The bell rang, and everyone rose from their seats. Young students piled out of the classroom—this was the last class of the day, and excitement buzzed through the air for the tournament that would soon commence.
Arthur left the classroom and walked down the hall toward the outdoor area where the tournament would take place. Most times, tournaments were held indoors, but the school staff had decided to change things up a little. From what he had heard, the tournament would be held annually to gauge students' strength and abilities. It seemed odd to Arthur that they would test six- or seven-year-olds who weren't even fully developed yet. How could they accurately measure potential at such a young age? Still, he knew that any person, regardless of age, could possess extraordinary power. The thought both intrigued and unsettled him.
He continued down the halls, his footsteps echoing against the polished floors, and eventually entered the outdoor area. Students had gathered where the tournament would be held, their voices rising in anticipation. Then a man walked through the crowd. He raised his hand, and silence fell.
"The tournament has been canceled due to unknown circumstances," the man announced. "Please leave and go home."
Nearly every student, including Arthur, felt disappointment wash over them. They had waited for this day, built up their hopes, only to have them dashed in an instant.
"But why?" a student called out, staring up at the man with wide eyes.
"Like I said, due to unknown circumstances," the man replied, his tone firm but not unkind. "Meaning that no one knows besides the people who canceled it, of course."
Some students began to cry. They had been hoping for this day to test their strength, to prove themselves, and now that opportunity had been snatched away. Arthur felt a pang of sympathy for them, even as his own frustration simmered beneath the surface.
"However," the man said, raising his hand again, "postponed until the unknown circumstances have been resolved. When they have been resolved, the tournament will resume. Now go on."
Some students sighed with relief, while others remained sad that it had been postponed at all. Arthur stood there, his emotions conflicting. He was disappointed like some of the students but also relieved like others. His excitement quickly transformed into calm acceptance as he processed the news from the man standing in the middle of the outdoor area.
Everyone began to leave. Students filed out of the outdoor space and walked back inside the academy. Arthur moved toward the exit doors, and as he walked, he spotted Noah. Noah walked beside another student, chatting animatedly. A sword was strapped to his back—it looked incredibly heavy and nearly as tall as him, yet Noah managed to hold the weight with apparent ease.
"So, Noah," the student said, "do you really think you could beat Arthur? Like we said before, he hasn't even shown his full magical abilities. It would be insane for you to actually beat someone on that level. I mean, maybe Aaron could, but..."
"Surely, maybe I won't, maybe I will," Noah replied with a shrug. "I don't know, honestly. I don't want to fight him. He seems like a cool dude."
The two students who had been in the back of the class before now stood on either side of Arthur. They continued walking down the hall together, and the first student chatted with his friend. Arthur heard every word.
"Man, this is insane! I can't believe we're literally standing right beside Arthur!"
The second student smirked. "You're acting like Arthur's some celebrity. He's literally someone in our class. He's not some top-notch celebrity. Calm down, man."
His friend sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I should chill out a little bit. But technically, both Aaron and Arthur are literally celebrities here."
Arthur remained silent as he continued walking, his eyes open but his mind elsewhere. He was still trying to get back into the void. He had done it once in class, but that had happened randomly when he wasn't trying. When he actively tried to reach the void for even a split second, nothing happened. It seemed the ability came and went at random.
*I wonder what happens when I enter the void,* he thought. *Does time stop while I'm in there? Or does time resume and I'm just standing there like a weirdo, blank-faced to everyone else? Or maybe my body just disappears?*
Arthur continued thinking as he walked and eventually bumped into someone. It was a large man—too large for an eight-year-old. He was muscular, and he smirked down at Arthur.
"Watch where you're going," the boy said, his voice dripping with condescension. "Do you think you can just bump into me, loser?"
Arthur simply stared at him, his expression neutral.
"You do know that I'm Arthur, right?" Arthur said calmly.
