The Extra's Rise

The fourth event of the Inter-Academy Festival transformed the arena into a battlefield of strategy and raw power. Tactical Siege featured teams of five students, with one team defending a fortress containing three objective points while the attacking team attempted to capture them within fifteen minutes.

Jack Blazespout stood at the staging area, white flames dancing between his fingertips as he surveyed the fortress his team would be attacking. The low Integration-rank mage rolled his shoulders, the motion deliberate and focused.

"Ren's inside," he said to his teammates. "His God's Eyes will have mapped every approach vector already." Jack's normally casual demeanor had shifted to something sharper, more predatory. "We hit from multiple angles. Overload his perception."

When the signal sounded, Jack launched forward with explosive acceleration. White flames – his Nirvana Flames – erupted around his hands, not illusory but intensely real, burning with a purifying heat that few could withstand. The northern wall of the fortress loomed before him, reinforced stone designed to repel conventional attacks.

Jack didn't slow. His right hand swept forward, white flames condensing into a concentrated stream that struck the wall with surgical precision. Where the flames touched, stone didn't simply burn – it purified, molecular bonds breaking down as impurities were burned away. A six-foot section of wall began to glow white-hot, weakening structurally.

Inside the fortress, Ren Kagu stood motionless, his God's Eyes active as he tracked the approaching attackers through solid walls. He registered Jack's assault on the northern section immediately, calculating angle of attack, probable breach point, and time until penetration.

"Northern breach imminent," he communicated to his teammates without turning his head. "Liwei, reinforcement required."

Ren's body blurred as he activated Collapsing Step, the first movement of his Void Fist art. Space contracted around him, distance between points temporarily shortening. He crossed thirty meters instantaneously, appearing at the threatened section as the wall began to give way.

Jack burst through the weakened wall in a shower of superheated stone fragments, white flames wreathing his body. He registered Ren's presence immediately, adjusting his trajectory mid-lunge to account for the defender's position.

"Predictable response time," Jack noted, his flames intensifying. "Even with spatial manipulation."

Ren didn't waste energy on reply. His violet eyes tracked Jack's movement with perfect precision, calculating vectors and force application. His right hand swept forward, fingers spread as he activated Event Horizon, the second movement of his art.

The space around Jack distorted subtly, time flowing fractionally slower within the affected zone. To observers, Jack's movements appeared to drag slightly, his acceleration dampened. To Jack himself, nothing seemed changed – but his body suddenly responded a crucial half-second slower than his mind commanded.

Jack recognized the spatial manipulation immediately. Rather than fighting against it, he channeled more power into his Nirvana Flames, the white fire expanding outward in a pressurized wave. The flames didn't attempt to burn Ren directly but instead superheated the air around them both, creating a rapidly expanding pressure front.

The explosive force disrupted Ren's concentration momentarily, weakening the time dilation effect. Jack seized the opportunity, diving past Ren toward the first objective – a glowing crystal mounted on the far wall. His hand closed around it just as Ren recovered.

"First objective secured," Jack announced, the crystal pulsing with recognition of capture.

Ren's expression remained unchanged, but his tactical approach shifted instantly. Rather than attempting to reclaim the lost objective, he used Void Collapse, his third movement, to instantly strengthen the structural integrity of passages leading to the remaining objectives.

Space itself compressed around key doorways and corridors, making what appeared to be normal-sized openings functionally narrower. Anyone attempting to pass through would find themselves compressed uncomfortably, their movements restricted by spatial distortion.

Jack recognized the defensive redeployment. "Kai," he called to his teammate who had followed through the breach, "Phase approach to second objective. They're conceding the first to fortify the others."

Across the fortress, Seol-ah faced a different challenge. Her team had defensive responsibility against Ian and Aaron's group. She stood on the second level of the fortress, her sword drawn but held in a relaxed position. The Heavenly Sword Soul Body gift manifested as a subtle luminous quality that extended beyond her physical form, her blade appearing simultaneously solid and conceptual.

When warnings came of the initial breach at the eastern approach, Seol-ah didn't rush to intercept. Instead, she executed a precise series of cuts through the air – not random movements but deliberate patterns that established conceptual boundaries throughout the surrounding space.

