You ever punch someone on accident and win a fight you weren't even trying to be in?
Yeah. That's basically what happened.
Scene: Guild Ranking Exams – Day Two. Combat Duel Brackets.
"MC," Lina said, dragging me by the collar toward the dueling platform, "you said we weren't gonna stand out."
"I didn't mean to stand out!" I wheezed. "My whole life strategy is based on lowering expectations!"
"Well, someone hit a goblin into the sky, made a speech that spawned three fan clubs, and now has a squirrel battalion following him."
One of the squirrels waved a tiny flag with my face on it.
"Et tu, Chonk?" I whispered.
"Next Duel: MC of the Unranked Chaos Guild… vs. Valen of Diamond Fang!"
"Oh no," Iris murmured, adjusting her glasses. "That's a top-ten guilder. His magic specializes in multi-elemental casting. He's known for melting people."
"I don't wanna get melted," I said.
Valen strutted onto the platform like a model from Arrogant Mage Monthly. Flowing cape. Gleaming teeth. A jawline that could cut stone.
"Prepare to taste defeat," he said smoothly, summoning an orbiting ring of fire and lightning spheres. "Try not to cry."
I raised my hand.
"I forfeit."
The crowd booed.
Valen smirked. "Too late. Duel already started."
"Wait, what?!"
He attacked.
I panicked.
I didn't think. I just reacted.
Instinctively, my system flickered — an echo of a Link with Iris surged through me.
Temporary Skill: Time Skip Spark (Lv. 1)Effect: You skip half a second forward and shock your enemies with a time-lag echo.
Which meant—
Valen launched a triple-cast fire spear.
I blinked forward, accidentally dodged it, and slapped his face.
A tiny boop.
The magical echo triggered like a glitch in the Matrix.
Valen's own magic rebounded. His fancy elemental ring imploded into a dazzling, blinding burst of light and sound.
CRACK–BOOM–ZAP.
Silence.
Then—
DING!
WINNER: MC.
I stared at my hands.
Valen lay twitching, hair smoking, pants singed, ego obliterated.
The crowd stared in stunned silence. Then erupted.
"HE BEAT VALEN!""HE USED COUNTER-MAGIC!""IS HE A TACTICAL GENIUS?!""NO, HE'S TOTALLY A FRAUD!!"
Ten minutes later, I was sitting behind the arena, wrapped in a blanket, holding cocoa, eyes wide.
"I don't even know what I did," I whispered.
"You used a copied time-skip spell and reflected his attack through his own feedback loop," Iris said.
"But… I slapped him."
Lina looked proud. "A slap of destiny."
Kaela just shook her head. "You're not human. I'm sure of it."
I groaned. "Now I have two nicknames trending. 'Slap Mage' and 'The Bugged Hero.'"
Back at the scoreboard, a judge tapped his pen and looked at me like I was a math problem that had learned to walk.
"This… shouldn't be possible. Your power signature is inconsistent. Your aura flutters like an untrained novice, but your results are elite-tier."
I tried to smile.
He frowned. "You're either a prodigy with performance anxiety… or the most suspicious person we've tested in years."
"Can't I be both?"
Later That Night
Fan messages.
Spell theory nerds trying to recruit me.
Other guilds trying to challenge me.
And, worst of all—
A package arrived labeled: "Valen's Official Apology Kit."
Inside: a signed headshot, a bag of premium hair gel, and a coupon for therapy.
End of Chapter 24