After killing the Pagna warriors, a dark mist that only Raze could see rose from their bodies and entered into Raze's magic core. Soon after, his ring had activated as well.
'I see, so these Pagna warriors increase the Darkness attribute a lot more than those dog beasts did. Regardless, I'm happy with the results of the new steps. If I combine the steps I learned with the swordsmanship, I can get results at the academy now.'
Seeing how effective the steps were here, if he was to learn the rest, Raze could see himself winning, even if he didn't use his magic. But he always had that as a backup. He still probably couldn't take on all five of the main disciples at once, but with the other examiners watching and them being actually in the academy, it was unlikely a task that he would have to do.
'Before I head back, though, I'll try to learn the rest of the ten steps,' Raze thought to himself.
Fixteen was still left in disbelief at the young warrior. All those from the first floor were 1st stage warriors. For first stage warriors, the descending steps were practically useless.
That was because the step wasn't so effective on its own. The skill could disrupt low-level warriors but would do next to nothing against those strong. Even if it did work against low-level warriors, without the second step, by the time a warrior reacted, they would have recovered in time to act.
In a way, of all the footworks out there, the first step of the descending steps was useless because it didn't move the person forward. It didn't do what footwork was designed to do.
Yet right in front of Fixteen, there was a warrior that could not just do one, but three of the steps.
'We need to keep that one alive. It would be handy if he joined our group and became a part of our power and loyal to us, rather than that of the Neverfall clan,' Fixteen thought.
Dame was still fighting against Beatrix, and he realized something during his fight. Even with the gauntlets he had obtained from the Dark Magus, he was unable to win the battle, so he decided to opt for another tactic instead.
He kept his distance away and continued to throw out punches that would home toward Beatrix no matter what. The only option she had was to slash and attack through the Qi strikes coming at her.
'He's attacking rapidly, but he knows this isn't effective, so what's his plan? If he continues on , won't he run out of Qi?'
Her train of thought was right. Dame's Qi wasn't strong enough to do damage, and using it like so, he was running out fast. But he did have an ace up his sleeve.
Pulling out one of the pills, Dame went ahead and swallowed it whole. In that instant, he could feel his power returning to him, and he started to swing his arms in a flurry, sending all sorts of strikes toward Beatrix.
They flew in the air, and Beatrix blocked each one. As they hit her, she was being pushed back through the field.
'What is this? How does he have so much Qi? He hasn't reached the middle stages, so this should be impossible! It has to be that weird pill again, what is it that he took, just like the others.'
While looking at the others, she noticed that quite a few of the Light faction had died.
'This wasn't how it was meant to be. The losses weren't this heavy, and with these strange pills, I have no idea what other tricks he'll have.'
Beatrix didn't want to do it, but she was afraid, afraid that as the fight went on, she would suffer more losses. She bit her lip as she made the decision.
"Retreat!" Beatrix shouted. "Everyone retreat now, this is an order!"
It didn't take long for them to listen as they jumped back away from those they were fighting with. They continued to do so, and Beatrix pointed her sword at anyone that was to attempt to follow.
"Don't think this is the end, Dame!" Beatrix said. "I will be back to take your head!"
With those words, she was off, and not a single member of the Demonic Faction gave chase, and it was for a good reason. All of them were exhausted; the effects of the pills had actually worn off a long time ago, and they were just fighting on willpower alone.
If it wasn't for the help of Dame's friends, maybe all of them would have been eliminated, and it wasn't just the whole group; it was Dame as well. He had exhausted his Qi, and the effect of the pill had worn off.
He looked behind him at the field, and he could see dead warriors on the floor. In total, around fifteen men had died, leaving thirty-five of them alive. It was perhaps more than they had expected, but it felt a little strange for Dame to think that this was a result.
"Hey, we did it," Kirk said, placing his hand on Dame's shoulder.
"You're right," Dame answered. "But our victory today wouldn't have been achievable if it wasn't for the Dark Magus. I'm starting to feel like our debt with him is piling up already, and we haven't even gone into business yet."
"Hey, didn't you pay him back already?" Kirk punched his shoulder.
"Everyone, we shall carry the dead back with us and make sure they have a proper burial!" Dame shouted. "Those that died today will celebrate with us as we return victorious!"
The other warriors, hearing Dame's strong words, couldn't help but cheer loudly into the open air above.
The warriors got to work as they wrapped the dead, not just those from their faction but for the others as well. This was to make sure they wouldn't get picked or eaten by other beasts, and so the Light faction could collect their own men for burial as well.
"Ah, Dame!" Fixteen said as he quickly came over. "I wanted to talk to you about something. There's a talented warrior in this group; we should speak to him…"
Fixteen's voice started to trail off because as he looked around, he was unable to find the young warrior.
"Where did he go? Did he run away?" Fixteen scratched his head. "Why would he do that?"
As Raze was making his way back to the city, he took off the mask from his face, and it started to revert back to what it once was. Dark magic had then covered his body, and the robe was placed back on him while the uniform was placed inside the robe.
'The clothing from the clan can only just fit in here, but it might come in use in the future,' Raze thought.
'Either way, the skills have proven useful. With just the two-step shift before, I wouldn't have been able to beat those Pagna warriors. They may be weaker than the main disciples, but the gap between us won't be so big anymore.'
'After learning a bit more from the skill books, it'll be time I head back to the academy.'