The Academy’s central arena was packed. It was "Combat Assessment Day," the one day of the year where students had to prove they weren't just decorative ornaments in silk robes.
Luna stood in the very back of the student line, literally leaning against a gargoyle. She had cast a Minor Perception Filter on herself, ensuring that to everyone else, she looked like a particularly dull patch of grey fog.
"Next match!" the instructor shouted. "Prince Alistair versus… Baron Wolfgang!"
The crowd roared. Wolfgang was a mountain of a boy who specialized in Earth Magic. He looked like he ate boulders for breakfast. Alistair, on the other hand, walked into the ring wearing armor so polished it was currently blinding the front row of spectators.
"Do not fear, citizens!" Alistair shouted, waving a hand. "I shall handle this with the grace of a thousand swans!"
He leaned back and whispered toward the empty air behind him. "Luna? You’re there, right? Tell me you're there. I think Wolfgang just growled at me."
"I'm here," Luna’s voice drifted from the shadows near his ear. "Don't turn around. Just try not to fall over your own feet."
"Ready… Begin!"
Wolfgang didn't waste time. He slammed his fists into the ground. "EARTH SPIKE!"
A jagged pillar of rock erupted from the floor, heading straight for Alistair’s chin. The Prince shrieked—a sound that was definitely not a "warrior’s cry"—and covered his face with his shield.
"Luna! LUNA! HELP!"
Luna sighed, lazily flicking her wrist from the shadows. “Molecular Softening.”
The moment the rock spike hit Alistair’s shield, it didn't shatter the Prince. Instead, the stone turned into the consistency of wet sponge. It hit the shield with a soft splat and crumbled into harmless sand.
Alistair blinked. He looked at his shield, then at the pile of sand.
"Hah!" Alistair suddenly stood tall, throwing his hair back. "Is that all? Your rocks are as weak as your fashion sense, Wolfgang! My divine aura has turned your earth into dust!"
"What?!" Wolfgang growled, his face turning purple. "Try this! METEOR CRUSH!"
He summoned five massive boulders into the air, hovering them directly over Alistair. The crowd gasped. This was enough power to flatten a carriage.
Alistair looked up. His knees began to do that familiar clank-clank-clank dance. "Luna? That’s… that’s a lot of gravity. Luna? I’m going to cry. I’m starting to cry!"
"Shut up and point your sword at them," Luna muttered. She closed her eyes, focusing her mana. “Vector Reversal.”
The boulders fell. But halfway down, they didn't just stop—they bounced. Like giant rubber balls, they hit an invisible barrier around Alistair and flew backward, flying over the arena walls and landing harmlessly in the school pond. Splash!
The arena went silent.
Alistair stood in the center of the ring, his sword trembling in his hand. He realized he hadn't died. He slowly looked at the crowd, then at his sword.
"I… I am a GOD!" Alistair screamed, thrusting his sword into the air. "I didn't even have to move! My sheer handsomeness has repelled the very earth itself!"
The girls in the stands went wild. "Prince Alistair! He’s so powerful! He didn't even use a chant!"
Wolfgang fell to his knees, defeated and confused.
Luna, leaning against her gargoyle, rubbed her temples. "He's going to be unbearable for the rest of the week," she whispered to herself.
"Victory to Prince Alistair!" the instructor yelled, looking equally confused.
Alistair strutted out of the ring, heading straight for the dark corner where Luna was hiding. As soon as he was out of earshot of the fans, he leaned in, his face pale and covered in sweat.
"Did you see that?!" he hissed. "I almost died! My heart is beating so fast I think I've bruised a rib! And my cape is dusty!"
"You're welcome," Luna said, already turning to leave.
"Wait! The King and Queen are arriving tomorrow for the victory banquet!" Alistair grabbed at the air where she was. "They heard I'm a 'prodigy' now! You have to stay close! If they ask me to demonstrate my power and I accidentally just wet myself, the kingdom is doomed!"
Luna stopped. She looked at the Prince. He looked like a frightened puppy in gold-plated armor.
"Fine," Luna said. "But if I have to go to a banquet, I’m stealing a whole tray of those miniature sausages. And you’re going to tell the guards I’m allowed to be there."
"Anything! I'll tell them you're a… a decorative shadow!"
"Good," Luna said. "Now go wipe your face. You have a smudge of dirt on your nose and it’s making your 'divine aura' look lopsided."
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