Hyouken No Majutsushi Ga Sekai Wo Suberu: Sekai... -

Ray offered a small, practiced smile. "I'll try my best, Amelia."

"Ray! You're daydreaming again!" Amelia Rose called out, her crimson hair a sharp contrast against the grey sky. She raised her training sword, her eyes sparking with a mix of rivalry and genuine warmth. "The exams are next week. If you don't focus, you'll be at the bottom of the rankings."

Ray stood at the centre of the frost, his breath hitching as the memories of the Far East War threatened to resurface. He looked at his hands, still trembling from the cold he commanded. Hyouken no Majutsushi ga Sekai wo Suberu: Sekai...

He lowered his gaze, the blue fading back to a quiet, unassuming grey. "Just a student, Amelia. One who’s tired of the cold."

The world went silent. The dark flames didn't just extinguish; they turned into delicate glass sculptures of soot and ash, shattering into dust. The ground beneath the assassin’s feet blossomed into a forest of jagged ice pillars, pinning him instantly. Ray offered a small, practiced smile

Amelia stared at him, her breath hitching in the chilled air. "Ray... who are you really?"

"Die, elite filth!" the assassin roared, unleashing a torrent of dark flames. She raised her training sword, her eyes sparking

Suddenly, the air pressure shifted. A jagged rift tore through the space above the arena, bleeding violet shadows. This wasn't a training exercise. An Anti-Magic extremist—an assassin from the Eugenics faction—stepped through, casting a massive, obsidian-black spell circle that instantly drained the heat from the courtyard.