CHAPTER 34: THE COWARD’S GAMBIT

The arena buzzed with electric anticipation as Professor Leo’s voice echoed across the packed stands.

"Will our anonymous challenger please report to the preparation chamber?"

Students craned their necks, scanning the crowd for movement. Who would stand? Who had the audacity, or insanity, to challenge Petra Blackthorne for first place?

Around Alex, the speculation continued at fever pitch:

"Has to be someone from House Military. Nobody else would have the training."

"My money’s on one of the top fifteen ranks making a dramatic play. Maybe Torres or Reed?"

"Whoever it is better have a death wish. Blackthorne’s an S-ranked monster."

"S-ranked and trained since birth," another student corrected. "They say her parents had her training in stable rifts before she even awakened, saturating her essence channels early."

"Pre-awakening rift exposure? That’s insane. No wonder she’s so terrifying."

Alex leaned back slightly, his pale eyes scanning the crowd with practiced assessment. His enhanced hearing caught fragments from dozens of conversations, students placing last-minute bets and debating strategies. The mysterious challenger had certainly succeeded in creating theater. Every face in the arena was animated with curiosity, excitement, or nervous energy.

’Predictable. They love a spectacle, especially one that might end in blood.’

Three rows down and to his left, he caught sight of a familiar figure rising from his seat with the same methodical precision Alex had observed every morning for weeks.

Gareth Thorne moved with unhurried steps toward the aisle, his earth-brown uniform perfectly neat, his expression as calm and unreadable as always. Students barely glanced at him as he passed. Just another spectator leaving early, perhaps to avoid the crowds after the match. Perhaps needing the restroom.

But something cold settled in Alex’s chest as he watched his roommate’s trajectory. Gareth wasn’t heading toward the exits or the facilities.

He was walking toward the competitor’s tunnel.

The realization hit like ice water in his veins. Alex’s carefully maintained mask of indifference cracked for perhaps the first time since arriving at the Academy, his pale eyes tracking Gareth’s steady progress through the stands.

’The quiet one who keeps to himself. The roommate who avoids politics. The non-factor I’ve been sharing a room with for weeks.’

"No way," someone whispered nearby, following Alex’s line of sight. "Is that... is that Thorne walking down there?"

"Gareth Thorne? The mining duke’s son?"

"What’s he doing? Where’s he going? The match is about to start."

"Maybe he’s got ringside seats or something. Mining money, you know."

The whispers began to spread as more students noticed the unremarkable young man making his way toward the arena floor. Gareth continued his descent with the same steady pace he used for everything. Walking to meals, attending classes, studying at his desk while Alex reviewed his own notes. Never rushed, never hurried, never drawing attention to himself.

’How did I miss this? How did I completely fail to see what was right in front of me?’

Alex’s mind raced through every interaction, every seemingly mundane detail. Gareth’s early morning departures, which Alex had assumed were for basic physical training. The combat theory textbooks that covered his desk every evening, which Alex had dismissed as academic interest. The way Gareth organized his schedule with military precision, always knowing exactly where he needed to be and when.

’He’s been planning this since the first week. Maybe before we even arrived.’

Professor Leo stood at the edge of the preparation tunnel, checking his timepiece with growing impatience. The anonymous challenger was running late, and the crowd’s energy was beginning to shift from anticipation to restlessness. Students were starting to mutter about delays and incompetence.

"Where is this mysterious challenger?"

"Maybe they got cold feet. I would."

"Challenging Blackthorne and then not showing up? That’s career suicide."

"Or actual suicide if her family takes offense."

Then Gareth emerged from the stands and approached the professor with a respectful nod.

The arena fell into a stunned silence as Professor Leo’s expression shifted through confusion, realization, and finally professional assessment. Even from his seat high in the stands, Alex could see the moment when the pieces clicked into place for the combat instructor. Leo’s eyebrows rose slightly, then settled into grim acceptance.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Professor Leo’s voice carried clearly across the suddenly quiet arena, "I present your challenger: Gareth Thorne, currently Rank 19!"

The silence shattered into absolute chaos.

"THORNE?!"

"The quiet kid from House Mining?"

"He’s challenging an S-ranked awakened?! That’s suicide!"

"Has he lost his mind completely?"

"Wait, wasn’t he supposed to have earth manipulation? How’s that going to work against Blackthorne?"

"Earth manipulation against whatever monster ability she’s hiding? He’ll be pulverized!"

"Maybe the rumors are true? About him being a dual ability user?"

"Dual ability? The Thorne family’s always been secretive about their bloodline capabilities."

"His father’s mining operations are too successful for just earth manipulation. Has to be something more."

"Could be gravity manipulation as his second ability. That would explain everything."

"Even dual abilities won’t matter against Blackthorne’s training. Pre-awakening rift exposure gives her essence saturation levels most of us can’t even comprehend."

"Or he could just be suicidal. S-ranked versus whatever he’s hiding? The gap might be unbridgeable."

Alex sat perfectly still amid the erupting crowd, his mind processing everything he’d observed about his roommate over the past weeks. The methodical way Gareth organized his belongings, everything in its precise place. His consistent early rising for what Alex had assumed were regular training sessions. The thick textbooks on combat theory, tactical analysis, and essence manipulation that covered his desk every evening.

