BOOM!

A figure wrapped in thick smoke crashed heavily onto the rocky ground.

Dust billowed outward as loose stones bounced down the slope, disappearing into the already damaged mountain path.

"I guess that’s as far as the Young Lord of Ashenlocke goes."

Arelo laughed loudly, unable to hide the satisfaction in his voice.

The RPG-2 rested comfortably on his shoulder for a brief moment before he lowered it and handed it to one of the nearby students. Another member immediately stepped forward with fresh ammunition, and the two quickly began reloading the launcher with practiced movements.

Grant also lowered his own RPG to be loaded as well, but his eyes never left the cloud of smoke.

"Grace."

"I know."

Grace answered before he could continue.

Her expression remained calm, but her eyes never relaxed.

"Everyone."

She raised her voice just enough for every member to hear.

"Maintain the formation."

No one questioned her.

The students immediately tightened their positions, keeping their firearms aimed and eyes sharp toward the smoke while those carrying swords shifted to cover every opening.

At the same time...

Grace quietly circulated a small amount of Cognis into her eyes.

Thin streams of white energy spread through the delicate circuits around her vision.

The world before her immediately became sharper.

Even the drifting dust particles became easier to distinguish.

Grant also enhanced his senses.

His gaze remained fixed on the smoke.

"Even if the rumors say he’s already an Adept Rank Alchemist..."

He narrowed his eyes.

"...there’s no way he survived two Adept-Rank RPG launchers."

His voice carried confidence.

"Those launchers possess enough destructive force to kill four Novice Alchemists standing together at close range."

He paused.

"Not to mention an ordinary person." Arelo crossed his arms with a grin. "He should already..."

"It’s too quiet."

Grace suddenly interrupted him.

She lifted one hand slightly, signaling him to stop talking.

The cheerful smile on Arelo’s face slowly faded.

Everyone instinctively held their breath.

The mountain and the whole area became strangely silent.

Only the soft sound of burning debris and drifting smoke remained.

Then...

Bang!

A single gunshot shattered the silence.

The sharp crack echoed through the mountain before anyone had time to react.

"Huh...?"

One of the Evergrey members suddenly leaned backward.

A bullet pierced straight through his shoulder.

Blood sprayed into the air as the impact spun his body sideways before he crashed onto the ground.

"AAGHHHH!!"

His painful scream echoed across the battlefield while he instinctively grabbed the wound with both hands.

"Tsk."

Grace’s eyes immediately shifted toward the fallen student.

Almost at the same moment...

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out.

The second shot came less than half a second after the first.

Before anyone could even process what had happened...

Another student cried out.

A female student stumbled backward as blood burst from her shoulder.

She lost her balance and collapsed onto one knee, clutching her injured arm while gritting her teeth against the pain.

"He’s using a sniper!"

Grace shouted immediately.

Her hand swept through the air.

"Defensive positions!"

Every member reacted without hesitation.

Those carrying swords rushed beside the firearm users while everyone instinctively lowered their bodies, making themselves harder targets.

At that exact moment...

Grant charged toward the slowly clearing smoke.

His boots struck the rocky ground with explosive force as he sprinted straight toward the place where Veda should have landed.

Bang!

Another gunshot echoed.

The bullet sliced through the air with deadly precision.

Grace’s eyes flashed.

Without thinking...

She drew her thin sword.

Clang!

A shower of sparks exploded.

The incoming bullet split into two pieces before falling harmlessly onto the ground.

"Sword users!"

Grace called loudly.

"Stay beside the firearm users! And remain alert!"

"Yes!"

The students immediately adjusted their formation sharper, with no one questioning the order.

"Grace!"

Grant’s voice came from inside the thinning smoke.

He swung his arm.

A powerful burst of wind scattered the remaining dust and smoke throughout the mountain.

The battlefield became visible once again.

Grant stared at the center of the crater with widened eyes.

"It was his hardened coat!"

His expression, filled with surprise.