Her blade moved with impossible precision, each stroke defining an invisible line that carried the essence of her cutting intent. These weren't mere gestures but the manifestation of Skyward Lotus's First Petal, establishing zones where her sword's influence extended beyond its physical reach.

Anyone crossing these boundaries without her permission would experience the effect of a perfectly executed cut – not from the physical blade, but from the conceptual essence of sharpness she had embedded in space itself.

Ian Viserion approached the second level with cautious determination. His draconic heritage manifested in subtle scales appearing along his forearms, his senses heightened beyond human norm. He paused at the stairwell, nostrils flaring as he detected something unusual in the air currents.

"Sword boundaries ahead," he murmured to Aaron, who advanced beside him. "Not visible, but they're there. She's established cutting zones throughout the approach."

Aaron nodded, dark mana gathering around his axe. The Eclipse Cleaver art's second movement activated as shadows deepened around the weapon, absorbing light rather than reflecting it.

"I'll create a shadow corridor," Aaron said quietly. "Your draconic scales should provide enough protection for what gets through."

The Dark Knight swept his axe in a precise arc, darkness flowing from the blade like liquid shadow. The darkness didn't attack Seol-ah's sword boundaries but instead flowed around them, identifying the precise locations of the invisible cutting lines and creating a narrow pathway of shadow between them.

Ian followed close behind Aaron, his body partially transformed as scales covered vital areas. Draconic eyes pierced the darkness, tracking the safe path Aaron was creating. When they reached a junction, Aaron paused, sensing a more complex boundary arrangement ahead.

Seol-ah stood at the end of the corridor, sword held vertically before her. She hadn't moved to intercept them directly, but her presence wasn't passive. The Second Petal of her art had activated, her blade now tracing circles rather than lines. These created not just boundaries but overlapping fields that could activate in sequence, like cascading tripwires.

"Clever approach," Seol-ah acknowledged, her voice calm despite the imminent confrontation. "Few identify the boundaries so accurately."

Ian stepped forward, his draconic transformation intensifying as he activated Dragon's Embrace. Flames erupted around his arms as scales covered his entire upper body, his features sharpening as draconic characteristics became dominant.

"Your sword establishes conceptual cutting," Ian replied, heat shimmering around him. "But concepts can be burned away with sufficient heat."

He launched forward suddenly, flames trailing from his fists as he charged directly into Seol-ah's boundary field. The first invisible line activated as expected, a perfect cutting force slicing across his scaled chest. Blood sprayed from the wound, but the draconic protection prevented the cut from reaching vital organs.

The second and third boundaries activated in sequence, each cutting deeper than the last. Ian's momentum slowed but didn't stop, his draconic regeneration already working to close the wounds as he pushed forward.

Seol-ah's expression showed genuine surprise at his persistence. She shifted stance, moving into the Third Petal of her art – Divine Gale. Her sword movements accelerated beyond normal perception, the blade leaving traces of light as it established not just static boundaries but actively moving cutting forces that surrounded her position.

Ian and Aaron found themselves facing what appeared to be a whirlwind of cutting edges, an approach that couldn't be navigated even with Aaron's shadow corridors. The conceptual cutting had become too dense, too mobile to predict.

In response, Ian gathered his remaining draconic power for one final push. Flames concentrated around his body as he executed the most powerful technique of Legend of Prominence – Infernal Ascent. The heat became so intense that the air visibly distorted, his draconic form wreathed in flames hot enough to potentially disrupt even conceptual cutting.

Aaron provided support by activating Absolute Night, the fifth movement of Eclipse Cleaver. Darkness enveloped the corridor completely, temporarily obscuring even Seol-ah's perception of her own cutting fields. In that moment of sensory disruption, Ian launched forward, flames burning through several layers of cutting boundaries simultaneously.

Seol-ah responded with perfect composure, executing Skyward Fall – the Fourth Petal of her art. Her blade moved in a downward arc of such perfect alignment that it cut through both Aaron's darkness and Ian's flames, a singular stroke that contained the essence of absolute severance.

The collision of techniques created a shockwave that cracked the surrounding walls. Ian's flames were partially disrupted, his advance halted mere meters from the objective. Aaron's darkness dissipated, revealing Seol-ah standing untouched between the attackers and their goal, her sword held in the completion position of her technique.

"Impressive approach," she acknowledged, genuine respect in her tone. "But insufficient."

