Celestial Bloodline

Kyle's first opponent was Jake, who held the 5th rank in the class ranking. After receiving the go signal from Professor Liam, the one overseeing stages five and six, he glanced at Jake from the corner of his eye.

'A lance user?'

Despite Jake being the same rank as him, he did not feel intimidated. The long, spear-like weapon in Jake's hands looked a little heavy, and that's the only thing Kyle was focused on.

-'You can defeat him because I can sense he is weaker than you.'

Bia's familiar voice echoed in his head, and he quickly glanced at the little bird sitting in the audience seats. Kyle would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised. He attacked Jake while conversing with Bia.

'Do you have a skill that tells if the opponent is strong or weak?'

He was hoping for a positive response because if she had such a skill, it could save him a lot of trouble. However, his hopes were dashed with cold water.

-'No, I just guessed.'

Kyle rolled his eyes with a speechless expression and focused on his fight.

The fight with Jake wasn't as hard as he expected because, even though their rank was the same, his stats were superior. But in the midst of it all, he noticed a lot of shortcomings. Among them, the most frustrating one was when Jake used agility-based skills.

After Jake, Kyle fought against two more opponents and emerged victorious before finally standing in front of Alec.

Alec was looking forward to his fight with Kyle since he had seen him work hard for the past week.

'The system still hasn't shown me all the information about Kyle. Let's see how much he has improved since our last fight.'

He gave Kyle a chance to attack first with a serious expression, but Kyle looked at him humbly and raised his hand towards the referee with a faint trickle of his lips.

"I admit defeat."

Alec barely stopped himself from tripping after hearing his words.

"What?"

Not wanting to answer his question, Kyle turned around and left the stage, leaving behind the dumbfounded blue-haired boy.

Bia snickered at Kyle from afar, only to receive a glare in return. He actually wanted to try fighting Alec and see if he could defeat him, but Alec's sword proficiency and rank were higher than his. He knew he would just tire himself if he fought against Alec, so he decided that admitting defeat was a better choice.

Kyle climbed the next stage only to see the pitiful face of his friend.

"Are you sure you are Nine?"

Nine's eyebrow twitched violently. Now, even his friend was mocking him? Just what had the world turned into? He sneered and, without giving Kyle a second glance, jumped off the stage.

"I admit defeat! You devil, I know you would tear my remaining clothes if I fought with you!"

He quickly stormed off, complaining, leaving the referee and Kyle behind. The duo stared at his limping figure and burst into laughter.

Kyle shook his head and stepped onto the next stage. His next opponent was Mia.

As soon as the referee gave the signal, he went all out, trying to close the distance between them. He knew that if he wanted to defeat a mage, he had to close the distance.

Mia wasn't just standing around either. She quickly conjured a shield to block Kyle's attack and then created an invisible barrier to slow him down. But to her surprise, he retreated instead of launching another attack. Regardless, she conjured ten fireballs that shot toward Kyle at a fast speed.

Kyle managed to block some of them and effortlessly dodged the rest. Despite not having any agility skill, his agility stat allowed him to evade the attacks.

Mia's face showed shock when he copied her spell. However, contrary to her thoughts, he didn't copy the spell. Instead, he used all his mana to summon ten fireballs at once. In the next second, he launched the fireballs directly at her without hesitation.

A frown appeared between Mia's brows.

'I can't evade all the fireballs...'

She created multiple small shields to protect herself from the attack. Kyle looked at her and seized the opportunity. He quickly leaped forward, closing the gap, and aimed the tip of his sword at her neck.

"?"

The referee declared Kyle the winner. Mia looked at Kyle, surprised that he was the third person to defeat her after Alec and Carcel. Despite having plenty of mana, the unexpected attack caught her off guard, momentarily causing her to lose focus. Note from the editor: Always check MV2LEMPYR for corrections.

She let out a soft sigh, nodded at him with a smile, and exited the stage. Instantly, everyone's attention was drawn to Kyle.

Professor Liam, who had been closely watching Kyle's progress, was amazed by how far he had come. Even some of the students in the audience couldn't contain their astonishment at his victory. But the most shocked person was Lara.

She underestimated Kyle from the start because he lacked talent. But now, he has gone and defeated Mia so easily...? She couldn't help but steal a glance at Kyle.

'Was I wrong?'

Lara didn't like it when someone with low talent or status approached her. Instead of calling it dislike, she would call it a habit that had developed over time.

At first, she wasn't like this. However, when she was nine years old, she experienced something that changed her a lot. Something that stayed in her mind as the scariest memory of her life.

She can still recall that day vividly when her best friends told her that a beautiful flower had bloomed in the forest near her house. She happily went there together with her friend, but suddenly, she found herself all alone.

She called out with a faint smile, thinking her friend was playing a trick on her, but her eyes widened when a monster jumped out of nowhere.

The monster was hideous and scary, and despite Lara's pleas for help, no one was there to hear her. She screamed and ran until her legs gave out. The monster stared at her with its glowing eyes, and she shut her eyes tightly when it opened its jaw.

Lara couldn't help but wonder why her friend, who had been by her side for so long, would do such a thing. It was a terrifying experience, and she would have lost her life that day if it hadn't been for a wandering warrior who saved her life.

Lara thanked the man with tears streaming down her face and returned home. She smiled as if it had never happened, but soon she discovered the petty reason behind the incident.

It's because she was born into a wealthy family and had everything her friend didn't. Her friend's jealousy drove her to harm her, and it wasn't just simple harm—it was something that could potentially take her life.

Lara remembers the cold eyes staring at her when her friend revealed her true face and said so many cruel words that made her think maybe she was the one in the wrong for being born into a good family.

Amidst everything, she couldn't help but question the girl standing in front of her.

"Was it worth it to harm me just because you're jealous?"

The reply that came from the girl's mouth was enough to make Lara's eyes turn cold.

"Yes... it was worth it, and if I got a chance, I'll do it again."

After that day, Lara started making fewer friends, or rather, she only interacted with those who were equal to her. She never wanted to experience something like that again. As time passed, she didn't even notice when she changed so much.

The moment Lara found out that Kyle's talent was only (B)-Rank, she knew they were worlds apart. Even if she wanted to act normal with him, she was just not able to.

But to her surprise, instead of getting angry, Kyle completely ignored her existence, like he didn't care, or was he just used to it? Nevertheless, she was grateful that he ignored her.

Lara did want to apologize to Kyle, but the words never left her mouth. Now, seeing him defeat Mia, there was only one thought in her mind.

'He is stronger than me.'