By morning, Aetheria Academy had rewritten Aris Valerian's legend at least twelve times.
In one version, he had absorbed Lady Seraphina's fireball with his bare hand.
In another, he had devoured it.
In a particularly ambitious retelling, he had blinked—and the pillar exploded out of fear.
Aris listened to all of this while eating breakfast.
He chewed slowly.
Silently.
Regally.
Inside, he was calculating blast radius patterns for a magnesium-based ignition device.
Across the Great Hall, students pretended not to stare. Their glances flicked toward him like moths to an invisible flame.
The System flickered.
> Passive Envy Accumulation
+37 EP
He took a sip of tea.
Being mysterious, he decided, was surprisingly profitable.
A shadow fell across his table.
Aris did not look up immediately. Delay created gravity.
"Void Prodigy."
The voice was male, sharp, edged with pride sharpened into hostility.
Aris lifted his gaze.
Standing before him was Lucian Veyne, heir to a minor noble house known more for military funding than magical brilliance. His dark green robe marked him as a Third-Tier Earth Adept.
Behind him stood three supporters who radiated the energy of men who had practiced smirking in mirrors.
"I do not recall introducing myself," Aris said mildly.
"You didn't," Lucian replied. "But the Academy has been insufferable since yesterday."
Aris nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes. Noise pollution is tragic."
A few nearby students choked on laughter before pretending to cough.
Lucian's jaw tightened.
"I challenge you."
There it was.
Of course.
"In what capacity?" Aris asked. "Philosophy debate? Architectural design? Competitive smiling?"
More suppressed laughter.
"A sanctioned duel," Lucian snapped. "At the Eastern Practice Grounds. After midday bells."
Aris leaned back slightly.
The problem was obvious.
He had no mana.
The solution was less obvious.
Unless…
He glanced briefly at the System.
> Current EP: 689
Enough for something modest.
He smiled.
"I accept," Aris said calmly.
The Great Hall erupted into whispers.
Lucian turned sharply and left, cloak snapping behind him.
Aris finished his tea.
Inside, however, he muttered, "I need to not die today."
---
The Eastern Practice Grounds
By midday, half the Academy had gathered.
Students perched along stone terraces. Faculty members stood at a dignified distance, prepared to intervene if necessary—though none expected the Void Prodigy to require assistance.
Lady Seraphina stood among the observers, arms folded.
She told herself she was merely curious.
She was lying.
Lucian stepped into the circular dueling arena, boots crunching on fine gravel. Earth mana coiled around him in dense waves.
Aris entered moments later, robe fluttering gently in the breeze.
He had purchased two items from the System that morning:
Spell: Shield — 250 EP
Spell: Fireball — 300 EP
Which, translated, meant:
Compact Kinetic Barrier Emitter
And
Magnesium Alloy Incendiary Device (Improved Casing)
He had tested neither.
Which, in retrospect, felt ambitious.
The officiating instructor raised a hand.
"Begin!"
Lucian wasted no time.
He slammed his palm against the ground.
Stone erupted upward in jagged spikes racing toward Aris.
Aris blinked once.
Activated the Shield.
A faint shimmer appeared before him—
—and promptly flickered out.
The spikes kept coming.
"Oh," Aris said softly.
He dove sideways.
The first spike narrowly missed his boot.
The crowd gasped.
Lucian laughed.
"Is that your legendary void control?"
Aris rolled, gravel scraping his palms.
Okay.
Plan B.
He rose smoothly, dusting off his sleeve as if this had been intentional.
"Your technique is… enthusiastic," he called.
Lucian roared and hurled a boulder the size of a carriage wheel.
Aris pulled the cylinder from his sleeve.
Pulled the disguised activation ring.
And threw.
The "Fireball" detonated mid-air.
A blinding white flare erupted with a thunderous crack.
Heat burst outward.
The boulder shattered into fragments.
A shockwave rippled across the arena.
Students screamed.
Faculty flinched.
Lucian staggered backward, hair singed.
Smoke billowed dramatically.
Aris stood upright within it.
He did not entirely mean to look that cool.
