Chapter 222: Fian VS Vania
Vania’s voice rang out loud and clear, echoing across the field.
The students standing between her and Gara turned their heads instantly, stunned by the confidence behind her challenge.
Even Maul, who was standing on the podium, heard her declaration. He didn’t say a word.
After being humiliated just last week —and by those very two— he’d made a silent vow never to get involved in any more conflicts between Class S students.
On Gara’s side, his friends were the first to react.
"Vania, are you crazy?!" Andine snapped. She’d called Vania crazy more times than she could count, but this time she meant it. Challenging Gara? That was insane.
Fian’s reaction was even sharper. "Defeat me first."
Every head turned toward the elf.
Not many students knew who he was, but those who did... were left speechless.
Vania blinked, taken aback. "Don’t defend your friend. This has nothing to do with you. Everyone deserves to know whether Gara really belongs in Class S."
"Gara defeated me," Fian said flatly. "If you want to defeat Gara, then defeat me first."
His calm, resonant voice carried farther than usual, lingering in the air.
And the meaning behind his words shocked everyone.
"What? That pretty, fragile-looking guy beat Fian?" one student gasped.
"No way. He’s just covering for his friend. Everyone knows they’re always together," another chimed in.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd— doubtful, dismissive.
But then Andine spoke up, her tone firm and certain. "I was there. Gara really did defeat Fian. And he’s more than that— he’s smart and talented."
Madha, the one who had become the talk of the offense class’ student after defeating Maul last week, stepped in as well.
"Last week’s duel wasn’t just me. Gara was there too and his contribution was far more important than you think."
With those two vouching for him, Vania couldn’t simply back out. If she truly wanted to challenge Gara, she’d have to go through Fian first.
"So?" Fian asked, his voice cool but his words laced with provocation. "Do you dare?"
Vania —hot-headed as ever— couldn’t possibly ignore that.
"Of course! I’ll crush you!" she snapped.
With fire in her eyes, Vania stormed toward the podium, chin high, every step full of pride and fury. Fian followed, calm as ever, his expression unreadable.
Whispers rose from the watching crowd.
"Vania got into Class S without taking the entrance test. She should be strong, right?"
"Yeah, but Fian’s the top scorer of the entrance exam by a huge margin."
"Don’t forget, Vania’s from the Tiger Clan, the Shereen family. That gives her an edge."
"Not really. She’s just the daughter of the clan leader’s cousin. Hardly high-ranking."
Every word pierced Vania’s pride.
She hated being reminded of her status of how the Shereen name was the only thing keeping her head held high among the beastfolk.
Her fists clenched tight, her eyes burned red as she glared at the elf standing five meters away.
Seeing his composed, indifferent face only fueled her anger.
I’ll make sure you understand exactly who you’re dealing with, she swore silently.
"Begin!" Maul shouted, forced into the role of referee.
Neither fighter held back.
Vania pressed her palms to the ground, and a swirling black hole began to form beneath her.
It expanded rapidly larger and larger until from its depths emerged tigers with blazing orange manes and striped coats. Not one or two, but an endless stream of them.
A proud smile curved across Vania’s lips.
"What’s that? Summoning?" Gara guessed out loud, not really sure.
Beside him, Andine nodded. "Yeah. Vania has a Bloodline Summon, and her Talent is no joke. I don’t know the exact name, but she can summon tiger beasts endlessly from that black hole."
"Unlimited Summon?" Gara muttered, feeling a familiarity. His own Talent carried the code name "Unlimited."
"Something like that," Andine replied.
Honestly, Gara was impressed. His Unlimited Water Talent already had incredible potential, one of the highest-tier forms in existence.
But if Vania truly possessed a summoning version of that? Then she was leagues above him.
Gara’s expression turned uneasy. His eyes locked onto Fian, waiting to see how the elf would respond.
As the tiger beasts poured out of Vania’s black hole, Fian raised his hand. In an instant, massive ice spikes formed, creating both a deadly weapon and a maze that trapped the beasts.
To everyone’s surprise, there wasn’t an intense back-and-forth battle. Fian efficiently destroyed every tiger that leapt from the black hole, one after another.
But the black hole didn’t stop.
The longer it went on, the more tigers appeared dozens of them now. Vania’s face was pale, her stamina draining rapidly even though she hadn’t moved an inch.
Fian, on the other hand, remained calm. Despite slaying beast after beast, he showed no sign of exhaustion.
Thankfully, the tigers vanished into thin air upon defeat, leaving no blood behind. Otherwise, the stage would’ve turned into a slaughterhouse by now.
Minutes passed. Fian still held strong, though his pace couldn’t quite keep up with the endless flow from the black hole.
Vania, who should’ve been confident, looked increasingly strained. Her breathing grew ragged. The arrogance on her face was gone, replaced by clear signs of fatigue.
Something was wrong.
The black hole continued spawning beasts at the same pace, yet Vania looked like she was about to collapse.
Fian was starting to get overwhelmed, but he managed to stay in control.
Then—
"Ah!"
One of the tigers suddenly broke free, leaping off the stage toward a group of students.
Maul, standing nearby, reacted instantly. He delivered a sharp punch to the beast, shattering it into mist.
"Did that tiger just attack a student?"
"Why would her summon go after someone else?"
"What’s happening?"
Questions erupted from the crowd, but Vania couldn’t answer. She stood frozen, trembling, her face ghost-white.
Fian’s eyes narrowed. Something was off. This wasn’t how a controlled summon should behave.
He glanced at Gara. Gara gave him a firm nod.
In the next instant, Fian vanished from where he stood, reappearing right in front of Vania.
Stab!
...