Gideon’s smile widened as he rolled his shoulders, convinced the battle was unfolding exactly as he wanted. Every exchange forced Lina backward, every collision echoed with the overwhelming weight of his earth affinity, and every crater left across the arena seemed to reinforce the gulf between a Class C vanguard and a commoner swordswoman.

"You’ve got decent footwork," he called across the arena, resting the massive hammer against one shoulder. "But all you’re doing is surviving."

A deep growl rumbled beside him.

The Obsidian Bear lowered its enormous body, its amber eyes narrowing to thin slits. Thick streams of earth mana seeped through the gaps between its stone plates, flowing like molten rock before disappearing into the arena floor.

The stone beneath Lina’s boots vibrated, and Qhuin’s ears twitched.

"Jump."

The warning came without emotion, and Lina obeyed before her mind could question it.

The instant her feet left the ground, jagged pillars of black stone erupted from the arena beneath her previous position.

One after another they burst upward like giant spears, shredding the air with deafening cracks.

Gasps spread throughout the stadium.

The bear had never intended to hit her with its claws, it had been herding her.

Still airborne, Lina twisted her body and planted one foot against the side of a newly formed stone pillar. Using it as support, she launched herself sideways just as Gideon arrived beneath her, his hammer glowing with a heavy bronze radiance.

"Mountain Breaker!"

The weapon swung upward in a brutal rising arc.

Instead of blocking, Lina rotated her wrists. The broad side of her sword slid along the hammerhead, redirecting just enough of its momentum that the attack skimmed past her shoulder.

The violent gust tore several strands of silver-blonde hair free, but the weapon missed.

She landed lightly three paces away, and dust drifted around her boots.

The spectators who had been expecting a direct collision blinked in confusion.

"She... deflected it?"

"No..."

"She barely touched it."

"How is that possible?"

High above, Principal Alistair’s eyes followed Lina’s moves. That wasn’t ordinary swordsmanship.

Gideon frowned for the first time.

"Again!"

The Obsidian Bear answered with a thunderous roar before charging forward.

This time it didn’t lower its head, both forelegs slammed into the ground.

BOOM!

A circular shockwave rippled through the arena floor.

Broken stone erupted into the air while invisible force raced outward, throwing chunks of obsidian across the battlefield.

Lina crossed her sword before her chest, and the impact struck like a battering ram.

She slid backwards several metres, the soles of her boots carving twin grooves through the stone before finally stopping.

Pain shot through both arms, even after redirecting the force, she could still feel the bear’s monstrous strength.

Inside the carry-bag, Qhuin remained perfectly calm.

"Do not measure strength, measure rhythm."

Lina closed her eyes for the briefest instant, when they reopened, she stopped looking at their attacks.

Instead...

She watched their breathing, the bear inhaled before every charge.

Gideon’s shoulders dipped before every hammer swing.

Their coordination looked flawless, but it wasn’t perfect.

Every time Gideon attacked first, the bear followed half a heartbeat later and when the bear attacked first, Gideon needed an extra step to catch up.

That tiny delay, was the opening she needed.

Gideon raised his hammer high overhead, and the Obsidian Bear circled toward Lina’s left flank.

"There!"

The hammer descended, and Lina stepped forward instead of backward.

The audience collectively inhaled, her blade flashed upward, not toward Gideon’s body, but toward the wooden haft beneath the hammerhead.

Clang!

Steel kissed wood before instantly sliding away.

The strike carried almost no power, Gideon laughed.

"Missed!"

But Lina had never intended to break it, she had only marked the spot.

The Obsidian Bear lunged from behind, jaws snapping toward her waist.

She spun on one heel, and the sword described a smooth silver arc.

Rather than striking the beast’s thick stone plates, the edge slipped beneath its raised foreleg, grazing the exposed joint hidden between overlapping layers of obsidian armor.

A thin crimson line appeared, the bear roared more in surprise than pain, because the wound was shallow.

Yet the beast’s next step faltered.

Qhuin’s crimson eyes reflected the arena.

"There, you’ve found it."

Across the royal platform, Elizabeth’s pleasant smile faded for the first time.

"That cut..."

Valerius remained silent, but his molten eyes followed Lina with renewed attention.

She wasn’t trying to overpower either opponent, she was dismantling them.

Gideon still hadn’t noticed.

He charged again, this time pouring earth mana through every muscle in his body. Thick stone spread across his forearms and shoulders, forming crude armor that merged with his hammer.

"Stoneheart Armor!"

His aura exploded outward, and the arena trembled beneath his advance.

"Let’s see you dance around this!"

Lina adjusted her grip and stepped forward.

A faint breeze drifted across the battlefield, inside her mind, Qhuin’s voice remained as calm as ever.

"The mistake..."