The System chimed frantically.
> Massive Envy Spike
+320 EP
Awe Generated: 41 individuals
+410 EP
Fear Registered: 12 individuals
+180 EP
He blinked internally.
That was… a lot.
The smoke cleared.
Lucian coughed violently.
"You— you used a combustion compression spell?!"
Aris had no idea what that meant.
"Yes," he replied calmly.
Lucian screamed in frustration and slammed both fists into the ground.
The earth trembled.
The ground beneath Aris cracked open—
—and swallowed him.
The crowd gasped in horror.
Seraphina stepped forward instinctively.
The ground sealed.
Silence fell.
Lucian panted heavily.
"Void Prodigy?" he muttered.
Then—
The arena trembled again.
But not from below.
From above.
A loud metallic clank echoed through the air.
Everyone looked up.
Descending rapidly from the sky—
Attached to what appeared to be a glider constructed from torn dormitory curtains and several broom handles—
Was Aris.
He had, in the chaos of falling, activated his final purchase.
Spell: Flight — 500 EP
Translation:
Emergency Manual Glider Deployment Kit.
Unfortunately, it was not subtle.
"Is he… steering that?" someone whispered.
"I don't think so," another replied.
Aris was, in fact, not steering well.
He angled sharply.
Overcorrected.
Narrowly avoided crashing into the faculty stand.
"Graceful," Seraphina muttered under her breath.
He descended toward the arena—
—and collided directly with the Academy's ceremonial pigeon loft.
There was an explosion of feathers.
A flock of extremely expensive, magically bred messenger pigeons burst into the sky in furious chaos.
Aris tumbled onto the gravel in a storm of white plumage.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then—
A single pigeon landed on Lucian's head.
The crowd erupted.
Not in fear.
In laughter.
Uncontrolled, hysterical laughter.
Even several instructors covered their mouths.
Lucian stood frozen, a dignified Earth Adept crowned by a mildly irritated bird.
Aris slowly pushed himself upright.
A feather clung to his hair.
He did not remove it.
Instead, he brushed gravel from his sleeve and bowed slightly.
"Adaptability," he said calmly, "is essential in combat."
The System practically sang.
> Envy, Awe, and Amusement Combined Surge
+780 EP
Title Upgraded: Unpredictable Prodigy
Lucian's composure shattered completely.
He fled the arena, pigeon still perched stubbornly atop his head.
The officiating instructor cleared his throat loudly.
"Victory… to Aris Valerian."
Applause thundered.
Seraphina did not clap.
She was watching him too closely.
As the crowd dispersed, she approached him.
"You planned that," she said.
Aris tilted his head slightly.
"Which part?"
"The descent."
"The pigeons."
"The theatrics."
He considered this.
"I prefer dynamic problem-solving."
She stepped closer.
"You fell into a pit."
"Yes."
"You crashed into livestock."
"Temporarily."
Her lips twitched despite herself.
"You are either a genius," she said quietly, "or a catastrophe waiting to happen."
He met her gaze.
"Why not both?"
A pause.
Then—
A faint laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
The System chimed softly.
> Heartthrob Condition Met
Bonus Unlocked
Aris blinked.
He did not yet check what that meant.
Instead, he watched her turn away, her composure only partially restored.
As he walked back toward the Academy towers, feathers still drifting through the air, whispers followed him once more.
Void Mage.
Forbidden Tier.
Master of Explosive Flight.
Pigeon Conqueror.
Inside his mind, however, a new realization formed.
His "magic" worked.
But unpredictably.
The System was powerful—
—but not entirely stable.
And someone in the faculty chambers had not been laughing.
High above the arena, within a sealed observation balcony, a cloaked figure watched the dispersing crowd.
"Combustion," the figure murmured.
"Mechanical descent apparatus."
A pause.
"That is not void magic."
The figure turned away.
"Investigate him."
Back below, Aris checked his System.
> Current EP: 2,041
He exhaled slowly.
Zero mana.
Two thousand Ego Points.
And now—
Someone suspicious.
He smiled.
"Well," he muttered, "this is escalating."