EndGame: The Successor's Legacy-Chapter 42: The Entrance Exam-End.

Calix walked through the forest calmly now.

The last two and a half hours had been harsh. Far harsher than he had expected. He had pushed himself again and again, past comfort, past caution, right up to the edge of exhaustion.

Yet it all had paid off.

He had crossed the three-digit mark. In the original novel, only two people had managed that during the entrance exam.

They were Vian and Adrian.

That was it. No one else could do it.

So after breaking past that line, Calix wasn’t in a hurry anymore.

He needed to recover. The Academy strictly prohibited any external healing items unless they came from one’s own affinity, which forced him to take a more careful approach.

After all, the ranking duels would start after this. Those mattered the most actually.

His hands rested casually in his pockets as he walked, his hood still covering most of his face.

Despite the countless fights he had gone through, his condition was almost untouched just a few shallow scratches, small tears in the fabric here and there.

Nothing serious.

The forest was quieter here, just then...

Clang

Boom

The sound of clashing reached his ears from the right. Calix slowed and turned, his curiosity stirring. He moved silently toward the noise, careful not to announce his presence.

Pushing aside a long, dangling branch, he looked ahead and stopped.

A fight was going on, and the fighter was someone he knew.

Calix watched quietly as Anaerah stood alone in a small clearing, facing three candidates by herself.

The remaining students nearby weren’t just fighting no, they were clearly gathering, forming a loose group, clearly aware of the vast difference between their power and that of a noble in their front.

Strength breeds fear. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

And fear breeds numbers.

Calix understood it well. After all, groups had tried the same tactic on him earlier, thinking he was easy prey.

Anaerah moved gracefully.

Mana surged through her body as she stepped forward on the ground, heat rolling off her like a wave. The clearing brightened instantly, as embers rose from the ground the flames gathering around her hand.

The first candidate shouted and released a bolt of lightning.

Anaerah twisted her body just enough for it to graze past her side, the electricity ripping through a tree behind her instead. In the same motion, she thrust her palm forward.

A fireball burst from her hand.

The second candidate barely managed to raise a barrier. The flames slammed into it with a deafening roar, heat warping the air as cracks spread across the shield.

"Hold o-!" he yelled yet the barrier had already shattered.

The blast sent him flying backward, and before his body could hit the ground, it dissolved into light.

Anaerah was already moving.

The third candidate rushed her from the side, blade coated in wind mana. His strike was fast faster than most.

Anaerah ducked low, the blade slicing above her head. She pivoted and slammed a straight punch into his ribs, forcing the air out of his lungs.

He staggered and she didn’t give him time to recover.

A burst of flame erupted from her foot as she kicked off the ground, driving her knee into his chest. The impact sent him crashing into a tree.

Light scattered and only one remained of the three.

The last candidate hesitated, fear written plainly across his face. He raised both hands, earth mana gathering desperately.

Anaerah’s eyes narrowed.

"Useless."

She lifted her hand, flames condensing tightly around her fingers instead of exploding outward. Then she snapped.

The fire detonated beneath his feet. The ground burst upward, launching him into the air. Anaerah followed instantly, heat trailing behind her as she closed the distance.

Her palm surrounded with fire instantly struck his chest as light consumed him mid-air.

The clearing fell silent.

Anaerah landed softly, embers fading around her as she took a slow breath. Her gaze swept the forest once more alert, composed, and ready.

*****

Anaerah exhaled slowly as the rush of adrenaline finally faded from her body. The badge on her chest blinked with a soft chime, quietly counting her victories, but she ignored it for now.

"Ugh... too much fighting," she muttered, feeling the heaviness in her limbs.

She had been fighting non-stop for almost half an hour. Her mana was seriously low by now. One more careless fight, and she might be in good trouble. Just then the sound of claps ran into the whole forest....

Clap Clap

Her head snapped toward the sound. It was close far too close than she liked. She stared in that direction, her senses sharpened, as her mana instinctively stirred.

There was nothing, where she looked...no movement, not a single presence. Untill....a chill brushed against her neck.

Her entire body stiffened.

A cold touch rested there, light yet unmistakable, sending a shiver straight down her spine. Before she could react, a calm voice spoke right beside her ear.

"Well, someone looks a little bit distracted."

Anaerah’s eyes widened and then she relaxed, recognising the voice instantly.

"...You," she said softly.

The cold touch at her neck vanished as the presence behind her stepped back. Leaves crunching beneath his foot, as Calix moved some steps back.

His expression was calm. Almost lazy.

"Relax," he said. "If I wanted to knock you out, you’d already be light out by now."

Anaerah turned fully toward him, dark azure eyes narrowing for a moment as she said.

"You’re insane," she muttered. "Sneaking up on me like that. I might have blown a hole in you." She said.

"Oh, for such confidence, you let your guard down pretty easily you know." He replied lightly.

She clicked her tongue, then sighed, shoulders slumping slightly as the last of the adrenaline drained from her body.

"...My mana’s almost empty," she admitted. "Too many fights in a row."

Calix’s gaze flicked briefly to the glowing badge on her chest still faintly pulsing then back to her face.

"Figured," he said. "You’re pushing yourself too hard."