The next morning, only three days remained before the Vazrun Island Test. As usual, Ruvian was in the training hall, pushing through his morning exercises. It was a daily routine he had never once skipped.

Ruvian gritted his teeth slightly as he balanced his body upside down on a single hand.

"...498."

Sweat dripped from his forehead and splashed onto the polished floor beneath him.

"...499."

He lowered himself slowly again, his free arm tucked behind his back. The magical weight artifacts strapped around his ankles and waist pulled at him relentlessly.

"...500."

With a final push, Ruvian drove his body upward. Instead of lowering himself again, he used the momentum to launch into the air. His body twisted gracefully as he flipped forward before landing lightly on both feet.

Tap.

Not even a wobble.

Ruvian let out a long sigh and rolled his shoulders.

"Alright, that’s all for now."

Reaching down, he unclasped the dark metallic bands wrapped around his waist and ankles. The instant they came off, his body felt noticeably lighter.

With a flick of his wrist, a small spatial ripple appeared beside him. Then, the magical items vanished into his dimensional storage.

Ruvian flexed his fingers and took a few steps forward, enjoying the sudden lightness coursing through his body.

Then, he reached into his dimensional storage and pulled out two revitalization potions, uncorking both bottles before downing them in a single gulp.

A refreshing sensation immediately spread throughout his body. The fatigue in his muscles quickly faded, and the soreness from his training lessened considerably.

"Haa... much better."

He grabbed a towel from a nearby bench and wiped the sweat from his face before running it through his damp hair. Just as he was about to put the towel down, the doors to the training hall suddenly opened.

Creak.

Ruvian glanced toward the entrance.

The training hall wasn’t private, so anyone could enter. Still, it was unusually early in the morning. He hadn’t expected anyone else to show up at this hour.

Then his eyes widened slightly.

The figure walking through the doorway was someone he knew very well. The young man stopped a few metres away from him.

"Long time no see..."

Ruvian stared at him for a moment before a faint smile appeared on his face.

"...Griffer."

"Yeah..."

Griffer answered immediately.

For a brief moment, silence hung between them. He lowered his gaze to the floor, seemingly gathering his thoughts, before taking a deep breath.

"Hey, Ruvian..."

Ruvian raised an eyebrow.

Griffer lifted his head, his eyes filled with determination.

"Let’s have a duel." (+100PP)

*****

Soon, the two of them stood atop the sparring stage inside the training hall.

Griffer rolled his shoulders before stretching his arms overhead. A series of faint pops echoed from his joints as he loosened his neck, wrists, and ankles. After shaking out his arms, he rested the training spear against his shoulder and looked at Ruvian.

"I heard from Instructor Airin that you switched your weapon training from a wand to a sword," Griffer said, raising an eyebrow. "What’s with the sudden change? You do realize that if you switch now, you won’t receive any practical lessons for it until next semester, right?"

’Ah, so he already heard about it? News really does travel fast.’

"Yeah, I know. Also, nothing special. I just figured it was about time I made the switch," Ruvian replied.

As he spoke, he rolled his neck from side to side before rotating his shoulders in slow circles, loosening the tension in his upper body.

Griffer’s brows knitted slightly.

’About time? So he’d planned to switch to the sword from the very beginning...’

Griffer closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"I see. So you’re not a beginner with the sword, then? Good." He leveled his spear at Ruvian. "Because I won’t be holding back."

Ruvian let out a faint scoff.

It had been quite a while since the last Polaris Circle meeting. Most of their gatherings had been postponed to give the squads more time to prepare for the Vazrun Island Test. Because of that, he’d almost forgotten how full of himself Griffer could be at times.

"Alright, enough talking," Ruvian said, resting his training sword on his shoulder. "I’ve got somewhere to be later, so let’s just get this spar over with."

Soon, the two of them settled into their fighting stances.

Truthfully, Ruvian was curious to see how his fellow Circle members had progressed. That was one of the reasons he had agreed to Griffer’s challenge in the first place.

’Let’s see what you’ve got, Griffer.’

The moment their eyes met, both of them burst forward.

Clang!

His sword and Griffer’s spear collided head-on.

There was a vast gap between them in terms of overall strength. Keeping that in mind, Ruvian didn’t even bother using [Body Enhancement]. Instead of trying to dominate the spar, he focused on gauging Griffer’s abilities. Each exchange of blows gave him a clearer picture of his opponent’s current level.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The spear darted forward repeatedly while Ruvian calmly deflected each strike with minimal movement.

Then, amidst another exchange, he heard Griffer click his tongue.

"...Damn it."

After that, it didn’t take more than a few seconds for Ruvian to completely dismantle Griffer’s offense with a series of quick, precise movements. Griffer was sent flying backward, flipping through the air before crashing flat onto his back.

With that, their spar came to an end.

Ruvian had won.

Looking down at his fallen opponent, he calmly lowered his training sword.

"It seems you still have a long way to go."

Griffer clicked his tongue.

"Fuck!"

Ruvian smiled faintly before turning around and beginning to walk away.

"I need to get going now. Don’t beat yourself up over it. You’ve improved more than you think. At the very least, you’re a lot less hot-headed than you used to be." (+100PP)

Then, just as he was about to step off the stage, Griffer suddenly called out to him.

"Hey, Ruvian..."

Ruvian paused and turned his head slightly over his shoulder.

Griffer fell silent for several seconds, his forearm rested over his eyes, concealing his expression from view.

"Just answer me this..."

Eventually, he steeled himself, his jaw tightened.

"What does someone like me need to do to become stronger... like you?" (+100PP)

"..."

Ruvian remained silent for a moment. Out of everyone he knew, Griffer was the last person he had expected to ask a question like that. The request genuinely caught him off guard.

After gathering his thoughts, Ruvian turned his attention to Griffer’s [Runeheart] and began inspecting it.

===============

{}---『RUNEHEART』---{}

◇ Name: Griffer Noktz

◇ Age: 17

◇ Spellcore: Tier 1

◇ Rank: Fourth-Class Magus

◇ Magic Affinity: [Earth]

[Mana Resonance: (70/100)]

==[General Attributes]==

Strength: E+ → D-

Agility: E → E+

Endurance: E+ → D-

Vitality: E+ → D-

Perception: F+ → E-

==[Mage Attributes]==

Mana Control: F+ → E-

Casting Speed: F+ → E-

Magic Power: E- → E

Mental Strength: F+ → E-

Mana Sensitivity: F+ → E-

Mana Essence: [500/500]

==[Innate Blessings]==

- [N/A]

==[Magic Affinity]==

- [Earth (Intermediate)]

===============

’His stats... every single one of them had improved.’

Ruvian couldn’t help but feel a little surprised by that discovery. Truthfully, he hadn’t expected someone from Class E to show this level of growth in such a short period of time.

After a moment of consideration, he activated [Power Scaling] and examined Griffer’s talent cap.

──────── ✦ ────────

[Chapter 209: The Spearman’s Desire for Strength]

Plot Points= 17,480