After following Iren, the four of them soon reached the training ground.
Under the shade near the cooler—
They found Iren.
He was holding a bottle and drinking water nonstop.
Gulp… gulp… gulp…
Riven crossed his arms and laughed.
"Hey! Are you planning to empty the entire cooler?"
"Leave some for the rest of us too!"
But Iren ignored him and kept drinking.
Gulp…
Gulp…
Finally—
He lowered the bottle.
"…Ahhh."
He wiped his mouth and sighed deeply.
"Finally… relief."
Sylven looked at him calmly.
"You okay now?"
Iren nodded.
"Yeah."
Kael stepped forward.
"Good."
He looked around the training ground.
"Since everyone has arrived, let's begin today's training."
Everyone nodded.
Then Kael continued,
"Today we'll train the same way again."
Riven immediately groaned.
"Nooo… not again."
Sylven sighed.
"Yeah… I'm tired of running all day."
Kael shook his head.
"Not hand-to-hand combat."
He lifted his spear.
"Today we'll practice weapon combat."
"But with different partners."
The others listened.
Kael pointed toward Riven and Sylven.
"You two will team up and fight me."
Riven blinked.
"Both of us?"
Kael nodded.
"If you attack me together, I'll be forced to improve my defense."
Sylven nodded thoughtfully.
"Hm… sounds reasonable."
Riven grinned.
"Alright. I'm in."
Then Kael looked toward the other side.
"Iren. Lyra."
"You two continue your training like you usually do."
Both nodded.
"Okay."
Kael clapped once.
"Then let's start."
Before leaving—
Riven suddenly smirked mischievously.
"By the way…"
He looked at Iren and Lyra.
"Night training, huh?"
He grinned wider.
"Just remember it's daytime now."
"Everyone can see you two."
Lyra's eyebrow twitched.
But before she could respond—
Iren spoke calmly.
"Let him tease."
He shrugged.
"You and I know the truth."
"That's enough."
Lyra froze slightly.
Then lowered her gaze.
"…Yeah."
For once—
Riven didn't tease further.
Instead he simply said,
"Well… good luck."
Then he turned and walked away with Kael and Sylven.
---
Left Side of the Training Ground
Sylven and Riven rushed forward together.
SWISH!
Their weapons flashed.
Kael blocked both attacks with his spear.
CLANG!
CLANG!
Then he countered immediately.
Riven suddenly vanished—
WHOOSH!
He reappeared behind Kael using his burst speed.
His dual swords slashed down.
But—
CLANG!
Kael blocked it instantly.
At that same moment—
Sylven leaped from above.
His reinforcement power activated.
His spear crashed downward.
BOOM!
Kael raised a barrier.
The spear struck it—
CRACK!
The barrier shattered.
The attack barely missed Kael as he twisted aside.
In his mind, Kael thought:
He broke my barrier…
His strength has improved a lot.
Kael smiled.
"Nice, Sylven."
"You actually broke my barrier."
Sylven shrugged.
"Oh please."
"I know that wasn't your full strength."
Kael chuckled.
"Maybe."
Suddenly—
WHOOSH!
Riven attacked again.
His blades shot upward.
Kael flipped backward just in time.
"Whoa… that was close."
Riven smirked.
The fight continued intensely.
---
Right Side of the Training Ground
Meanwhile—
Iren and Lyra faced each other.
Daggers in hand.
CLANG!
CLANG!
Their blades clashed repeatedly.
They moved faster and faster.
Pushing each other.
Then suddenly—
Lyra whispered,
"Domain of Time."
The world froze.
Iren's body stopped moving.
Lyra dashed behind him instantly.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Ten strikes landed in a single second.
Iren dropped to one knee.
But he stood up again.
"…Again."
Lyra activated her domain once more.
Again—
Ten strikes.
THUD THUD THUD!
Iren collapsed again.
Lyra smirked.
"Oh come on, Mr. Popular."
"Giving up already?"
Iren forced himself to stand.
"No… not yet."
Lyra crossed her arms proudly.
"You're no match for my Domain of Time."
But inside her mind—
If I make him angry…
Maybe he'll use his real power.
Iren smirked.
"Then I guess…"
"I'll have to raise the stakes."
Lyra shrugged.
"Your choice."
"But the result will be the same."
Inside she thought excitedly:
Yes…
Now he'll use it.
Iren whispered quietly.
"…Level One."
"…Ignition."
