Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Chains and Consequence

Arthur’s face finally looked like he was showing some actual interest in the fight.

Seeing a freshman run toward him with a mana-coated sword must have sparked a little curiosity.

His posture changed entirely.

He brought his left hand up, resting it defensively near his chest.

Meanwhile, his right hand extended openly in my direction, almost as if he was casually inviting me to strike him first.

My boots hit the mats hard, stopping exactly a few meters away from his reach. My arms swung the black blade through the empty air.

The sword sliced nothing but oxygen.

Arthur looked confused for a split second.

He probably assumed my depth perception was completely ruined by his earlier gravity trick.

Then he felt the invisible, delayed hit land directly on his chest.

Swoosh.

’Huh?’ he muttered, looking down at his uniform.

His blue eyes widened significantly as high-level senses suddenly picked up three more invisible slashes travelling straight his way.

He crossed his arms together in a tight X-shape right in front of his face and blocked out the other strikes successfully, but the attack did deal some actual damage.

Thin red lines appeared on the fabric covering his forearms.

"What was that?" he asked, shaking his hands to get rid of the stinging pain.

"I am not selling out my secret technique for free," was my quick reply.

Arthur’s eyes briefly changed colour, glowing a dangerous blue as his body blurred into motion.

Following his movements required every ounce of focus my brain could muster.

My feet moved at the same time, shifting my weight to intercept him.

His hand reached out fast, aiming to land a punch on my jaw.

Bringing my sword up quickly, the metal deflected his fist away.

My arms immediately aimed for a lethal slash right toward his exposed neck. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He was just too fast.

Arthur used his free hand to catch the flat side of my black blade right between his fingers. Before my mind could even process the block, he landed a solid, brutal kick squarely on my stomach.

"Guh," escaped my lips as the air left my lungs entirely.

He pulled the blade right out of my grip and threw it away behind him, totally dismissing my primary weapon.

But he forgot one important detail.

The sword was securely connected to the thin metal chains strapped around my wrist.

’I did it the minute I picked this sword.’

Pulling my arm back hard, the chain snapped tight.

The discarded blade whipped right back through the air, aiming directly to hit the back of his head.

At the same time, my free hand aimed a straight punch right at his face.

He sensed the incoming pincer attack from both sides.

One threat from my incoming fist, and the blade pulling back towards his skull. Instead of dodging, a bright blue wave of raw energy formed rapidly in both of his hands.

He smashed his glowing fists directly into the ground.

The impact sent a concussive wave of energy that spread out in all directions. The force pushed me backwards through the air.

’Whoa,’ my thoughts spun as my boots finally hit the floor.

Staying on my feet took incredible physical effort.

Panting hard, my eyes locked onto the absolute monster standing across the room.

He wasn’t even acting serious during this exchange, and yet he effortlessly countered all my best attacks.

"I think that is enough for today," Arthur stated calmly.

His eyes returned to their normal, dull blue.

"Yeah, thank you for the lesson, senior," I nodded, waiting for my breathing to slowly return to normal.

"But since I didn’t technically lose the spar, I cannot fulfil our deal. You have to write your own thesis."

"It’s alright," he dismissed the proposal with a lazy wave of his hand. "I had a good spar."

He turned his back and walked right out of the training hall, yawning loudly as if he had just woken up from a long nap.

’Getting this close to him much sooner than I originally thought is a huge win,’ my mind noted.

Building a relationship with the strongest student early on will definitely pay off later.

Walking back to my old common room took a while.

Once there, taking a quick, hot shower and changing into a fresh academy uniform felt amazing.

Packing up my stuff for the dorm move would have to wait until later this afternoon. The morning bell started ringing across the campus, so my feet carried me straight to the main academic building.

Today’s early class was all about casting basic spells.

The lecture hall was large, featuring curved wooden desks that looked down toward a central stage.

A tall woman with bright violet hair stood at the front of the room.

Miss Elena is a veteran mage who has personally participated in many dangerous cave raids over her long career. She commanded instant respect from the noisy, traumatised freshmen.

"Casting basic spells is important," Elena told the class, walking slowly between the front rows.

"You need to understand mana flow perfectly, even if traditional spells aren’t going to be useful in your specific, close-quarters combat style."

She opened her empty palm for everyone to see. A bright, warm spark of fire ignited instantly above her pale skin, hovering perfectly in the air without burning her.

"Every single element has a very different wave of control. For example, fire affinity will naturally respond to your anger or your intense emotions. I want all of you to try it out in your own hands right now."

All the students immediately followed her instructions.

Casting actual spells required knowing the absolute basics, and the most basic rule is creating a stable magic circle in your mind.

My short fight with Arthur earlier this morning really taught me exactly how awful my control was when creating spells under intense pressure.

Closing my eyes, my focus shifted to the energy resting in my core.

Pulling a small thread of mana up through my arm, a tiny, flickering flame appeared over my palm. It wasn’t very strong, but it was a successful cast.

Looking around the bright room, almost everyone else quickly formed a bright flame or a glowing magic circle in their palms.

Some students even managed to create complex shapes with their fire.

’Well, of course, they can do it easily,’ I told myself, feeling a little jealous of their natural talent.

’A person has to be highly gifted just to pass the rigorous entrance exam and enter Royal Genesis in the first place.’

The quiet noise of successful magic filled the lecture hall.

Everyone looked proud of their quick progress.

But then, a sound of frustration caught my attention from the back corner.

All the students succeeded in lighting their flames.

All except one student.