Arthur Mariette, the Arch-Duke of the Kingdom, was known across the lands for something truly terrifying—his mastery over the transformation path.
He could become anything. A bird flying through the skies, a beast crawling on the ground, or even a lifeless object like a rock or a sword. And the scary part? He did it so perfectly that even if you looked from up close, you'd never be able to tell it was him.
But there was more—he wasn't just copying the look.
Even though he was only a Rank A awakened, Arthur could copy parts of someone's power and strength too. That was what made him truly dangerous.
Long ago, it had taken the combined strength of five kingdoms to bring him down, Because he was too cunning and sneaky. And now, in his final moments, he was using his most powerful transformation—
He was copying Lilith, the legendary Silver Dragon.
This wasn't easy.
To do it, Arthur had to use not only his vast magic, but also activate nearly a thousand essence stones at once.
He had to organize them all in perfect order, like solving a giant puzzle in seconds—
And he was doing it while dying. His body was damaged, his strength fading, yet he still managed to do the impossible.
It wasn't as strong as the transformation he used in his prime, but even weakened—
It was terrifying.
Arthur's human body slowly twisted and expanded.
Bones cracked. Flesh shimmered.
And then, a massive silver-scaled dragon stood in his place.
Its eyes burned with fury. Its wings blocked out the sky. Its fangs were long, sharp, and deadly.
"ROOOAAARRRRR—!!"
The dragon's roar was so loud that the entire battlefield shook. Dust flew up. The wind howled. Even the trees bent under its force.
Elara's face turned pale. Sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Not good…" he whispered.
"I guess I have no choice," he muttered, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.
"Protect me for a second!" he shouted at the three remaining fighters on his side.
Without hesitation, the three moved quickly, forming a tight circle around Elara, ready to shield him from any attack.
Every S-rank awakened had some secret trump card.
Even as Rank A, Arthur had his Silver Dragon form.
Elara had something too.
A strange energy pulsed around Elara's body. The air around him rippled like water. The ground beneath him cracked as space itself began to twist.
His body flickered like a reflection in a shattered mirror.
Arthur, sensing danger, didn't wait.
He opened the dragon's mouth and fired a massive silver beam straight at Elara.
But before it could hit—
"Killer Move—Chrono Mirage: Tenfold Paradox!" Elara shouted.
Boom!
The silver beam struck something—something invisible—and exploded with a thunderous shockwave.
The blast was so powerful it tore the earth and filled the air with smoke and dust.
But when the dust settled—
Arthur froze.
Standing in front of him were ten different figures.
They all looked like Elara… yet each one was a little different.
One held a spear.
Another carried a sword.
One had a bow.
A few were clearly female.
Some were young teens, others were adults.
One of them… was a tiny, cute girl.
But all of them had the same dark skin and sharp eyes—they were all dark elves.
Elara smirked as he watched Arthur's confused eyes.
"My best killer move…" he thought proudly.
"I summoned ten different versions of myself—each from a different future but same past."
Ten Elaras stood, shoulder to shoulder.
Each one born from a different timeline.
The reason Elara never used this skill until now was simple.
He could only summon those versions of himself for a short time, and even worse—
There was no guarantee they'd be strong.
It all depended on luck.
Sometimes, his other versions were weaker than him.
And if that happened in a serious battle, it could easily get him killed.
But this time… he got lucky.
Right at the front stood a tall, muscular version of himself.
That version had a massive greatsword resting on his shoulder, and he had been the one who stopped Arthur's deadly dragon beam.
Elara stared at him with wide eyes.
"He's… stronger than me," Elara thought, feeling a mix of surprise and relief.
Without wasting time, Elara shouted to the ten versions of himself.
"All of you, listen! Do whatever you want—attack, defend—I don't care! Just make sure I get out of here alive!"
He didn't wait for a reply.
He turned and ran at full speed, wind pushing against his face.
All ten looked up at the huge silver dragon above them, their eyes burning with determination.
None of them were afraid. They were ready for battle.
"There's no point in staying here any longer," Elara thought.
His legs moved fast, almost blurring, as he rushed to escape the battlefield.
————————————
At another part of the field, Elara's clone was still locked in battle—
Facing Esdeath and her group.
He had stabbed Ethan deep in the stomach with his sword.
Blood dripped down as he slowly pulled it out.
Ethan's body hit the ground with a soft *thud*.
"You should be thankful," Esdeath said casually, her voice cold.
"I gave you a speedrun."
Ethan's body stopped moving.
Suddenly, a loud scream echoed through the area.
"Ethannnnnn…!"
The voice was female—not one, but two overlapping screams.
Esdeath and Elara's clone turned toward the source.
Three teenage girls stood there, their faces pale with shock.
Their eyes wide, filled with horror and disbelief.
They were Sylvania and Emma.
Sylvania and Emma both liked Ethan. Seeing him lying there like that—
It filled their hearts with pain and rage.
