1. Duel Announcement and Rising Tension
The morning sun filtered through thick clouds, casting an eerie reddish sheen across the training fields. Another day beneath the cursed Hunter's Moon, and the shadows it birthed seemed to cling longer than they should.
But what truly sent tremors through the candidate quarters wasn't the sky.
It was the board posted outside the combat arena's staging gates.
[Special Faculty-Approved Duel – Combat Evaluation Match
Participants: Kirin Zecht vs. Velis Noxen
Evaluator: Professor Aaron Aetherwyn
Time: High Noon
Location: Central Arena]
The hallway went still as stone.
Some students stared in shock. Others gasped. One girl began praying on the spot. Another packed her bags to "visit her grandmother's grave early."
Even Axel Myrravelle dropped his quill mid-theory.
"They've lost their minds," he whispered. "Putting two of the strongest candidates under his gaze?"
He clutched his latest notebook:
[ Theory #52: Direct gaze equals soul disassembly.
Theory #53: Professor Aetherwyn might be testing successors for his hidden sect.
Theory #54: This duel will shake the foundations of the academy.]
He circled #54 with shaking hands.
---
2. The Silent Oversight Begins
High above the stadium, Aaron stepped into the evaluator's deck—his usual tea in hand, his cloak loose around his shoulders, and his face showing mild confusion.
He leaned over the rail and whispered to Lily. "I don't remember approving this duel."
"You didn't," she said.
Nova, lounging beside her, smirked. "But you watched them both yesterday. That's all it takes now. They think you see potential where you glance."
Aaron frowned. "But I wasn't looking at—"
"Doesn't matter," Lily cut in. "To them, your silence means prophecy."
Aaron groaned quietly and sat down.
The moment he did, the stadium quieted as if the arena itself were holding its breath.
Two figures entered opposite ends of the field.
Kirin Zecht, descendant of a fallen house, clad in muted robes reinforced with stormweave runes, his staff humming with electrical potential.
Velis Noxen, tall and lean, with stark gray eyes and robes laced with reactive glyphs. He looked like a scholar dressed for war.
They didn't shake hands.
They nodded once, locked gazes, and waited.
The bell rang.
---
3. Clash of Prodigies
The duel began in a whisper of wind.
Kirin moved first—three steps, a spin, staff raised. Lightning danced from the sky to his fingertips, and he launched it with brutal precision.
Velis responded instantly—no chant, just a flick of his wrist and a trap rune unfurled from beneath the sand. The bolt struck a mirrored shield, redirected back to Kirin's left.
But Kirin was already gone.
He reappeared above, midair, using a low-grade flight glyph embedded in his boots—one he had never shown before.
Velis gritted his teeth. "Hiding tech in exams. Bold."
He sent a wave of pressure toward Kirin's path—gravity magic meant to slam the boy downward. Kirin adjusted, shifted his staff, and rode the falling mana like a surfer on a wave.
The crowd gasped as he twisted midair and cast again—two arcs of chain lightning, curved unnaturally.
Velis grounded one. The other he caught with a spectral net, then flung toward Kirin's shadow.
It exploded just behind him.
Even Aaron blinked.
"They're good," he muttered.
"Good?" Nova laughed. "They're rewriting your syllabus."
Lily watched carefully. "Both are holding back. But they're adapting with every move."
Velis activated a three-part array: heat nullification, slow-time field, and a sigil tether. Kirin answered with cloud surge cover and a decoy clone composed of charged air.
The crowd couldn't follow anymore.
But Aaron could.
And the students watching from the balconies whispered prayers.
---
4. Judged by a Glance
Then, the turning point.
Velis slipped—not physically, but tactically. He misread a positioning feint and overcommitted his mana to a trap that Kirin sidestepped entirely.
The crowd didn't notice.
Aaron did.
He leaned forward, brow slightly furrowed.
Velis felt it.
He froze mid-cast. Cold sweat rolled down his spine.
He didn't look up—but he felt Aaron watching. Felt the pressure, the weight of judgment. His mana pulse spiked in confusion. Glyph lines flickered erratically.
In the stands, Axel whispered, "He's looking at him… He's looking."
Kirin launched a thunder spear. Velis barely shielded, deflecting it into the sand. Smoke rose. His breathing was ragged now.
He hadn't lost the duel to Kirin.
He was losing to Aaron's silence.
Then Kirin hesitated. His eyes flicked upward.
Aaron turned to sip his tea.
Kirin paled.
Both boys took three careful steps back and dropped to one knee.
"Enough," Aaron said, voice mild.
It echoed like thunder.
---
5. The Aftermath and Misunderstandings Deepen
The crowd stood in stunned silence.
Lily shook her head. "They surrendered."
"To you," Nova teased.
Aaron frowned. "But I didn't say anything aggressive…"
Nova grinned. "That's what makes it worse."
Axel was already adding to his notebook.
[ Theory #56: Aaron Aetherwyn's words distort space-time.
Theory #57: If he speaks your name during battle, your lineage is erased. ]
On the field, both Kirin and Velis bowed deeply.
They didn't say a word.
Because in their minds, Aaron's "Enough" was more than just a duel conclusion—it was a divine verdict.
Aaron, scratching the back of his head, turned to Lily. "I think I scared them."
"You think?" she snapped. "You looked at one of them for two seconds and he started trembling like a cursed rat."
"I was just wondering if his leg was hurt."
"Maybe stop wondering so visibly next time."
Later, as the crowd began to filter out and the field was cleared, Aaron made his way through the instructor corridor, only to be stopped at the far stairwell by a quiet voice.
"Professor Aetherwyn."
It was Velis.
The boy bowed low.
"I… thank you for allowing me to be tested beneath your gaze."
Aaron looked at him, puzzled. "I didn't test you. You just fought."
"Exactly," Velis said reverently. "That was the test."
Before Aaron could explain further, Kirin appeared beside him, head bowed.
"You've clarified much, Professor," he said calmly. "Even without words."
Aaron's lips parted. He hesitated.
Then he gave a gentle nod.
Both students looked like they'd just received blessings from the celestial realm.
As they walked away, Aaron whispered, "Did I… accidentally inspire them?"
From a nearby hallway, Kaelen watched the scene unfold in silence.
He didn't speak.
But the fire in his eyes was unmistakable.
That man isn't just a mystery, Kaelen thought.
He's a force of nature, wrapped in humility.
---
6. Quiet Reflections
That evening, while most candidates rested, Aaron wandered back toward the training grounds under the fading red glow of the Hunter's Moon.
He sat on one of the observation rails, alone, looking over the arena with quiet curiosity.
He didn't know what kind of expectations he had when he agreed to teach here.
He certainly didn't expect to be feared.
Respected, maybe. Ignored, likely.
But feared?
He looked down at his hands.
"I really don't get it."
From the far end of the grounds, a gentle voice called out.
"You made two top-tier candidates bow in silence."
It was Nova, standing beneath a lantern blossom tree, her silver hair catching the wind.
Aaron sighed. "They bowed to an illusion."
Nova smiled. "Perhaps. But illusions often shape reality faster than truth."
She walked away, leaving him alone with the red sky.
Above them, the Hunter's Moon shimmered faintly—watching.
And somewhere deep beneath the academy, ancient mana stirred.
---
End of Chapter 36