Elsewhere in the arena, Jack Blazespout's team continued their assault on Ren's defenses. Having secured the first objective, they now focused on the upper level, where the second crystal waited. Ren had anticipated this, using his spatial manipulation to create choke points that would funnel attackers into predictable paths.

Jack analyzed the spatial distortions with experienced eyes. "He's compressed the approach corridors," he noted to his teammates. "Anyone trying to pass through will be physically constrained."

Rather than attempting to overcome this obstacle directly, Jack implemented an unexpected strategy. His Nirvana Flames consolidated around his hands as he placed them against the ceiling, white fire burning upward with controlled intensity.

"Creating our own path," he explained as the flames began to burn through the floor of the level above. The white fire didn't spread uncontrolled but maintained a perfect circular shape, burning away impurities in the material while leaving a clean passage.

Ren sensed this approach through his God's Eyes, immediately calculating a counter-strategy. He couldn't reach the position in time to prevent the breach, so instead, he activated Void Rupture – the fourth movement of his art. This technique didn't target Jack directly but instead disrupted the spatial continuity above the burning section, creating a zone where conventional movement would become unpredictable.

When Jack's flames finally burned through, creating an opening to the upper level, he leapt upward – directly into Ren's spatial trap. As he passed through the distorted zone, his sense of direction became compromised. What appeared to be vertical movement translated into horizontal displacement, causing him to emerge ten meters away from his intended position.

"Spatial redirection," Jack muttered, quickly reorienting himself. "Clever application."

Ren stood between Jack and the second objective, his stance relaxed but ready. "Unconventional approach," he acknowledged. "But predicted."

Jack didn't waste energy on banter. His Nirvana Flames intensified, white fire spreading outward in patterns designed to limit Ren's movement options rather than attack him directly. The flames didn't burn randomly but established strategic positions, creating areas that even Ren would find difficult to traverse without consequence.

Ren recognized the containment strategy immediately. Rather than attempting to counter it directly, he activated Collapsing Step again, but with a variation. Instead of using it to relocate himself, he applied the spatial compression to the objective crystal itself, momentarily reducing the distance between it and his position while simultaneously extending the distance between the crystal and Jack.

This spatial manipulation created a momentary advantage that Ren exploited with perfect timing, placing himself directly between Jack and the crystal just as the distance returned to normal. The maneuver demonstrated mastery of his triple affinity – using space, time, and gravity in perfect harmony.

Jack responded with increasing intensity, his Nirvana Flames now burning with blinding brightness. The white fire didn't just generate heat but actively purified the surrounding air, creating zones where oxygen concentration increased dramatically. This didn't harm Ren directly but created the conditions for a more powerful conflagration.

When Jack finally unleashed his attack, it wasn't a direct assault but a carefully calculated chain reaction. The Nirvana Flames ignited the oxygen-enriched zones sequentially, creating a series of controlled explosions that disrupted Ren's spatial perception and forced him to adjust his position repeatedly.

In the moment of disruption, Jack's teammate Kai phased through a nearby wall, bypassing the spatial distortions entirely and appearing directly beside the objective. His hand closed around the crystal before Ren could reposition.

"Second objective secured," Kai announced as the crystal acknowledged the capture.

With two objectives claimed and five minutes remaining, the match intensified. Ren's team concentrated all remaining resources on protecting the final objective, creating layered defenses that would require exceptional coordination to breach.

Jack gathered his team for a final push, knowing that Ren would have predicted standard approaches. "We need simultaneous pressure from multiple vectors," he instructed. "Not just different directions, but different planes of attack."

The final assault demonstrated why Jack's team had earned their reputation. They attacked from three directions simultaneously – conventional horizontal approaches combined with a vertical descent from the level above and an unconventional diagonal vector through a section of wall that Jack's flames had strategically weakened.

Ren's defense was equally impressive. His God's Eyes tracked all approaching threats, allowing him to prioritize responses based on probability of success. His spatial manipulation created zones of altered gravity that slowed the vertical assault, while temporal distortions complicated timing for the coordinated attack.

The match concluded with Jack's team securing the final objective with just twenty seconds remaining.

1. Jack Blazespout's team

2. Ren Kagu's team

3. Seol-ah's team

4. Ian Viserion and Aaron Meriot's team

......