Who's the Most Adaptable of Them All, Young Man?

[ NEOS Online. ] His AI stepmother's voice rings through, establishing a connection with his mind. [ Analyzing Enigma... Please Stand By. ]

The best thing about primordial magic is that it is pure, untampered, and powerful. Its main problem that it is easily influenced by external elements, converting itself into fire, wind, earth, or whatever it was influenced by. 

Kirie engaged the thrusters in his palms and feet, the force propelling him thirty feet into the air in an instant. The silvery glow of his suit pulsed in tandem with his breath, a seamless blend of bleeding-edge nanotechnology and primordial magic—two forces that had no business coexisting, yet here they were, working in perfect harmony.

This was his first true creation. A fusion of what remained of his late mother's nanotech marvel, infused with the raw, untamed magic of his father.

He remembered the stories. How she wielded this technology not for brute force, but for precision, unpredictability, and adaptability. Where others forged devastating weapons in seconds, she conjured floating platforms, shifting barriers, and seamless counters that made her an untouchable force on the battlefield.

Now, it was his turn.

The runic circuitry woven into the sleek plating of his armor flickered with energy, magic dancing between the minuscule channels like liquid light. This was more than just a suit—it was fiction made reality, technology so advanced that even the most brilliant dwarven engineers would dedicate lifetimes to deciphering its secrets.

But therein lay the beauty—and the danger—of primordial magic.

Pure. Unfiltered. Powerful beyond measure. Yet, its greatest strength was also its greatest flaw. Unlike structured magic, it was wild, volatile, and susceptible to influence. A single external element—fire, wind, earth, lightning—could shape its entire nature, converting raw potential into something entirely new.

Kirie had studied this extensively, testing just how little magic was required to influence pure mana completely. It was an art of balance, one that demanded precision. His research had led him to one instructor in particular, a woman who now watched over him with quiet amusement from the cavea...

She appeared young, barely past her early twenties at a glance, though her presence suggested otherwise. A simple wool-knit cap covered the bed of her grass-like hair, its strands swaying slightly, as if touched by an unseen breeze. She wore a soft, cotton sweater over dark grey pants, a modest contrast to the more elaborate attire of her peers.

Four motes of elemental energy danced around her fingertips like fireflies, flickering between fire, water, earth, and wind in perfect synchrony. They moved not by force, but by subtle guidance, a testament to her mastery.

A small grin broke her otherwise composed expression. "Here it is… let's see what he's learned from elemental study."

"Ellora." A stern, measured voice cut through her musings. Ellora turned, her deep ashen eyes shifting focus. Within them, magic refracted in different hues, as though she could see the elements individually—not just their presence, but their very nature.

"Haaruka-sensei!" Beside her stood another woman—a foxgirl, like Tomoe Tenko, but… different.

This one bore darker, coffee-hued hair, her striking red eyes carrying a quiet intensity. Unlike Ellora's casual attire, she wore a flowing, oversized kimono, its heavy fabric concealing much of her form. Yet, there was no mistaking the effortless vigilance in the way she carried herself, arms tucked neatly within her wide sleeves, shoulders relaxed but aware.

Her gaze swept over the Four Stars, assessing them with practiced ease, before settling on Kirie.

"Sora's son is your student?" she asked simply.

Ellora beamed, pride and excitement flashing across her features. "Of course."

"A long way you've come from being a fledgling of the elements," Haaruka says, taking a seat beside her. A small smile crosses her stern features. 

"A teacher only becomes a master when they find a student, right?" retorts the young lady, crossing her arms under her sizeable chest...

"Let's test the flight capabilities first…"

Kirie's silver-armored limbs pulsed with green energy, the radiant magic shifting as he channeled elemental wind. His shin guards reshaped in real time, forming small aerodynamic flaps to help stabilize his flight. Slowly, he lifted higher, adjusting his trajectory with careful, calculated movements.

He took a few slow turns, circling to warm up—

[ Incoming attack. ]

A split-second warning flashed across his HUD, but before he could react—

A bolt of dark blue energy sliced through his flight path.

A crushing impact followed.

Kirie barely registered the moment he was sent spiraling backward, the force slamming him into the stone wall with a brutal thud.

"Ghk…!" He coughed, dust and debris scattering around him as his suit reacted instantly, shifting its structure to absorb the brunt of the impact. Even so, he felt the force rattle through his bones.

