Chapter 47: The Weight of Ring Three

The morning bell rang three times across the Crownland Academy campus, its deep iron echo rolling over the stone roofs.

By nine bell, all fifty cadets of Class A stood assembled inside Sector 4 Shadow Arenas.

The arena was a vast, sunken stone amphitheater built deep into the western cliffside.

High above, iron lanterns hung from heavy chains, casting long shadows across four circular combat rings paved with gray stone tiles.

At the center of the arena stood Professor Aldyn, flanked by two student officers from the Discipline Committee wearing silver armbands.

Aldyn unrolled a heavy parchment bulletin.

"Attention, Class A," Aldyn announced, his voice echoing off the high stone walls. "The Physical Ranking Drills will begin tomorrow morning. Today is designated for ring inspection, stance calibration, and official ring placement."

Cedric Vale stood three paces away from us, surrounded by four noble cadets.

He wore a polished silver breastplate over his Class A tunic, his Silver Knight crest gleaming on his collar.

He looked over at us, his eyes locking onto Seraphina’s right leg before drifting to the Iron badge pinned to my chest.

A smug, self-satisfied grin touched the corner of his lips.

He thought he was being subtle.

He wasn’t.

’Look at him.’

’He thinks he played a masterpiece.’

’He bribed two senior instructors, paid off a discipline clerk, and set a hidden gravity trap under Ring Three.’

’He really has no idea that Rook handed us the full map last night.’

Aldyn raised his hand, pointing toward the third combat ring on the eastern side of the arena floor.

"Ring Three is officially assigned as the primary ring for Class A single-combat matches," Aldyn continued. "You have thirty minutes for floor inspection before the weapon racks are locked. Dismissed."

Cedric’s grin widened.

He turned to his cronies, whispering something that made them all laugh quietly.

"Look at his face," Isolde murmured beside me, her voice low and sharp. "He can barely contain himself."

"Let him enjoy it," I replied softly, stepping down the stone stairs toward the arena floor. "A man who thinks he already won is the easiest man to drop."

Seraphina walked beside me, her steps calm, even, and perfectly balanced.

Her Class A uniform was crisp, her long golden hair tied back in a neat braid.

"We inspect Ring Three first," Seraphina said softly, her golden eyes focused straight ahead. "Let us see how poorly they hid the arrays."

We walked across the sandy floor toward Ring Three.

The third combat ring was sixty paces wide, surrounded by a low stone border carved with ancient defense runes.

On the surface, it looked identical to the other three rings.

The gray stone tiles were covered in a thin layer of fine yellow sand.

We stepped over the low stone border onto the tiles.

The moment my boot pressed into the sand near the center, I felt it.

It wasn’t active yet.

The array was resting in standby mode.

Underneath the stone tiles, a faint, thrumming mana pulse was waiting.

It was tuned specifically to react to heavy mana output.

The second a cadet drew a deep core charge, the hidden runes under Ring Three would trigger, multiplying the ground gravity by four times instantly.

For a normal cadet, four times gravity would instantly ruin their footwork, pin their legs to the stone, and shatter their guard stance.

For Seraphina, who had suffered months of leaden leg ache before yesterday, Cedric expected it to snap her stance completely in front of the whole class.

Isolde knelt down near the edge of the ring, pretending to check the lace on her leather boot.

She brushed a small patch of sand aside with her gloved fingers.

Her pale violet eyes narrowed slightly.

"Hidden vector runes," Isolde whispered, her voice cold. "Etched directly into the seams between the third and fourth stone rows. They painted over the rune grooves with gray mortar."

"Very neat," Seraphina said, standing beside me. Her voice remained calm, but her hand rested lightly on her hip. "If we file a formal complaint with the Discipline Committee right now, the clerk will simply claim the mortar was used for stone repair."

"And the hearing would take two weeks," I added, leaning back against the low outer border ring. "Which means the drills would proceed on Ring Three anyway while the committee ’investigates’."

"So filing a complaint is useless," Isolde said, standing up and dusting the sand from her knee.

"Reporting a trap is what weak people do," I said, winking at her. "Smart people turn the trap into a weapon."

Seraphina turned to look at me, a soft, curious gleam in her eyes.

"How?" she asked softly.

I reached out, letting my hand rest lightly over Seraphina’s waist, pulling her a small fraction closer to my side.

It was a simple, possessive check.

Seraphina didn’t pull away.

