The Arcane Academy’s midday sun streamed through pointed spires, painting the courtyard with vibrant streaks of color. Yet an undercurrent of tension rippled through the air, a silent expectation of something monumental about to unfold. Rumors circulated at lightning speed: Ventania—the unstoppable synergy mage—had invoked an old, rarely used system of duels to challenge none other than Roy, the cunning illusions specialist.

  Few among the staff approved, but no one could deny the archaic Academy rules that allowed a formal duel to settle personal feuds. Even in the modern era, these “Trials of Contention” remained on the books, though seldom invoked. For Roy, being a noble scion of House Velarn, refusing the challenge could tarnish his social standing irreparably. Caught between pride and caution, he yielded to the tradition.

  Thus, the stage was set for a public confrontation many described as a colossal mistake—both from Roy’s illusions-laced arrogance and from Ventania’s unyielding synergy. Yet to Ventania, the choice was straightforward. Roy had meddled too long, sabotaging her forging attempts, instigating illusions pranks. Now she’d corner him in an official duel, demanding an end to his harassment. She had no idea how tragic the outcome would be.

  Word of the duel spread across campus faster than any illusions whisper. By midday, the seats surrounding the Combat Arena filled with onlookers: novices, advanced seniors, even certain faculty members who rarely left their offices. A hush blanketed the stands, thick with apprehension. This was no mere spar for class credit; it was an official challenge under ancient Academy law, forcing two advanced mages to settle personal grievances.

  Ms. Kendall, her gentle elven features shadowed by concern, stood near the higher rows with the dwarven forging professor, Guildcrafter Borsin. Neither was pleased by the matter, but Ventania’s repeated pleas—backed by archaic rules—handcuffed them. Ventania wanted a formal, binding resolution: if she won, Roy would forfeit his right to keep harassing her with illusions or sabotage. She’d even phrased it humiliatingly: “If I win, you stop bothering me like a puppy in love.” The phrase had soared across campus gossip.

  The Academy’s synergy master, Master Revan, also sat at the edge of the dais, arms folded. He wore a grave expression, certain the duel was ill-advised but powerless to halt it now that protocol set everything in motion.

  Amid this tension, Ventania stepped into the arena. She was done letting Roy’s illusions hamper her forging or overshadow her synergy growth. She also felt a flicker of guilt at forcing a confrontation with potential for real harm. The wards prevented lethal blows… in theory. But she trusted her own control and the watchers to intervene if Roy turned reckless.

  Her embroidered synergy robe clung smoothly to her lean frame, silver lines shimmering in the sunlight, each swirl symbolizing an element. She carried her staff with the polished emerald tip, a testament to her raw elemental might. With her hair braided back to keep from her face, faint silver loops glinted among the strands, reminiscent of the forging dream she still pursued.

  Across the ring, Roy strode with a languid, aristocratic confidence, illusions swirling faintly around his cloak. His runic-laced outfit boasted subtle illusions cresting at the shoulders—a half-floating design that flickered between realities. He was older than Ventania by a few years, tall and slender, hair silver-white brushing narrow shoulders. His expression wore a mocking half-smile as though the duel was an inconvenience he’d soon correct.

  Despite the wards covering the ring, an undeniable chill pervaded the air. The watchers leaned forward, breath held.

  “Let it be recorded,” intoned an older official, “that Ventania of advanced synergy rank, initiate mage, golden rank adventurer, challenges Roy of illusions mastery under the old Trials of Contention. The stated terms: if Ventania wins, Roy shall cease all harassment. If Roy wins, Ventania must… how was it phrased, Roy?”

  A smug lilt curled Roy’s lips. “She’ll publicly apologize and acknowledge illusions as superior to synergy,” he said, voice resonating with smugness. “And end her forging attempts if I so demand.”

  Hushed murmurs rippled. Ventania stiffened. He had added that forging ban. She clenched her staff. So be it. I won’t lose.

  “Commence,” the official concluded, stepping back, letting the ring’s wards flare to life.

  Ventania swallowed, stepping forward to the ring’s center. The wards glowed faintly overhead, forming a protective dome that would cushion lethal or crippling damage. Still, illusions-laced synergy might skirt those wards if done cunningly. She steadied her breath, synergy swirling beneath her skin.

  Opposite her, Roy bowed with theatrical grace, illusions shimmering around him. “You called me a puppy in love, dear brat,” he murmured, voice just loud enough for watchers to catch. “Shall we see who ends up groveling?”

