“This is too much for me, sorry!” I spread my hands and stepped back into the depths of the room.

  The young man understood everything but tried not to show it.

  “Two million gold! Sold!”

  The auctioneer struck the gavel, sending the ring of the puppet vault to the buyer’s room. After a while, a pouch of money flew out from there. A joyful Tot hugged me.

  “You’re incredible! I couldn’t even hope for such a price!”

  “Shhh! Keep it down, Tot!”

  The God of War could hear us, but it was already an open secret—who cares.

  “And now, I invite you to dinner!” the young man addressed Mia and me.

  “Sorry, it’s already late. Mia has the finals tomorrow… How about tomorrow?”

  “Alright, it’s a deal!” A happy Tot ran to the administration to collect his money, while the three of us headed outside.

  The imperial guests were already aboard their ship. I could feel their eyes on me as I stepped out of the auction house with Mia and Sui in my arms. I looked up and waved at them with a smile. The ship suddenly shot upward.

  Alright, alright, you’ll pay for today, Grim. I’ll repay you twice over. Shining no less than a newly minted gold coin, Tot caught up with us.

  “Aney, as agreed, the profit is fifty-fifty!” He handed me a pouch of money. “Here’s eight hundred thousand, everything after deducting the cost of puppet production, the auction house’s commission, and the ten thousand I put in for the grimoire.”

  “Hahaha! Let’s celebrate! Thanks to our imperial guests!”

  “Tomorrow, our workshop starts retail sales.”

  “Good luck to us!” I proclaimed loudly.

  Late at night, I opened the grimoire to examine it. An incredible thing. It described ways to create teleportation spells over great distances. Right now, with my fourth-circle spatial magic, I could only slightly compress space, which increased my movement speed by ten percent.

  But this—this was real teleportation over hundreds of kilometers. I closed the grimoire and put it away. The level of spells was too high for me. Unfortunately, it would have to wait for the right time.

  Besides this spatial grimoire, my library also held works on high-level time magic by the madman Rom. But could they be trusted? What if Rom wrote them after he’d already lost his mind? Using high-level spells from a deranged mage… not the best idea.

  I recalled Rom’s continuous defensive spell—a thin film covering his body that instantly aged anything it touched by thousands of years. Only a completely insane person would do that to themselves. Alright, I’ll have time to think about it later. I climbed into bed with Mia, who was already softly snoring.

  In the morning, I followed my training schedule with my team and then rushed to Matanu’s central arena, where the battles were about to begin. First, warriors of the third class, upper tier, fought for their positions, leaving the top ten Battle Masters untouched.

  But their time came as well. The judge announced that the tenth place could challenge anyone above them in the rankings. The tenth declined, keeping their position. The ninth refused as well. The eighth, too. Seventh place belonged to Mia.

  When the judge asked, she simply approached the ring of the sixth-place holder and pressed the challenge button. The sixth-place fighter was a lower-tier Battle Master, so he immediately surrendered, giving his spot to Mia.

  For the sake of protocol, the judge asked if he wanted to challenge anyone above him, but after his refusal, he turned to Mia again, asking if she wished to challenge the fifth place. The girl eagerly agreed. She didn’t care that her opponent was also a mid-tier Battle Master. She pressed the red button.

  On that ring stood a female swordsman, swift and fierce like a wild beast. In an instant, their flashing blades became a shimmering blur that swallowed the space beyond the barrier. I watched closely for any rule violations. Mia had a tough time, but she forced her opponent into a full defensive stance.

  And she hadn’t even transformed yet, choosing to save that trump card for a fight she considered her final challenge. Suddenly, two of Mia’s strikes landed—one to the stomach, one to the thigh. Her opponent surrendered. The judge asked again if she wished to challenge the fourth place. After a ten-second rest, she agreed and pressed the next ring’s button.

  This time, her opponent was another swordsman, but with a massive two-handed sword—more of a shield with a handle than a blade. A strong guy, but his size made him an easy target for Mia. As I expected, he couldn’t last long against such speed—Mia won within a minute, cutting him dozens of times.

  None were deep, but the total blood loss left him no chance of victory, so he surrendered. The judge turned to Mia once more, asking if she wanted to continue. Who would doubt it? She wouldn’t be herself otherwise. She pressed the challenge button for the third place.

  I tensed up. This opponent was tough—a mid-tier Battle Master with a short one-handed sword and a small shield in his left hand. Mia… now’s the time to transform. But no, she didn’t think so. She started the fight in her usual beastkin form.

  For the first minute, her opponent adapted to her speed, staying in total defense. During that time, Mia couldn’t land a single hit.

  Not good.

  Her opponent began short counterattacks, breaking her rhythm. It wasn’t critical yet—she dodged, but she was losing the initiative. She lacked speed. But transforming mid-fight was impossible. She realized her mistake. I saw her pull back and hiss like a wildcat.

  They circled each other along the ring’s perimeter, looking for weaknesses. No matter how you looked at it, Mia’s lack of armor and insufficient speed put her in a tough spot.