The only thing lying inside the blast zone...

Was Veda’s reinforced Alchemy Coat.

Nothing else.

Grace immediately understood.

"He used the explosion..." She quietly muttered. "...to hide his escape."

Her mind rapidly pieced everything together.

The moment the RPGs exploded...

Veda had likely used the impact itself to throw his body away from the blast, discarding the hardened coat to deceive them...

Concealed his presence with his Cognis...

And already switched to a sniper rifle, hiding in plain sight.

Her eyes swept toward the surrounding terrain.

The nearby mountain.

The trees.

The higher cliffs.

Every location, suitable for a sniper.

"Everyone!"

Grace raised her voice again.

"Aim for the upper sections of the mountain! Now!"

Without wasting a second...

Every firearm shifted upward.

Even the students who weren’t members of House Evergrey immediately followed her orders.

Their trust in Grace’s judgment had already been established throughout the examination.

"You."

Grace turned toward the students following different Alchemist Paths.

"Prepare your Alchemy."

The students nodded.

One after another...

They brought their hands together.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Different Alchemy Circles ignited beneath their palms.

Steel Alchemy.

Wood Alchemy.

Glass Alchemy.

Each student prepared their strongest long-range attack.

Grace calmly watched them finish.

Then...

She swung her hand downward.

"Fire!"

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

A storm of attacks erupted toward the mountain.

Bullets tore through the air.

Black steel arrows streaked across the sky.

Heavy spears spun violently before smashing into the rocky cliff.

Sharp glass spikes flashed under the afternoon sunlight.

Thick wooden spikes burst forward like charging beasts.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Explosions erupted one after another.

Large sections of the mountain cracked apart under the relentless assault.

Massive rocks tumbled downward while thick clouds of dust spread into the air.

The bombardment continued relentlessly for several more seconds.

Only after Grace judged it sufficient...

Did she raise her hand again.

"Stop."

The attacks immediately ceased.

Silence returned.

No one lowered their weapon.

Every eye remained fixed upon the broken mountain.

Dust slowly drifted through the air.

Small rocks continued rolling down the slope.

Grace narrowed her eyes.

She maintained the flow of Cognis into her vision, hearing, and senses.

Grant still stood at the first explosion zone, where Veda should have fallen.

His weapon remained ready.

Neither of them blinked.

Neither allowed their concentration to slip.

Then...

Crack.

A small stone broke loose.

It rolled down from one of the shattered cliffs before bouncing across the ground.

Grace’s eyes instantly locked onto that position.

"There!"

She suddenly pointed toward the right side of the damaged cliff.

"Fire!"

Without hesitation...

The entire group unleashed another barrage.

Deep within the broken mountain...

Veda sprinted silently on the mountain wall while keeping his presence concealed.

Unfortunately...

During one of his rapid movements...

His Cognis fluctuated for the briefest moment.

Just enough.

Just enough for Grace’s enhanced senses to detect where he had moved.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Another wave of bullets, spears, arrows, and attack-Alchemy crashed into the exact area he had abandoned only moments earlier.

Fragments of rock exploded behind him.

"Tsk..."

Veda clicked his tongue.

Realizing concealment was no longer useful...

He released it entirely.

His figure burst out from the side of the mountain as pieces of broken stone collapsed behind him.

Then...

He leaped into the air once more.

"Idiot! You’re exposing yourself again!"

Grant shouted the instant Veda burst out of the mountain.

Without wasting another second, he raised the AK-47 already in his hands and immediately lined up his sights on the airborne Veda.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

A stream of bullets roared into the sky.

The students who had already reloaded their firearms immediately joined Grant, while those who had prepared their Alchemy released their attacks without hesitation.

Bullets.

Steel arrows.

Glass spikes.

Wooden spears.

Every attack converged toward the same target.

Veda Ashenlocke.

Yet...

There wasn’t the slightest panic on Veda’s face.

His eyes calmly swept across the incoming barrage.