  She exhaled, responding with a curt bow. “We end this today, One final resolution.”

  He merely smirked. The official signaled the start. The wards crackled, sealing them in a luminous bubble. The stands fell silent.

  Roy wasted no time. Flickering illusions erupted around him, forging half a dozen ephemeral illusions beasts: twisted hounds with gnashing teeth, each partially anchored by synergy. They bounded across the ring with terrifying speed. Ventania recognized the cunning: illusions plus synergy gave them weight and momentum.

  But she’d honed her synergy in genuine dungeon battles. She conjured a swirling wave of earthen shards, laced with fire synergy. The searing fragments ripped through the illusions beasts, scattering them in a hiss of half-formed illusions. Roy frowned, illusions flickering uncertainly, forced to adapt.

  “Impressive,” he allowed, illusions swirling around him. “But illusions can do more than shape ephemeral hounds.” He conjured a partial illusions barrier, weaving illusions-laced illusions that threatened to distort her sense of distance. A hush fell among watchers. He cast illusions duplicates of himself, five identical Roys fanning out, each gliding in a different direction.

  Ventania pivoted calmly, staff raised. She unleashed a short synergy wave—wind laced with watery droplets. The illusions barrier parted, illusions duplicates dissolving under the barrage. She spotted the real Roy flinching behind a shield of illusions-laced synergy, but she hammered it relentlessly, rotating stone shards colliding with ephemeral illusions until the illusions parted once more.

  A wave of gasps rose from the stands. Roy might be illusions-savvy, but Ventania’s unrelenting synergy blasts left him little time to muster elaborate illusions strategies. He tried time and time again, overshadowing vantage points, but each illusions structure shattered under Ventania’s elemental storms.

  He retreated, illusions swirling frantically, and attempted summoning ephemeral illusions scorpions behind her. She felt the wards hum, indicating illusions with partial tangibility. Yet her synergy hearing, honed by real adventures, alerted her to real danger. She whipped around, conjuring a swirling funnel of wind that battered the scorpions to bits.

  “Stop it!” Roy spat, illusions flickering more fiercely as if stung by her unstoppable blasts. “Fight me with cunning, not brute force!”

  Ventania advanced calmly. “I’ve faced real monsters, Roy. Drakes, Beholders, Fire Salamanders, Giants and more! These are children games.” She hammered his illusions barrier with rotating lumps of molten lava, wind lacing them for added punch. The illusions barrier cracked audibly, sending Roy staggering back, illusions cloak flickering in disarray and burnt in some places.

  The watchers erupted in hushed awe. Roy, illusions master, pinned down by Ventania’s unstoppable synergy. Novices who once idolized illusions gasped at how swiftly synergy blasts could quell illusions if the illusions user lacked time to refine them.

  “Enough,” Roy growled, illusions flickering unpredictably. A savage gleam lit his eyes. “You want me to stop? You want me humiliated? Fine—taste this!”

  He lunged, illusions swirling around him in a final gambit. Ventania braced, synergy swirling in her chest, prepared for another illusions-laden assault. But instead, Roy produced a scroll from within his cloak. Its edges glowed with ominous runes, thick with demonic script.

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  In the stands, Ms. Kendall shot upright, alarm crossing her face. “No—” she started to yell, but it was too late.

  Roy tore the seal open, runes melding with the dark script. The scroll erupted in crimson light. A wave of malevolent power crashed across the ring, flickering in vile arcs.

  “This is forbidden,” roared Master Revan from the dais, surging to his feet. “He’s summoning a demon beyond the wards’ scope!”

  A hush of terror spread. The watchers attempted to stand, novices cowering, staff watchers brandishing wards. Ms. Kendall sprinted forward, anxious to disrupt the summoning, but Roy completed the incantation. A swirling vortex of blood-red illusions manifested at the ring’s center, swirling with unholy synergy. Ventania’s eyes widened in horror.

  A monstrous demon emerged from the vortex, towering nearly twenty feet tall, skin a leathery deep crimson. Twisted horns jutted from its skull, eyes burning with malevolent light. Jagged symbols glowed along its chest, each exuding a pungent sense of dread. The ring’s wards sputtered under the demon’s raw aura. Guttural laughter rumbled from its throat.

  Roy stumbled back, illusions cloak fluttering as fear flickered in his expression. Clearly, he hadn’t anticipated the demon’s overwhelming presence. The watchers in the stands broke into panicked screams. Ventania felt her blood run cold. This was no illusions beast but a real demon forcibly summoned from some infernal plane, and its malevolence turned on them all.

