On Sunday, nearly two hundred students gathered on the training grounds. Among them, only forty were Aetherbound. The rest were ordinary students—non-Aetherbound.
Harry was one of them.
Surprisingly, he wasn't scared. Most of the Aetherbound students had awakened their abilities only recently. They could barely control their powers, let alone use them effectively in battle.
For the first thirty minutes, the students warmed up.
Harry had a small build and was considered short for a fourteen-year-old, but he was physically fit. He dropped to the ground and began doing push-ups, trying to pump his body and get his blood circulating.
Soon, a teacher walked onto the field.
He was a Rank-B Aetherbound with a Fire ability, though he belonged to the support class. His specialty was investigation. By manipulating heat signatures, he could detect living beings and even see the residual heat traces left behind on objects they had touched. Because of this unique ability, he served in the City Aetherbound Police Force.
Standing before the students, he began explaining the importance of Aetherbound and the history behind them.
Thousands of years ago, when humanity stood on the brink of extinction, the gods sacrificed themselves to save mankind. Even in death, they left behind fragments of their divine power—blessings that allowed certain humans to awaken as Aetherbound.
Although discrimination wasn't openly practiced, human bias still existed.
The teacher stood closer to the Aetherbound students while explaining the deeper parts of the history. Because of the distance and noise, the non-Aetherbound students could barely hear him.
Most of them didn't care anyway.
History meant little to them.
The lecture ended after forty minutes. The teacher then explained the rules for the upcoming duels.
Students would use wooden weapons enchanted with protective magic, preventing them from piercing or causing fatal injuries.
Points would be awarded as follows:
3 points if the opponent is knocked out of the ring.
1 point if the opponent falls inside the ring.
2 points if a student pins their opponent to the ground for three seconds.
3 points if the opponent faints.
The first match was announced.
Lucas Green vs Daniel Rivers
Lucas stepped forward confidently. He possessed the Nature element, allowing him to manipulate soil. With his ability, he could form earthen shields or launch attacks.
His Aether Core was D-grade, with 18% saturation.
Daniel, on the other hand, controlled the Water element. His core was also D-grade, but slightly weaker at 15% saturation.
His primary ability was Water Bubble, a common defensive technique that trapped or shielded targets in a sphere of water.
The duel began.
Lucas immediately sprinted toward Daniel.
Panicking, Daniel activated Water Bubble, forming a spherical barrier around himself.
But Lucas had anticipated that.
He had rushed forward only to bait Daniel into using his ability early.
For newly awakened Aetherbound, abilities were extremely limited. Using them too frequently could cause an Aether Crash—a dangerous state where the fragment inside their core ran out of energy. At lower grades it wasn't fatal, but it left the user completely exhausted.
At higher ranks, however, it could become life-threatening.
Daniel's breathing grew heavy.
He realized he had been tricked. At best, he could use his ability one more time.
But instead of conserving his strength, he made a bold move.
Gripping his weapon—a spear—he lunged forward.
Daniel had chosen the spear for a reason. It offered superior range and speed, perfect for quick exchanges. Since most newly awakened Aetherbound struggled to activate abilities quickly, he planned to overwhelm them with fast attacks.
He closed the distance rapidly.
Only thirty centimeters separated them.
Suddenly—
Lucas stomped his foot.
A wall of soil erupted from the ground, rising to block the attack.
Reacting instantly, Daniel created another water bubble beneath his feet and jumped onto it, avoiding the earthen wall bursting upward.
For a brief moment, he was suspended in the air.
As he began falling, he hurled his spear toward Lucas with all his strength.
The spectators gasped.
Many students shouted in admiration at Daniel's quick thinking.
The spear shot forward at terrifying speed.
Lucas was cornered.
In panic, he tried to raise another earth wall.
But he was slightly too slow.
The wall formed just in time to deflect the spear, yet the weapon still struck Lucas's left shoulder.
He collapsed to the ground.
Daniel, however, had already fainted after crashing onto the ground moments earlier, his body drained from overusing his ability.
Silence filled the arena.
Both fighters lay unconscious.
After a brief pause, the instructor raised his hand.
"Winner… Lucas Green."
He had won by a slight margin.
From the sidelines, Harry watched the match with a dark expression.
Even though they had barely trained their abilities, the Aetherbound students were already smart enough to use them effectively.
And that realization…
Put him in a bad mood.