The following morning arrived far sooner than Andrew would have preferred. After days of intense training, followed by a difficult battle and an evening that had ended much later than expected, his body strongly disagreed with the idea of waking up so early.Unfortunately, the Guild Competition cared very little about personal opinions.A loud knocking sound echoed through the hallway outside his room, followed almost immediately by an all-too-familiar voice that managed to sound energetic far earlier than any reasonable person should."Wake up!"Another knock followed a second later."We're going to be late!"Andrew squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face deeper into the pillow. For one brief moment, he considered pretending he wasn't inside the room at all.Then came the third knock."If you're dead, let me know before we leave!"Andrew stared at the ceiling in silence.The knocking continued.With a long sigh, he finally pushed himself upright and rubbed his face. Most of the so

The journey back to Astral Vanguard was far quieter than usual.Normally, after a day spent inside Eclipse Dominion's Grand Venue, Eli would find something to complain about, Ronan would argue with him for entertainment, and Lyra would occasionally join in just to make things worse. This time, however, the six of them remained unusually silent as the carriage rolled through the capital.The reason was simple.For the first time since entering the competition, they had witnessed something none of them truly understood.Andrew sat beside the window and watched the passing streets blur together. His thoughts kept returning to the battle between Crimson Abyss and the high-tier guild they had defeated. The battle itself had not been the strange part. Strong guilds defeating weaker ones was hardly surprising.What bothered him was the affinity used by the blindfolded young man.Or rather—what appeared to be his affinity.The more Andrew thought about it, the less certain he became.Across

Standing a short distance away, Kael watched the six initiates in silence. Sweat clung to their clothes, their breathing remained uneven, and exhaustion showed plainly on every face. Yet beneath that fatigue, he saw something far more valuable beginning to take shape.Seran followed his gaze before folding his arms across his chest. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he studied the team. "They're getting closer," he said quietly. "Not to defeating the affinity... but to understanding it."Kael gave a small nod, his expression as unreadable as ever. "They're finally asking the right questions," he replied. "Once they stop searching for the answer they expect to find, they'll discover the one that's actually there."Neither instructor said another word.A short distance away, the six remained gathered on the training field, each trapped inside their own thoughts. Eli sat on the grass rubbing his aching legs, Ronan absentmindedly spun his wooden practice sword through his