Failure

The environment around Shun and Silver began to shimmer and blur, revealing the other two black prisms and the smiling figure of Instructor Lumiel, who stood ready to congratulate their success. Emilia and Jaylen were there too, looking completely unharmed and relaxed, a stark contrast to Shun and Silver's disheveled appearances.

Jaylen waved casually. "How was your challenge?"

Before Shun could respond, Emilia interjected, "Clearly something worse than ours. To think anything could put those two in such an embarrassing state. Horrifying indeed."

"Beyond horrifying," Silver sighed. "We fought one of the three champions. It would have been a complete annihilation without Shun's ethereal arm."

She nodded at Shun, still reeling from their unexpected victory.

Instructor Lumiel shook her head with a smile. "To be honest, I was surprised when the boss told me to pair you two with him."

"The person you faced was a duplicate of Liu Yu, the Bringer of Light," she explained, turning to Emilia and Jaylen. "Even at just 1% of his true strength, it seemed impossible for two thirteen-year-olds to defeat."

"The control over light is nearly impregnable, but every ability has its weakness."

"Shun found it and exploited it with the aid of teamwork."

"I have nothing more to say," Lumiel's voice trembled slightly. "Their achievement is too great for any words to commend."

A smile spread across Shun's face. It was the first time someone had truly acknowledged him.

Silver cheered joyfully and skipped next to Shun, raising her hand in the air.

Shun, surprised, quickly reached out to meet her hand. "A pleasure to fight alongside you," he said.

"Same here," Silver replied, her smile radiant.

...

"Jaylen..." Emilia mumbled, her head down.

"Uh, I mean, our challenge was also kind of difficult," Jaylen stammered, trying to persuade Emilia and himself. "Still kind of impressive, kind of..."

Truth be told, their challenge was not as effortless as it seemed.

The moment they entered their arena, they were faced with an endless sea of people, an entire army charging towards them.

How many there were, they couldn't tell.

It seemed completely endless, as if the whole world was charging towards them.

However, those two didn't care. They were Jaylen Shielram and Emilia Cylus, two of the most promising individuals in the world.

So, Emilia started bombarding the army with her missiles and bullets.

And Jaylen began buffing Emilia with his ethereal arm.

The process continued for ten minutes.

And then the entire army was wiped out.

Fine, it was as effortless as it seemed.

"What kind of challenge is THAT?" Emilia sighed, looking at Jaylen in disbelief. "That was as meaningless as mowing grass!"

Instructor Lumiel responded, "Do you remember the true purpose of this test?"

Jaylen replied, "To enhance our teamwork and help us realize our true potential."

"Did the challenge fulfill its purpose?"

"No?" Emilia replied, confused.

"Yes, it did," Jaylen stated after a moment of thought.

"That was the most we could do as a group. Our abilities were simple and straightforward, with barely any ways to improve them to a higher state."

"So the purpose of the challenge is to make us understand that we are already perfect?" Emilia jumped up, her face brightening again.

Instructor Lumiel finally spoke, "The purpose of the challenge is to make you understand that you two are perfect together."

"Tell me, Emilia, could you have done that yourself?"

Before Emilia could answer, the third black prism began to slowly fade.

El walked out, fatigue etched all over his face, Cloudy Adaires resting in his arms, her slumber unable to hide her traumatized expression.

El gently put Cloudy down and pointed his thumb towards Instructor Lumiel, using all the strength he had left.

He collapsed but with a fulfilled smile on his face.

Jaylen exclaimed and rushed towards El and Cloudy, only to be stopped by Instructor Lumiel.

"They will be fine. All wounds and damage will be healed after the challenge is completed," she reassured, resting her hand on Jaylen's shoulder. "They are simply tired. Give them a moment to rest."

Then, an explosion interrupted her words.

The fourth black prism started to fade too, but this time, "collapse" would be a better word.

Leon Ermy's figure emerged, a black sword impaling his body.

"They failed the challenge," Instructor Lumiel declared, her voice devoid of emotion.

Leon slowly lifted his head, his eyes filled with hatred and regret.

"Vito Fool, I will never forgive you for that..."

"You absolute shameless traitor."

But unlike his fury, his voice started to wane.

He collapsed, revealing the person holding the black sword.

"What have I done..." Vito whispered, tears falling.

Silver, stunned by the scene, ran towards Leon and Vito. "What happened?" she asked, worry in her voice.

Lumiel announced, "This lesson is over. All of you did your absolute best. I couldn't be prouder."

"Except for you, Vito Fool. I expected much better from you."

"You are a disappointment, a failure, not worthy of the title of ethereal warrior."

Lumiel left without looking back, leaving the students stunned by her words.

"What?" Shun was the first to speak.

"What does she mean by that?" Emilia, awakened by Shun's words, continued.

"She's right. I'm a disappointment." Vito finally raised his voice.

"But if being a disappointment can end this nightmare, I don't care what I become."

He walked out with slow, heavy steps. Jaylen chased after him.

Leon Ermy, whose wounds had already healed, stood up and stated, "Blinded by memories and love, his last name truly describes him as a person." His voice was still filled with anger, but a glimpse of compassion could be caught this time.

"We were literally about to win..."