Mia walked toward the Academy's arena to meet up with her class. From a distance, she spotted the group of students gathered—but after observing for a moment, she noticed: Arthur wasn't there.
— {Where could that boy be?} — she wondered, frowning.
Worried, she started searching for him across the school, fearful that Kidero might have done something. She checked the classroom, then his cabin—no sign of him. Nervously, she considered the possibility that he was training and headed to the Gravity Chamber. When she arrived, she was startled by the scene:
— ARTHUR! ARTHUR! — she shouted, seeing him lying on the ground.
— {What happened? Why is he like this?} — she panicked internally.
— Hmm? What is it? — Arthur mumbled, sitting up and yawning.
— Why are you lying there?! The first matches already started! We're a little late. Two duels are happening at once, and judging by the explosions, the first ones are already over. Come on—before it's our turn! — Mia said, visibly annoyed.
— {If I lose my match because of him, I swear... But why was he sleeping there of all places?} — she thought, frustrated.
— Alright, I'm coming. Sorry, I trained too hard and must've dozed off. — Arthur explained.
— Hmph... whatever, let's go.
They ran together toward the arena, just in time to hear a second explosion—the clear signal that the first two battles had ended.
At the Academy, fights were structured as one-on-one duels. The arena was divided in half to allow two matches to happen simultaneously. With 12 students per class, three rounds were enough for the 6 winners to move forward. But Arthur's class had 13 students. Because of that, the principal ordered Moriyama to leave Arthur's match for last, so he could face one of the six winners.
— Where were you two?! Mia, it's your turn now. If you had arrived ten seconds later, you would've been disqualified. — snapped Moriyama.
— I went to get Arthur... I didn't see him around and— — Mia tried to explain.
— Just go to the arena. We'll talk later. — Moriyama interrupted her.
— Fine. — Mia answered and hurried off.
Moriyama kept her eyes on Arthur, concerned. She doubted whether he was really ready to fight and suspected he hadn't trained enough.
— LET THE THIRD AND FOURTH MATCHES BEGIN! — Moriyama announced using a magical voice amplifier.
The duels commenced. On one side, Mia fought using wind magic, while her opponent, Ayame, wielded electricity-based magic with metal-enhanced gloves and boots, powerful tools for close-range combat. On the other side of the arena, Kazuko, using earth magic, faced off against Kidero, who fought with a fire-forged sword.
Arthur hesitated—torn between both battles—but chose to watch Mia's fight. She had always supported him from the beginning.
Mia opened aggressively:
— Cutting Winds!
She launched a gust of slicing wind toward Ayame, but with her body enveloped in electricity, Ayame dodged effortlessly and rushed straight at her.
— Wind Vortex! — Mia cast, trying to pull Ayame in, drain her mana, and immobilize her within the swirling current.
But Ayame retaliated swiftly:
— Charged Punch!
Although designed for close quarters, Ayame charged it with extra mana, transforming it into a ranged strike. The blast hit Mia head-on, knocking her to the ground and instantly canceling the vortex.
— You did well, Mia. But you'll need to try harder than that. — Ayame said, approaching to place a hand on Mia's abdomen and claim victory.
— Wind Wall! — shouted Mia, counterattacking.
She had been faking unconsciousness, using Ayame's overconfidence against her. With one sudden spell, Mia hurled Ayame across the arena, her body skidding until it crashed face-first onto the ground.
Sparks of electricity began dancing across Ayame's gear.
— Y-you IDIOOOOOT! — she screamed, fury flaring in her eyes like live wire.
— Now you'll learn never to fool me again.
Ayame transferred even more mana into her gloves and boots—the electric aura now surging wildly—and dashed toward Mia with greater speed.
— Wind Guard! — Mia conjured, summoning a wind shield in desperation.
But Ayame obliterated the guardian with a single punch, charging ahead relentlessly.
Both were nearly out of mana, and if that happened, they'd be forced into hand-to-hand combat. Knowing she wasn't built for that, Mia took a final gamble:
— Wind Vortex!
The vortex reformed, immediately drawing Ayame in and draining her mana, which ironically helped sustain the spell itself.
Ayame, despite being pulled and weakened, pushed forward, inching closer. She knew Mia couldn't move or cast other spells while maintaining the vortex—her greatest vulnerability.
— {If this keeps up, I'll lose. But... I could pull off something. If I take off one glove, overcharge it with electricity, and throw it—she won't be able to dodge.} — Ayame strategized.
She deactivated the mana in her boots, poured all her remaining energy into her left glove, removed it, and with her right hand still charged, delivered her final move:
— Charged Punch!
Her strike hit the supercharged glove, propelling it like a projectile—it slammed into Mia's abdomen, causing her to instantly faint and collapse. The vortex vanished with her consciousness.
Just before blacking out, Mia had one last thought:
— {What in the world does she put in that glove...?}
Arthur then heard the sharp crack of a magical explosion—the battles were over.
— {That explosion... Kidero's fight ended too, and I didn't even get to watch...} — he thought, disappointed.
— END OF THE FOURTH MATCH! WINNER: AYAME! — declared Moriyama.
— Take Mia to the infirmary.
Arthur debated whether to stay and watch the next matches, but—
— {No... I should go see how Mia is doing.}
From a distance, Moriyama watched him go:
— {Good. Let him stay with Mia. If she doesn't wake up in time, he'll miss the fight. He won't get hurt, and the others won't mock him.}
— LET THE FIFTH AND SIXTH MATCHES BEGIN! — Moriyama announced with force.
Will Arthur lose his first battle… without even fighting?