Chapter 249 - 248 : Thermokinesis
Damian sat forward in his seat, his elbows resting against his knees as he watched the battlefield carefully.
Beside him, Aiden’s expression was unusually serious. Victor, meanwhile, had his arms folded across his chest, his eyes following every movement of the two combatants.
Just behind them sat Isabella, Julia, Evangeline, and Aaron.
None of them looked away from the arena.
At the center of the training grounds stood Arthur and Astarte.
The two faced each other several meters apart.
Astarte calmly raised one hand.
She flicked her finger.
The space surrounding the training grounds suddenly distorted.
A faint ripple spread outward, almost like a transparent wave passing through the air.
A moment later, an enormous translucent barrier formed around the entire battlefield.
It was not simply a dome.
The barrier seemed to exist slightly outside normal space, its surface shimmering faintly as though the entire training ground had been enclosed within an isolated subspace.
Several students immediately noticed it.
"She created that herself?"
"That’s a subspace barrier..."
"She didn’t use any academy equipment."
"Isn’t that the same kind of thing Headmistress Athena can create?"
The whispers quickly spread through the stands.
Even some of the instructors looked surprised.
Astarte glanced around the barrier before turning her attention back toward Arthur.
"Now you don’t have to worry about dying like you did when we first met."
Arthur looked at the barrier, then back at her.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I really appreciate it, my lady."
Astarte’s lips curved slightly.
But the expression did not last.
Her eyes narrowed.
Her voice suddenly became far more menacing.
"You know, my servant..."
Arthur froze.
"Yes... my lady?"
’Why the hell does she look pissed off?’
Astarte slowly walked toward him.
"Lately, you’ve been spending a lot of time with other bitches instead of taking care of me."
Arthur’s expression stiffened.
"Why is that? Have you forgotten your duty?"
She stopped in front of him, her smile becoming increasingly dangerous.
"Looks like I need to teach you a lesson."
Astarte turned away from Arthur and gestured toward the weapons section along the edge of the training grounds.
"Don’t you want a weapon?"
Arthur followed her gesture.
His expression immediately brightened.
"Don’t mind if I do."
He walked toward the weapons section.
The room contained practically everything a fighter could ask for.
Rows of swords stood inside racks. Spears, axes, halberds, daggers, bows, crossbows, and various other weapons filled the storage area. There were even several specialized weapons designed specifically for magical combat.
Arthur slowly walked past them.
His eyes moved from one weapon to another.
None of them particularly interested him.
Then his gaze stopped.
In the corner of the room sat an old wooden container.
Arthur approached it and crouched down.
Inside were dozens of small metal spheres.
They were neither polished nor perfectly shaped. Most were scratched, slightly dented, and covered in patches of discoloration. Some had even lost portions of their original coating, exposing the dull metal beneath.
Arthur picked one up and examined it.
Astarte approached from behind, curiosity appearing in her eyes.
"What are those?"
She glanced into the container.
"And are you sure you want to use them?"
Arthur rolled one of the spheres between his fingers.
"Old training projectiles. They’re made from a dense alloy and were originally used for testing defensive barriers and impact resistance."
He looked at the worn spheres.
"They’re too small to be useful as normal weapons, so they’ve mostly been discarded."
Astarte shrugged.
"If that’s what you want."
Arthur smiled.
"That’s exactly what I want."
To everyone’s surprise, Arthur reached into the container.
Then he took another handful.
And another.
Soon, dozens of the small metal spheres had disappeared into his storage ring.
Several students exchanged confused looks.
"What is he doing?"
"Those things are useless."
"Against skeletons? Definitely."
Even Astarte looked mildly puzzled.
Arthur simply returned to the center of the training grounds.
Astarte followed.
Once they were back in position, she looked at him.
"Are you ready?"
Arthur nodded.
"Yes, ma’am."
Astarte smiled.
"Good."
She stomped her foot against the ground.
BOOM!
The entire training ground trembled.
An enormous wave of mana erupted from beneath her feet, spreading across the battlefield like a shockwave.
The ground cracked.
Then something began clawing its way out.
Bones emerged from beneath the earth.
One skeleton.
Then ten.
Then fifty.
Then hundreds.
Within seconds, the entire battlefield was surrounded by an army of undead.
Their hollow eye sockets glowed with an eerie light as killing intent flooded the training grounds.
Each skeleton carried a different weapon.
Some wielded swords.
Others held spears, axes, shields, bows, or enormous two-handed weapons.
The skeletal army slowly advanced.
Arthur turned his head.
Left.
Right.
Behind him.
Every direction was filled with undead.
There was nowhere to escape.
Astarte smiled.
Suddenly, the space beside her distorted.
A black chair materialized from the ground.
She casually sat down, crossing one leg over the other like a queen watching a performance prepared exclusively for her.
A large, ferocious smile spread across her face.
"Entertain me, and I might forgive you."
Arthur did not answer.
Instead, he reached into his storage ring.
Several small metal spheres appeared in his hand.
He looked down at them.
"Time to test whether this actually works."
His expression changed.
The playfulness disappeared from his eyes.
Arthur closed his fingers around the spheres.
His mana began circulating through his body.
Then another energy awakened.
Thermal energy.
The newly acquired power within his bloodline responded to his will.
The temperature around him began to rise.
In the stands, Isabella frowned.
"What’s he planning to do with those balls?"
She looked at the metal spheres.
"They’re practically useless against living opponents, let alone undead."
Aaron’s eyes narrowed.
