"Are you not used to this?" Elric Thorne asked while standing beside Caius in the backmost seat of the classroom.
Caius looked at him. "In school? Not really," he answered, his voice a bit low. "But it seems okay here..."
Elric smiled and gave a slight nod. "Let's see if you can last."
Before Caius could respond, the classroom door opened. A tall man with glasses and a sharp gaze entered. He was their adviser.
"Good morning, class," said the adviser. "I'm Professor Kael Vaughn. We have a new student who will be joining you starting today."
His gaze stopped on Caius. "Are you Caius? Stand up and introduce yourself."
Caius stood up, his knees slightly trembling. "Ah... I'm Caius. I'm from Licus Town. I'm 16 years old... Nice to meet you, everyone."
A few students whispered, while others just shrugged. Professor Vaughn nodded.
"Okay. Welcome, Caius. Sit down."
Professor Vaughn moved to the front, pulling out a pointer. "Let's start the discussion. Today we will talk about the origin of the Arcanum—and how it connects to Aether and the creatures we call Aethervores."
He walked to the side of the board while writing.
"500 years ago, when the tower fell in Norwyn, Aether began to appear. This is also when the concept of Arcanum was formed—a manifestation of our soul that allows us to manipulate Aether in various forms."
Professor Vaughn raised his hand. "Who can tell me what type of Arcanum is most common among hunters?"
A female student raised her hand. "Professor, elemental. Fire, wind, water, earth..."
"Correct. But remember, the true strength of a Reaper is not just in their Arcanum, but in how they use Aether."
Caius stayed silent but was interested. Seraphine, who was sitting beside him, noticed this.
"Did you get it?" Seraphine asked, whispering.
"Maybe... yeah," Caius answered, a little nervous.
"Good!" Seraphine smiled. "If there's anything you don't understand, just ask. I'll help you."
Caius smiled. For the first time, he felt a little at ease.
Soon, the bell rang. Recess.
"Come on," Seraphine invited. "Let me show you around the academy."
As they walked down the hallway, Seraphine pointed to a wide area. "This is the canteen. It's always crowded, but the food is good."
Next, they stopped at a door. "This is the clinic—whenever someone gets hurt in a spar, they're brought here."
In the library, many students were studying, but some eyes immediately turned to Caius—judging, sneering.
"Why do they look so angry?" Caius asked.
"Ignore them," Seraphine replied. "They don't know the truth."
As they exited the library, someone blocked their way.
"Hey, Rosefield!" one of the students shouted. "A commoner like him doesn't belong with you."
"They say he's a VIP, that's why he's a student here. But maybe you befriended him to get the golden letter?" another added, laughing.
"Even Rosefield is hanging out with trash like him?"
Caius felt frustrated, but before he could retaliate, Seraphine grabbed his hand and pulled him away.
"Everything they said is a lie," Seraphine whispered, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Of course," Caius replied. "I don't believe them."
The bell rang again. They returned to class, but during the lesson, Caius noticed that Seraphine was quiet. She seemed sad.
When class ended, Caius approached her.
"Hey," he whispered. "Don't worry. I don't believe them. I know who you really are."
Seraphine looked at him and gave a faint smile.
"Thanks..."
Suddenly, Elric approached. "Caius. About what we talked about earlier. Let's spar."
As they were heading to the arena, Elric suddenly stopped. "Wait. I need to inform them about the use of the arena."
While waiting for Elric, Caius and Seraphine sat down at the side.
"What kind of person is Elric?" Caius asked.
"I don't really know him well," Seraphine replied. "He's quiet. He's also a noble, but he has no friends here. He's always alone. He's smart, and his Arcanum is wind too, but he rarely uses it. He just relies on strength."
"Hmm..." Caius muttered. "I see..."
"But I believe in you, Caius. Even if you're just starting to learn how to use your Arcanum, I know you can match him."
Elric arrived. "Let's go."
Once they entered the arena, Elric laid out the rules.
"First: If you're injured, you're out. Second: Full potential allowed—Aether, Arcanum, anything... just no killing. And don't harm anyone else."
Seraphine nodded and took her position in the center.
"Begin!"
Elric immediately unleashed his Aether—a strong, cold presence that sent chills down everyone's spine. Caius was nervous.
"He's stronger than Raegen," Caius muttered to himself.
Elric attacked quickly. Caius dodged.
"Huh?" Elric was surprised. "He dodged?"
Seraphine, watching from the side, said, "He's just using his strength... there's a little Aether, but it's still more than enough."
Caius focused, trying to bring out his Arcanum. Wind. Strong wind.
The arena's barriers activated.
A crowd of students gathered around. "Hey, there's a fight! The VIP and Elric!"
Caius released his wind Arcanum—a sharp gust, like a blade. It struck Elric—but there was no wound.
The crowd laughed.
"Is that it? That's the VIP?"
"Just because he beat Raegen, now he thinks he's special."
Seraphine noticed the bullies from earlier. One of them approached.
"Seraphine," the student said with a grin. "If he loses, we'll go on a date. Deal?"
"I don't want to."
"If you don't agree, something will happen to Caius. You don't want that, do you?"
Seraphine hesitated. "He's already outmatched... What if he gets hurt because of me..."
In the arena, Caius kept dodging. The crowd laughed.
"Just keep running!"
"Your Arcanum? All you're doing is dodging, loser!"