Esdeath's lips curved into a smile.
"What perfect timing," she thought.
She had been wondering how to deal with Elara's clone.
Now, these girls would be the perfect distraction.
Without saying another word, Esdeath turned and dashed away, leaving the clone behind to deal with the emotional and furious girls.
Maruti quickly followed her.
Her speed was greater than Esdeath's, especially now that most of Esdeath's mana was drained.
"What the hell was that?!" Maruti snapped as she caught up to her.
"Didn't you say we're not supposed to kill him yet?!"
"Who said he's dead?" Esdeath replied with a small grin.
"I should've done that from the beginning. His clone is handled. Now we just need to run and hide."
"Hide? Tch, not really my style," Maruti rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed.
"Let's do what the Arch-Duke said. Let's go to the academy gardens. We're not far from there anyway," Esdeath suggested.
Maruti nodded. She didn't like the idea of running or hiding—
But she didn't have a better plan either.
"You're too slow!" Maruti suddenly said, without waiting for Esdeath's answer.
Before Esdeath could react, Maruti picked her up and placed her on her shoulder.
Then, with one big step, she dashed forward at blinding speed.
"You really should eat more. You're way too light!" she commented.
"Shhh!" Esdeath hissed, quickly shutting her up.
————————————
Back near Ethan's fallen body—
Sylvania screamed in rage.
"You bastard!"
Her voice cracked with fury as she charged at Elara's clone.
The clone gritted his teeth.
"Another strong student?" he muttered under his breath.
He had already faced so many powerful students today.
As the principal of the academy, he was honestly shocked.
He never knew there were this many hidden talents.
But what happened next made him… disappointed.
"Water Bullets!" Sylvania shouted.
She pointed her wand forward and dozens of water spheres formed in front of her.
With a flick of her wrist, they shot out one after another at high speed.
They hit the clone's body—
Splash! Splash! Splash!
But nothing happened.
The water just turned back into droplets and fell to the ground.
Not a single scratch.
"What kind of weak magic is this?" the clone thought.
Then he sighed.
"Right… I forgot. They're just students. Not all of them are exceptional",
He had been fighting such strong, skilled students that for a moment, he thought everyone in the academy was at that level.
Then Emma stepped up.
"Earth Spikes!" she yelled.
She knelt down and pressed her palms on the ground.
The earth cracked under Elara's clone, and sharp spikes suddenly shot up.
But again—
He didn't even dodge.
With one powerful slap of his hand, he shattered the spikes like they were nothing.
He let out another sigh.
This wasn't going to be as challenging as he thought.
----------------------
Meanwhile, inside Ethan's mind...
It felt like he was falling—no, sinking—deeper and deeper into a cold, dark ocean. The water wrapped around him like chains, heavy and endless. His arms wouldn't move, and his heart was beating slower and slower.
Was this death?
"Am I... dead?" Ethan said softly.
His voice echoed around him, but there was no answer. Just silence, and the weight of the water dragging him down.
"This easily?" he whispered. "Even when I was weak and couldn't do anything, I always survived. Even when I didn't want to live... I still did."
His lips shook as he bit them hard.
"But now... now that I want to live more than anything... I'm just going to die like this?"
He couldn't open his eyes. His whole body felt frozen, but inside, something was burning.
"No! I won't accept this! I haven't saved anyone yet! Violet, Sylvania, Emma, my teachers, my mother... they all need me!"
That thought lit a fire in him. Suddenly, his spirit began to struggle, kicking and swinging like a fish trapped underwater. His arms moved, his legs fought back against the pull of the ocean.
But his eyes still stayed shut.
Then... he heard something.
A voice.
It was soft at first, like a breeze.
"Ethan..."
He barely noticed it, but then it came again, louder this time.
"Ethan..."
And again, even louder.
"ETHAN!"
"Haah!" Ethan gasped, and his eyes flew open.
He saw a soft green light glowing ahead of him. A hand reached out from it—strong and warm, like someone pulling him out of a nightmare.
Without thinking, he grabbed it.
The moment he did, the hand pulled him up fast. He burst out of the water like he was being rescued from the bottom of the sea.
He coughed hard, water spilling from his mouth. He took deep breaths, his chest rising quickly. But when he looked around...
He was standing on the surface of the water.
"I was just drowning... What is this place?"
He turned quickly to look at the person who helped him. At first, he wanted to say thank you. But then his face changed.
He looked confused. Scared, even.
"Wait... what's going on?" he said as he stepped back.
"I can see you have green hair, blue eyes, a long nose... You look like a good person. But why can't I see your face clearly? It's like... you have a face, but I still can't see it right. It's all blurry, like my brain just can't understand it..."
The person didn't answer at first. They only gave a small smile and let out a soft laugh.
"That's normal," the person said gently. "Because I don't exist."
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Phew, All exams ended, Now I'll try to be consistent from now on, Even on my other book as well...