The Berserker Skeleton charged forward like an out-of-control war machine.

Every footstep that stamped down on the ground made the old gray slabs crack apart. The colossal battle-axe was dragged behind it, the chipped blade plowing a long furrow across the arena floor, giving off an ear-piercing metallic screech. The dark red veins on the skeletal frame kept twitching, like living blood vessels channeling energy into every joint.

The distance between the two sides quickly shrank.

Thirty meters.

Twenty meters.

Ten meters.

The air in front of the monster was compressed into a fierce gust of wind. Ethan’s black hair was blown wildly by the wind. His old uniform stirred slightly. But from beginning to end, he still stood in place, not backing away, not dodging, nor showing any panic.

In the main hall of Aurora Academy, every gaze was fixed on the central screen.

A few students unconsciously gripped the edges of their seats.

"Too fast."

"Is that really only Black Iron tier 5?"

"It’s not like an ordinary Black Iron monster. It has the Berserk trait."

"Ethan hasn’t opened his Heaven’s Gate. He can’t dodge it."

Lionel curled his lip slightly. The White Lion Guild Master still had his arms folded across his chest, his demeanor far calmer than when he had faced Laira’s aura. "The Berserker Skeleton feels no pain. Its strength and speed both far exceed an ordinary Undead. If a student who hasn’t opened his Heaven’s Gate faces it head-on, a single blow is enough to cost him his life."

Vanessa Crowe narrowed her eyes slightly. Her gaze wasn’t on Ethan but focused on Laira. "It’s not Ethan who matters. It’s that Crimson Dragon."

Rowan said coldly: "The displayed level is only Black Iron tier 1. Even though she temporarily released a Gold aura before, the seal on her body still exists. Destroying the Berserker Skeleton before it reaches Ethan may not be so simple."

Ryan heard this, and the corner of his mouth curled up.

He didn’t care whether Laira could fight or not.

As long as Ethan was in danger.

As long as the brother he had once trampled underfoot had to struggle in front of hundreds of people.

Even just as long as Ethan revealed a hint of fear.

That alone would be enough to make him feel pleased.

"Big brother." Ryan looked at the screen and chuckled softly. "This is the Nightmare you chose for yourself. No. Now it’s Abyss. I hope you can still keep that calm of yours."

Inside the arena, Ethan still stood motionless.

He understood the situation very well.

Even though the Berserker Skeleton was only Black Iron tier 5, it was still far stronger than he currently was. He hadn’t opened his Heaven’s Gate, hadn’t absorbed energy, and his body was still within the limits of an ordinary person who had undergone basic training. If he were struck by that battle-axe, there was only one result.

Death.

And it was precisely because he understood this that Ethan had no intention of fighting on his own.

He tilted his head slightly.

His gaze fell on Laira.

The Crimson Dragon, over two meters tall, stood close beside him. Her long red hair stirred in the gust of wind created by the Berserker Skeleton. The black chains around her wrists and ankles still trembled slowly.

But her expression was completely composed.

No wariness.

No tension.

Not even the slightest interest.

Laira only looked at the Berserker Skeleton for a few seconds, then frowned slightly, like someone seeing a noisy insect crawl too close.

The distance was down to just five meters.

The Berserker Skeleton roared.

"Raaaaargh!"

It raised the colossal battle-axe. The red veins on the skeletal frame immediately blazed bright. The savage aura surged. The blade tore through the air, chopping straight down at the spot where Ethan stood.

In the main hall, a few students unconsciously screamed.

"Watch out!"

"Get out of the way!"

But Ethan still didn’t move.

Neither did Laira.

Only when the axe was less than three meters from Ethan did she slowly raise her hand.

The motion wasn’t fast.

There was no astonishing momentum.

Nor did she need to release the Gold halo that had once cracked the academy’s barrier.

She only curled her finger slightly.

A red ember appeared at her fingertip.

So small in size it was almost laughable.

Then the ember slowly swelled. In less than a second, it turned into a dark red fireball only a little larger than a fist.

No roar.

No terrifying heat wave.

No sea of flame covering the entire arena.

Laira just casually gave a light push of her hand forward.

The fireball flew out.

Its speed wasn’t too fast.

At a glance it even looked lazy.

But the moment the fireball touched the Berserker Skeleton, the entire space immediately fell silent.

Boom!

A low, deep explosion rang out.

Not too loud.

But the dark red flame immediately enveloped the entire body of the Berserker Skeleton. The monster still held its axe-raising posture. Red flame still burned in its eye sockets. The Berserk veins on its frame were still glowing.

But in just an instant, its entire body had gone completely still.

Laira’s flame didn’t burst outward.

It didn’t spread.

It didn’t scorch the ground.

It just quietly clung to each segment of bone.

Then swallowed it all.

Crack.

A small cracking sound rang out.

A thin fracture appeared on the Berserker Skeleton’s frame. Right after, the cracks quickly spread wide.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The colossal battle-axe in its hand shattered first.

Then the arm.

The ribcage.

The spine.

The skull.

In less than two seconds, the Black Iron tier 5 Berserker Skeleton had turned into a pile of black ash.

No more corpse.

No more energy crystal.

No more trace of any kind to prove the monster had ever existed.

A light breeze blew past.

The ash and dust dissolved.

