The morning air was cool against Adrian's face as he and Lilith approached the academy gates.
Candidates streamed through ahead of them, some with bond partners manifested beside them. Spirits of fire and wind and earth, their forms flickering in the grey light. Others kept their partners in their soul space, conserving energy for the trials ahead.
Adrian noticed a girl with a bird spirit perched on her shoulder, preening like it owned the world. A boy nearby had something that looked like smoke coiled around his arm, shifting shape every few seconds.
'Show-offs' he thought.
But he understood. In a place like this, you displayed what you had. Power was currency, and everyone was trying to prove they were rich.
He pulled up the system interface as they walked.
[Daily Quest — Morning Cultivation: Complete]
[Daily Quest — Physical Conditioning: Complete]
[Soul Energy Control Proficiency: 6/7 days]
One more day. After today, the skill would unlock. He closed the interface and followed the crowd toward the arena.
---
The arena was a wide circle of packed earth surrounded by rising stone seats. A low wall separated the fighting floor from the spectators, and above it, a platform had been built for the examiners.
Adrian counted five of them. The grey-haired woman from the examination hall sat at the center. Beside her was the man with the trimmed beard. The other three were strangers, all older instructors, their faces carved with the particular stillness of people who had watched a thousand candidates come and go.
The candidates gathered at the edge of the arena. Twenty-three of them, fewer than had taken the soul frequency assessment.
Adrian spotted a few faces he recognized from the waiting room, the nervous boy who had been called first as well as a few others. Some were missing. They had probably not made it.
The grey-haired woman stepped forward, her voice carrying across the arena without effort.
"Candidates. The combat trials will consist of three rounds. You must pass each round to advance. The first will test you against a training construct. The second against a summoned spirit. The third against another candidate."
She looked across the crowd. "Your spirits will remain in the stands. You will not summon them. However, you may draw on their power through your bond. Soul energy is permitted. Your spirit is not."
A murmur rippled through the candidates. Adrian felt his stomach tighten. Soul energy. He could not control his. The skill was still locked. It was also the same reason why he couldn't access his soul space.
A boy near the front raised his hand, his face pale. "We're supposed to fight without our spirits beside us?"
"Your spirit is a tool," she said flatly. "Today, we want to see what you can do. Your bond will still aid you. Use it."
She walked back to the platform. Adrian looked at Lilith.
"Go on," she said. She walked toward the stands without looking back.
Adrian watched her go. A few candidates glanced at him, then at her, then away. He was used to that. People always looked at Lilith.
They just never looked twice at him.
---
The first candidate stepped onto the arena floor. A construct rose from the center, made of stone and metal, featureless except for the faint blue light where its eyes should have been. It stood taller than a man, its arms ending in blunt fists that looked heavy enough to crack bone.
'Training construct' Adrian thought. It's slow and predictable'
The candidate, a boy with a sword too long for his arm, swung wildly. His blade glowed faintly as he channeled soul energy through it. The construct caught him across the chest and sent him flying. He hit the ground with a thud, his blade clattering away. The crowd winced.
'Too much power, not enough control'
Candidates took their turns after him. Some handled it quickly. Others struggled. One girl moved like water, her blade finding the construct's joints with practiced ease, a soft glow trailing behind her strikes.
Another boy tried to overpower it and ended up on his back, the construct's fist hovering over his face.
Adrian watched each fight, cataloging what worked. The candidates who succeeded stayed calm. They did not try to overpower the construct. They waited for openings and moved when they came.
And all of them used soul energy. Their blades glowing. Their movements were faster, sharper than they should have been.
'They all have it' Adrian thought. 'And I don't'
The system had denied him of that privilege.
His name was called just before noon.
He stepped onto the arena floor. The packed earth was hard beneath his boots, the stone seats rising around him like the walls of a canyon. He could see Lilith in the stands, her hands folded with her usual calm expression.
The construct rose. It turned toward him, fists raised, its weight shifting onto its back leg.
He drew his blade. No glow. No trace of soul energy. Just steel and muscle and the drills he had beaten into his legs for weeks.
The construct swung. He moved left, his footwork carrying him out of range. The fist passed where his head had been. He cut at the construct's arm, felt his blade bite into stone, and pulled back before it could counter.
A voice came from the crowd: "He's not using soul energy."
Another asked. "Is he stupid?"
He ignored them as the construct turned. Its weight shifted onto its front leg. But he was already moving toward the opening, his blade finding the gap between its shoulder and its chest. The blue light flickered and the construct shuddered, collapsing with a thud.
The crowd was quiet for a moment. Then the murmurs began.
"No soul energy."
"How did he—"
"Did you see his footwork?"
