CHAPTER 64: THE LESSON BEYOND THE DUEL

Chapter 64: The Lesson Beyond the Duel

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"That was one duel," Professor Vaelian said as he stepped onto the stage where the unconscious Nathan lay. He knelt and quickly checked Nathan’s vitals, a subtle nod to the attending mage indicating that the boy would be fine.

His hits were strong as well, the professor thought, locking his gaze on Arios for just a second as the boy was occupied in conversation with Lucy and Liza. Arios’s swings on Nathan when he blinked around the stage were as incredible as his ability to blink itself— aimed to immediately decapitate the opponent. If not for Nathan’s robust physique, anyone else would be in a far more serious condition from just a single hit.

Mage Ronin von Furstenberg joined him on the stage, beginning to chant a healing spell over Nathan’s bruises. Professor Vaelian left him to it, walking slowly toward the front of the hall. The students watched in silence, as their shock from the duel was still present.

"I am disappointed in you," the professor said, his voice filled with a weight that made every student straighten up. He wasn’t angry; he was disheartened. "Not because of the actions of one student, but because of all of you. Because you allowed him to stoke a divide between you based on social class. You fell for it. Every single one of you."

He gestured to the divided groups of students. "This academy does not see nobles or commoners. We see students. We see potential. If we saw only bloodlines, don’t you think every noble would be in Class A? Do you honestly believe a system that judges based on birthright would produce the best Mage Knights?"

Professor Vaelian’s words were sinking in, their weight undeniably true.

"I can tell you that there are more commoners in Class 1-A than there are nobles," he declared. "More students who came from nothing, with nothing, and achieved greatness through sheer talent and hard work, than those who were born into it."

He continued, his voice softer now but no less impactful. "What you witnessed on that stage today was not a fight for justice, as some of you might believe. What was truly troubling Nathan was not his desire to seek justice. It was pure jealousy— he was a commoner who hated that he was not fortunate enough to be born a noble. He hated that he was a genius who was denied the privileges that came so easily to others."

Professor Vaelian’s words hung in the air, a stark and sobering reality check for class 1-D.

Professor Vaelian walked slowly towards the crowd of students, the silence of the hall following him as he made his way to Arios. The crowd watched, their eyes shifting between the young man who had just performed a feat of magic thought impossible for his cultivation rank, and the professor who now stood before him.

Arios, still basking in the congratulations of Lucy and Liza, looked up as the professor approached. Vaelian’s eyes were not accusatory, but filled with a deep, professional curiosity. He didn’t speak in a tone of anger, but rather as a scientist presented with an overwhelming paradox.

"Arios," Professor Vaelian began, his voice low enough that only those in the immediate vicinity could hear. "I don’t know how you did it."

He gestured vaguely toward the stage where Nathan was still being attended to. "That was not merely a display of physical prowess. It was spatial manipulation. An incredibly advanced form of magic." He paused, his gaze fixed on Arios, searching for an answer. "You’re still in the Mana Refinement Stage. At your level of cultivation, you haven’t refined enough mana to even begin building your spirit veins, let alone circulate mana throughout your body to an extent that would allow for any kind of elemental manipulation, let alone spatial manipulation."

His voice grew a little more serious. "The ability to manipulate space is a feat reserved for cultivators who had broken into and beyond the void realms. It’s a skill that requires the ability to sense and cultivate Mana from the void, a level of control that takes a lifetime to hone. You, a first-year student, should not be capable of it."

Arios just remained silent. Why shouldn’t he? There was nothing he could say. He couldn’t just claim it was his bloodline; if he were a member of the Weaverake lineage, known for their affinity for advanced elements, that might have been believable. But Arios had the Pureheart bloodline, which was known to have no special affinity at all. The simple truth was that Arios, at his level of cultivation, shouldn’t be capable of interacting with the void. And that alone was what intrigued the professor.

Professor Vaelian let out a slow sigh. "After this test concludes, I will have no choice but to raise a case with the student council. It’s a formal procedure. They will investigate any potential use of a treasure or any forbidden magic that could have granted you this ability. I hope you understand."

"I understand," Arios slightly replied, his voice calm as his gaze was fixed on the professor.

"Then that concludes that," the professor said, his tone returning to its formal, professional tone as he moved back to the front of the hall. "We continue with the test. There are at least seven matches to go."

Professor Vaelian unrolled the familiar scroll containing the predetermined matches. One after another, names were called out. Then a series of tense duels followed, punctuated by the sharp clangs of wooden blades. Some matches ended with a decisive victory, others in a hard-fought draw. With each announcement, the hall let out a collective sigh of relief as Rian Blake’s name was once again left uncalled.

Rian, however, was in a state of quiet torment. He wanted to know who his opponent would be. He desperately needed someone weak, someone he could defeat to secure his place in the academy. He felt a moment of relief when Elisa Ravenscroft’s match was called first, taking her out of the running. Nathan’s surprising defeat to Arios also made him an impossibility. There weren’t many blade geniuses left, which gave Rian a fragile sense of hope.

Finally, Professor Vaelian held up the scroll, his voice cutting through the silence once again.

"The next duel will be..." he announced, his eyes scanning the list. "Kyuosouke against..."

Finally, what will you do next, Kyuosouke, Arios thought, his gaze finding Kyousuke. Kyousuke had kept his eyes closed for a while, but he now slightly opened them, acknowledging his name as it was called by the professor.

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[A/N:] I just want to thank everyone for the support, your power stones, gifts, comments and many more are what motivates me to keep writing. This humble author will keep trying his best.