[ Update: Enigma is 75% faster than current form. Recalibrating armor… ]

NEOS's voice rang through his mind, and the suit molded back into place around his exposed body, its lilac lines flickering as it adjusted to counter the sudden disparity in speed.

But there was no time to breathe.

A shadow loomed above him.

Kirie's gaze snapped forward just as Enigma descended, its form shifting mid-air, an arm elongating into a gleaming blade. The sharp edge stopped mere inches from his face.

"Slow. Inexperienced. Weak."

The specter's voice echoed unnaturally, its flickering ember-like eyes narrowing in cold assessment.

Kirie gritted his teeth, his pulse hammering.

[ Increasing nanotech density by 15%. Calibrating damage feedback to generate external kinetic energy for redistribution or emergency power. ]

NEOS's voice was a steady presence in Kirie's mind as his entire nanosuit pulsed, the intricate lines along its surface shifting from soft lilac and gold to an intense, molten orange. Energy built within him, every fiber of his suit vibrating with barely-contained force.

His gaze locked onto Enigma, a hardened, survivalist's glare cutting through the haze of flickering combatants in the arena. He could feel the phantom's presence shifting like liquid mist, an amalgamation of countless warriors before it—yet right now, it was just him and this thing wearing his shape.

The glow around him intensified, reaching a blinding peak.

"Don't blink."

Instead of scattering the stored force throughout his body, Kirie took control. He thrust both palms forward, directing the raw, pent-up energy into a concentrated burst.

Twin beams of golden light tore through the air.

Each carried a distinct twang, sharp and heavy, like steel strings being plucked under immense tension. The lasers shot forward at blinding speeds, but—

Enigma shifted, its form dissolving effortlessly into mist. It bent, twisted, reforming fluidly between the attacks, untouched by the barrage.

"You will fail."

The phantom's voice carried no doubt, no hesitation—only the cold weight of certainty.

It moved.

Or rather—it tried to.

For the first time, Enigma faltered.

A flicker of confusion passed through its ember-like eyes as it glanced downward.

Its legs—trapped.

The nanosuit had ensnared them, tendrils of shifting silver metal creeping like vines, solidifying into a tight, inescapable grip. The shifting mist of Enigma's lower half had been encased, forced into form by the nanotech's adaptive containment.

It turned back to Kirie—

Who let go.

[ Dispersing stored kinetic energy. ]

The command rang in his mind a fraction of a second before the stored force erupted outward.

A shockwave of golden light detonated from Kirie's core, blasting Enigma off its feet and across the coliseum in a streak of burning luminance.

And then—a flash of silver.

Kirie moved.

Before the phantom could recover, he surged forward, a comet of light, driving his body into Enigma's core. The impact carried it skyward, slamming it into the magical boundary of the coliseum ceiling with crushing force.

The very air shook with the impact, the phantom's form distorting violently, tendrils of mist writhing against the arcane seal keeping it trapped.

For the first time—it didn't have an answer. [ Enigma's energy encased. Studying its structure... ]

The nanotech containers around Kirie's legs pulsed, shifting like liquid metal as they reformed, attempting to integrate Enigma's magic.

It was… different.

Not as primal as pure mana, yet not as tangible as the foundational four elements. Something else entirely.

[ Cosmic. Celestial. Memory. Cannot integrate. Storing for controlled output. Awaiting disposal command. ]

NEOS's report rang in Kirie's mind, but he barely acknowledged it. His focus remained locked on Enigma, his hands still brimming with raw energy as he drove the mist-bound phantom against the coliseum's ceiling. His fingers spread open, dispersing wave after wave of concentrated energy into its writhing form.

That was when he saw it.

Glittering motes—six, maybe seven of them—embedded within Enigma's mist. Tiny, luminous fragments that flickered and pulsed like distant stars caught in a shifting nebula.

'The shockwave must've lodged them in…' Kirie's mind worked fast, even as he kept his relentless pressure on the phantom.

And then—a realization.

'Then I'll keep going until it adapts!'

A surge of adrenaline shot through him as he adjusted his approach, shifting his energy blasts. Instead of thin, piercing beams, his suit's emitters recalibrated, forming dense, pulsating orbs.

He unleashed them.

Orb-like projectiles launched in rapid succession, each one detonating upon impact, dispersing magic in a three-meter radius.

Enigma retreated downward, its form splintering into mist, the trapped stars trailing behind it in a cosmic streak. Like a comet.