"...has finally arrived."

Gideon welcomed her advance with a grin.

"So you’ve finally stopped running!"

His boots slammed into the arena floor as earth mana surged through his body.

The cracks spreading beneath his feet suddenly fused, forming a broad stone platform that carried him forward with explosive speed.

He wasn’t charging anymore, the arena itself was propelling him.

The Obsidian Bear roared in perfect synchronization.

Black mana erupted from beneath its paws before thick slabs of obsidian burst from the ground around Lina, attempting to imprison her inside a narrowing ring of jagged stone.

Several spectators shot to their feet.

"He’s trapping her!"

"She has nowhere to dodge!"

The circle closed.

Gideon leaped high into the air, both hands gripping the massive hammer.

"Earth King’s Judgment!"

The hammer descended like a collapsing mountain.

At the same moment, the Obsidian Bear lunged through the shrinking stone prison, jaws wide enough to swallow Lina whole.

The Hammer descends from above and the Bear’s jaw ahead, and behind her block.

With nowhere to escape, Lina closed her eyes.

The roaring stadium disappeared, the whistling crashing hammer vanished.

The bear’s growl faded, and only Qhuin’s lessons remained.

"In a battle, the battlefield lies, the noise and strength lie, but rhythm.. Rhythm never lies, when you understand the rhythm you’ve won the battle."

Lina took a deep breath and her eyes opened, instead of retreating, she rushed directly towards the charging bear.

The entire audience froze.

"What is she doing"

"Has she gone insane"

The obsidian bear snapped its jaw shut, its teeth clamped together with enough force to shatter boulders.

But Lina had already disappeared beneath its neck, she slid across, allowing the beast’s own speed to carry it over her.

As she passed beneath its chest, her sword flashed; the blade slipped precisely into the narrow gap beneath the beast’s right shoulder joint before she withdrew.

The obsidian bear landed heavily after passing her, but the moment its injured forehand absorbed its weight

Crack!

The weakened joint buckled, and the enormous beast stumbled violently to one side.

High above the royal box, Alastair’s fingers tapped lightly against his chair; his expression didn’t change, but his eyes stared intently at Lina.

Back at the arena.

Lina had no time to admire the result, as Gideon’s hammer was already descending, she twisted around and raised her sword.

Clang

A violent shockwave exploded across the arena, and the impact drove Lina backward several meters, her boots carving deep trenches through the shattered floor.

Pain surged through her wrist and her fingers almost released the hilt. Gideon landed heavily, laughing. "You blocked it?"

"Let’s see you block another!"

Earth mana flooded into the broken arena, the fragments scattered across the battlefield suddenly rose into the air, and hundreds of fist-sized rocks floated around him.

"Stone Rain!"

With a swing of his hand, the rocks shot towards Lina like a storm of arrows.

Lina positioned herself and lunged forward, waving through the stone, her feet tracing the pattern Qhuin had forced into her body night after night.

Each movement was barely large enough to avoid the incoming stones, fragments brushed past her sleeves, others shaved strands from her hair.

One clipped her shoulder, drawing a thin Line of blood, but she ignored it.

The audience watched in stunning silence, her movements weren’t flashy, they were beautiful like watching someone dancing through falling leaves.

Gideon’s smile finally disappeared. "Stand still!"

He charged, this time every swing of the hammer shattered another section of the arena as Lina dodged, each miss created more debris.

The battlefield slowly transformed into Gideon’s domain.

Or so he believed, Inside the carry-bag, Qhuin quietly watched the dust.

He smiled.

"The arena...belongs to Lina now."

Lina suddenly stopped retreating, The Obsidian Bear recovered its footing and roared, Ignoring the injury to its foreleg, it launched itself forward once more.

Gideon attacked from the opposite direction, creating a perfect pincer.

Lina held her sword and waited, the moment they reached two meters from her, she sprinted directly toward Gideon.

His eyes widened. "What-"

Her sword rose, striking at his hammer. The blade stuck in the exact spot she had lightly touched.

The crack hidden beneath the wooden haft spread instantly. Gideon feels the vibration travel through both his arms ’IMPOSSIBLE!"

Before he could react, Lina stepped inside his reach, far too close for a gamer to generate power, she rotated around his shoulder standing behind him.

The obsidian bear arrived in front of him, its massive claws descended towards Lina, but Gideon was in the way

Move!" He shouted, and the bear pulled its attack, and the single mistake broke their rhythm.

Qhuin voice echoed in her head." Lina"

She understood. The Ancient Shadow-Blade Art wasn’t about striking harder, it was about ending a battle the moment rhythm collapsed.

Her breathing slowed and the world became strangely quiet, the cheering crowd disappeared.

Even Gideon’s frantic expression seemed frozen.