Ch: 10

(5 Years Later)

The skies above the Novaris estate shimmered with dawn's first light as dozens of young figures, all no older than eighteen, gathered within the assembly field. Clad in sleek, reinforced training gear and armed with their personal weapons, they stood at attention, their breaths misting in the crisp morning air.

Leon Varian adjusted the strap of his training armor, feeling the light hum of the enchantments woven into its fabric. To his left stood Elaine Novaris, calm and composed, her pristine white hair braided tightly down her back. Her golden eyes—cold and resolute—gazed ahead at the looming obsidian gates that led to the trial grounds.

Today marked the beginning of the Novaris survival trial.

"The elders will be watching us closely," Leon muttered under his breath.

Elaine gave a slight nod. "They want to see who is worthy to rise… and who should be discarded."

Across the field, other young heirs and retainers—scions of strength and talent—stood in their own groups. Many glanced toward Elaine and Leon, some with veiled hostility, others with nervous curiosity. After all, Elaine was the shining jewel of the Novaris younger generation, while Leon had drawn attention with his unprecedented S-class awakening.

An elder's voice echoed through the crystalline amplification towers ringing the field.

"You are the future blades of Novaris," came the cold, regal voice of Elder Altherion, draped in a storm-grey robe. "For the next month, you will survive within the Trial Sector 3: Ghastveil Biome. Within, you will face F+ and E+ ranked monsters—sufficiently dangerous for your age and rank. You will receive basic supplies and an emergency beacon. Use it, and you will be extracted—but you will be considered failed."

The gates groaned open, revealing a portal shimmering with dimensional mana.

Leon tightened his grip on his katana. Beside him, Elaine summoned a staff from her spatial ring. A crystal of light shimmered at its tip, responding to her mana with soft pulses.

They stepped forward as a team, among the first to enter.

(MC Overview)

Leon Varian

Age: 18

Rank: E

Role: Retainer of House Novaris

Path: Warrior – Lightning Element

Personality: Once an outsider and future (Minor) villain of fate, Leon is now a determined, sharp-witted, and loyal retainer of Elaine Novaris. Hardened by years of brutal training under his father and his combat instructor Lyra Varian, he is battle-hardened despite his age. He possesses a quiet intensity and a refusal to remain insignificant in a world where strength dictates worth.

Combat Style:Close-range fighter who specializes in lightning-infused swordplay and mobility techniques. He uses rapid strikes and precise movement to overwhelm his enemies.

Specialized Equipment:

Weapon: Stormfang Katana – A rare-rank katana that conducts lightning and increases attack speed with each successful hit.

Artifact: Earrings of Conductive Flow (Uncommon) – Increases mana absorption rate and enhances lightning-element mana control.

Armor: Lightweave Guarding Vest (Uncommon) – Lightweight and reinforced, providing agility and low-tier magical resistance.

Utility Item: Voltstep Anklet (Common) – Enhances mobility and boosts Arc Step's range.

Elaine Novaris

Age: 18

Rank: E+

Role: Heiress of House Novaris

Path: Mage-Swordswoman – Light Element

Personality: Regal, cold, and disciplined, Elaine is the genius scion of the Novaris household. She was raised with the expectation of dominance, but over time, has developed a subtle but meaningful bond with Leon. Though she remains reserved to most, she no longer sees Leon as expendable, respecting his growth and unwavering loyalty.

Combat Style:A balanced spellcaster who can fight at both close and mid-range. She utilizes precise, radiant magic to suppress enemies while skillfully switching to her sword when needed. Her combat is highly strategic, combining offense with radiant shielding and battlefield control.

Specialized Equipment:

Weapon: Solstice Rodblade – A blue-rank hybrid weapon functioning as both staff and blade. Boosts light-element spell potency and allows seamless switching between casting and swordplay.

Artifact: Halo Circlet of Insight (Rare) – Enhances spellcasting clarity and reduces mana cost for Light-element spells.

Armor: Radiantweave Robe (Uncommon) – Offers defense against elemental attacks and boosts Light resistance.

Utility Item: Luminstep Greaves (Common) – Grants a passive Lightstep effect, briefly displacing her form to confuse enemies during movement.

The gate shimmered with radiant energy, its edges pulsing with synchronized mana lines that rippled outward like veins of living light. As it activated, a gust of warm wind rushed forward, carrying with it the rich scent of damp earth, wild blossoms, and thick, primal mana.

Leon stepped through the portal first, followed closely by Elaine and several others. In a single breath, the lush wilderness unfolded around them. Towering trees loomed overhead, their trunks thick as siege towers, their canopy stretching far beyond the eye's reach. Bioluminescent vines dangled lazily from branches, illuminating the ground in pale hues of green and blue.

The Verdant Wilds.

They had arrived at the first testing biome—a living, breathing forest teeming with mana, beasts, and threats both hidden and overt.

Behind them, the shimmering gate slowly dimmed and closed with a deep hum, severing their connection to the outside world. No one spoke. The atmosphere changed in an instant—dense, humid, and laced with a tension none of them could ignore.

Leon slowly turned his gaze upward, taking it all in. The forest was ancient. Primeval. And undeniably alive.

"Not a bad place to die," one of the retainers muttered under his breath.

