The word "BEGIN!" had barely finished echoing through Arena Four when pandemonium exploded across the circular platform like a powder keg detonating.
Five hundred young warriors, fueled by weeks of training and desperate ambition, launched themselves into combat with the ferocity of caged predators finally released.
The cacophony was overwhelming—steel clashing against steel, the sharp crack of wooden shafts meeting flesh, the hiss and crackle of hastily woven spells igniting the air.
Shouts of challenge mixed with screams of pain as the first wave of eliminations began within seconds of the trial's start.
Bang! Rumble!
A girl from Block A, her auburn hair whipping behind her like a war banner, traced glowing symbols in the air with practiced precision.
"Flame Dart!" she cried, and three bolts of orange fire streaked toward a cluster of Block B students.