The explosive rounds worked.

With every pulse, Enigma's form dwindled, mist thinning, shifting, losing its cohesion. But before Kirie could capitalize on the moment—

It landed.

The second Enigma touched the ground, the sands beneath its feet pulsed.

Kirie's HUD flared red.

[ Warning: Hostile energy absorption detected. ]

The phantom reformed, solidifying once more, its body drinking in the latent energy buried beneath the battlefield.vIt was recharging.

Like a battery.

Kirie gritted his teeth. 'There it is...!'

The real battle was just beginning.

Kirie didn't hesitate. From his fingertips, a relentless barrage of golden-lilac energy surged forth, painting streaks of light across the battlefield. Each blast sought out Enigma with pinpoint aggression, forcing the phantom to react, to dodge, to adapt—but Kirie refused to give it the time.

An adaptable fighter needs time to adjust… so I'll give it as little time as possible!

His suit hummed with exertion, the stored cosmic energy from Enigma repurposed into sheer artillery fire. Each shot wasn't just a blast—it was a lesson. A message. He would dictate the pace of this fight, not the other way around.

Then, an explosion of dust and magic filled the air, shrouding his vision in thick smoke.

Kirie tensed, his HUD flickering to adjust for the obscured sightlines. For a brief moment, he caught glimpses of his fellow freshmen, all locked in their own battles. At different corners of the coliseum, flashes of power lit up the sands—Ignatia's fiery gauntlets clashing against a phantom in full plate armor, Alden weaving between relentless blade strikes, Nyx struggling against an opponent that gave her no shadows to work with, and Zenric, ever steady, bracing himself against the weight of his monstrous adversary.

He had no time to process it.

[ Deploying Instinctual Counter. ]

A sharp click. A low, metallic whirr.

Kirie barely had time to turn before a voice cut through the haze like a blade.

"Rule One."

A hollow, warped tone, followed by the unmistakable snap of a gunshot.

BOOM.

Kirie's instincts screamed. He didn't think—he moved.

His newly-adapted thrusters ignited, launching him sideways as the bullet seared through the air he had occupied a millisecond ago. Even then, the sheer force grazed his shoulder plating, sending sparks skittering into the dust cloud.

He barely had time to process the impact before another voice followed.

"Your opponent should never leave your eyes."

The chilling monotone wasn't his voice. It wasn't just a distorted echo of his own battle style anymore.

Enigma had changed.

As the smoke cleared, Kirie saw it. The phantom had abandoned its previous form—it was no longer a shifting mist, no longer mimicking his suit.

Now, crouched amidst the sand, a new figure emerged.

An arcane rifleman.

With a head wreathed in smoking blue fire, Enigma knelt in perfect sniping form. One knee forward, one arm steadying the elongated cerulean spell-rifle resting against its shoulder. Its glowing eyes locked onto Kirie down the barrel.

Kirie's heart slammed against his ribs.

'Long range.'

Enigma had seen his strength in close combat. It had recognized his unpredictability, his close-quarters maneuvers, his suit's capabilities. And just like that—it had pivoted.

If Kirie initially won up close, then Enigma would think with distance. Would strip him for a portion of his tools. Would outpace him in precision. A counter to a fake advantage.

'That's how you want to play it?' Kirie made a deep, long, drawn-out exhale. 'Just where I wanted you!'

[ 50% of Enigma's combat speed data from initial observation is downloaded. Try usage? ] NEOS asked, merely for confirmation. It was courtesy for the male. Everything in this fight was worth its weight in gold.

[ High probability of nauseating drawback after usage. Calibration for User Safety will be much effective after testing. Proceed? ]

'Let's do it!' Kirie's bleeding-edge nanotech responded instantly, shedding excess plating like melting ice. The sleek outer layers disintegrated into shimmering cobalt white embers, reforming into a hyper-condensed, lightweight frame. Every ounce of unnecessary bulk was stripped away, leaving behind something built for pure speed.

Blitzkrieg. Precision. Total acceleration.

And then—detonation.

A sonic boom cracked through the battlefield as Kirie launched himself downward, his thrusters igniting in a brilliant cascade of lilac and gold. The sheer force of his propulsion shattered the air around him, a barrier of sound marking his takeoff point.

He became a streak of light, cutting through the air like a meteor piercing the atmosphere. The battlefield blurred around him, heat rippling off his armor as he plummeted toward Enigma with terrifying velocity.