  “The legs!” I muttered to myself. “Come on, Mia, the legs!”

  She couldn’t hear me, but I hoped she would figure it out—her opponent’s only weak spot was his feet, left exposed by his small shield. The advantage of a light shield turned into a flaw against a nimble and flexible enemy.

  Would she see it? The fighters lunged at each other like lightning. I watched as Mia blocked his overhead strike with crossed daggers and grinned viciously. Bending impossibly backward, she kicked the top of his shield over her own head, pushing it downward.

  It wasn’t a strong hit, but he panicked and instinctively tried to lift the shield back up—exposing his left foot even more.

  You clever girl!

  Of course, Mia wouldn’t miss such an opportunity—her lightning-fast strike nearly severed his foot at the joint. The guy yelped and began falling forward.

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  He was a good warrior.

  Even in that moment, before surrendering, he managed to land a strike—cutting Mia’s thigh. The barrier dropped. Mia quickly bandaged her leg before the healers arrived. By the rules, receiving their aid would disqualify her. I stood up abruptly.

  That fool…

  “Judge! I want to continue!”

  Before he could ask, Mia shouted. Damn it, what are you doing, girl?! Maybe I could have stopped her. But knowing her, would she ever forgive me for that?This was her moment.

  Her entire life—sometimes a simple hunter among beastkin, sometimes a servant in a merchant guild leader’s household— But now! Now, she was fighting for the top places in the kingdom’s grand tournament! I sat back down.

  “Good luck, girl!” I shouted so she would definitely hear me.

  Mia turned to face me, her expression already distorted by the transformation. Perhaps she tried to smile, but it didn’t work—she only managed to scare the spectators in the stands. On her way to the red button of the ring, she tore off her boots and extended her claws, sharp enough to cut through stone. Her thighs, swelling in size, tightened the bandage on her leg, completely stopping the bleeding.

  Mia, you have five minutes. After that, the muscles in your injured leg will begin to suffer from oxygen deprivation.

  The girl struck the button, leaving four deep scratches on it, and jumped into the ring. Her eyes burned with a green fire. The barrier rose.

  Her opponent, a High-Rank Battle Master, was armed with a rapier in his left hand and a dagger in his right. Strong! And in a mirrored stance, too—he was left-handed… Even considering that after the transformation, Mia had become nearly ten times stronger and faster, her chances were slim. And time was not on her side either, something her opponent clearly understood.

  Precisely calculating her trajectory, Mia lunged forward. After the transformation, her technique of sequential steps had truly blossomed—even I had trouble following her movements. A long cut appeared on her opponent’s left arm, running from wrist to elbow. The young man grimaced, instantly switching his weapons—the dagger to his left hand, the rapier to his right.

  Damn it! He’s ambidextrous!

  If he holds out for five minutes—Mia will lose. No, four minutes now.

  The ring ignited with the gleam of steel, turning into a true whirlwind, almost concealing the two fighters from view. In two minutes, they exchanged a thousand blows on both sides, but in the end, the opponents were thrown apart.

  The skin on the young man’s chest was shredded, his right arm punctured in two places, and a deep wound on his abdomen was barely held together by his aura. Mia, though looking better, had also suffered. I noticed a wound on her knee, a long cut on her neck, a hole in her left bicep, and broken bones in her left wrist.

  Completing this grim picture was her nearly severed ear, its blood trickling down her temple and into her eye. I jumped to my feet.

  The young man threw aside his rapier, his unresponsive hand failing him. He laughed, relishing the fight against such a strong opponent!

  Mia let go of the dagger in her left hand, no longer able to hold it properly. And they rushed at each other again.

  This was no longer a battle for ranking—it had become a battle of their wills!

  Once again, their blows turned into a whirlwind, no weaker than before, despite the fact that both had half as many weapons in their hands!

  At the climax of the fight, this time, they did not get thrown apart; they froze in place, almost embracing each other.

  Mia was now unarmed.

  Her right wrist, pierced through by her opponent’s dagger, firmly clenched his fist—the one holding the dagger. Her claws had sliced through his arm just behind the wrist, nearly severing it.

  Mia’s left hand was buried deep in her opponent’s stomach, her claws impaling him straight through. He was falling onto her, unable to stand any longer.

  “I lost,” he whispered, blood dripping from his lips.

  The barrier fell.

  “Claws are weapons too!” Her cry echoed across the arena.

  Was she saying that for me?

  I was beside her before the healers could even reach her and shoved a restoration pill into her mouth. Then, without hesitation, I did the same for her opponent.

  It had been an honorable fight and an honorable defeat.

  Mia had won thanks only to a miracle and her sheer stubbornness.

  “Judge, you may announce the winner,” I said and left the ring so as not to interfere.

  The judge declared Mia the victor.

  The tournament was over. The awards ceremony began, where the girl received her prize for second place—a pair of fifth-class daggers imbued with the element of fire.

  I watched Mia as her platform was raised higher than almost all the others, and I rejoiced no less than she did.

