"Koji!" Allen shouted.

Koji nodded his head in acknowledgement. Suddenly, Koji's body became very conspicuous. His body seemed to appear as if he was melting. No! It was dissolving! He was turning into a slime-like creature; he was liquid!  

"Hidden Technique: Liquify." 

This was one of the three primary arts of the Swamp. 

The hidden technique liquify!

For those who have chosen the free mana path, they have the ability to control mana that they're in contact with and are able to change their state into many forms. In this case, liquid! 

"Steffanie . . . " Koji called in a soft peculiar voice.

"Right," Steffanie replied.

She held a hand-sized cross object and started chanting words.

"Let thee, shine of light fend off thee, indecorous."

All of a sudden, a speck of light was being emitted on top of the crossed artefact. The light increasingly became larger around the cross until it swelled to become a ball of light the size of Steffanie's head. 

The outward appearance was blinding, and the artefact could scarcely be made out under the intense glow. 

However, for people who have blessed mana or keen eyes, it was clear as day that the cross artefact was shrouded in light!

"Light wave!" shouted Steffanie.

A wave of light flashed towards Karen, threatening to engulf her in its blinding brilliance. 

"Hmm . . . it's better compared to last time I"ve seen it . . . However . . . "

Just as she was about to finish her sentence, Koji, who had been stealthy moving during Steffanie's cast, tackled Karen with his body of liquid. Normally, this wouldn't even make Karen budge with Koji's small height and physical aptitude. 

However, as he was in liquid-like slime form, Koji could simply utilise his jelly-like body to hold the target captive, locking her mobility, hindering her movements, and effectively making her vulnerable. Unlike a normal liquid, he wouldn't easily dissolve as he predominantly has a human body. 

Furthermore, Koji's liquid art was not normal liquefaction. He trained himself to have a trait of exceptional adhesiveness. 

"Ugh . . . I didn't sign up for this," Karen said with disgust.

"Haha teacher watch your head~." 

As that line was spoken, Karen tilted her head up towards the direction of the voice. 

Before Karen's eyes, she saw a young boy holding a stone broadsword descending upon her; he was using the momentum of his fall to strike at her from above. 

*SMACK*

Karen was hit directly on her left shoulder. Although the chain mail aided in resisting his direct attack, she felt as if a large boulder had been dropped down onto her left shoulder. 

"Ahhh the hell??! That sword!" Karen cried in pain.

Allen's stone broadsword was an artefact. The stone broadsword had the ability to apply a greater force than usual upon hitting a target. As a result, the target would feel a weighted blow significantly heftier than what the broadsword should be capable of delivering. 

Moreover, the user is unaffected by this "phantom weight", meaning he would be wielding the broadsword normally the entire time! While the enemy would feel as if she were facing an opponent with an enormous boulder on a stick. Deadly!

As the impact landed, Koji swiftly retreated away a fair distance from Karen. 

The strike had also dealt a sizeable degree of damage onto Koji. The impact of the strike also swelled up the surrounding sand from the ground into the air.

"Koji, you alright? You didn't need to keep holding her," Allen asked worriedly.

"No problem. Can"t underestimate her . . . "

"That's true, but it looks like it's over . . . "

Or so they thought.

"What??" The three shouted in confusion.

As the collected sand from the aftermath began to fade . . . 

A silhouette appeared in front of the group's naked eyes . . . and then, finally, Karen. 

Karen had not moved from the spot where she last stood.

"Seriously . . . "

"Ah . . . "

" . . . "

"Ouch . . . you guys really didn't show any mercy to me at all. Well, that's good, because if you weren't serious enough . . . then I'd have to rough things up a bit. Now It's time for some payback." She gave a devious smile and prepared to spring towards them. She clearly was going to rough them up a bit. 

"Oh, but you children were close. I actually moved half a step. That's pretty impressive . . . I guess I never really was cut out for being on the defence~" 

Karen seriously disclosed as she used her one remaining step to instantly close the distance between the group—one could see the terror in their eyes.