"If he really can use thermal energy the way he claimed earlier, it’ll be a different story."
He leaned forward.
"You guys just watch."
Victor glanced at him.
"Why is that nerd suddenly acting like he knows everything?"
Aaron’s mouth twitched.
Before he could respond, Evangeline suddenly pointed toward the battlefield.
"Look ahead, morons."
Everyone turned their attention back to the arena.
Arthur suddenly bent his knees.
Then he pushed against the ground with all his strength.
BOOM!
The earth beneath his feet cracked violently.
Arthur launched himself into the air.
His body shot upward like a cannonball.
Within an instant, he was dozens of meters above the battlefield.
Below him, hundreds of skeletons moved like a sea of bones.
Arthur looked down.
Then he opened his palm.
The metal spheres floated around him.
His eyes narrowed.
Thermokinesis activated.
The temperature inside the spheres began rising.
At first, nothing happened.
Then the metal began to glow.
Red.
Then orange.
Then brighter.
Within seconds, the spheres were glowing almost white.
The surrounding air distorted from the immense heat.
Yet the metal did not melt.
That was the terrifying part.
Arthur was not simply heating them.
He was controlling them.
His thermokinesis wrapped around every sphere, maintaining the structural integrity of the dense alloy while forcing an enormous amount of thermal energy into each tiny projectile.
The heat was being compressed inward.
Contained.
Condensed.
Arthur’s palm remained completely unharmed.
He was not allowing the thermal energy to escape.
Instead, he was forcing it deeper into the spheres.
’If I lose control of the temperature for even a moment, these things will explode before I throw them.’
Arthur’s eyes moved across the battlefield.
Hundreds of skeletons were now converging beneath him.
He smiled.
"Let’s see if you guys can survive this."
He pulled his arm backward.
His physical strength was his highest attribute.
And he intended to use every bit of it.
Then he threw the first sphere.
The tiny metal projectile disappeared downward.
For a fraction of a second, it was almost impossible to see.
Then—
BOOM!
The sphere struck the ground.
A gigantic explosion erupted.
A projectile that had looked almost insignificant only moments earlier had transformed into a miniature thermal bomb.
A wave of heat and pressure tore across the battlefield.
Skeletons were blasted apart instantly.
Bones flew through the air.
Weapons were sent spinning across the ground.
The earth beneath the impact point was violently torn apart.
The explosion was far more powerful than anyone had anticipated.
Even Astarte’s eyes widened.
She had clearly not expected that level of destruction.
Smoke and dust rapidly swallowed the battlefield.
Astarte remained seated.
A small transparent barrier had appeared around her body, protecting her from the blast.
The shockwave struck it.
The barrier rippled.
When the smoke briefly cleared, nearly half of the skeletal army had already been destroyed.
Astarte’s smile disappeared.
Her golden eyes narrowed.
"Interesting."
But Arthur was not finished.
He was still falling.
Before reaching the ground, he pulled several more spheres from his storage ring.
His fingers moved.
He threw them in rapid succession.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each sphere struck a different section of the battlefield.
Another series of thermal explosions erupted.
The shockwaves overlapped.
Bones were blasted into fragments.
Weapons were hurled through the air.
The ground cracked apart beneath the tremendous pressure.
Entire groups of skeletons disappeared inside the expanding fire and heat.
The destruction spread across the training grounds.
Even Astarte’s large subspace barrier began to ripple violently.
For the first time, the barrier surrounding the battlefield looked as though it was being pushed toward its limit.
The smaller defensive barrier around Astarte herself trembled.
A tiny crack appeared across its surface.
Astarte looked at it.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Then another explosion erupted in the distance.
BOOM!
The battlefield disappeared beneath a massive cloud of smoke.
The stands fell completely silent.
Damian’s eyes were wide.
Aiden’s mouth was slightly open.
Victor stared at the battlefield in disbelief.
Isabella, Julia, Evangeline, and Aaron were equally stunned.
Nobody had expected that.
Nobody had expected those tiny metal spheres to produce that kind of destruction.
Arthur finally descended through the smoke.
His feet touched the ground.
THUD.
The battlefield around him was almost unrecognizable.
The ground had been shattered.
Cracks spread in every direction.
Broken bones and weapons were scattered across the arena.
Most of the skeletal army had been completely obliterated.
The only relatively untouched section was the area where Astarte had been sitting.
Astarte slowly stood.
She dismissed the small barrier surrounding herself.
Her gaze moved across the ruined training grounds before returning to Arthur.
"It was kind of impressive, Arthur."
A faint smile returned to her lips.
"Looks like you’ve gained an ability to manipulate thermal energy."
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"But it still takes a mental toll on me."
He looked at the metal spheres still remaining in his storage ring.
"If I don’t control everything with enough precision, they’ll explode in my face before I can even use them."
Astarte’s expression became genuinely impressed.
"Good."
She stepped forward.
"You should at least be this capable if you’re going to stand by my side."
Arthur did not answer.
Instead, he lowered his body slightly.
His feet shifted.
His hands came up.
He took a fighting stance.
Astarte blinked.
Arthur looked directly at her.
"Well..."
A faint grin appeared on his face.
"It’s still not over."
Astarte stared at him for a moment.
Then she burst into laughter.
"You still want to fight me?"
Her laughter echoed across the ruined training grounds.
"Don’t get cocky."
She raised her hand.
"But..."
Her smile became sharp.
"I like that determination."
She lowered herself slightly.
"Come at me."
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
Mana surged through his body.