BOOOOOOM!!!
The floor shattered beneath my feet.
I launched forward.
Not backward.
Not sideways.
Forward.
The nearest target was Seravyn.
She was only a few meters away.
Her stance was relaxed.
Too relaxed.
I didn't care.
If I allowed all ten of them to attack at once, I would be finished before I understood their formation.
So I chose one.
Break the formation.
Then survive.
My foot struck the ground.
BOOM!
I crossed the distance in an instant.
Seravyn's eyes widened.
My palm shot toward her chest.
Fast.
Precise.
Enough force to send her flying if it connected.
It didn't.
Her lips curved upward.
A smile.
My instincts screamed.
Trap.
I twisted my body.
A fist tore past my blind side.
WHOOSH!
Thundraryx.
Too fast.
The shockwave ripped through my hair.
I ducked beneath the strike.
But another attack was already coming.
From the opposite side.
I jumped.
A kick passed beneath my feet.
Caelvhar.
I landed.
Another strike.
Raivharyx.
I blocked.
BAM!
Pain exploded through my arms.
The impact pushed me backward.
Another attack came.
I moved.
Another.
I twisted.
Another—
BANG!
A strike clipped my shoulder.
I spun.
For a moment, I couldn't tell where the next attack was coming from.
Then—
BOOM!
Something struck the floor beside me.
The shockwave threw me sideways.
I rolled.
Recovered.
Looked up.
Ten warriors were moving.
Not randomly.
Together.
My eyes narrowed.
They weren't taking turns.
They weren't fighting like ten individuals.
They were fighting like—
one.
Thundraryx came from my right.
I shifted left.
Raivharyx attacked from the front.
I ducked.
Caelvhar's strike descended.
I rolled.
Zephyrax moved into the space I was escaping toward.
I stopped myself.
Too late.
Seravyn attacked.
I raised my guard.
BAM!
The force drove me backward.
Azharael was already waiting.
Her strike came toward my ribs.
I twisted.
It grazed me.
Pain flashed through my side.
I moved again.
Lunaryth watched.
He hadn't attacked once.
Not directly.
He didn't need to.
He was watching.
Studying.
Controlling.
My eyes narrowed.
He's directing them.
That was the difference.
The others were the weapons.
Lunaryth was reading the battlefield.
I couldn't let him continue.
I pushed forward.
Thundraryx intercepted me.
I changed direction.
Raivharyx appeared.
I ducked.
Caelvhar came from above.
I blocked.
The impact drove me to one knee.
Before I could stand—
A kick slammed into my side.
BOOM!
I flew across the arena.
I hit the ground and rolled.
Pain burned through my ribs.
I stopped myself with one hand.
Blood dripped from my mouth.
I wiped it away.
Good.
Still alive.
I looked up.
The ten were already repositioning.
No hesitation.
No confusion.
No opening.
I smiled.
"So that's the game."
They didn't answer.
They attacked.
I moved.
The battle became chaos.
Not because I couldn't see them.
Because there were too many.
One opponent was predictable.
Two could be managed.
Three required attention.
Ten—
required everything.
I ducked beneath Raivharyx's fist.
Thundraryx attacked immediately.
I turned.
His strike missed.
Zephyrax's energy surged.
Wind pressure exploded toward me.
I crossed my arms.
BOOM!
The force shoved me backward.
Caelvhar charged.
I planted my feet.
His fist came.
I redirected it.
For half a second, I created an opening.
I attacked.
But Azharael entered.
Her strike forced me to retreat.
Seravyn attacked from behind.
I spun.
Blocked.
Another attack came from the left.
I jumped.
Another from above.
I twisted in midair.
A blade of compressed energy passed beneath my stomach.
I landed.
Barely.
My breathing was changing.
Faster.
Heavier.
I needed to slow down.
But they weren't giving me time.
BAM!
A fist caught my shoulder.
THUD!
A knee struck my thigh.
BOOM!
A kick hit my guard.
I staggered.
The formation tightened.
They knew.
They had found the weakness.
I was being forced into smaller and smaller spaces.
Every escape route was already covered.
I looked toward Lunaryth.
He smiled.
There.
