After this day, the students gather in the capital. They are provided with a residence by the Sky kingdom.

  The residence has many rooms. Each of them takes a room and finds that they have a place to store their weapons, prepared clothes, and even ready-made food.

  Leo: "I wonder what will happen in the Sky kingdom. I hope nothing dangerous occurs."

  Hakan’s Room

  Hakan, to himself: "It makes sense for us to be given a place in the Kingdom of Sky. After all, years ago, the Kingdom of Sky was attacked, and those who helped defeat the enemies were the second-stage students of Limitless Academy."

  Mary’s Room

  Mary lies on her bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in memories of her past.

  She had always wanted to become a tailor since childhood.

  She wanted to sew clothes for her brother as a gift for his 18th birthday.

  She dreamed of opening a tailoring shop, but her parents forced her to take the academy exam.

  Mary, of course, never wanted to attend an academy or anything of the sort. She just wanted to live a normal life.

  She cried many nights because she was forced into the academy.

  Deep inside, she carried a sorrow no one else knew about. But as the days passed, Mary accepted her situation. She even started to enjoy being at the academy because she met people who made up for everything she lost—people she considered her family.

  Mary secretly learned tailoring. Kyotai was the only one who knew, as he was her roommate, but he never revealed her secret.

  Eventually, Mary became skilled in tailoring. Now, she is completely satisfied with her life.

  Kingdom of Anastasia

  Daniel sits by his window, gazing at the lively city. But to him, it is just meaningless noise. He speaks to himself: "What is the point of emotions? Are they really important? Can't I sell them for money? I don't need emotions. What is the value of life without money anyway?"

  He starts preparing some coffee for himself and continues talking to himself: "The most important thing in life is money. Work is what brings money, so nothing in the world matters except money and work."

  Kingdom of Sky

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  The next morning, everyone wakes up to loud knocking on the residence door.

  Mary goes to open it and finds a woman standing there. She has blonde hair that leans toward white, blue eyes, and medium-length hair. She has large wings.

  "You look cute. What’s your name?"

  Mary answered, a bit annoyed: "Who are you?"

  The woman looks at her silently before saying, "Don't be so rude. I am Malak."

  Mary: "Alright."

  She closes the door. Karez speaks to her: "Who was at the door?"

  Mary: "Some strange woman."

  Mary goes back to her room, but soon, there’s another knock.

  This time, Karez opens the door and sees Malak.

  Malak: "Your friend was rude."

  Karez: "She doesn’t like being woken up."

  Malak: "I see, I see."

  Karez: "Now, who are you?"

  Malak: "I am Malak, the Champion of Sky."

  Karez: "The Champion of Sky?..."

  Malak: "Yes, I came here to see you, students of Limitless Academy."

  Karez: "It is an honor to have you visit us."

  Malak: "That’s not all. I want to challenge you."

  Karez: "Challenge us?"

  Malak: "Yes."

  Karez wakes everyone up.

  Kento prepares breakfast for them, and Malak joins them at the table.

  Malak: "Your cooking is delicious, noble one."

  Kento looks at her with an annoyed,angry expression.

  "Don’t ever call me noble again."

  Malak: "Alright, alright, just don’t get mad."

  Kani: "How do you know us?"

  Malak: "I feel like I’m being interrogated in a police station… Of course, I know you. You are the ones who saved the Elf City."

  Kani: "Oh, right..."

  After breakfast, Malak takes them to an open green field. The wind gently blows against their faces, making Kani’s untied hair sway.

  Malak speaks confidently: "I will challenge you in physical strength."

  Leo: "Why?"

  Malak: "To prove that I am the best."

  Leo: "That’s a childish reason…"

  Kaiser: "She’s very straightforward…"

  Malak: "First, destructive power. See that mountain over there? Each person will hit it once to see who has the most impact."

  The students start hitting the mountain one by one.

  The weakest impact was from Kani, but even then, it was not insignificant.

  As for Malak, her strike left a massive impact on the mountain—if she had hit it again, the spot she struck might have collapsed entirely.

  However, unexpectedly, Kyotai and Niron’s strikes were even stronger than Malak’s. With a single hit, they inflicted twice the damage she did.

  Leo and Sai followed, causing the same amount of damage as Malak. Even Kento matched her in some challenges.

  After the challenges ended, Malak stood before the students, catching her breath.

  Malak, to herself: "Most of them are close to my level. Four of them are almost equal to me, and one is even stronger than me. The students of Limitless Academy are truly impressive this year!"

  She straightens up and speaks with obvious enthusiasm: "You are truly amazing, everyone. You are the strongest students I have seen in years!"

  Beatrix: "Do you do this every year?"

  Malak: "Yes!"

  Sai: "That’s strange."

  Garin: "But this means we have improved a lot. We are the strongest students in years, as Malak says. We are already close to her level, and some of us are even stronger."

  Leo: "We’ve really improved… insanely, to be honest."

  Hakan: "This would be perfect if there was a casino in this kingdom."

  Malak: "Casinos are banned here."

  Sai: "That’s reassuring. Reaching this level is truly impressive."

  Kano sighs, then smiles quietly, simply observing the moment.

  Kani: "We’ve really come a long way."

  Mary says sarcastically: "I feel like I’m going to cry."

  Niron turns away from Malak and speaks quietly enough for only the students to hear: "Does this mean Rivan was telling the truth?"

  Damian: "We never even noticed our growth."

  Itor: "When you think about it, the methods didn’t just improve one skill, but rather, it was comprehensive training."

  Kento: "Fighting in the Elf City developed us a lot. Even those who didn’t fight learned new things. And even those for whom the battle was easy physically had to expand their way of thinking."

  Arian: "Exactly, exactly."

  Kaiser: "I’m overwhelmed with joy."

  Kyotai, to himself: "You’ve truly impressed me, Yaraso and Rivan."

  Karez: "Even so, we are not done yet. We might still learn something new or undergo more training in the Kingdom of Sky. And if we are attacked again, we must make sure we don’t lose so that we don’t repeat past mistakes… so that the lives of those who are gone have meaning."

  Beatrix: "You’re right. The road ahead is still long."

  Itor: "I feel like I’ve regained my excitement."

  Malak bows to them.

  Malak: "Congratulations on reaching this level. I look forward to seeing what you will accomplish in the future, heroes of the Kingdom of Anastasia. But for now, farewell—until we meet again!"

  She flies away with her wings, leaving the students with the happiness of such indescribable growth.