"Hello, Cael. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?"

Hearing Mira’s words, Cael absentmindedly nodded his head and said,

"Ah, yes, you are right. It has been a while."

He did not even know what he was saying anymore. His thoughts were focused entirely on the gray, dead wing he had seen moments ago.

He wanted to directly ask Mira about that wing.

Was she even aware of it?

If not, why else would she openly show it?

She had been walking through the academy streets without a care, as if nothing was wrong.

Cael’s eyes darted around.

Students walked past them in groups, laughing, talking, going about their evening as if nothing had happened.

None of them acted like they had seen anything unusual.

’Am I the only one who saw that wing? Or did I finally go crazy?’

Mira continued her walk, seemingly unconcerned. Without thinking, Cael blurted out,

"Hey, Mira. Want to spar?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

Of all the things he could have said, he asked for a spar.

’Seriously, I need to calm down.’

Mira’s steps paused. She turned back and looked at Cael.

Her golden eyes studied him for a moment, distant and hollow, then she nodded.

"Alright."

Thankfully, she agreed.

They started walking toward the academy’s training hall.

The evening light had faded into dusk, casting long shadows across the stone paths.

A few students still lingered outside the training facilities, chatting in small groups before heading to their dorms.

Cael and Mira could have gone to their respective dorm rooms to spar, but they did not for obvious reasons.

Academy rules were strict.

Unless a student had permission or special authority, they were not allowed to enter opposite gender dormitories.

Within a few minutes, Cael and Mira arrived at the training hall.

The building was mostly empty at this hour, the hallways quiet except for the distant sound of footsteps echoing off the walls.

Cael booked Training Room No. 4 for the next three hours.

After the usual procedures and signing in, confirming availability, and activating the room’s monitoring systems.

Cael and Mira stood opposite each other in the center of the room.

The space was wide and open, the floors reinforced, the walls lined with protective inscriptions that hummed softly in the background.

Cael took a deep breath. Mira stretched her arms, rolling her shoulders as if loosening muscles that had been tight for too long.

From the corner of the room, a speaker began a countdown.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

"Begin."

As soon as the word left the speaker, Mira released her [Gold] rank presence.

Cael’s movements stiffened. His body almost went numb under the pressure.

It was the second time he had experienced a [Gold] ranker’s presence at full force.

The first time had been at Skyspire, during the kidnapper incident.

For any other normal [Silver] ranker, the spar would already be over. But Cael was not normal. He was a freak.

He immediately activated ’Battle Reaper’s Focus Buff’.

The force binding him vanished as his muscles relaxed. His thoughts sharpened as Cael moved away, creating distance between them.

Mira’s eyes widened in surprise. Then she smiled softly, though the warmth did not reach her eyes. Her gaze sharpened.

"Not bad, then how about this?"

She stretched her arm toward Cael and clenched her fist.

Instantly, hundreds of mirrors surrounded Cael from all directions.

There was no space to escape.

The mirrors pressed in, their surfaces reflecting his own image back at him, layer after layer, an infinite regression of silver and glass.

Cael wanted to use mana nullification with wind as a medium, but he paused. A thought crossed his mind.

’Copy.’

He wanted to copy this skill.

Not in its current form, not as mirrors, but as the pure essence of the skill.

Cael had long been aware that Mira’s SSS-rank skill was related to space and illusions.

He wanted to try copying a space or illusion skill if possible.

Using his innate ability, the Will Imposed, he overwrote the limitations of his Copy skill.

"Copy"

As soon as he muttered the word, the interface glitched into existence.

Lines of text flickered across his vision, not too fast to read, but he ignored them until the words he wanted finally appeared.

...

[Do you wish to copy S-Rank Skill: Space Barrier?]

[Yes] [No]

...

Cael did not hesitate. He selected Yes.

The interface confirmed the copy, and the knowledge settled into his mind like a key turning in a lock.

Then, as the mirror barrier finally surrounded him, he waved his hand.

A small breeze of wind touched the mirrors, and the entire barrier was nullified.

The glass shattered into fragments of light that dissolved before they hit the ground.

This time, Mira’s eyes widened in genuine shock.

"This-- how?"

Cael smirked at her.

"Is that all?"

Truth be told, Cael’s combat prowess could no longer be measured by the standard system of this world.

He had already deduced that once he achieved [Mythril], his power would rival [Origin].

Not to mention, if by the time he reached [Mythril] he found a way to enter the State of Resonant, it would be game over.

But variables did exist.

Just like Seris Vale. Just like Luke. Just like himself.

So, he would be careful.

That said, after battling Seris, someone who could have killed him with a single punch, sparring with Mira felt... easy, weak.

Cael did not know if he should be honest, but the truth was simple.

It was boring. Too boring.

The thrill he had felt during his fight with Seris, the danger that had made his heart pound and his instincts scream.

Cael wanted to experience that again.

Mira gritted her teeth, clearly seeing the mocking look on his face.

She attacked again. And again. And again.

The spar continued for the next two and a half hours.

Ultimately, the winner was... Mira.

But contrary to her victory, she was lying on the ground, breathing heavily, while Cael was still standing.

The only reason he had lost was due to mana exhaustion. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

He had depleted his reserves entirely.

If he had wanted to, he could have ended the fight in seconds. But he had not.

Instead, he had copied every space-related skill Mira used. Well, almost every skill.

They were all space skills, no illusions.

Mira had already noticed that Cael could nullify mana itself, so using illusions would have been a waste of her energy.

That said, Cael had no complaints.

With the skills he had copied, he could finally unlock his special element, Space.