Nora stepped into the fire field.
The five fields—fire, water, wood, earth, and air—each possessed unique properties that significantly enhanced corresponding elemental powers.
In the water field, for instance, Nora had experienced an intense, bone-chilling cold.
In the wood field, towering trees and the overwhelming vitality of nature had surrounded her.
But the fire field was different. As soon as she entered, a searing heat engulfed her.
This oppressive heat was the field’s rule, an intrinsic condition that all entrants were forced to endure.
Casting spells here required one to withstand the suffocating blaze unless they had comprehended the fire field’s rule.
However, Imora wasn’t about to give Nora the luxury of time to adapt or understand this environment. She seized the initiative immediately.
Imora’s sword, imbued with the powerful rule of the fire field, gleamed with lethal intent as it sliced through the air toward Nora.
The goal was clear: Imora intended to kill Nora before she had any chance to acclimate to the fire field’s rule.
It was a brutal strategy, the same one Imora had used to slay Yesar earlier within this very field.
There was no hesitation, no mercy—just a cold, calculated move to eliminate her opponent.
As the audience watched this unfold, gasps of alarm rippled through the crowd.
“Nora’s in serious danger!” someone exclaimed.
“What was she thinking, following Imora into the fire field? This is her first time here, and Imora already possesses the fire field’s treasure!”
“She could’ve gone to the wood field or water field instead! Even staying put would’ve been a better choice than this!”
Many spectators shook their heads, baffled by Nora’s decision.
To them, her actions seemed reckless, as though she was walking directly into her own doom.
Why not stay in a more advantageous field?
Why deliberately enter such a perilous domain?
“It’s not as simple as you think,” someone suddenly interjected. “Nora had no choice. She had to follow Imora into the fire field and end this battle quickly.”
This unexpected statement caught everyone’s attention.
“Why? What do you mean by that? What reason could she possibly have for doing something so foolish?” a skeptic retorted.
“You all missed it, didn’t you? At the transition point earlier, the frozen flame bird has started to thaw.”
The crowd’s gaze collectively shifted toward the transition point.
Earlier, Imora had three of the five elemental treasures at her side, while Nora had only two.
During their confrontation, the flame bird had charged forward, only to be frozen solid by Nora’s ice crystal.
Since then, the ice crystal and the flame bird had remained locked in a stalemate.
But now, unnoticed by most, the flame bird was beginning to recover.
Slowly but surely, it was shaking off the ice that encased it.
“This means Nora must defeat Imora before the flame bird fully thaws. At the very least, she needs to incapacitate Imora to prevent her from retaliating. Otherwise, once the flame bird is revived…”
The speaker trailed off, but everyone understood the implication.
If the flame bird returned to Imora’s side, she would wield all three elemental treasures, granting her unparalleled control over the rules of the five fields.
Nora wouldn’t stand a chance.
“But why not just freeze the flame bird again? Wouldn’t that solve the problem?” someone asked, still unconvinced.
“You think it’s that simple?” another spectator explained. “Why do you think the ice crystal was able to freeze the flame bird in the first place? It was a fluke, a moment of oversight. Now that Imora knows what to expect, there’s no way she’ll let it happen again.”
The crowd murmured in agreement.
Understanding dawned on them, but it didn’t make the situation any less grim.
“Nora’s in an impossible situation! Imora’s sword is a force to be reckoned with. Even Yesar, who had mastered the fire field’s rule, couldn’t withstand it. Nora hasn’t even begun to adapt to this field—she’s being crushed by its oppressive rule! There’s no way she can block Imora’s attack!”
The spectators grew increasingly disheartened.
To them, the outcome was already decided. Nora’s defeat seemed inevitable, a foregone conclusion.
“What a shame…” one person sighed. “I was hoping for an intense, thrilling battle, but this is just disappointing.”
At House Ponton, Hayes was visibly frustrated.
“Damn it! How did it come to this?” he growled, slamming his fist on the armrest of his chair.
Though he hadn’t expected Nora to defeat someone as formidable as Imora, he hadn’t anticipated such a one-sided outcome either.
The imbalance in the fire field was infuriating. Had Nora also mastered the fire field’s rule, the fight might have been more even.
At Dragonscale Bank, the grand steward was already smiling triumphantly, while Reno prepared to celebrate what seemed like an assured victory.
To them, this was no contest. Nora, a representative of Karea Academy, was utterly outmatched.
But not everyone was convinced.
Elise, Imora’s sibling, frowned deeply. While others prepared to declare Imora’s victory, Elise remained uneasy.
“Nora hasn’t used her mana thread yet,” Elise muttered under her breath.
During the earlier wood field confrontation, Nora had demonstrated an ability to wield a mysterious red thread of mana.
Its full capabilities were still unknown, but the fact that she hadn’t resorted to it yet suggested she was holding something back.
Could it be that Imora’s triumph wasn’t as certain as it seemed?
“Headmaster, this Imora is no pushover,” Nina remarked, her eyes fixed on the screen.
Daniel nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. If Nora doesn’t pull out all the stops, she might not be able to overcome Imora.”
Daniel wasn’t entirely sure how far Nora had progressed in her magical training over the years.
However, he knew one thing for certain: the red thread of mana she had displayed in the wood field wasn’t her limit.
If Nora hadn’t used it yet, it meant she still had confidence in her ability to turn the tide.
Imora’s sword drew closer to Nora with deadly precision. Victory was within Imora’s grasp, and the audience braced for the inevitable.
But then, something unbelievable happened.
Imora’s sword missed.
It wasn’t that Nora dodged or counterattacked—Imora’s blade simply struck thin air. As the sword’s tip neared Nora, her figure began to shimmer and fade.
In an instant, Nora’s entire body became ethereal, like a mirage. Imora’s sword passed through her as though she were nothing but a shadow.
Stunned, Imora stumbled forward. Her momentum carried her through the illusory form of Nora, and her blade crashed into the ground, shattering the rocky surface and leaving a massive crater in its wake.
The crowd fell silent, their disbelief palpable.
What had just happened? Where was Nora? How had she evaded what should have been a fatal blow?