Marcus wiped the sweat from his eyebrows, seeing how everyone was training hard. He was watching over them as they trained, pushing themselves further. He saw Nova meditating, completely still like a statue, and saw Elesch and Adam sparring, as Elesch's B-rank prowess was overpowering the C-rank Adam, who was also on the edge of getting to B-rank, though not quite there yet.

Marcus decided to help Michael, who was gazing towards Nova with a jealous intent, though he quickly removed it, as he summoned darkness in one hand and his ice powers in the other.

Marcus and Michael got into a sparring position. Marcus decided against using his shadow abilities, as Michael darted towards, aiming at his solar plexus, instantly going for the kill, as he clouded the entire surrounding arena in darkness, with ice shards shooting from every direction towards Marcus, who easily avoided them.

Marcus then cleared the fog with a clap of his hands, though not seeing Michael in front of him, but dodged as Michael had appeared behind him, a typical move. Marcus then grabbed Michael's overextended arm, which had an ice tendril, and slammed him to the ground.

Michael gasped as the pressure vaporized the ground underneath, though still controlled by Marcus not to eliminate the entire city in the process. Michael stayed on the ground for a moment, trying to get up, his back not allowing him to.

"You need to throw a feint before directly attacking, which could help you. Also, don't make it obvious that you're going to attack from the back. Make it a complex action. Try to also effectively use your darkness and ice abilities, since you're a dual-wielder."

"I know, I'm working on it," Michael responded. He slowly got up, then said, as Marcus offered him a hand. "I was trying to combine my darkness and ice powers, but they weren't combining nicely. So, I had to do something fast, since I was already behind you, so I summoned a tendril."

"Interesting, maybe meditate more," Marcus said, inquiring, thinking that as his two circles combined into one, maybe his ability could eventually unite and produce some sort of monstrosity. "Well, keep working hard. Go again and throw feints and really think about your plan of action. But also, of course, some situations don't give you the option to think, so go with your gut in those situations."

Michael nodded as they went again. On the other hand, Zane was outside the guild on the track, as he used his ability to boost his speed, until he was able to break his previous record. He wanted to become faster and faster, but felt as if something was stopping him, though he couldn't pinpoint what exactly that "something" was.

He kept running, while checking the time, since it was seven in the morning, he still had two hours until the next stage of the tournament, the second last stage, and he had a vague idea of what he thought it could be.

Back inside the guild, Elesch was using her rapier, while not using her rifts, since she wanted to wait until her evolution, or in case of an emergency. She used her void manipulation to increase the sharpness of her rapier while boosting her overall stats and attacked Adam.

Adam was barely able to avoid the collisions, as his speed and strength were nothing compared to Elesch's. His claws were taking a beating, but he tried to push back to the best of his ability. But Elesch used her advanced sword skills and martial arts to first stop him to one knee and then make him yield as her rapier was in front of his face.

She offered him a hand with a smile, which he reciprocated and got up. They were now obliviously close to each other, but they didn't mind; their lips were only a couple of breaths away. They leaned in, eyes closing, as the noses parted away and finally kissed. It was just any kiss; they had French kissed, and they pulled each other closer, their bodies transferring their warmth to one another.

Michael accelerated towards Marcus, throwing a feint, as he went to the side, but Marcus predicted him, and threw his own feint, and instantly grabbed Michael's leg, but Michael froze his leg right before Marcus made contact.

Marcus wasn't able to grip it, as he didn't expect it, but then went for the other leg, which he made contact with, and threw Michael a couple of meters away, but Michael realigned himself midway through.

Marcus then ascended towards him, right as he had realigned himself, grabbing his face with his right hand, and slamming him downward. But Michael cushioned himself with a soft ice bed and used his legs to lock Marcus's arm, which Marcus appreciated, thinking he was improving in making split-second decisions, but he still wasn't on par, yet.

Marcus landed beside Michael, dust rising from the impact. He crossed his arms, a faint smirk appearing. "Better," he said. "You're starting to adapt mid-fight. That's what separates a tactician from a brute."

Michael exhaled sharply, dispersing the ice beneath him. "Still… It's not enough to bridge the gap between us."

"Not yet," Marcus corrected, tone steady. "But growth isn't measured in wins, it's measured in how fast you learn from your losses."

Nova opened his eyes from meditation. "You're both too loud," he said calmly, his voice carrying through the hall despite its softness. "If you can't control your aura, you'll never mask your presence from higher-ranked opponents."

Marcus chuckled. "Then perhaps you should join us, Nova. Let's see how well your serenity holds under pressure."

He smiled faintly. "Another time."

Outside, Zane stopped his run, breathing hard, hands on his knees. His speed was improving, but the invisible barrier still held him back, like gravity itself resisted him. He stared at the horizon, the rising sun reflecting in his eyes. "Whatever this next stage is," he whispered, "I'll crush it."

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