Elaine, ever composed, walked past him without acknowledgment. "Those who think of dying here already have."

Leon smirked faintly and fell into step beside her, his hand resting on the hilt of his katana. The special combat gear he wore was a lightened version of his usual armor, infused with mana fibers to sync with his lightning element. A new pair of Earrings of conductive flow enhanced his mana absorption passively, and his freshly forged Rare-ranked katana, Stormedge, hummed with restrained electricity at his hip.

Elaine's gear had also been tailored—an elegant hybrid robe reinforced with mageweave for movement and magic channelling. Her pale light-elemental staff was holstered magnetically across her back, and when not in use, it looked like an ornamental spear.

As the group spread out, each team composed of a Novaris heir and their personal retainer, the forest seemed to swallow them in layers of mist and sound. The Verdant Wilds was the largest biome of the survival grounds, roughly fifty square kilometers of living, mana-rich terrain. Unlike the artificial training rooms back at the estate, this ecosystem responded to intrusions—adapted, even retaliated.

No rescue. No interference. The rules were simple.

Survive for one month. Or die trying.

"This place is… alive," Leon murmured. "Feels like the forest is watching us."

Elaine didn't look at him. "It is. The flora is slightly sentient. Some of the trees feed on mana. Others feed on blood."

Leon gave a dry chuckle. "Charming. And here I thought this would be the easy part."

They were not alone. Several Novaris children and their personal retainers had been dropped across the biome. Each team was equipped with specialized gear suited to their fighting style. Leon's black combat suit was designed for flexibility and mana channeling, reinforced with lightweight composite plating. His weapons—his primary katana, a pair of mana-dagger backups, and a lightning-infused short-range communicator—were stowed neatly across his belt.

Elaine, meanwhile, carried a crystal-inlaid staff at her back, though she rarely used it. Her light magic flowed naturally through her body, and she had become proficient at weaving defensive barriers and directed spells without external focus. Despite being a full mage, she had trained relentlessly in swordplay for close-quarters emergencies.

They hadn't spoken much since landing. Their roles were clear. Elaine would lead tactically—her instincts were razor sharp. Leon would operate as her vanguard and shield. It was a rhythm they had developed over the past few years—one neither questioned anymore.

Bird-like creatures with translucent wings zipped between the canopy, their bodies glowing faintly with condensed mana. From a distance, they resembled lanterns drifting in a sea of green. Leon caught movement near a vine-wrapped tree and instinctively reached for his sword—but it was only a cluster of mana-dew berries gently quivering from the disturbance of a breeze.

"There," Elaine said, voice hushed. She pointed to a path where the ground dipped slightly—subtle, but deliberate.

"A trail?" Leon asked.

"A creature passed through here. Heavy, low to the ground. Probably a crawler-class predator. F+ rank at minimum."

Leon gave her a quick nod. "We follow?"

Elaine finally glanced at him. "We hunt."

They advanced carefully, Leon taking the lead, blade half-drawn, while Elaine moved in his wake, her senses open. The forest was quiet—but not the comfortable kind. It was the silence of predators—alert, coiled in the shadows.

After twenty minutes of silent maneuvering through the underbrush, they found it.

It was drinking from a shallow pool—an Ebon-Fang Basilisk.

It stood nearly four meters long, its obsidian-black scales pulsing with low mana light. Spines lined its back, twitching as it drank, and its golden eyes—eerily similar to Elaine's—scanned lazily before closing.

"F+," Elaine confirmed. "But it's young. A full-grown basilisk would be E+ or higher."

"Still dangerous," Leon replied, adjusting his stance. "Eyes or spine?"

"I'll bind the limbs. You take the head."

Leon's fingers tightened on the hilt. "On your count."

Elaine whispered a word, and the air around her shimmered. Golden glyphs flickered to life, and with a snap of her fingers, four bands of radiant light shot forth, encircling the creature's legs before slamming into the ground like anchors. The basilisk shrieked, lashing violently—but too late.

Leon dashed forward.

His katana flashed in the green light of the forest, arcs of lightning trailing the blade as it cut through the air. The basilisk lunged despite the bindings, jaws snapping—but Leon pivoted mid-stride, mana coursing through his legs.

"Storm Step!"

In a blink, he vanished, reappearing beside the beast's head. With one clean, electrified stroke, he severed its jaw, flipped backward, and landed on a knelt stance.

The basilisk convulsed, screeched, and tried to charge, but Elaine raised her hand.

"Solar Lance."

A concentrated beam of light erupted from her palm, piercing the creature's exposed throat. It fell twitching, then lay still.

Steam rose from the corpse as mana leaked from its wounds, and Leon sheathed his blade with a sharp breath.

"Clean," Elaine said, nodding once. "Efficient."

"Still not used to killing things that bleed that much," Leon muttered, brushing gore off his forearm guard.

"You'll have to be. This is only the first day."

They stood in silence for a moment, the glow of the beast's blood dimming. Around them, the forest had gone quiet again—watching, perhaps. Judging.

Leon looked up at the canopy. "Verdant Wilds. Not so wild once you cut them down."

Elaine turned her gaze to the treeline, eyes narrowing. "You're wrong. We've barely scratched the surface."