  “You fool!” Ventania shouted at Roy, synergy flaring around her. “You’ve unleashed a demon inside the Academy!”

  Roy took a trembling step away, illusions swirling erratically. “Shut up… I only meant… to turn the tide…” Then, in a final act of cowardice, he fled, illusions trailing behind him, leaving the ring’s wards flickering around the demon.

  Teachers rushed forward, Master Revan and Ms. Kendall among them. The demon roared, an aura of vile light radiating from its horns. With a guttural snarl, it lashed out at the nearest group—Ms. Kendall and the dwarven forging professor, Guildcrafter Borsin. The watchers scattered, novices fleeing the stands in terror.

  Ventania hesitated a fraction of a heartbeat, synergy swirling in her chest. She could run too, but one glance at the chaos told her that the demon’s rampage might kill countless novices. Her heart hammered, recalling the vow she made countless times in real dungeons. She stepped forward, staff raised, synergy blazing. “I won’t run. I’ve faced monstrous beasts before.”

  The demon unleashed a wave of baleful light fused with blood curses, a horrifying synergy that negated illusions wards and battered the ring wards. Ms. Kendall raised a protective shield, chanting a rapid incantation, sweat beading her elven brow. Borsin hammered out a quick runic ward on a portable slab, trying to fortify the crumbling ring wards.

  But the demon roared, slamming its claws into Ms. Kendall’s shield. The ward cracked under the demon’s unholy synergy. Ventania shot forward, conjuring swirling earthen shards laced with wind synergy, hoping to knock the demon back. They impacted with thunderous force, sending up a spray of rubble. The demon staggered, letting out a hateful hiss.

  “Yes,” Ventania gritted her teeth, forging a fresh synergy wave. She hammered the demon with compressed water jets turned scalding by flame synergy. Steam and screeches filled the air. For a moment, it seemed she might hold it at bay.

  Yet the demon’s chest glyphs glowed malevolently. It conjured a shaft of vile light that lanced across the ring. Ms. Kendall tried to shield Borsin—the dwarven professor—with a conjured multi elemental layered barrier, but the vile synergy sliced through easily like paper. Her eyes went wide with horror.

  “No—!” Ventania screamed, synergy crackling in her staff as she tried to intercept. But she was a step too slow.

  The demon’s beam carved into Ms. Kendall, ripping a searing line across her torso. She let out a choked gasp, collapsing. Her upper body severed from the waist, blood blossoming in a horrid arc. Borsin, half-sheltered by her final act, was saved from the direct blast.

  Time seemed to slow. Ventania’s vision blurred with shock, tears burning her eyes. Ms. Kendall—her confidante, her unwavering supporter—had been cut down in an instant. Rage and despair coiled inside Ventania, synergy erupting in her chest. She turned back to the demon, heart pounding. No illusions scrawls, no petty sabotage, ever equaled this monstrous reality.

  The demon roared triumphantly, prowling forward. Borsin dragged Ms. Kendall’s upper body aside, face contorted in horror. Ms. Kendall’s final breath rattled, eyes fluttering, then stilled.

  A savage fury consumed Ventania. She unleashed a torrent of synergy from all four elements—earth, air, fire, water—converging in a swirling maelstrom that battered the demon. Stone shards shredded the demon’s hide, flame scorched, water hissed into steam, and wind battered it from multiple directions. The watchers who lingered gasped at the elemental storm. She forced the demon back a step or two.

  But the demon’s cunning overshadowed Ventania’s rage. It invoked a dark tentacle conjuration from a rift in the ring’s floor, black energy swirling. Ventania tried to leap back, synergy swirling in her ankles, but the tentacle lashed out faster than she anticipated. She felt a searing agony as it coiled around her left arm.

  She screamed, synergy flaring to break free. The demon only tightened its grip, shredding her robe wards, ignoring the protective constraints. With a savage yank, the tentacle tore Ventania’s arm from her shoulder in a spurt of blood. Pain flooded her senses, near-blinding. She tumbled to the ground, shrieking.

  The stands erupted in chaos. Some staff tried to intervene, illusions or synergy blasts bouncing off the demon’s vile aura. Blood poured from Ventania’s severed stump, her synergy flaring wildly, out of control. She forced the swirling elemental merges into a half-coherent barrier, tears streaming as she realized her left arm was gone.

