Boom!

The fire dragon charged straight into the Undead army.

No ability to resist.

No struggle.

The Skeleton Warriors raising their swords had barely touched the flame before they instantly melted. Their hardened skeletal frames, their metal weapons, their protective armor, and even the dark energy enveloping their bodies all couldn’t last more than a moment.

All of it turned to ash.

The Skeleton Archers standing in the rear rank released their bowstrings all at once. The arrows carrying a cold blue light shot through the air, aimed straight at Ethan, who lay in Laira’s arms.

But they didn’t get the chance to fly close.

The fire dragon swept across.

The energy arrows vanished.

Not shattered.

But incinerated by the terrifying heat to the point of completely dissolving in midair.

The two Skeleton Mages brought down their staves at once. The dark orbs spun forward, creating gusts of cold wind. But when they collided with Laira’s flame, they too quickly vanished, like a few tiny drops of water falling into a sea of lava.

In less than two seconds, the Undead army of thirty-six skeletons had completely vanished.

Not one was left standing.

Not one had the chance to launch a second attack.

The fire dragon kept charging forward.

Not slowing down.

Not weakening.

In the middle of the arena, the Silver tier 10 Sage Skeleton immediately raised its staff.

The purple stone atop the staff blazed bright.

A purplish-black barrier immediately formed before it. The dark symbols rotated in multiple layers, forming a dense energy shield. The surrounding air turned colder. Streams of purple energy kept pouring out of the staff, replenishing the barrier.

At the same time, the information on the central screen flared bright.

[Trait: High-level Fire Resistance.]

In the main hall of Aurora Academy, hundreds of students unconsciously held their breath.

"High-level Fire Resistance."

"Everyone look."

"The Undead army couldn’t stop it, but the Sage Skeleton still has the countering trait."

"At least it can block one blow."

Ryan, sitting in the VIP seats, clenched his hand tight.

His gaze stared at the screen.

"Block it."

He almost muttered.

"Just block it."

But the moment the fire dragon collided with the barrier, it was all over.

No terrifying explosion.

No prolonged struggle.

The purplish-black barrier was just like a thin sheet of paper thrown into a sea of fire.

Crack!

A fracture appeared.

Right after, the entire shield shattered.

The fragments of dark energy were swept into the flame and quickly dissolved.

The fire dragon charged straight through.

The Sage Skeleton only managed to raise its staff a little higher.

Its body had already been swallowed by the flame.

Boom!

A gust of hot wind exploded.

The figure in the silver-gray robe quickly disintegrated into countless particles of dust. Those particles were swept backward by the inertia of the fire dragon, forming a trail of black ash stretching across the arena.

The white bone staff shattered.

The purple stone atop the staff blew apart.

The stone throne behind the Sage Skeleton was also swept across by the fire dragon, leaving a blazing red scorch mark stretching all the way to the wall.

Just one blow.

The entire third floor fell quiet.

The cold system voice rang out.

[All third-floor guardians defeated.]

[Completion time: 4.6 seconds.]

[Rating: Perfect.]

[Rewards will be tallied after the trial ends.]

Laira lowered her hand.

The chain of fire dissolved.

But she still didn’t let go of Ethan right away.

He had seen the entire scene.

From the moment the fire dragon swept across the Undead army to when the Silver tier 10 Sage Skeleton turned to ash, the whole process had only taken a few seconds.

But Ethan’s mind wasn’t entirely on the opponent that had just been destroyed.

Because Laira was still standing very close.

Too close.

Her warm breath grazed his neck. Her soft lips slowly left his skin, leaving behind a faint red mark like a small imprint. Laira tilted her head slightly and looked at her handiwork with a satisfied expression.

Only then did she reluctantly set Ethan back down on the ground.

The corner of her mouth curled up.

"Very tasty."

Laira looked at Ethan, her voice soft but so straightforward it was hard for the listener to stay composed. "After we finish the trial, I want to taste you a lot more."

Ethan was silent.

He didn’t know how to answer.

In the end he could only let out a soft sigh.

