I half-expected their battle to get serious… even destructive, Riley thought, but this… this was far beyond that.

He slowly swept his gaze across the arena.

Cracked floors, scorched air, warped barriers—this was the aftermath of power that hadn't even been fully unleashed. It wasn't a clash meant for students, not really.

Just the residual pressure from their mana alone had been enough to bend the environment.

If the academic staff hadn't reacted as fast as they did, the damage would have been catastrophic.

In truth, even that wasn't the full story.

Riley exhaled quietly.

He and Alice had both intervened—subtly, invisibly.

Small nudges of authority, gentle corrections to causality and force, ensuring no stray pressure crushed the spectators or ruptured the seating stands.

To everyone else it looked like the barriers had barely held.

In reality, they never would have.

"Take student Stacia to the infirmary—carefully! Her mana is still unstable!"

A sharp, authoritative voice rang out.

"Ah—newbie! Don't just touch her like that, you'll burn your hands! Tsk!"

Riley watched as the emergency medical team rushed in, seasoned healers immediately surrounding Stacia.

Specialized containment cloths were brought out, heat-resistant gloves glowing faintly with enchantments as they carefully lifted her.

Even unconscious, her body radiated warmth—residual flames clinging stubbornly to her mana pathways.

Seeing her carried away, Riley felt a small knot in his chest loosen.

With how much mana a spirit king consumes… she's bound to suffer mana sickness again.

And not the mild kind.

He frowned slightly.

It wasn't his fault—he knew that. Logically, there was no reason for him to feel responsible.

And yet…

A quiet unease lingered.

He could sense it now, more clearly than before.

Stacia hadn't pushed herself that far purely for victory. There had been intent behind it—something personal.

A desperate need to prove something.

A part of it… was probably for me.

The realization sat uncomfortably in his mind.

He still didn't fully understand Stacia's goals, nor the path she was trying to carve for herself.

But one thing was becoming increasingly clear—she wasn't just a reckless prodigy chasing strength.

She was someone moving forward with purpose.

And sooner rather than later…

She would become one of the few people Riley could truly rely on.

But despite all the worry, another feeling quietly crept in.

Satisfaction.

Looks like they've really gotten stronger…

Not just stronger in the usual sense—this was absurd growth.

Growth that skipped steps, ignored logic, and bulldozed past what should have been possible.

Riley exhaled slowly.

Stacia alone was already ridiculous.

A direct connection to a fire spirit king?

That was the kind of thing that reshaped destinies, not something a student casually survived.

Most people would've burned out—mind, body, soul—long before reaching that point.

And then there was Rose.

…Rose was the real problem.

Yes, she was destined to become an Archmage.

Not just any Archmage either, but likely the strongest one to ever exist.

Riley had always known that.

He'd accepted it as a future certainty.

But this?

Even he hadn't expected her to grow like this—without guidance.

Lavine had helped, sure, but only in fragments. Some theory, some exposure, a nudge here and there.

Everything else was Rose's own doing.

Her mana density.

Her control.

Her understanding of magic.

The way she treated spells, blessings, even authority itself as nothing more than variables to be solved.

No shortcuts.

No external push from him.

No meddling from Evelyn.

And yet she reached this level anyway.

Riley rubbed his temple lightly.

That shouldn't make sense…

With what she showed earlier, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Rose could already rival Alice under the right conditions—and Alice could do the same to her.

A fight between them now wouldn't be decided by rank or raw power alone.

And the fact that Rose was already brushing against ultimate-rank magic?

That alone was terrifying.

All of this… achieved on her own.

Should I be happy… or worried?

The thought lingered for half a second before he shook his head.

"…What am I even worried about," he muttered under his breath.

It was Rose.

If it was Rose, then everything would work out somehow. It always did.

And just like that, his brain quietly short-circuited—automatically accepting every absurdity she had shown so far, filing it under That's just Rose being Rose.

A short while later—

"Riley!"

Coming out of the infirmary, Rose waved enthusiastically, her golden hair swaying as she jogged toward him.

"Rose. Is everything okay now?" Riley asked, turning to her.

"Yes," she nodded quickly. "The doctor said I was fine and Sta—ah, ahem! I mean—he said I was only slightly—no, not significantly hurt. It seems my mana just got drained too much at the last moment."

"Is that so…" Riley stepped closer, his expression softening. He lifted a hand and gently touched her cheek, then pressed his palm against her forehead as if checking her temperature. "Hmm. There doesn't seem to be that much mana turbulence now…"

"T-That's because you're not touching me hard enough… or close enough—here."

Before he could react, Rose grabbed his wrist and started dragging his hand downward, clearly intending to conduct a much more invasive mana inspection—one that would have crossed into extremely dangerous territory for public decency.