  “Well, Master, did you see that?! Did you see how I took him down?!”

  She gleefully jumped up to me. I pulled her tightly into an embrace.

  “If you ever pull something like that again—I’ll deprive you of all treats!”

  “Yes, Master!”

  She laughed happily in my arms. Tot and Sui approached us, and the four of us headed to their home to celebrate Mia’s second place and yesterday’s auction.

  But before we could reach their estate, a magical bird landed on my shoulder with a note in its beak. “A month has passed, I’m waiting!” Had he been counting the hours? I burst into laughter, imagining the rector hovering over a clock like a ghost.

  “You guys go ahead, I’ll join you soon.”

  “What happened?” everyone asked me worriedly.

  “Oh, it’s just time for some fun.”

  I leaped into the sky and looked around. The rector’s aura flickered halfway between the city and the academy.

  “Let’s go!” I said as I approached him.

  We headed to the valley of fanged rocks. I moved at almost my maximum speed, but Raman kept up.

  “Is this where you’ve been having fun?” he asked when we arrived at the devastated valley.

  “Yeah, just training.”

  “Impressive!”

  “So, shall we not waste time?”

  I activated five magic circles at once after he nodded. The rector’s face turned serious. Against an opponent like him, there was no point in holding back, so I immediately used Inferno.

  “Damn it!”

  A slightly scorched Raman instantly moved out of the spell’s range.

  “Nice one! I didn’t expect that, but at long range, you won’t beat me!”

  Too much talking! Silently, I hurled a third-circle spell at him—a fire spear, immediately followed by an ice spear, also third-circle. I knew that even with my magic power, these spells wouldn’t harm him, but I had a different plan.

  As soon as the fire spear struck his defense, the ice spear hit the same spot, causing an incredible explosion that engulfed the entire area where the rector stood in burning steam.

  A string of quiet curses came from the mist, but I didn’t stop. I rushed toward him, conjuring a fourth-circle spell—a fire tornado—that hurtled toward the rector. The mist glowed white-pink from within, and the curses grew louder and more elaborate. Did I hit him?

  Suddenly, from inside, a boulder the size of an asteroid shot out at insane speed and slammed into me. The difference in mass and velocity was not in my favor, and my trajectory abruptly reversed. In short, the asteroid continued in the direction Raman had set, while I, like an insect, was plastered against its surface. The Inferno field was still active, and the asteroid slowly melted, spilling rivers of magma along its path. I managed to stop about twenty kilometers away.

  “Damn it!”

  I cursed and rushed back toward Raman. The distances at which we could reach each other were significantly different, again not in my favor. Another asteroid came flying at me. I used a fourth-circle space-element spell, creating a wall of warped space between me and the asteroid to deflect it slightly.

  It worked pretty well, and the rock almost missed me, only grazing me with its sharp edges. I dispelled the space spell and used a time spell on myself, accelerating by ten percent to dodge the next asteroid.

  How vast was his mana pool?! I hurled another fire and ice spear at the rector, then canceled the time spell to free up my fourth circle and conjured white rust in the area where Raman stood. Another asteroid was flying at me…

  Half an hour later, we sat side by side on one of the few remaining intact rocks amid a sea of cooling lava.

  “I lost,” I admitted to myself.

  “But I didn’t win either,” the rector shook his head. “Did you use time and space magic in the fight?”

  “Yeah. Fourth circle.”

  “Well done! Those elements never came easily to me. How much time did you invest in them?”

  “Quite a bit. These elements aren’t simple.”

  “You’re right. In the Empire, mages who wield them above the fifth circle can be counted on one hand. And even higher… There was one lunatic who mastered time up to the eighth circle. Took countless good mages to their graves, that bastard…”

  “You don’t mean old Rom, do you?”

  “How do you know about him?” Raman flinched. “Did you run into him?”

  “Yeah. Killed one like that.”

  The rector froze.

  “Hahaha! If it was really him, you did the continent a great favor! Several Imperial courts even put a bounty on his head. Not interested?”

  “No, I don’t want to draw attention. Besides, I crushed that head so thoroughly no coroner could piece it back together.”

  “A true student of the Raven. If there’s trouble, just crush the head.”

  I smiled and pulled out a vial of restoration pills, handing it to Raman.

  “Ehh, no. It’s been a while since I walked around bruised—let me at least show off a bit.”

  “Haha, fair enough, I like that.”

  “So,” the rector stood up, “shall we do this again in a few days? A few more sessions like this, and I guarantee you’ll beat any seventh-circle mage in a tournament.”

  “I’m all for it, Rector.”

  We took to the air.

  “Rector, do you have the rest of the evening free?”

  “Hmmm. That depends on why you’re asking.”

  The old fox!

  “Come along—you won’t regret it.”

  We went together to Tot and Sui’s estate.

  “Oh!” Sui clapped her hands as soon as we walked through the door. “Rector?! Aney? What happened to you?”

  “These gentlemen had a good time, dear!” Raman lifted his nose proudly.

  Everyone laughed.