No! I don't want to be a Super Necromancer!

To his credit, he reacted fast.

He summoned a double-layered barrier, dug his heels in, and roared, "I'M READY!"

She tapped the ground once.

A radiant lance of light arced toward him.

He blocked it.

One move.

Then she reappeared behind him, whispering, "Good effort."

Her palm hit his back delicately.

Two moves.

Fatty was sent flying, his body spiraling through the air like a kicked melon.

He landed face-first with a thud and a groan, bleeding from his mouth, mana core stunned.

Before he could even moan, Professor Orange glided over and gently placed a hand on his chest.

Healed. Restored. Tucked in like she was putting him to bed.

Then she turned to Jiang Xiao Yu, who was already dashing towards her.

Her cloak of water and wind mana shimmered around her, flowing like a storm held in perfect control.

The moment Professor Orange got within range, Jiang Xiao Yu struck first

She slashed down with a wave of water energy and followed up with a displacement step to her flank, before quickly slashing down again.

One. Two. Three.

Professor Orange flowed around the attacks like sunlight through fog.

She spun, redirected and countered with perfect ease, displaying a movement technique and physical reflex that was as incredible as her control over light and life energy.

Four. Five.

Jiang Xiao Yu launched an upward spear of air. Professor Orange caught it with two fingers and turned it into a shockwave that cracked the ground.

Six.

That was as far as she got.

A thin beam of golden light slipped through Jiang Xiao Yu's shoulder.

Then another grazed her ribs.

Then a palm to the gut sent her flying.

Jiang Xiao Yu hit the earth hard, blood misting from her lips.

Still, her eyes didn't close.

Until Professor Orange's hand, warm with life energy, cupped her cheek.

Healing. Gentle. Immediate.

She even tucked a loose strand of hair behind Jiang's ear.

And then…

Only Damien Bloodbane remained.

Hands still in his pockets.

Expression unreadable.

Professor Orange rose slowly to face him, her smile never faltering.

"The last one," she said sweetly.

And then she struck.

A storm of radiant attacks burst forward once more. Rays of light, lances of mana, spatial distortion laced with temporal compression rained upon Damien Bloodbane.

Every blow was clean. Lethal in a real battle. And absolutely merciless.

If Damien Bloodbane took her attack without defending or dodging, he would be cut down where he stood.

But Damien Bloodbane moved.

Heck, it was more like dancing than moving.

He leaned left. Tilted. Slid under a radiant crescent. Pivoted around a beam of judgment light.

Not blocking. Not clashing.

He was dodging completely effortlessly!

From the viewing tower, the instructors rose to their feet.

"He's dodging her?!" Professor Wu barked.

Professor Bai Lian stared. "How is he… how is that even…"

Professor Orange reappeared directly in front of Damien, her golden eyes narrowed with genuine surprise.

"You're good, boy."

She raised her hand again. The mana around her thickened into a radiant shell, flaring like a supernova waiting to be born.

"I suppose I'll have to get serious."

And then Damien Bloodbane smiled.

"Then maybe I need to get serious too."

Just as the tension between Damien and Professor Orange reached its boiling point, a blazing glyph exploded into the sky overhead.

The other instructors descended rapidly and hovered just above the battlefield.

"That's enough!" Professor Kong Hu announced, his voice ringing with authority. "Afternoon training is concluded!"

The command echoed like a divine decree.

Professor Orange stood still, her golden aura pulsing faintly around her, her hand half-raised.

Then a brief, nearly imperceptible flash of reluctance crossed her molten amber eyes. A glint of battle-lust, buried deep beneath decades of poise.

It was gone in less than a heartbeat, replaced by her usual serene, grandmotherly smile.

She turned with the grace of falling sunlight and floated up to join the other professors in the air, her presence once again gentle, maternal, divine.

From the ground, Damien Bloodbane watched her rise.

He understood her reluctance all too well.

To find a worthy sparring partner… one who could force you to draw out your true strength… that was a rare and precious thing.

And even more painful to let go.

Below, the students, bloodied, bruised, exhausted, and completely overwhelmed, began to cheer weakly, then louder.

"Training's over!"

"We survived!"

"The rest of the day's ours!"

Professor Kong Hu's voice followed: "Rest well. But don't get too comfortable. Report tomorrow at 0600 sharp for survival training. Latecomers will regret it."

"Yep," someone muttered, "there it is."

But most students were already celebrating. Groups broke off to plan early dinners, mana baths, and long naps.

A few first-years gathered the courage to approach Jiang Xiao Yu, offering dinner invites and recovery drinks with nervous smiles.

She smiled politely but coolly rejected each and everyone of them by edging closer to Damien Bloodbane, as if saying, why don't you ask him instead?

They smiled awkwardly and ran away.

Two bold first-years tried to approach Athena, only to be turned to stone by a single glare from Blake Johnson, who loomed protectively nearby, arms folded like a medieval fortress.

Meanwhile three girls giggled and headed straight for Damien Bloodbane, whispering behind their hands.

He saw them coming.

And immediately vanished.

"Eh?"

"Where'd he go?"

"Did he run away from us?"

Damien Bloodbane moved fast.

Even Jiang Xiao Yu scowled cutely at being left behind like that.

Damien Bloodbane wandered deep into the heart of Pearl Institute, past the main buildings and training fields, slipping into rarely visited corridors lined with ancient sigils.

The farther he walked, the more awe-inspiring the campus became.

Pearl Institute was no ordinary school. It was a living, breathing sanctuary for the awakened, designed not just to teach, but to transform.

He passed by a mana resonance chamber, where students floated mid-air in humming spheres of colored energy, trying to sense their own mana and learn how to use them more effectively.

He walked past the Gravity Yard, where elite students trained under increased pressure fields, their every motion a battle against invisible weight.

Further in, he saw the Arcane Forge, its entrance guarded by golems carved from celestial ore. Inside, smiths fused magic and metal, crafting powerful mana weapons that allowed wielders to cast spells beyond their elemental affinity, or amplify those within it.

The Astral Garden glimmered beyond a glass dome, bearing flowers that grew in pure mana which had magical properties in healing and enhancing abilities.

And at the far end of a long spiraling hallway, he found a room with no sign, just a door etched with a simple phrase in old runes:

"To shape power, face yourself."

It opened for him without a sound.

Damien stepped inside.

A whisper of air greeted him.

A plain chamber with nothing but mana threads gently weaving through the floor greeted him.