Suddenly, Caius unleashed a Wind Slash—fast. Elric dodged it.
"How is he doing this? Is he playing with me?"
But Elric saw the look on Caius's face—fear. Determination. This wasn't a game.
Elric powered up his punch using Aether. He was about to land it on Caius—but Caius had activated something else.
"Tsk... Wrong. I didn't see it..."
Caius struck him with a wind burst. Seraphine's eyes widened. "He's got a chance... but..."
Another bully approached. "If Caius loses, we go on a date. If he wins, you won't see me again."
"Fine..." Seraphine whispered, though her heart felt heavy.
The fight continued. Block. Block. Block. Until...
Elric threw a punch—not just a punch. A wind slash.
"Shit... I couldn't block that," Caius muttered.
And then...
He was injured.
Blood was the first to mark Caius's cheek. A quick yet deep strike from Elric hit him. As he stood in the middle of the arena, holding his cheek, he felt the pain and the weight of the fight.
"I lost... why isn't he stopping?" Caius muttered to himself, watching Elric, who seemed to grow stronger with each move.
But Caius noticed something different. Behind Elric's fierce attacks, there seemed to be a message. This wasn't a fight to hurt him, but to push him to his limits.
Elric smiled.
"Don't stop," he whispered to himself, speeding up his attacks. "Keep going... I'm enjoying this. I want to see how far you can go."
Caius gritted his teeth. He couldn't give up. Not in front of Elric. Not in front of Seraphine.
He punched again, fist to fist, no backing down. But he could feel his strength fading, and the wound on his cheek was proof of the difference in their levels.
Until...
"Arcanum: Whirlwind Veil!"
A surge of intense wind spread across the arena. Dust and smoke swirled, like clouds surrounding everything. The only light visible were the Aether signatures from each of them.
The Audience:
"What kind of Arcanum is that?!"
"Wow! Is that Caius's power?"
"I didn't think he could unleash such a powerful wind Arcanum!"
Even Seraphine froze, her eyes wide in shock.
"I... I wasn't wrong... He can do it... He can match Elric!"
In the back, the mocking student who had been criticizing Caius earlier grew cold.
"I-Impossible... He shouldn't be able to do that. Even if... even if he's like this, Elric will still win!"
Seraphine: "Looks like your favorite chicken is going down."
Arrogant Student: "Don't get too excited. Elric's still hiding something."
As they argued
a new breeze swept across the arena.
The winds continued to clash—an unexpected conclusion was waiting to be revealed.
Sure! Here's the translation of the text you provided into English:
"Why... why does he still have remaining Aether? Didn't all of his strength go into his punch earlier?"
But it wasn't just a burst of wind that Caius unleashed. Using tactics, he filled the surroundings with distractions to avoid being tracked.
From behind Elric, he could sense Caius' faint presence.
Elric: "Wrong. I made a mistake..."
He quickly deactivated his wind skill and pulled back, strengthening his punch to intercept the incoming strike.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
Elric was hit with a powerful punch infused with Aether from Caius. Caius, on the other hand, was struck by a slight energy from Elric.
The force of their collision wiped out all the smoke and wind around them. The audience was left in awe as the two warriors collided, both flying back and crashing to the arena floor simultaneously.
Audience:
"What was that?!"
"They both fell!"
"No winner?! A tie?!"
Everyone was stunned. Even Seraphine couldn't speak right away.
Seraphine: "Caius..."
Mocking Student: "Damn! A tie?! That's not possible!"
Angrily, the student stormed out of the arena, but Seraphine just laughed.
Seraphine: "Come back next time... with better bets!"
While Caius and Elric were still lying on the floor, Caius tried to raise his hand to declare his defeat.
Caius: "I lost... Sorry, Seraphine."
But Elric stopped him first, holding Caius' hand and smiling.
Elric: "It's just a tie."
Caius was surprised.
Caius: "Why did you do that?"
Elric simply smiled, turned around, and spoke before leaving the arena:
Elric: "That was a great fight."
Caius smiled, filled with respect and admiration.
Elric (to himself): "Seraphine... you're safe now."
Seraphine came down and hugged Caius. The young man smiled, feeling the warmth of the embrace from a noble member of the Student Council.
Caius (to himself): "Wow... A noble hugged me. She's so beautiful... and so kind."
Suddenly, Seraphine noticed what she was doing, blushed, and quickly stepped back.
Seraphine: "A-Ah!"
Caius: "Can you do that again later? So I can get motivated for the next fight."
Seraphine laughed and lightly punched him on the shoulder.
Seraphine: "I know you can do it, Caius."
Meanwhile, in a distant room, Principal Lucien quietly observed through a crystal orb.
A mysterious figure appeared before him through teleportation.
??? "The fight between Caius and Elric ended in a tie."
Principal Lucien smiled.
Lucien: "You're something else, Caius."
Meanwhile, in front of the towering structure known as The Tower, the strongest Reapers from the Kingdom of Norwyn had gathered.
Over twenty Gold Rank Reapers and five Abyss Reapers had arrived, ready to clear the 70th floor.
Leading them was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair. She walked silently toward the entrance of the tower, holding her scythe, her face expressionless.
People:
"It's her! One of the Abyss Reapers!"
"She's so beautiful!"
"Good luck! Fight the monster for us!"
"You're the hope of Norwyn!"
The tension was rising. A new chapter in history was about to begin...
End of Chapter 5.