Slap!

Her hand was struck away.

"That's cheating…"

A quiet, flat voice cut in as Seo instantly positioned herself between the two of them, her back to Riley, sword arm subtly blocking Rose.

"Y-You…!"

Rose bristled, golden eyes narrowing as she locked gazes with Seo.

For a brief moment, the air between them crackled—almost literally—as sparks of hostility clashed invisibly.

"…"

"…."

If looks could kill, the infirmary hallway would've been reduced to rubble.

"Fufu," Snow chuckled from the side, clearly entertained. "I suppose these two won't be changing anytime soon."

"Snow," Riley said, amused, "I thought the principal called you in to help deal with some of the damage outside?"

"Well, she did try to pre-occupy me with work," Snow replied lightly. "And I would've gladly helped, considering half of today's incident was caused by Rose."

"Hey!"

"But," Snow continued calmly, "it seems the pressure from my father's stare made the principal think twice."

Riley let out a small chuckle.

Yeah… that sounds about right.

Leilah probably had her hands full fixing the aftermath alone again—but then again, she was the principal. Handling disasters caused by monstrously talented students came with the job.

Not something the student council president—especially one like Snow—needed to shoulder this time.

It was clear the emperor's presence was taking a toll on her.

Although Snow's father—the emperor himself—wasn't the type to openly pressure others, his mere presence was enough to tilt the atmosphere.

Authority like his didn't need words; it weighed down on everyone in the room simply by existing.

Riley couldn't help but wonder when he should arrange a private conversation with the emperor soon as well.

Sooner rather than later as well.

Specially since Snow was going to get involved soon.

He was still pondering his thoughts, when he felt a hand land lightly on his shoulder.

"Riley~! My dear~"

Alice leaned in from behind, whispering close to his ear with a playful tone that didn't quite hide her concern. "You might want to stop them."

Riley followed the direction she pointed.

Seo and Rose were standing far too close to each other, their gazes locked.

The air between them felt sharp, like the calm before blades crossed.

Seo's posture was straight and ready, her hand hovering near her sword, while Rose's golden eyes had narrowed dangerously, faint motes of light flickering around her.

"…Seriously."

Letting out a quiet sigh, Riley stepped forward and placed himself between them.

"You two—stop it."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried enough weight to snap both of them out of it.

Rose clicked her tongue and looked away, folding her arms with an exaggerated huff.

Seo, meanwhile, simply relaxed her stance and took a step back, her expression returning to its usual calm indifference—as if nothing had happened.

Riley exhaled slowly.

He did want to visit Stacia right away.

There were too many things he needed to confirm—about the blessing, about Evelyn's involvement, about how far things had gone.

But with the current situation… that would have to wait.

I'll visit her another time, he decided.

For now, keeping the peace between two walking disasters took priority.

...

"Hmm… that went better than I expected."

Perched atop the slanted roof of a building near the academy infirmary, Evelyn watched Riley's group from above.

The wind tugged lightly at her hair as she sat there with casual elegance, legs crossed, her expression calm—almost bored—yet her eyes missed nothing.

"Seeing as her future self didn't interfere… I suppose the experiment truly was a success."

Her gaze lingered on Stacia's direction for a moment before drifting back to Riley. There was no warmth in her eyes, only calculation—an observer studying a long-running equation.

She tilted her head slightly, as if listening to someone who wasn't there.

"Hm? You think I revealed too much to the original?" she asked softly, then waved the concern away with a small laugh. "Don't worry. I only revealed what was within tolerance. It won't affect causality that much."

Her fingers tapped idly against the rooftop tiles.

"And besides… we need as many variables as possible. If his divinity is to grow properly, he has to learn through deviation. A bit of confusion, a bit of friction—perfect conditions."

Evelyn continued rambling, her voice light and conversational, as though she were discussing the weather rather than the fate of the world.

"If anyone else heard this, they'd probably call me insane," she mused, lips curling upward.

Then her smile widened.

It wasn't warm.

It wasn't joyful.

It was sharp—crazed—the kind of smile born from certainty and obsession.

"The plans are proceeding smoothly in the western, northern, and southern territories as well," she whispered, almost reverently. "Soon, everyone will revel in the abnormal. The error of this world… the great anomaly…"

She hugged herself lightly, shoulders trembling—not from cold, but from excitement.

"It'll be on everyone's mind soon."

Her gaze shifted again, drifting past Riley, past Rose and Seo—

And finally settled on Snow.

Evelyn's blue eyes gleamed, reflecting something unseen, something vast.

"…Ah."

A soft, fascinated breath escaped her lips.

"Right, there's still a few more things left to finish."

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