***

"It seems this challenge is not a simple walk in the park". Melvin commented as he watched Karen face Allen's group.

"No need to worry. Although Allen's group is strong, we aren't any weaker than them!" Stilla said encouragingly with fiery eyes. 

"You two should've focused your attention to Halio. He is much more fearsome than Karen, as he doesn't appear to be showing mercy." Dalis spoke with a slight tone of seriousness. 

Stilla and Melvin, who were immersed in Karen's fight between Allen, Steffanie, and Koji, switched their attention towards Halio.

"Playtime is done kids, off ya go."

However, before the two could have a chance to view Halio fight. It was over.

!!!  

Students who had seen the fight between Jessica, Sienna, Elliot and Halio expressed unpleasant faces and wariness. 

"That guy . . . is he actually taking it easy? Or is that a facade?"

"He didn't even use any special moves! All he did was swing his halberd for a while and then the next moment they're all on the floor!"

"What a bastard. He always acts like a lazy scumbag. When it comes down to training like this, he actually does his job?" 

Chatter began to fill the air after witnessing the defeat of Jessica's group.

"Alright y’all settle down. I know I'm popular and all but if ya want to get my autograph, come after class." Halio announced smugly. 

"A bastard . . . he's truly a bastard!" Jessica shouted as she rubbed her already dishevelled hair.

"Haha . . . I hope the next group doesn't suffer the same fate as us . . . " Elliot said in a defeated tone.

"Your right Elliot, whoever is up next needs to win!" Sienna clamoured. It seemed she could take the loss well, unlike her fallen teammates. 

"Feeria boy, little filly and hotshot you're up."

Determined to win, Melvin, Stilla, and Dalis walked over to where Halio awaited them. To their surprise, it seemed that Halio acknowledged them as he stopped leaning back on his halberd and chose to keep his guard up. 

"I'm sure since it's you fellas, I may be worked up a bit." 

Incensed, Melvin felt words ready to blast through the floodgates but seeing Dalis's silence and Stilla's concentration washed away the thought. He began to go over what they had discussed earlier in his mind to topple Halio.

Glancing at Dalis's steel bo staff eager to strike, Melvin began to mentally chant spell invocations before Stilla kicked off the floor to quickly approach Halio. A subtle stream of mana could be seen manipulating the air around Stilla and Dalis's legs to aid in their movements as a strong tailwind was evoked. 

"Hmmmm . . . . Woooaaahhh."

In order to cast a spell, an incantation is usually required. For instance, Steffanie had to chant words that would enable her to activate her artefact. Many of the arts, techniques or spells across the various nations are no exception to this rule, especially the case when the word “hidden” or “forbidden” is in the name. 

However, Melvin is a boy who is both gifted and hard-learnt in movement arts. He had read and grasped the concepts within hundreds of books, detailing the fundamental movement arts in the Great Feeria Library. To this boy, the physical chanting requirement was null. There was no difference even if he uttered the chant. 

Although he acknowledged them, he still did not take it seriously. 

While the sudden boost in speed came as a surprise to Halio, Dalis seemed as if he had been waiting for this opportunity. He thrust the staff in his hands into the solid floor and used the rebound to vault above Halio. 

At the same time, Melvin quickly cast six bolts of condensed mana towards Halio, and Stilla started to erratically dash towards his flank, adopting a kickboxing stance and preparing to strike as Dalis landed.

Facing the incoming onslaught, Halio reacted by somewhat lazily lifting the groove in his halberd's blade above his head to catch the oncoming bo staff. He bent his knees and used his free left hand to block Stilla's punches and push her away before twisting the halberd downwards, lifting his left leg and rotating his body. 

This pulled Dalis downwards while allowing Halio to sweep a clean crescent with his halberd, accurately slashing a straight line through all six of Melvin's mana bolts and returning his foot to the exact place it once stood.

