook violently.

Then—

BOOM!

A violent burst of earth mana exploded everywhere, forcing Adrian to push out more mana.

The gray chaos mana thickened instantly, pressing down on the entire room.

The earth spikes immediately stopped moving, just floating motionlessly in the air instead.

Finally, a small smirk grew on his face.

’’See?’’ he said, gesturing to Owen. ’’He managed to figure it out himself.’’

The earth figure slowly crumbled, raising a cloud of dust.

Theo clenched his fists for a moment.

’Owen...?’

As the dust slowly settled, a single humanoid figure stood at the center.

The human smiled, raising his thumb towards Adrian.

Several pieces of dirt and earth still stuck to his skin, yet the smile was unmistakable for Theo.

A familiar voice rang out the next second.

’’I did it!’’

Only then did Owen look around, finding several people staring at him.

Theo let out a slow breath, shaking his head.

’’... Idiot,’’ he muttered.

Adrian let out a short laugh, lowering his hands slightly as the gray mana around the room began to thin out.

’’That was a good one, boy,’’ he said, rolling his shoulders. ’’Haven’t seen such a rough breakthrough in a while.’’

Owen scratched the back of his head, still smiling.

"Yeah... it felt a bit weird for a second," he admitted.

A flash of hesitation passed through Adrian’s eyes, yet he continued smiling.

’’That’s fine,’’ he said. ’’Now your affinity should also be stable again, right?’’

Owen nodded enthusiastically.

’’Maybe it’s because of my Bronze Core... but it also feels like it’s grown stronger.’’

Adrian let out a short hum, clearly satisfied.

’’From what I’ve read about you, it might be an SSS-rank affinity now,’’ he said, nodding his head to the door. ’’Shall we go check it out?’’

Owen grinned, clenching his fist lightly.

’’Of course.’’

Theo and Elise stood there, one watching speechlessly while the other remained completely emotionless.

’It’s like we’re not even here,’ he thought, shaking his head.

As Owen and Adrian walked closer, Owen walked up to Theo immediately.

’’Hey man,’’ he said, a wide smile on his face. ’’Thank you for coming to check up on me.’’

Theo looked at him for a moment.

Then, he let out a deep breath.

’’No problem,’’ he said, scratching the back of his head. ’’We happened to be in the training room next to yours.’’

Owen laughed lightly.

"Still," he said. "Appreciate it."

Theo nodded, a small smile on his face.

Just then, Adrian’s voice rang out behind them.

’’Why’d you create an ice wall here?’’ he complained loudly. ’’I told you I had it all under control.’’

Elise didn’t even bother looking at him.

She snapped her fingers, causing the ice wall to crumble.

Then, she turned to Theo.

’’Come,’’ she said emotionlessly.

Theo nodded to Owen one final time before turning around and following after her.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The noise from the destroyed training room faded behind them as they stepped back into the corridor.

Students were still gathered nearby, whispering among themselves, but quickly moved aside when Elise walked past.

Theo glanced back once.

Owen was still talking to Adrian, laughing as if nothing had happened.

’...He looks fine,’ he thought.

Even so—

Something didn’t sit right with him.

As they got back to the training room again, Elise immediately looked back at him.

The pole reappeared in her hands.

’’Go,’’ she said.

Like that, hours flew by.

Theo trained hard the entire time, barely even getting a break in between.

By the time he stepped out of the academy, the sun had already started to set.

’Shit,’ he cursed, glancing up. ’She really pushed me too far...’

Every muscle in his body ached as he walked down the street, dragging his feet slightly with each step.

His mind flashed back to the training for a moment.

’Control... huh,’ he thought.

That was all she’d been talking about.

It wasn’t about spells, strength, or output.

Just... control.

’I understand it better now,’ he thought. ’I need to control the battlefield — force my opponent where I want them to go, while keeping my own skills in check.’

He exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as a dull pain spread through his arms. Even lifting them felt heavier than before.

’’She could’ve held back a little though...’’

Theo let out a quiet scoff, shaking his head as he kept walking.

For a moment, he fell silent.

His gaze fell on the sky above him, which was now gradually turning dark.

’I should go meet Ethan soon...’ he thought. ’There isn’t much time left after all.’

He picked up his pace slightly, pushing through the fatigue as the city lights began flickering on around him.