Laira lowered her hand.

From beginning to end, her expression hadn’t changed.

Like she had just casually brushed away a speck of dust clinging to her clothes.

Inside the main hall of Aurora Academy, there wasn’t a single sound.

No one spoke.

No one laughed.

No one even remembered to breathe.

Hundreds of people just silently stared at the central screen.

The students who had just screamed in warning still wore the same tense expressions. A few opened their mouths but couldn’t produce a single word. Lionel still had his arms folded across his chest, but the smile on his face had vanished completely. Vanessa placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, her pale violet eyes clearly turning more serious. Rowan gripped his metal staff tightly, his gaze lingering on the screen for a long time.

None of the three guild masters spoke up.

Ryan was frozen too.

The corner of his mouth was still slightly curled up.

But the smile had stiffened.

It was unbelievable.

The Black Iron tier 5 Berserker Skeleton was a creature capable of crushing a student who hadn’t opened his Heaven’s Gate with a single blow. Even an ordinary Black Iron tier 5 Awakened might not be able to handle it easily, because the Berserk trait made its strength increase when it took damage.

But Laira had used only one fireball.

No.

It couldn’t even be called a serious skill.

She had just casually created a small fireball the size of a fist.

And then the Berserker Skeleton had vanished.

A student sitting near the screen finally regained his reaction. He swallowed dryly, his dry, hoarse voice ringing out across the silent main hall. "It’s dead?"

The one beside him still stared at the screen. "Yeah."

"Black Iron tier 5?"

"Yeah."

"Just one fireball?"

"Yeah."

The first one was silent for a few seconds, then muttered: "What the hell is this?"

As if that line shattered the frozen state, murmurs immediately erupted all across the main hall.

"One blow?"

"No. Not one blow. Just one little fireball."

"The Berserker Skeleton couldn’t resist at all."

"Is she really only Black Iron tier 1?"

"Don’t joke. An ordinary Black Iron tier 1 Awakened might not even be able to break a Berserker Skeleton’s bones."

"That Crimson Dragon incinerated it in less than two seconds."

Another student looked at the screen with an astonished gaze. "Earlier the three guild masters even said she was only Black Iron tier 1."

"But that’s just the displayed level."

"Clearly you can’t use ordinary standards to assess her."

"A Mythic Partner..."

"So this is the power of a Mythic Partner?"

On the top floor, the man in the military uniform still stood before the glass. It was a long while before he slowly said: "No wasted movements. No need to build up energy for too long. No use of a wide-area skill. Just a fireball compressed to the extreme."

The gray-haired woman looked at the data continuously updating on the screen. "We can’t accurately measure the temperature. The moment the fireball touched the target, the device lost signal for 0.7 seconds. Not because the system glitched. It’s because the energy at the point of impact exceeded the measurement threshold."

Headmaster Cole didn’t speak up.

But his gaze had grown deeper.

He understood better than most of the people below.

Laira wasn’t just strong.

She also controlled her power with extreme precision.

That flame just now was powerful enough to incinerate a Black Iron tier 5 Berserker Skeleton in the blink of an eye, yet it didn’t spread to Ethan at all, didn’t damage the ground, didn’t create a dangerous aftershock.

Lionel finally spoke up. His voice was lower than before. "It was just a Black Iron tier 5 Berserker Skeleton. It doesn’t prove all that much."

Vanessa turned her head slightly to look at him. The corner of her mouth curled into a faint smile. "Lionel. A moment ago you even said he might not survive the first floor."

Lionel fell silent.

His face sank slightly.

Rowan said coldly: "The Abyss Tower can’t have only one floor. The higher you climb, the stronger the opponents. She can’t protect Ethan forever."

Ryan heard this and immediately regained a bit of composure. He forced out a cold laugh. "That’s right. It’s just the first floor. Nothing to be proud of."

A student sitting nearby unconsciously looked at Ryan, his expression a little strange.

Nothing to be proud of?

A Partner who had just appeared had casually incinerated a Black Iron tier 5 Berserker Skeleton with a small fireball.

If that still wasn’t worth being proud of, then what could Ryan’s rank S fire-element power do?

Inside the arena, Ethan looked at the pile of ash and dust that had just dissolved. His expression wasn’t too surprised. He had already seen Laira’s true information.

SS.

A tier far surpassing the entire rarity system humanity currently knew of.

If she couldn’t deal with a Black Iron tier 5 Berserker Skeleton in a single blow, that would be the strange thing.

Laira turned to Ethan. The coldness she’d had when looking at the monster immediately vanished. She stepped closer and bent down slightly. "It’s done."

Ethan nodded. "Very strong."

Laira’s amber-red eyes brightened slightly. The corners of her mouth curled into a satisfied smile. Clearly Ethan’s simple praise made her far happier than the astonished gazes of the hundreds of people outside.

"Of course." She said, her tone natural. "I already told you. I’ll protect you."

Then she reached out and gently ruffled Ethan’s somewhat long black hair.

The motion was utterly natural.

Like doting on someone who belonged to her.

Outside the screen, the entire main hall fell silent again for a brief moment.

A male student watched Laira ruffle Ethan’s hair, his expression pained. "Not only is she strong. She’s even this gentle with him?"

The one beside him sighed. "Stop looking. The more you look, the more it stings."