Within that brief instant, his body reacted.

Holding the Springfield M1903A firmly in both hands, he suddenly lowered it beneath his feet.

Instead of using it as a weapon...

He used it as a stepping board.

His feet landed on the rifle for only the briefest moment before Cognis exploded through his legs.

Boom!

The recoil-like force propelled him sideways through the air.

His body twisted gracefully, narrowly slipping between several incoming bullets before rotating once more to avoid the attacks that continued tracking his movement.

His evasive motion flowed naturally.

Every spin.

Every shift.

Every adjustment happened just before another attack reached him.

However...

Veda wasn’t the only thing that moved.

The Springfield beneath his feet suddenly shot forward.

The moment he pushed off it...

He poured Cognis into the rifle itself.

The tremendous force behind his jump became the force that launched the sniper rifle.

Like a steel spear...

The Springfield M1903A tore through the air.

Straight toward Grant.

Grant’s expression immediately changed.

"So fast!"

He instinctively abandoned his firing position.

His body shifted backward just as the flying rifle reached him.

BOOM!

The Springfield slammed violently into the rocky ground where Grant had been standing only an instant earlier.

Stone fragments exploded outward.

The impact cracked the mountain surface, leaving behind a deep crater as dust and shattered rocks scattered across the battlefield.

Grant landed several meters away before quickly regaining his footing.

His eyes remained fixed on Veda.

Meanwhile...

Still suspended in the air...

Veda completed another rotation before stabilizing himself.

His body now faced directly downward.

Below him...

The combined forces of Evergrey continued aiming their weapons.

Without hesitation...

Veda reached beneath his coat.

Then...

He pulled out two Colt 1911 pistols.

Unlike the Springfield...

These handguns weren’t Alchemy-made.

They were ordinary firearms.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you, Ezra..." He quietly muttered. "...for this handgun."

Even while looking down upon dozens of enemies aiming at him...

His expression remained completely relaxed.

Then...

Both pistols rose simultaneously.

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang!

The twin Colts barked repeatedly.

Muzzle flashes bloomed from both hands as Veda alternated his shots with astonishing precision.

He deliberately aimed away from fatal areas.

Every bullet targeted shoulders, arms, or other places that would remove an opponent from the fight without taking their life.

One after another...

Students cried out.

"Agh!"

"My shoulder!"

Several members of House Evergrey lost their balance as bullets tore through their shoulders before dropping painfully onto the rocky ground.

Some students collapsed immediately.

Others gritted their teeth and continued fighting despite their injuries.

A few reacted quickly enough to block the incoming bullets with reinforced weapons or hastily formed Alchemy.

Even then...

The pressure Veda created while falling from the sky forced the entire formation into temporary disorder.

Bullets from below continued chasing him.

But Veda calmly twisted his body once more.

He landed lightly upon the ground.

The instant both feet touched the earth...

He continued firing.

Only after both magazines finally emptied did the slides lock backward.

Without looking down...

His hands moved entirely by instinct.

Click.

The empty magazines dropped.

Fresh magazines appeared between his fingers almost immediately.

Click.

Click.

Both new magazines slid smoothly into place.

His thumbs released the slides in one clean motion.

The two Colts were loaded again before most people could even finish blinking.

But...

Before he could raise them...

Sharp danger rushed toward him.

Black Steel arrows rained down before his position.

Veda immediately stepped backward.

The arrows crashed into the exact place where he had been standing moments earlier.

Boom!

Fragments of rock burst upward.

Almost at the same moment...

A Black Steel spear shot toward his chest.

Veda shifted his weight.

The spear grazed past him before violently embedding itself into the ground behind him.

The surrounding earth cracked beneath the force.

Using the opening...

Veda continued retreating until his back nearly reached the forest.

The trees behind him cast long afternoon shadows across the battlefield.

Suddenly...

A sword flashed downward.

The blade sliced toward the back of his neck.

Veda instantly lowered his body.