He stepped back, his breathing steady. The grey-haired woman looked at him a moment longer than the others. He ignored the stares and walked off the floor without looking back.
A few candidates went after him, but then a name was called that made the crowd go quiet.
"Cassius Vorne."
The boy who stood was tall, broad-shouldered, his dark hair perfectly combed. Adrian recognized him from the waiting room. He walked onto the arena floor like he owned it.
His fight lasted twelve seconds. The construct never landed a blow. It swung once, twice, and Cassius was already behind it, his blade finding the gap in its armor with surgical precision.
A faint glow surrounded his blade as he moved, controlled and efficient.
When it collapsed, he walked off without looking at it, his blade already sheathed.
Adrian watched him return to the edge of the crowd. Other candidates moved out of his way without being asked.
"He's going to win the whole thing." Someone muttered.
Adrian said nothing. He was thinking about the glow on Cassius's blade. The soul energy he could not access. It's been six days.
Tomorrow, the skill would unlock. But today, he was fighting blind.
---
The second round began after a short break.
The summoned spirit was faster than the construct, its form shifting between shapes—bird, wolf, snake, bird again. Candidates who had passed the first round took their turns. Some handled it with ease, their soul energy flaring as they tracked the spirit's movements. Others were worn down, their reserves running low.
Adrian watched a girl with red hair chase the spirit across the arena for three minutes. Her blade glowed, then flickered before it went dark. The spirit struck and she went down. She walked off with her jaw tight, her eyes wet.
'Her soul energy ran out' Adrian realized.
When his name was called, the arena felt smaller than before.
The spirit materialized at the center of the floor. A spirit of wind and light, its edges constantly shifting. It circled once, twice, then attacked.
He brought his blade up but it was too slow. The spirit slipped past, and he felt the rush of air against his cheek. He turned, tracking it, but it was already gone.
It came at him again. He dodged, barely, his blade cutting through empty air. The spirit was faster than him, and he could not draw on Lilith's power to close the gap.
'But they can't either' he thought. Not directly. The master was in the stands. They're channeling through the bond.
He stopped moving.
The spirit circled again. He stood in the center of the arena with his blade lowered.
The crowd murmured. "What is he doing?"
"Is he giving up?"
Look for imbalance, Lilith had said. When you do not do what they expect, they will not know what to do with you.
The spirit came at him but he did not move. It shifted, its form blurring, its attack changing direction at the last moment—
And he saw it. The moment before it struck. The fraction of a second where its form solidified, where it became real instead of incorporeal.
He moved as fast as he could, his blade finding the shape. The spirit slowly dissolved into light.
The arena erupted in loud whispers.
"No soul energy again."
"He just stood there."
"Who is this guy?"
He walked off the floor, his blade steady in his hand, and did not look back.
Cassius's second round was just as clean as his. The summoned spirit darted left, right, shifting between forms, but Cassius moved like he had been fighting such things his whole life.
A controlled glow surrounded his blade as he tracked the spirit's patterns. When it struck, his strike was already there, cutting through its core without hesitation. It dissolved before it could mount a real attack.
When he walked off, he passed close enough that Adrian could see the crest on his coat.
House Vorne. Old money. The kind of family that produced Soul Knights.
Cassius glanced at him as he passed. His eyes lingered for a moment. Then he was gone.
---
The sun was still high when Adrian found Lilith in the stands.
He looked down at the arena floor. The examiners were conferring, preparing for the final round.
Twelve candidates had made it this far. Twelve would fight, and only a few would pass.
"You did well," Lilith said.
Adrian nodded then paused as he realized what she'd said.
He wanted to ask why she was suddenly complimenting him but decided against it.
"It would have been easier if I could access my soul energy."
"The skill unlocks soon right?"
"Yeah." He looked at his hands. They were steady. "One more day."
He regretted missing a day on the combat quest. If he hadn't, the skill would have unlocked today.
A short silence passed through them.
"The last round will be different," Lilith suddenly said.
Adrian nodded slowly. "I know."
He had watched the candidates who fought with soul energy. Some had been clumsy. Some had been confident. But none of them had faced another person yet. That was a different kind of fight.
"But I'll still win," he continued. "No one will stop me from achieving my goals"
"Good," Lilith said with satisfaction. "I'll be here waiting for you"
He nodded and walked toward the edge of the arena alone. Behind him, the examiners called the first names for the final round. Candidates around him stretched, checked their blades, muttered prayers to spirits he did not know.
He did none of that. He stood at the edge and waited.
Tomorrow, the skill would unlock. Tomorrow, he would have access to his soul space, to Lilith's power, to everything he had been missing. But today, he had one more round to fight. One last day without it.
"Dorian."
His name was called. He stepped forward.