  “I won’t let it rampage,” she choked, voice quavering. Ms. Kendall lay dead or dying behind her. She refused to let more people fall. Even with only one arm, she raised her staff, synergy thrumming in savage pulses. The demon advanced, twisted grin etched across its monstrous face.

  “Die, mortal,” it rasped, forging another beam of vile light. Ventania tried to conjure a synergy shield, but her mana wavered under the excruciating agony. The beam seared across her side, flinging her across the ring, leaving a scorched line.

  She coughed up blood, vision dimming. But she forced herself upright, synergy swirling defiantly. She refused to run. She was Ventania, the unstoppable, and if it cost her life, she’d stand her ground. This was what it meant to be a protector, she understood now. The cost of power and strength is to protect those who can't fight.

  The demon lunged in for a killing blow. Ventania mustered a last synergy wave, bracing for the lethal clash—

  Then a flash of brilliant golden light tore through the arena. Ventania’s battered senses registered a figure appearing at the ring’s edge, cloak trailing, staff radiant with ephemeral gleams.

  “Ferlin!” voices gasped from the stands. Ventania’s heart clenched. Indeed, it was Ferlin, the old mentor, face grim and unreadable, synergy swirling in cosmic threads around him.

  Without hesitation, Ferlin unleashed a beam of pure light synergy—a pinnacle rumored in Academy lore. The beam struck the demon’s chest with lethal force, punching a wide hole through its thick hide.

  The demon roared in agony, half-lurching. But it wasn’t done. Writhing in pain, it conjured a final curse wave, a swirling black aura that threatened to envelop all watchers. Ms. Kendall might have shielded them, had she still lived.

  Ferlin pivoted, synergy coalescing at his staff’s tip, forming crackling arcs of lightning. “Begone,” he commanded in a low, resonant tone. A second burst erupted, disintegrating the demon’s head in a thunderous flash. The monstrous body collapsed, half-ravaged by cosmic synergy, swirling into black dust that evaporated in the ring’s battered floor.

  Silence descended, broken only by Ventania’s ragged breathing. Roy was gone, fled amidst the carnage. Ms. Kendall’s lifeless form lay at the ring’s edge, Borsin kneeling in shock. Ferlin strode across the debris-littered ground toward Ventania, synergy still flickering around him.

  Ventania coughed, tears mixing with dust on her cheeks, her left arm gone, blood forming a slick puddle around her battered robes. She could barely keep her remaining synergy from flaring aimlessly. “F-Ferlin,” she managed, voice trembling. He came? He saved me?

  No words, not at first. Ferlin knelt, raising his staff. Light synergy enveloped Ventania’s severed stump, halting the bleeding. She whimpered, dizzy with pain. He extended another wave of synergy, forging a deeper healing aura. Though reattaching a lost limb might be beyond quick fix for now, he could close her gaping wound, ensuring survival.

  He pressed a palm to her forehead, synergy coursing into her battered body. Warmth, brilliance, and heartbreak enveloped her senses. She felt the raw agony subside, her lost arm’s stump sealed. Tension drained, her eyes fluttering with shock and relief.

  “You’ll live,” Ferlin murmured at last, voice tight with an emotion she couldn’t parse. His eyes flicked to Ms. Kendall’s corpse, sorrow edging his stoic features, but he swiftly veiled it.

  Ventania’s consciousness teetered, tears of shock, loss, and battered gratitude welling up. She glimpsed glimpses of staff watchers converging, novices sobbing, Revan barking orders to secure the ring. The demon’s vile aura dissipated, leaving only devastation—and Ms. Kendall’s lifeless form. Ventania reached out with her one remaining arm, wanting to cling to some sense of sanity.

  “I-I’m sorry,” she whispered, voice breaking, whether to Ferlin, Ms. Kendall, or herself, she couldn’t say.

  Ferlin hovered, synergy still swirling around her, ensuring she wouldn’t bleed out or succumb to shock. He offered no soft paternal warmth, only calm efficiency, but in that moment, it was enough. She was alive, though maimed and reeling from heartbreak. The stands remained in stunned silence. Roy had caused a tragedy, unleashed a demon that took Ms. Kendall’s life, shattered Ventania’s body, forced the Academy to confront horrors they never expected.

  As the ring’s wards finally stabilized, and staff watchers rushed in, Ventania’s vision darkened. She sank into unconsciousness, the last thing she felt being Ferlin’s synergy carrying her battered form. She survived—but at a harrowing cost.

  End of Chapter 3