Elara noticed something wrong with Class S the moment Class B pushed past the broken treeline.

Their defenses started to thin.

The tight formations Grace maintained through the opening explosion dissolved, turning into something far more disorganized, with random battles going on everywhere.

They still haven’t started capturing the statue.

Elara felt the mana flow around the clearing shift unpredictably, proving synchronization had not begun. That meant Class S remained vulnerable despite arriving first and holding the best terrain.

There was something wrong.

She hadn’t been in a leadership position long.

But even she knew one thing for sure.

Class B had to move now.

Elara didn’t charge straight toward the statue.

Grace’s traps turned the clearing into a minefield, and rushing blindly and losing students would waste their attack.

Instead, she used the broken terrain itself – shattered earth, exposed roots, scattered stone, even other students – as cover while directing Class B forward in controlled bursts.

"Mira, stay on our flank. Keep eyes on the blind spots."

Mira’s group peeled off smoothly at the command, moving through the outer forest while the main force advanced.

Elara felt the pressure of leadership pressing against her shoulders.

But surprisingly it didn’t bother her much.

She knew it would never go away, but her decisions came faster now.

More certain.

Less second-guessing.

Class A pushed forward on the right side, still fighting individually rather than as one force.

Armani’s voice barked orders somewhere near the rear, but his students ignored half of them.

Class C supported the advance too, though their formation looked shakier than before. Still better than class A, however.

Most of the real damage done to Class S had come from Class B so far.

Elara noticed it immediately. Their statue remained untouched, their synchronization interrupted, their formations weakened – and Class B caused that through positioning, pressure, and timing rather than raw power.

Class A got in their way slightly.

Not intentionally.

Just students moving without clear direction, blocking pathways Class B needed to cross.

Elara almost snapped at them, her temper flaring hot and fast, but she stopped herself.

She could use this.

"Stay behind the stragglers," she called to her class. "Let them draw attention first."

Class B adjusted immediately, using the scattered Class A students as moving cover.

The tactic worked beautifully.

Class S’s counterattacks targeted the obvious threats first, leaving Class B’s stronger students protected until they closed the distance.

Class S responded quickly once they realized the real threat.

Spells lashed out toward Elara’s position.

Grace Light shouted something sharp from near the statue, and Class S students regrouped faster than any other class could have managed.

But it was little use.

Class B bulldozed through.

Elara led from the front, her mana flaring wild and massive as she shattered a defensive barrier with raw output.

She had so much mana that she could tank a lot of the spells that were thrown their way, making her perfect to lead the assault.

A student tried blocking her path, and she knocked him aside without slowing down.

Behind her, the rest of Class B pressed forward with the same aggression, breaking through Class S’s thinned defenses like water through cracked stone.

Then Elara noticed the shockwaves.

Western side of the battlefield. Distant, but powerful enough to feel from here, which told a story in itself.

She glanced that direction briefly and saw flashes of pale blue light cutting through smoke and chaos.

Bodies flew backward.

Spells shattered before they reached their target, the students bodies following soon after.

Luca Underwood.

He’d taken out several dozen students all by himself, and he was partially the reason class S was able to stay standing for so long.

What a monster.

But she forced her focus back to the situation at hand.

Luca looked like he was going to fall soon – too many enemies, too much pressure – but that wasn’t her problem right now. No one could take on that many students and not be winded, she had to focus on her real objective.

The statue.

Elara felt the mana shift suddenly, and the air thickened unnaturally. She could feel the change in the mana lingering through the air.

They started synchronization.

Little time left.

She pushed harder, shouting orders to the students around her. "Break through! Don’t stop!"

As Class B advanced, students got left behind.

Some fought their own battles against Class S defenders.

Others struggled through difficult terrain or lingering traps.

Elara couldn’t stop for every student, however, as much as she would have liked to.

The mission demanded she reach the statue before synchronization completed, and that meant the stronger students had to march forward while the rest bought time.

"Mira!" Elara called out. "You see any sign of Ronan?"

She wasn’t sure why she asked.

Mira’s voice came back strained. "Nothing since the explosion!"

Elara cursed under her breath.

Where the hell is he?

She didn’t have time to worry about that now.

The clearing opened ahead of them.

The final statue filled her view, massive and intricate, covered in glowing runes that pulsed with unstable light.

Iris stood near its base, hands raised, channeling mana into one of the nodes while another student Elara didn’t recognize handled the second.

Her sister, Freya, hovered nearby, coordinating something. Elara tried to hide the feeling of unease in her gut when Freya looked at her and shot her a small smile before focusing on the statue.

Was she not nervous? How could she look so laid back?

Biting her lip, Elara walked forward.

Elara realized it was only her, Mira, and two other students now.

Everyone else was busy. Fighting Class S defenders. Holding back other classes. Dealing with the chaos spreading across the entire battlefield.

But four students were enough.

As they got closer, Elara felt the mana change again.

An unactivated rune flared beneath her feet.

She expected it.

Elara poured mana into her legs and dodged left, barely avoiding the eruption of stone and fire. The blast scorched her side, but it did little damage, her abundant mana tanking any damage she would have taken.

"Keep moving!"

They reached the edge of the final statue.

Elara’s breathing became hard and fast, sweat dripping down her face.

Her mana reserves burned hot from overuse, but adrenaline kept her standing. It wasn’t often that her mana reserves reached below half, but right now it was nearing it.

She noticed Iris and Freya still working on the statue. Neither of them looked up. Too focused on synchronization.

Before Elara could approach, she felt a massive pressure slam down on her shoulders.

Her knees buckled slightly.

The air grew heavier.

Mana thickened around her like a physical barrier, and she felt almost unable to breathe.

A girl with thick silver hair, which was slightly disheveled, stepped forward, a massive scythe that was bigger than her whole body behind her back.

Irene stepped between them, twirling her weapon, then pointing it at them.

"That’s the furthest you’ll go."