Elesch entered the portal, seeing a giant arena, with Adventurers all around her, one to two from each faction competing for both rounds in the trial. She then saw Kai, whom she didn't suspect would be there, thinking he would have made someone a temporary leader, just to participate both times in a much harder trial.

Kai then approached her, with him, another Adventurer followed, very young, about her age, though he was C-rank, compared to her B-rank. Kai was right in front of her, smiling at her. She returned the gesture with a faint neutral smile tugging at her lips, almost as if she didn't want to interact with anyone, but now was forced to.

"How are you?" Kai asked.

"I'm fine, you?" She responded.

"I'm fine. I expected you to be completing this trial, and my suspicions, it seems like were right after all. Though I also expected Adam to help you, so that you don't take the burden of completing this trial two times. Nevertheless, I just want to say 'good luck' and now that I have said it, farewell. May we meet on the battlefield."

"Good luck to you, too," Elesch said as Kai walked away, his entourage quietly following behind him.

Then, the trial had begun. She was teleported to a private arena in the bigger arena, facing off against her first opponent. It was a girl from Kuwait; she looked nervous, but Elesch saw through her. The way the girl was shaking was eerie, which made her suspect that she wanted her to drop her guard, just enough for a crushing blow, so Elesch decided not to fall for it.

As the girl saw Elesch's face, which betrayed her realization, she straightened. She dropped her act and summoned a ball of ice. She was a B-rank Adventurer, and compared to Elesch, she was much stronger.

Since this was Elesch's first battle, she needed the win if she wanted to have a chance to move on to the next arena. Behind the Kuwaiti girl was a man, on guard. He was going to be fighting in the next trial, where the girl would then be the guard.

The arena was silent, then the announcement went off, and the girl lunged at Elesch. Her speed was frightening. Elesch was able to react at the very last second, getting cut by the ice ball. Then the girl froze Elesch's feet to the ground, and darted towards her again.

She summoned more ice balls and hurled them towards Elesch, who used her rift to teleport her out. Four more times, Elesch thought. She realized that the way she had used her rift, the number of times she could use her advanced rift ability again was only four more times.

It wasn't looking good for her; the rift had caused her to lose fifty of her mana and energy. The Kuwaiti girl grinned, which made Elesch tighten up, as she took the initiative and lunged at her, her rapier spirally towards the girl at half the speed of the girl.

The Kuwaiti girl dodged easily, then feinted to the right, just to strike from the left, but feinted again, confusing Elesch, as she kept on feinting, and finally landed another ice ball, launched deep into the solar plexus, which made Elesch drop to one knee, her hand placed on her stomach, as some blood spat out from her mouth.

She got up, knowing she had to put up a better fight, and used her rapier as a stick to hold her up. After a few seconds, as the pain eased up, Elesch accelerated towards the Kuwaiti girl, feinting left, right, and center, but since her speed wasn't as fast compared to the Kuwaiti girl's, she wasn't able to land a hit on the girl.

The Kuwaiti girl smirked as Elesch's blade cut through the air, fast but not fast enough. Every swing of the rapier met only ice; the girl's movements were fluid and precise, so that it was impossible for Elesch to match up with her.

The Kuwaiti girl danced around Elesch's attacks, her boots skimming across the ice-covered floor she herself had created to boost up her ice affinity. Every step left behind a trail of frost that shimmered under the arena's lights.

Elesch could feel the weight of her body growing heavier, the ache in her muscles spreading from her core to her limbs.

Her breathing was uneven; every inhale stung with the guttural pain from the blow to her solar plexus. Still, she steadied herself. With a sharp inhale, she tapped into her void manipulation.

A ripple of black energy surged from her chest to her weapon, wrapping the rapier in a faint, ethereal glow, thin tendrils of darkness weaving around its blade like smoke. Her pulse quickened as power flooded her veins. The arena floor seemed to distort around her, her senses sharpening for a brief, exhilarating moment.

The Kuwaiti girl raised an eyebrow, sensing the shift. "Finally using your tricks?" she mocked, her voice calm and taunting. She extended her hands, shards of ice forming midair in a slow, deliberate circle.

Elesch lunged forward before the formation could complete. Her rapier flashed once, striking with renewed speed. The Kuwaiti girl's eyes widened slightly; she hadn't expected that burst. The blade grazed her cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. But her grin returned almost instantly, cold and cruel.

"Good," she said. "Now bleed for it."

With a flick of her wrist, the ice shards exploded outward. Elesch reacted just in time, twisting her body, void energy flaring as she deflected two shards and narrowly avoided three others. One, however, cut into her shoulder. She winced, stumbling, and the Kuwaiti girl seized the opening.

Another flurry of ice orbs shot toward her, faster and sharper. Elesch raised her rapier, spinning it in a defensive arc, the void energy humming around it, slowing the barrage just enough to minimize the impact. Still, every blow chipped away at her stamina.

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