[There may be translation errors]
On the edge of a high mountain, the world seemed silenced by the grandeur of the view. The wind sliced through the air with coldness, and the vast green ocean of Atreus' trees stretched as far as the eye could see.
Kai — Hunter Melina... let's fight.
Melina — Why do you want to fight me?
Kai — Isn't it obvious? I want to understand... how an Appraiser became so powerful.
Melina (thinking) — How does she know...? I've been hiding my mana perfectly...
Kai — Appraiser... your mana is thin like a silk thread, but dense like diamond. To normal eyes, you'd seem empty, just traces... but to me, as a mage, I know very well that your control is extraordinary.
Melina — And what's the problem with hiding it?
Kai — That's a trick of second Dan hunters... You shouldn't know how to do that.
Melina — ...
Melina takes a deep breath. In an instant, her mana bursts out like an invisible storm. The air trembles. An unseen pressure spreads across the mountain like a silent thunder, even making the leaves of the trees shiver.
Kai (excited) — Magnificent... this power is far beyond the ordinary!
Melina draws her daggers. Her once calm gaze now cuts like blades.
Melina — You're a mage... Are you sure you want close combat? You'll be at a disadvantage.
Melina (thinking) — An experienced hunter never mixes classes... Or is she strong enough to forgo spells?
Meanwhile, in the cabin on the fifth floor...
Haikai — The principle of mana control is bodily enhancement: speed, resistance... and strength.
Back at the mountain top...
Melina (thinking) — Three years of training... now I'll see if it was worth it.
She vanishes in a flash. Appears behind Kai with a precise kick, but Kai, calm, raises her hand and blocks it like it was nothing.
Melina (thinking) — She blocked...?
Kai spins her arm and throws Melina back like a rag doll.
Kai — Impressive speed!
Melina recovers, her body wrapped in a bluish aura of concentrated mana. She charges again, twice as fast as before, a blur between trees and rocks.
She attempts a sweep. Kai jumps. Melina uses the ground's recoil to propel herself, daggers in hand. She cuts through the air with fast, precise strikes. Kai dodges them all with unnerving grace.
In a swift counterattack, Kai attempts a kick. Melina uses her hands to spring off the ground, escaping with a headbutt. Kai bends back, dodges, and spins into an inverted somersault, trying to strike with her heels. Melina narrowly avoids the blow.
The impact kicks up dust. Silence returns with tension in the air.
Melina breathes heavily. A thin cut forms over her eyebrow, and hot sweat runs down her face.
Melina (thinking) — Even dodging... she broke through my defense. She's on my level... without casting a single spell.
Kai — You improve by the second. This is... exciting.
Kai (thinking) — But she's still holding something back. What is she hiding?
Melina (thinking) — So... this is what it means to be a master? Losing to a mage who hasn't even used magic?
Kai — Show me what you're hiding, Appraiser...
Melina — And you? Why aren't you using your wind magic?
Kai — Ah... so you noticed.
Kai raises her hands. In an instant, the ground trembles slightly. Melina falls to her knees.
Melina (thinking) — I didn't see anything... she cut my legs with wind... and I couldn't even react!
Kai — I thought there would be something more interesting in you...
Kai turns and starts to walk away calmly.
Kai — Melina... it's clear that you trained hard. But stop climbing. That path... only leads to death.
Melina — So that's why you don't want to become a master? Because you don't want to climb?
Kai stops. Looks over her shoulder. At that moment, Melina already has a mana bow formed in her hands. A bright glow. She fires.
The impact throws Kai to the ground. Silence. Dust settles.
Kai — What... was that?
Melina — A mana attack. The damage is internal... your body is paralyzed.
Kai (thinking) — My body... won't move...
Melina — Kai... you're powerful. Why not become a master?
Kai — How many masters do you think live in that village?
Melina — I don't know... a few?
Kai — Out of 40 villagers... 26 were masters. Does that sound normal to you?
Melina (shocked) — Twenty-six!?
Kai — Not everyone wants to keep climbing. Many simply... give up.
Melina stands, even with her body bruised and muscles trembling.
Kai (thinking) — She still manages... how?
Melina — I came all the way here to climb. No matter what happens... I will keep going.
Kai — That doesn't make sense. The higher you climb, the more you lose. Time changes. You drift away from people...
Melina (thinking) — For Saicha it was 12 days... for me, three years... how can you keep bonds like that?
Kai — If I become a master, I'll be forced to live in Atreus... Far from Apex. Far from my people.
Melina — But... you're fighting for a better world.
Kai — Nonsense. Tell me, hunter... if you find God, what will you do?
Melina — I'll rebuild Earth. A place of peace, where everyone can live.
Her words fall into the air like a prayer. Kai looks up at the sky. A tear runs down her face.
Melina (smiling gently) — My mother used to say that... when I was little. That God's power... could rebuild Earth.
Kai stands up. Her gaze shines like steel under the moonlight.
Kai — You are... childish.
Melina — Maybe I am. Maybe I won't even succeed. But someone has to build the bridge... so others can cross it.
Kai's heart races. She sees in Melina the reflection of the adoptive sister she left in Apex.
Kai (softly) — "The next ones…"
She disappears, vanishing before Melina like mist in the wind.
Melina collapses to her knees, leaning against a tree. Relief floods her body.
Melina — Whew... she could've killed me with the first strike. So then... what did she really want?
Kai returns to her group. The air around still pulses with remnants of the battle.
Soldier — Sergeant Kai, where were you?
Kai — Just... playing with something interesting. Let's go.
Soldier — Where to, Sergeant?
Kai — To the 12th group.