The sword swept through empty air just above his head, cutting off a few strands of his hair.

Before the attacker could recover...

Veda acted.

Still crouching...

He twisted his waist.

Without even turning around completely, he extended the Colt in his right hand behind him.

His finger pulled the trigger twice.

Bang!

Bang!

Both shots struck perfectly.

The bullets tore through the student’s leg.

"AAGHH!"

The student screamed as his leg gave way beneath him.

His body began falling backward.

But before he even reached the ground...

Bam!

Veda’s leg shot upward.

His kick landed squarely beneath the student’s chin.

The powerful impact snapped the young man’s head backward before his eyes rolled up.

His unconscious body collapsed heavily onto the ground.

Veda calmly lowered his foot.

"Tsk..."

He clicked his tongue, then he stepped forward once again.

His eyes swept across the battlefield.

More students emerged from between the surrounding trees.

Meanwhile, the injured Evergrey members had already been pulled backward as the remaining students quickly reorganized themselves.

Within seconds...

The loose battlefield transformed back into a disciplined encirclement.

Their formation was complete once again.

Veda slowly looked around.

Left.

Right.

Front.

Behind.

There wasn’t an obvious escape route.

"You guys have really been trying hard to kill me."

He sighed helplessly.

"Isn’t that going a little too far?"

He scratched the back of his head.

"What if one of you accidentally succeeds?"

Despite being surrounded...

His tone remained surprisingly calm.

Meanwhile...

His mind never stopped calculating.

With the way this is going, I think I have to escape and forget about getting their numbered gems.

"You’ve probably realized it by now..."

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

Grace calmly stepped out from the formation.

Grant followed closely behind her.

Her composed eyes remained fixed on Veda.

"We’re prepared to do whatever it takes... to defeat you here."

She spoke without hesitation.

Grant smiled faintly.

"And now...We’ve also learned exactly how far you’ll go to avoid dying."

His relaxed smile remained unchanged.

"So..."

Veda let out another sigh.

"You people are just trying to exhaust me."

He looked genuinely troubled.

Then...

An idea suddenly came to him.

He pointed toward Grant.

"How about this?"

His finger shifted toward himself.

"Me."

Then back toward Grant.

"You. A one-on-one fight."

He smiled brightly.

"We settle who’s stronger."

His expression almost looked pleading.

Grant’s eyes noticeably brightened.

Truthfully...

He wanted exactly that.

Fighting the Young Lord of House Ashenlocke one-on-one was something he had wanted since entering the test.

Almost instinctively...

He glanced toward Grace.

"No."

Grace answered immediately.

She didn’t even pause to think.

Her refusal was absolute.

Grant helplessly shrugged.

"Well..."

He looked back toward Veda.

"That’s her answer."

"Ah..."

Veda rubbed his forehead before shaking his head.

"Then I guess... We’ll just keep dragging this out until I eventually escape."

He smiled as though the situation surrounding him wasn’t dangerous at all.

Seeing that carefree attitude...

Arelo suddenly laughed.

"You still think you can stay calm?"

He walked forward with a mocking grin.

"You’re wasting your time, Young Lord of Ash."

His smile slowly became colder.

"You’ll just end up just like that first Ashenlocke trash. The girl who struggled like a trapped winter rat. Hehehe... The only thing she could do... was scream."

His grin widened.

"When I slammed her head into the ground... and she couldn’t do a single thing except cry like the worthless trash she is."

The smile suddenly disappeared from Veda’s face.

"...What?"

His eyes suddenly widened.

The calmness he had maintained throughout the entire battle vanished in an instant.

Seeing that tiny pause...

Grace’s eyes sharpened.

She immediately swung her hand downward.

"Fire!"

Every member moved simultaneously.

The opening they had patiently waited for...

Had finally appeared.

Everything unfolded exactly as Grace had planned.

Before the battle even began...

She had already instructed Arelo to provoke Veda if an opportunity presented itself.

And now...

The bait had worked.