Chapter 25: Precision Over Power
The air hummed with excitement as Aiden stepped forward.
Ethan watched from the edge of the ring, still catching his breath from the carryover adrenaline of the previous matches. Whispers circled among the spectators—some impressed by Kai’s performance, others still buzzing about Ethan’s wind-boosted blow.
Then someone spoke:
"Okay, that was Kai. What about the quiet one?"
No sooner had the words dropped than Kai nudged Aiden in the direction of the center circle. "Your turn, savant."
Aiden looked down at his robes for a moment, adjusting the cuff—an almost unconscious gesture of preparation. He glanced up slowly, calm as dawn. Then his voice surfaced, smooth and even:
"All right. Who’s next?"
Valen, acting now as the referee for the rotating duels, stepped forward and scanned the crowd. Her clear gaze landed on Tyras—a broad-shouldered first-year with a chest nearly bursting from overconfidence. Rune-patched sleeves wound around his arms and up to his temples, an obvious show of brute-force mana tattoos.
"She’ll do," Tyras said, smirking as he pushed between other students and entered the ring.
Aiden nodded once, and the ring cleared. Only the padded apartments of the ring, the surrounding bench, and a hush that settled over the audience remained.
Valen looked at them both. "Same rules. First to be pushed outside the circle loses. Duke it out."