Yegun lunged forward, his movements a blur of speed and grace, his short sword darting out in a lightning-fast thrust, aimed at William's exposed shoulder. He was anticipating a clumsy parry, a desperate attempt to block the blow, an opening for a follow-up strike, a quick, decisive victory.

  But William wasn't where Yegun expected him to be.

  As Yegun lunged, William, with a surprising burst of agility, swayed to the left, narrowly avoiding the thrusting blade. He dropped his own sword, the blunt steel clattering uselessly on the packed earth, a deliberate act of surrender, a signal of defeat. But it was a feint, a deception, a carefully calculated move designed to lull Yegun into a false sense of security.

  His left hand, seemingly empty, reached out, not to block, not to parry, but to grab. He grasped Yegun's sword arm, his fingers wrapping around the leather-clad forearm, pulling himself closer, closing the distance, negating Yegun's reach advantage. It was a reckless move, a desperate gamble, leaving him completely exposed, vulnerable to a counterattack. But it was also unexpected, unorthodox, a move that no experienced warrior would ever attempt.

  Yegun, momentarily surprised by William's audacity, by his unexpected manoeuvre, hesitated for a fraction of a second. He'd anticipated resistance, a desperate attempt to defend, but not this, this suicidal embrace. His eyes, locked onto William's, widened slightly, a flicker of confusion crossing his features.

  And that was all the time William needed.

  His right hand, still tightly clenched, the smooth stone hidden within his grasp, shot forward, aiming not for Yegun's body, not for a disabling blow, but for his face, for his eyes. He whispered the incantation, the familiar words of the Light spell, his voice barely audible, a mere breath of sound. And he poured his remaining mana, into the stone, a torrent of energy channelled through his fingertips, guided by his will, focused on a single, desperate purpose.

  EMMA displayed a countdown in his vision, a precise reading of his mana: 50... 40... 30... 20... 10... 5... 1... 0. The numbers flashed urgently, warning him of his dwindling reserves, of the impending backlash. But he ignored it. He had to. There was no turning back now.

  His outstretched hand, now a hand’s breadth away from Yegun's face, opened.

  A blinding flash of light erupted from the stone, a sudden, intense burst of pure, white energy. It wasn't the gentle, flickering glow of a candle, but a searing, incandescent flare, a miniature sun exploding in Yegun's face. The training yard, previously bathed in the soft, warm light of the setting sun, was momentarily illuminated as if by a lightning strike, the shadows leaping and dancing, the air crackling with released energy.

  Yegun cried out, a sharp, involuntary shout of pain and surprise, his eyes squeezed shut, his hands flying up to shield his face. He stumbled backward, his balance lost, his senses overwhelmed, his world reduced to a blinding white void. He dropped his sword, the blunt steel clattering on the ground, his body recoiling instinctively from the unexpected assault.

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  Julia, who had been watching the fight with growing anxiety, saw William’s desperate lunge towards Yegun, the glint of steel aimed for his unprotected side. She braced for the sickening crunch of impact, the inevitable end... and let out a small, involuntary cry, her hand flying to her mouth, her eyes wide with concern. She'd seen William drop his sword, had seen him reach out towards Yegun, had braced herself for the inevitable, for the decisive blow that would end the fight. She'd expected to see Yegun's blade pierce William's defences, to see him fall, defeated, perhaps injured. She hadn't expected this, this sudden, blinding flash of light, this unexpected turn of events.

  Borin, the stoic, unflappable Guildmaster, who had witnessed countless battles, countless displays of skill and courage, was visibly stunned. His eyes, usually narrowed in critical assessment, widened in disbelief, his jaw dropping slightly, his expression a mixture of shock and astonishment. He'd seen magic before, of course. He'd seen mages unleash devastating spells, conjure deadly fireballs and lightning strikes, manipulate the very elements. But this... this was different. This was something he'd never encountered, something he couldn't quite comprehend.

  The light faded as quickly as it had appeared, leaving a lingering afterimage on their retinas, a ghost of the blinding flash that had momentarily illuminated the training yard. William, his body trembling with exhaustion, his vision blurred, his head swimming, collapsed to the ground, the stone, now cold and inert, slipping from his grasp. He'd used almost all of his remaining mana, pushing his body to its absolute limit, teetering on the brink of unconsciousness.

  EMMA, still active, displayed a final, urgent warning: Mana reserves depleted. Minor backlash initiated. The system, having consumed the last remaining reserves of his magical energy, shut down, the holographic displays fading from his vision, leaving him in a sudden, disorienting darkness.

  Yegun, still blinded, still disoriented, stumbled blindly, his hands outstretched, his body swaying unsteadily. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision, to regain his bearings, to understand what had just happened. He could feel the lingering heat on his face, the tingling sensation in his eyes, the afterimage of the blinding flash still imprinted on his retinas. He couldn't see, couldn't focus, couldn't fight.

  The sand timer, unnoticed in the chaos, continued to run. A few final grains of sand trickled through the narrow neck, marking the passage of the final seconds. And then, silence. The ten minutes were over.

  In the strangest of circumstances, with both participants looking incapacitated, the trial had ended. In a proper duel, this would have been called as a draw. But this wasn’t a duel, it was a trial setup with uneven odds, specifically for William to fail. Looking at it purely from a technical perspective, William had lasted the full ten minutes, meeting the criteria Borin had specifically set.

  Borin, slowly recovering from his shock, let out a low whistle, a sound of grudging admiration. He walked over to the two fallen figures, his eyes still wide with disbelief. He looked at William, sprawled on the ground, his body limp, his face pale, his breathing shallow. He looked at Yegun, still stumbling blindly, his hands clutching his eyes, his face contorted in pain.

  He turned to Julia, who was rushing towards William, her face etched with concern. And he asked, his voice filled with a mixture of disbelief and bewildered curiosity, a question that echoed the thoughts of everyone present:

  "That... was that a Light spell?" The question echoed, unanswered, across the silent training yard.