Chapter 44: Friendly Duels

The sheets were a mess and the room was still cool.

Arthur lay on his back with Selene tucked against his side under the tangled blankets, her silver-white hair spilled across the pillow between them. The faint light before dawn hadn’t reached the window yet. The quiet after last night’s work made the whole dorm feel far away.

Arthur traced an idle pattern on the edge of the blanket, thinking out loud.

"What’s the academy planning to do next? After the attack."

Selene’s voice was soft, a little tired.

"Lily has already informed every major kingdom on the continent," she said. "The people who came here are now wanted criminals in every capital. Some of the noble houses tried to place blame on the academy for letting it happen, for not protecting their children better. None of them pushed it. Not when Lily was in the room. They know better."

Arthur absorbed that in silence.

"And Tom? Any word?"

"Nothing yet. The tracking teams lost him at the border. Equinox knows how to hide."

A small pause. Then Arthur asked, "Can you teach me the spells from your Grimoire? The real ones, not just the compressed ice you use for demonstrations."

Selene lifted her head just enough to look at him. A faint, almost shy smile touched her lips.

"Of course. After last night... I can feel my channels are clearer. The remaining frostbite was holding me back more than I realized. My ice responds faster."

She couldn’t see the change the way he could. On the low table nearby, the Eros Codex was open. On its page the Frost Sovereign seal that only he could read now shone cleanly:

[MASTERY: 40%]

Arthur didn’t mention the number. He just pulled the blanket up a little more.

They talked for a while longer — about the repairs still ongoing across the east wing, about the first-years who had started calling Arthur ’instructor’ as a joke, about nothing important at all. Eventually the quiet and the exhaustion pulled them under again. They fell asleep tangled together as the last of the night faded.

Morning arrived with noise.

When Arthur stepped out of the Dawn dormitory after washing and changing, the open area in front of the building was packed. Almost every first-year from House Dawn was present, still in training clothes. Mixed among them were students from Nova, Dusk, and Star as well, sitting on the low wall, stretching. Iris Blackthorn stood near the front beside Milo, arms folded, violet eyes calm but attentive. Julian Ironwood stood at the edge with his sword over his shoulder, watching.

The moment they noticed him the crowd stirred.

"Arthur!" Milo called, waving him over. "You finally showed up. We thought you’d sleep in."

Iris added in her usual even tone, "Everyone here wants to get stronger. They were here before breakfast. They want you to teach them."

Arthur stopped walking and dragged a hand down his face.

"When exactly did I become the default teacher for the first-year students?" he muttered.

"You beat Julian," Milo whispered with a grin. "That’s basically a promotion."

Arthur looked over the determined faces, then exhaled. He couldn’t say no to that look. Not after yesterday.

"Fine," he said. "But we’re not just doing drills. First we need to understand how everyone actually fights. Friendly duels. No lethal spells, no Grimoire overdrive. I will referee along with the house captains. If anything looks like it will cause real injury, we stop it immediately. Understood?"

A chorus of nods.

He glanced at Julian. Julian gave a short, sharp nod. "I’ll stop anything stupid."

Iris nodded as well. "Same." The remaining two first-year captains — a broad boy from Dusk and a sharp-eyed girl from Star — also agreed.

The students spread out across the training grounds, clearing three rough circles in the dirt. Matches began one after another.

First circle: a boy from House Star whose Grimoire produced living ink versus a girl from Nova whose book controlled small paper talismans.

"Go!" Arthur called.

The ink boy flicked his wrist. "Ink Hound!"

Black ink splashed onto the ground and rose into the shape of a lanky dog. The talisman girl didn’t wait.

"Bind! Bind! Bind!" Three papers shot out, spinning.

The ink dog tore through the first net, dissolved the second, but got tangled in the third. The girl tried to use the opening to close distance.

"You’re focusing too much on the beast!" Arthur shouted at the ink boy. "Your Grimoire is the brush, not the painting! Move the puddle!"

The boy got it — he stomped, and the leftover ink at his feet shot up as a wall, blocking her path. The hound broke free and gently pinned her shoulders. She tapped out, laughing.

Second circle: a Dusk student with a shadow-thread Grimoire versus an earth-affinity boy from Dawn.

The Dusk boy grinned. "Let’s see if you can move when you can’t see your feet."

Shadow threads lashed out, trying to wrap ankles. The earth boy slammed his palm down.

"Earth Dome — low!"

A ring of low stone spikes rose, not to attack, but to cast sharp shadows everywhere — and to break line of sight for the threads.

"Good thinking!" Milo yelled from the sideline. "Use the environment!"

Arthur stepped in when a spike rose too close to the shadow user’s ribs, placing a hand on it and flattening it with wind pressure. "Control. You almost took his knee out. Again, slower."

Third circle: a Nova girl whose Grimoire specialized in sound frequencies dueled a wind user from Dawn — the same girl Arthur had taught yesterday.

The Nova girl clapped her hands and her Grimoire pulsed. "Buzz!"

A high-pitched burst made everyone wince. The wind girl staggered, her balance gone.

"Cover your ears and push wind outward! Don’t let the sound sit on you!" Arthur called.

The wind girl gritted her teeth, wrapped wind around her head like earmuffs and shot two compressed blades low. The sound girl had to keep moving, couldn’t plant to chant.

The match lasted longer than most until the wind girl finally closed distance and tapped her opponent’s shoulder.

Julian’s short demonstration match against a lightning-resistant heavy-armor student from Star ended almost immediately.

"Come," Julian said.

The armored boy charged, shield up, his Grimoire humming. "You can’t shock through full insulation!"

Julian didn’t try to. One precise lightning-coated thrust — not at the shield, but at the tiny gap where the pauldron met the gauntlet — stopped a hair’s breadth from the throat. A tiny spark jumped.

The boy froze.

"Dead," Julian said flatly, stepping back. "Armor doesn’t matter if you leave openings."

Throughout the matches Arthur moved between the circles, correcting stances, pointing out wasted mana, occasionally demonstrating a cleaner way to apply pressure or defense. Milo helped organize the order. Iris watched everything with quiet focus, occasionally offering a short, devastatingly accurate observation when a Nova student asked her.

"Your second talisman is always slower. You’re thinking about the third before you throw the second," she told the paper girl. The girl blinked, then nodded rapidly.

The sun climbed higher. Sweat and dust covered most of the first-years. Mana crystals were used up and replaced. No serious injuries occurred — mostly bruises and pride.

Near the end of the session, when most were sitting and drinking water, two figures stepped into the last open circle at the same time.

Iris Blackthorn.

And the first-year captain of House Dusk — a tall girl with short dark hair tied back, and a Grimoire that radiated a deep violet aura that made the air feel heavy. Ragna Dusk.

The surrounding students fell quiet instantly. Even Julian turned his full attention toward the match, arms crossed.

The two captains faced each other across the packed dirt. Neither had drawn their full power yet.

Iris tilted her head slightly. "You want to try?"

Ragna smiled, sharp. "I’ve wanted to fight you since the sorting. Let’s see if House Nova’s prodigy lives up to it."

The air between them already felt heavier than any of the previous duels.

Arthur stood at the edge of the circle, arms crossed, and raised his hand.

"Ready? Begin on my mark."