She leaned into the touch slightly, her hand coming up to rest over mine.

Isolde stepped up to my other side, her shoulder pressing lightly against my arm.

"Yesterday, we unlocked the shared reservoir," I whispered, keeping my voice extremely low so none of the watching cadets could hear. "My Abyssal core holds 15% of both your manas right now."

Seraphina looked at me, her eyes widening slightly.

"The floor trap is set to heavy magic," I explained in simple words. "When normal mages use magic, their power pushes out against the floor. So when four times heavy weight pushes down on them, it crushes them into the stone."

’That’s where my core comes in.’

’Abyssal magic doesn’t push out.’

’It acts like a sponge sucking up water.’

’When the floor tries to push down with heavy weight, my core won’t fight it.’

’It will suck that heavy weight straight into our shared reservoir like free power.’

Isolde’s dark smile returned, sharper than before.

"You’re going to drink the trap’s energy," Isolde murmured.

"Exactly," I said. "Cedric gets crushed by his own floor trap because his magic can’t absorb it. But we get free extra power to make our own attacks twice as strong."

Seraphina let out a small, soft breath, her lips curving into a quiet, proud smile.

"He built a floor for himself to fall through," Seraphina said softly.

"He paid good money for it, too," I teased.

I focused on the quiet secondary reservoir inside my chest.

With a small thought, I sent a tiny, gentle thread of Abyssal mana through the link.

Seraphina’s breath caught as the warm pulse reached her core.

Her skin flushed with a soft, healthy glow.

Beside her, Isolde shivered slightly as the cool thread touched her Shadow core, her posture straightening instantly.

"It works," Isolde whispered, her voice clear and strong. "The link is completely smooth."

"Told you," I smiled.

"Cadet Voss!" a loud, arrogant voice shouted from across the arena floor.

I turned my head slowly.

Cedric Vale was walking toward Ring Three, flanked by two large Silver-badge nobles from Class A.

He stopped ten paces away, resting his right hand on the pommel of his ornate silver sword.

He looked down at my Iron collar badge, then at Seraphina and Isolde standing close beside me.

"Inspecting the ring?" Cedric asked, his tone dripping with fake courtesy. "I hope the stone floor isn’t too hard for Lady Seraphina’s delicate legs."

The two noble cadets behind him let out short, mocking chuckles.

Seraphina didn’t flinch.

She stood tall, her posture regal and cold, looking down at Cedric as if he were a minor speck of dust on her boot.

"My legs are perfectly fine, Cadet Vale," Seraphina said in her crisp, clear voice. "You should worry more about your own standing. Fifth place is a long fall for a Vale."

Cedric’s jaw tightened, his face flushing dark red for a quick second.

"A temporary error on a written test means nothing," Cedric snapped, stepping closer to the border of Ring Three. "Tomorrow is physical combat. Real strength isn’t written on paper with ink, Lady Seraphina. It is proven on this stone ring."

He looked directly at me, his eyes burning with arrogance and suppressed hatred.

"I hope you don’t run away when your name is called for Ring Three tomorrow, Voss," Cedric sneered. "Or will you hide behind your wives again?"

I looked at Cedric for a long three seconds.

My sarcastic inner voice quieted down completely.

My outer face stayed smooth, cold, and entirely unbothered.

"Run away?" I asked, my voice flat and quiet, carrying across the silent arena floor. "Why would I run away, Cedric?"

I took one step forward, stepping right up to the edge of Ring Three.

"Make sure you pick Ring Three first tomorrow morning," I said, looking straight into his eyes. "I’d hate for someone else to take your spot."

Cedric blinked, clearly expecting me to look nervous or make an excuse.

Instead, my stone-cold composure made him take half a step back without realizing it.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to hide his momentary stumble.

"Tomorrow morning," Cedric spat, turning on his heel. "We will see who stays standing."

He walked away with his noble cronies, heading toward the western exit.

Isolde watched his back as he left.

"He has no idea," Isolde said softly.

"None at all," Seraphina agreed, resting her hand over mine.

I closed my hand over hers, looking across the quiet stone ring.

The World’s Will had set its trap.

Cedric Vale had paid for the tiles.

Tomorrow morning, the Class A physical drills were going to start.

And we were going to show the entire academy what happens when you try to weigh down an Abyssal anchor.

"Let’s go back," I said, turning with my wives. "Tomorrow is going to be fun."