The smallest movement of his hand.
The others shifted.
I understood.
He was coordinating them.
I changed direction.
Instead of escaping backward—
I went toward him.
Lunaryth's eyes widened.
Good.
He hadn't expected that.
I pushed through the formation.
Thundraryx attacked.
I slipped past.
Raivharyx tried to intercept.
I lowered my shoulder.
BAM!
I collided with him.
He stumbled.
I continued.
Lunaryth was closer.
Three meters.
Two.
One—
A wall of energy appeared.
Zephyrax.
I struck it.
BOOM!
The barrier shattered.
But the delay was enough.
Lunaryth had moved.
Of course.
I landed.
He was already somewhere else.
"Almost."
I heard his voice behind me.
I turned.
Too late.
BAM!
His strike hit my abdomen.
Air exploded from my lungs.
My body folded.
Then another strike came.
I blocked.
But the impact sent me sliding across the floor.
My boots carved deep lines into the alloy.
I stopped.
My breathing was ragged.
Ten opponents.
One formation.
One objective.
Overwhelm me.
I looked at my hands.
They were shaking.
Not from fear.
Fatigue.
My body was already carrying the damage from Azharyon's trial.
I had entered this battle wounded.
That had been deliberate.
They knew it.
I smiled.
"They really planned this."
Lunaryth heard me.
"Of course."
He stepped forward.
"You fought Azharyon first for a reason."
My expression hardened.
"You wanted me tired."
"We wanted to see what you would do while tired."
That answer was more honest than I expected.
The ten moved again.
This time—
I didn't wait.
I attacked the weakest point in their formation.
Not a person.
A gap.
I accelerated.
BOOM!
Thundraryx moved to intercept.
I changed direction.
He followed.
Exactly as I expected.
I dropped low.
Raivharyx's fist passed above me.
I used the momentum.
My shoulder slammed into his side.
BAM!
He moved.
The formation broke.
Only for a second.
But one second was enough.
I slipped through.
Seravyn attacked.
I caught her wrist.
Turned.
Used her momentum.
She flew past me.
Caelvhar came next.
I ducked.
His fist struck the floor.
CRACK!
I stepped on his arm.
Pushed off.
Launched myself toward Zephyrax.
He raised his guard.
I attacked.
He blocked.
I attacked again.
He blocked.
Then—
I changed direction.
Not toward him.
Toward Thundraryx.
His eyes widened.
I was forcing them into each other's paths.
Thundraryx stopped.
Zephyrax shifted.
Raivharyx moved to cover.
The formation collapsed for a moment.
I landed in the center.
For the first time—
I had space.
My chest rose.
Fell.
I inhaled.
Slowly.
My eyes moved across the ten.
They had been controlling the battlefield.
Now—
I was forcing them to react.
Azharyon watched from outside.
His expression remained calm.
But there was something in his eyes.
Approval.
I lowered my stance.
"Come."
They came.
All ten.
But this time—
I was ready.
Raivharyx attacked first.
I redirected.
Thundraryx followed.
I slipped past.
Seravyn attempted to trap me.
I recognized the pattern.
I moved before the trap closed.
Caelvhar attacked.
I used his momentum.
Azharael tried to counter.
I changed direction.
Vaelura struck from the blind side.
I turned.
Blocked.
Zephyrax's energy surged.
I jumped.
Lunaryth shifted the formation.
I saw it.
I moved toward the opening before it existed.
For several moments—
I controlled the fight.
My body moved faster.
Cleaner.
I wasn't defeating them.
But I was surviving.
More than that—
I was making them work.
The ten warriors began changing their movements.
They were adapting.
I smiled.
Finally.
A real challenge.
Then Lunaryth raised his hand.
The others stopped.
I froze.
Why?
He looked at me.
Then smiled.
"You've figured out the first formation."
My smile disappeared.
The others moved.
Not apart.
Together.
But differently.
The gaps I had been exploiting vanished.
The angles changed.
Their positions shifted.
A new formation formed around me.
My eyes narrowed.
Lunaryth lowered his hand.
"Now let's see how quickly you can adapt to the second."
The ten stepped forward.
And I realized—
they had been adapting to me too.