"Start!"
The word had barely left Professor Morgana's mouth before the air in the center of the stadium changed completely.
I stood still, my hands still deep in my pockets, my eyes scanning the big wall of a hundred students rushing toward me from every direction. I recognized some faces in the front line.
Thomas Ward was leading the center, his steel blade already glowing with power.
To his left, Elena Ross was quickly drawing a fire spell, her hands sparking with red light. Further back, Dame Flint was getting ready to sprint, while a crowd of unnamed weapon-users nervously held their lines near the edges.
Beyond the gap in power or rank, the real difference between us came down to combat experience. I had way more combat experience than all of them combined.
Most of these students had barely fought monsters in controlled settings, while I had spent many times my life on the line. I had almost died in the trial, and after surviving that, I had fought in forbidden zones.