FWOOOSH!
Flames erupted around him.
Then slowly stabilized.
Level One was activated.
He rushed toward Lyra.
But Lyra didn't move.
"Domain of Time."
Everything froze again.
She appeared behind him.
Ten strikes landed again.
Iren staggered.
But he resisted.
"…Again."
But the result repeated.
Lyra knocked him down a fourth time.
She sighed.
"I told you."
"You can't beat me right now."
Iren slowly stood again.
"One more time."
Lyra rolled her eyes.
"I'm getting bored."
"Try something new."
Iren smirked.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Lyra's eyes lit up.
"Then show me."
Inside she thought:
Finally…
His real power.
Iren whispered quietly.
"…Level Two."
"…Inferno."
BOOOOOOM!!
Violent flames erupted around him.
The fire surrounded his body.
Then slowly—
A crimson aura appeared.
Lyra's eyes widened.
So this is it…
Iren's true power.
Iren lifted his head.
"…Let's begin."
Then—
He vanished.
He appeared behind her instantly.
His dagger slashed.
Lyra flipped backward using foresight.
But before she could recover—
Iren attacked again.
She used Time Skip to dodge.
His attack struck the ground.
BOOM!
The floor cracked violently.
Dust spread everywhere.
Lyra stared.
His speed… his strength…
They increased tremendously.
Level Two… Inferno.
The name itself is terrifying…
But the power is even worse.
They stood apart.
Then—
"Domain of Time."
The world froze again.
Iren couldn't move.
Lyra rushed toward him.
But suddenly—
CRACK.
Her dimension trembled.
Cracks spread across it.
Lyra froze.
What…?
His power is breaking my domain…
She rushed forward.
I need to finish this quickly!
But then—
CRACK!!
Her domain shattered.
Reality returned.
Lyra blinked.
Iren was gone.
Then—
A voice whispered beside her.
"…Yield?"
She froze.
Iren stood next to her.
His dagger resting near her neck.
Lyra sighed.
"…I yield."
Iren stepped back.
"You've improved a lot."
"Your Domain of Time is extremely dangerous."
"You knocked me down four times."
Lyra sighed.
"But you still won."
Iren scratched his head.
"Well… I had to use my full power."
He stretched tiredly.
"And now I'm exhausted."
"How about a break?"
Lyra nodded.
They sat under the shade.
After a moment—
Lyra said quietly,
"I think I reached my limit."
Iren tilted his head.
"Which limit?"
Lyra replied calmly,
"I think I can only use my Domain of Time five times."
Iren nodded thoughtfully.
"Oh."
"Then if I survive five times…"
"I can win."
BAM!
Lyra punched his head.
"You idiot!"
"Don't forget I also have Time Skip and Foresight!"
Iren rubbed his head painfully.
"…Right."
"I forgot."
Lyra grinned.
"And by the time you survive those attacks…"
"Your body will already be weak."
Then she leaned closer.
"And then I'll knock you out with my full power."
Her grin widened.
"Want to test it?"
Iren immediately panicked.
"N-No thanks!"
Lyra laughed softly.
Then she looked at him.
"Iren… can I ask something?"
"Sure."
"I noticed something."
"Your movements have become slower lately."
"Why?"
Iren looked up at the sky.
"…No idea."
Then he looked at her and joked,
"Maybe because I come here like a zombie every morning."
"Not enough sleep."
There was a pause.
Then both of them chuckled.
Lyra smiled.
"You do look like a zombie."
Then she asked again,
"Also… why are you wearing that cape?"
"You never wore it before the tournament."
Iren smirked.
"Oh this?"
"I wear it to look cooler."
Lyra blinked.
"Cooler?"
"Why suddenly?"
Iren grinned.
"You said I became popular after the tournament."
"Especially among girls."
"So I wear this cape…"
"…to look cooler and make a girl become my friend."
Silence.
Then—
PFFT.
Lyra burst into laughter.
"You think any girl would become friends with an idiot like you?"
Iren protested.
"Hey! You said it yourself!"
"That I'm popular!"
Lyra tried to stop laughing.
"Alright, alright."
She smiled.
"I hope someone becomes your friend someday."
Iren smiled back.
"hmm"
Then he looked around.
"…Hey."
"It's evening already."
"We should head back."
Lyra nodded.
They walked back toward their teammates.
Soon the five of them returned to the academy together.
And evening slowly settled over the academy.
---