After Laira let go of him, Ethan unconsciously reached up to touch his neck. The spot where she had just left a kiss mark was still a little warm. Not painful in any obvious way, but the numbing sensation hadn’t completely faded.

He looked at Laira.

The Crimson Dragon, over two meters tall, still stood close beside him. Her long red hair reached nearly to her knees. The white dress hugged her mature, balanced figure to an almost unreal degree. Her amber-red eyes curved up slightly, carrying a natural satisfaction like she had just completed something very worthwhile.

Ethan couldn’t help recalling some knowledge he had once read in the academy’s race documents.

The Dragon Race was famously greedy.

They liked to accumulate resources.

They liked to hoard treasures.

Once they regarded something as belonging to them, they became extremely protective and hard to make share.

In addition, the Dragon Race was also famous for a nature more intense and emotions more direct than most other races.

Ethan was silent for a few seconds.

Then looked at Laira once more.

Her physical strength clearly far surpassed an ordinary person by too much. With just one hand, she could easily lift him up.

If their relationship really did develop into something more intimate in the current state...

Ethan felt this wasn’t a problem that could be taken lightly.

He still hadn’t opened his Heaven’s Gate. In essence he was still just an ordinary person. While Laira was a rank SS Crimson Dragon. Even while sealed, she could still casually crush a Silver tier 10 Sage Skeleton.

The physical gap between the two was too great.

Ethan let out a soft breath.

In his heart he consoled himself.

As long as he got through this trial, he would open his Heaven’s Gate.

Then begin absorbing energy.

At least once his body was gradually strengthened, the issue of the physical gap wouldn’t be as worrying as it was now.

Laira looked at Ethan.

As if she could guess what he was thinking, her amber-red eyes curved up slightly. She raised a hand to cover her mouth and let out a soft laugh.

"Ethan."

"What are you thinking about?"

Ethan calmly turned away.

"Nothing."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Laira looked at him for a few more seconds, then licked her lips lightly again.

"I don’t believe you."

Ethan didn’t answer.

He knew that continuing to argue would only make the situation stranger.

In the main hall of Aurora Academy, the atmosphere wasn’t much better either.

Hundreds of students were still completely turned to stone.

Partly because of the scene that had just played out between Ethan and Laira.

And partly because of her overwhelming power.

A Silver tier 10 Sage Skeleton.

High-level Fire Resistance.

Dark Magic.

Summon Undead.

Soul Curse.

A guardian possessing a skill set enough to drive any newly awakened student to despair.

But Laira had held Ethan with one arm while casually swinging the other.

And then it all vanished.

It wasn’t a battle.

It was absolute crushing.

A male student sitting near the central screen opened his mouth for a long time before he could speak: "She... seems to have just defeated a Silver tier 10 Sage Skeleton while still holding Ethan?"

The one beside him looked at the screen, his voice dry: "Yeah."

"With one hand?"

"Yeah."

"High-level Fire Resistance?"

"No effect at all."

The first one fell silent.

After a few seconds he muttered: "I don’t know whether to be jealous of Ethan first or to be afraid of her first."

Another student immediately answered: "Both."

The girls sitting nearby were still blushing.

One unconsciously raised a hand to cover her lips. "Laira is too forward."

The friend beside her also couldn’t take her eyes off the screen. "But somehow it doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable. She only treats Ethan this way."

"It’s like..."

"It’s like Ethan really is her treasure."

Claire heard that line.

The pang of pain in her heart grew even clearer.

She silently looked at Ethan on the screen.

Two years ago, he had once stood beside her.

Even though he had no resources.

Even though the Ashford family was cold to him.

Even though he had to study and work part-time.

Ethan had always stayed calm.

Still top of the year.

Still had never begged for anyone’s pity.

But she had gradually drifted away from him.

Not because Ethan had changed.

But because she no longer had enough patience to wait.

Claire looked at Laira.

That Crimson Dragon didn’t care whether Ethan was strong or weak right now. She simply stood in front of him, protected him, and trusted him.

Claire didn’t know what the feeling in her heart was.

She only knew it made her chest ache.