’Not theory. Applied tactical analysis. He’s been studying her patterns, her fighting style, her weaknesses. Every match she’s fought, every technique she’s used.’

Every morning, Gareth had dressed with the same careful attention to detail, checking his uniform twice before leaving their room. Every evening, he’d studied with focused intensity while Alex worked on his own plans, occasionally making notes in margins or marking specific passages. Their conversations had been minimal, practical, devoid of the political maneuvering that defined most Academy interactions.

"Good morning."

"Classes finish at four today."

"I’ll be studying late tonight."

’He never asked questions. Never showed curiosity about what I was doing or planning. I thought that made him safe, predictable. Instead, he was protecting his own secrets.’

The betrayal felt familiar, even though Gareth had never actually lied to him. Just... omitted. Hidden his true intentions behind a mask of scholarly disinterest. It was exactly what Alex himself had been doing.

’Trust no one. How many times do I need to learn this lesson before it sticks?’

The crowd around him was getting louder, more animated. Students were frantically adjusting betting slips, trying to calculate new odds for a challenger nobody had seen coming.

"This changes everything! Thorne wasn’t even on the betting boards!"

"What are the odds now? Has to be at least fifty to one against him!"

"Fifty to one? Try a hundred to one! Blackthorne’s S-ranked with pre-awakening training!"

"Unless the dual ability rumors are true. That could change everything."

"Even dual abilities won’t bridge the gap between normal awakening and rift-saturated essence channels."

"Or maybe he knows something we don’t. Mining families are good at finding structural weaknesses."

"First time for everything!"

Around him, students were on their feet, shouting questions and theories:

"What’s his second ability? Has to be more than just earth manipulation!"

"I heard rumors about gravity manipulation in the Thorne bloodline. That could work!"

"Gravity manipulation against Blackthorne’s rift-enhanced abilities? She’ll crush him before he can blink!"

"But challenging her directly like this? That’s either genius or complete insanity!"

"Duke Thorne’s sons are supposed to stay politically neutral! This breaks decades of family policy!"

"Maybe that’s exactly why this is brilliant. No one expected it from him!"

"Or maybe he’s just tired of being invisible and decided to go out with a bang!"

Alex watched as Gareth disappeared into the preparation tunnel with the same unhurried pace he’d shown climbing the dormitory stairs every night. No theatrical gestures. No dramatic proclamations to the crowd. No acknowledgment of the stunned faces staring down at him. Just quiet, methodical purpose.

’I’ve been sharing a room with him for weeks. Watching him study. Listening to him move around the room. Analyzing everyone else as potential threats while he was right there, three feet away, planning something this significant.’

The implications were staggering. If Gareth had been planning this challenge since their first week at the Academy, what else had he been observing? What had he noticed about Alex’s own carefully hidden preparations? About the system interface Alex accessed when he thought Gareth was asleep? About the late-night training sessions Alex thought he was conducting in secret?

’He’s been watching me just as carefully as I’ve been watching everyone else. The question is what he’s concluded.’

A student near Alex was frantically adjusting betting slips, his hands shaking with either excitement or panic. "Thorne wasn’t even on the odds! Nobody thought to include him! This is going to bankrupt half the betting pools!"

"Smart money says he researched Blackthorne’s weaknesses extensively," another replied, trying to calculate new odds on his fingers. "Mining families are good at analyzing structural integrity. Maybe he found something in her fighting style."

"Or he’s about to get destroyed in the most public way possible. S-ranked with rift-enhanced essence versus a dual ability user who’s kept his second power secret? The training gap alone should be decisive."

"Unless he knows something we don’t. Something about her ability that his family’s resources uncovered."

"What if he’s been studying her matches for months? Looking for patterns, weaknesses, tells?"

"Even so, pre-awakening rift exposure gives her advantages most of us can’t even imagine. There’s a reason everyone fears facing her."

As the arena settled into tense anticipation for the match to begin, Alex found himself genuinely surprised for the first time in weeks. His roommate, the quiet, unremarkable boy who studied combat theory and avoided political entanglements, had just made the boldest move in Academy history.

’Fifteen minutes ago, I would have bet everything that Gareth Thorne was the least threatening person in this building. Either I’ve completely miscalculated his capabilities, or I’m about to watch the most spectacular failure in Academy dueling history.’

But something nagged at him. Gareth wasn’t impulsive. Everything the boy did was measured, calculated, thought through from multiple angles. If he was challenging Petra Blackthorne, he genuinely believed he could win. And if Gareth believed he could win...

’Which means he’s been hiding far more than I realized. His second ability, his true training level, his strategic thinking. Everything I thought I knew about him was carefully constructed misdirection.’

The crowd’s energy continued to build as barriers hummed to life around the arena floor, creating a shimmering dome of protective energy. In a few minutes, the quiet boy who’d shared his room would face the Academy’s S-ranked prodigy in single combat. The match that would either elevate him to legendary status or destroy his Academy career entirely.

Alex settled back in his seat, every sense focused on what was about to unfold. Whatever happened next, he would be watching very, very carefully. Analyzing every move, every technique, every strategic decision.

’The most dangerous people are the ones you never see coming. I should have remembered that applies to roommates too. This changes everything about how I’ll need to approach our living situation going forward.’