"Damn, you kids sure don't know how to hold back. Or, was that part of your plan?"

Although they didn't manage to make Halio move a single step from his original position, he was now surrounded. Melvin was in front of him, Stilla to the left, and Dalis behind. He could at most see two people at once. Although the children had slightly hoped to make him flinch from the earlier assault, this had all still gone according to expectations.

One of the key disadvantages of the halberd was the fact that it was a polearm and was effective only at a certain length. In closer combat, halberds were rather useless despite its splendid versatility. 

By keeping at least one of the group members unseen, it was much easier to approach Halio and force him to make a move. 

Halio acknowledged that he was now in a disadvantageous situation. He freely swirled his halberd about as if it were a toy before fiercely gripping it and getting in stance. He wore a slight smile that seemed to beckon to the children.

"I know you kids wanna come up close and personal, but do ya think you're up to the task?" 

His display of control over the halberd would dishearten anybody, but to his dismay, the three kids weren't even remotely swayed. Dalis's eyes were still as water, Stilla wouldn't be perturbed by a show of strength, and Melvin looked to be too egotistical to notice. The three slowly approached him.

"Hmm . . . You kids really are something else." 

Without notice, a light, cold fog seeped through the floor surrounding Halio. It very slightly obstructed his vision, but it was enough. As if a predator were evoked within Dalis, he began to subtly follow the movements of the fog, nimbly melding into the current as he soundlessly approached Halio . . . and fast! 

"What the hell . . . that kid . . . "

Unfortunately, he had no time to pay attention to him as Stilla chose to rush in while Halio was visibly distracted. Although the fog would barely affect his vision, it could hinder his battle sense. The chilling fog would distract him from the flurry of blows threatening to hit him. 

Stilla's techniques were displayed without pause; each strike stronger than the last and varying unpredictably. Sometimes, Halio would be greeted by the cold steel of her brass knuckles. And other times, a relentless palm or a sharp kick. Halio blocked each and every advance using the blade of his halberd, but as planned, this allowed Dalis and Melvin to come closer. 

It was never-ending, and the pressure became harder to bear, especially because he had no idea where Dalis was. He could catch a glimpse of dozens of mana bolts surrounding Melvin as he continued to harness a large amount of mana from his surroundings.

"Tch. Let thine might conquer, and thou, concede!"

A bright glow could be seen coalescing from Halio's hands and up to the halberd blade. This was unexpected to Stilla. She chose to hurriedly stop her advance and block Halio's next attack with her metal armguards. This was a mistake. Regrettably, for her, nobody knew what Halio's weapon could accomplish as nobody could force him to use it the way she had.

"Girl. It's time for a break."

Halio's halberd slashed at her armguards, and to the children's surprise, Stilla was knocked two steps backwards and lifted off-balance. It must be known that Stilla was one of the Orphanage's brightest students in martial arts. Her balance and posture were so immaculately perfect that it would be at most a myth or a joke for her to fall out of stance.

And yet she did.

Stilla could feel the air and mana around her quake in chaos and disorder as Halio's halberd struck her. Before she could regain her wits, Halio held the halberd in one hand and thrust the pike once more towards Stilla's chest. 

Stilla managed to hurriedly block the pike with her other arm, but the force of it threw her several meters across the Training Grounds, and her arms couldn't muster the strength to cushion the fall. She received a concussion upon landing and was knocked out.

Clearly agitated, the floodgates could be held no longer as venomous words made their way out of Melvin's mouth. 

"YOU BASTARD!!" 

Halio turned his attention to Melvin before being jolted at sight. 

Was it a night sky? 

Or maybe it was snowing? 

The area around Melvin was densely populated by suspended bolts of mana ready to surge and annihilate their target. As if reflecting his mood, the bolts were trembling intensely.

 . . . And within the fog, the predator stalked.