"Yeah, I know exactly who you are," the man-child smiled. "Guess what? You think someone would care, right? But I don't care at all. You're nothing against me. I'm the strongest kid in this—"
Before the boy could finish speaking, Arthur released a shockwave of magic. *Magic Pulse,* Arthur thought. The shockwave hit the boy and sent him flying backward into the wall with a resounding thud.
The students were shocked. They stopped in their tracks—every single one of them. The exit of the academy was still a few steps away, so close, but this interference halted them. Nearly all of them looked over and saw the strong student lying on the ground, dazed and struggling to catch his breath.
"Jared, did you start a fight with Arthur?" a student asked, disbelief coloring his voice.
Jared stood up, his face red and flushed with anger. His fists clenched at his sides.
"You think you can just take me down with a bit of magic?" Jared snarled.
Arthur smiled, and there was something unsettling about it. "That was just a tiny pulse of magic. Now think about this: imagine me unleashing my full power on you. Can you comprehend that being a tiny pulse of my magic? Whatever you think my magical capacity is, it's probably higher than that. Unless you think of something absurd, then my magic might be lower, but that's unlikely. Like a landslide, depending on what you imagine."
"You think you can just hit me with your little magic and I won't fight back?" Jared stepped forward, his muscles tensing.
"I didn't think that," Arthur said evenly. "I knew you would fight back. But really, you're too much."
Arthur activated a shield that shimmered with magical energy, the air around him rippling with power.
"This shield is about half my power," he said, his face looking somewhat tired. He spoke the words slowly, weariness settling on him. "I used half my magic to create it, which does drain me considerably. So go on, hit me."
"You're acting a little too cocky, aren't you?" Jared spat. "I'll wipe that tired smirk off your face."
"That's funny," the student still beside Arthur said with a genuine smile. "You want to talk about people being arrogant and cocky? Look at you, standing there, acting all high and mighty. You want to say that he's arrogant? How hypocritical, man."
"I'll crush you if you say one more word," Jared said in a low, deep tone. He was actually serious. If that student uttered a single word more, Jared would end his life right here, right now. He was too angry to think rationally, too mad to consider the repercussions of ending a human being's life in an instant in front of hundreds of students. Rage clouded his judgment completely.
Jared stepped forward, his eyes blazing. "I'll end you."
"You can't end him," the student said, still smiling. "He's literally the strongest student besides Noah, and if Noah stepped in, you'd basically be done for. Jared, you might be one of the strongest physically, but Aaron is the strongest in swordsmanship, and Arthur is the strongest in magic. It'd be kind of cool if the three strongest people started fighting each other, right?"
"Can you stop completely breaking the moment?" the first student said. "Can't you see I'm trying to do something here?"
"Yeah, but I was just saying. Chill, man. Chill."
Jared rushed forward, but before he could reach anyone, an invisible force stopped him in his tracks. He struggled against it, his muscles straining, but he couldn't move forward.
"Did you think I would just let people get hurt in front of me without saying a word?" Arthur asked, his voice calm but edged with steel. "If that's the case, you might be a terrible person, or just not that good at thinking. Either way."
Arthur smirked, and he knew he was acting arrogant. But honestly, who wouldn't if they had the amount of magic that Arthur possessed? He knew he was stronger than Jared, so what was wrong with being a little arrogant? To Arthur, nothing was wrong with that. Besides, it would stop Jared anyway.
There was a line between arrogant and too arrogant. It was safe to say that Arthur was not crossing that line—not at all. But he knew someone who probably was. Jared was crossing that line terribly.
Jared started throwing his fists against the force field, pounding it with all his might. The students behind them just stood there. Some even started walking around the fight—they didn't want to be held up. They wanted to go home, especially after the disappointment of the tournament.
"I will kill you!" Jared roared, his voice raw with fury.
"Sure, whatever makes you sleep better at night," Arthur thought, smiling. He knew he was being too arrogant, but honestly, he couldn't help it. He was doing this partly to enrage Jared, partly for fun. A little entertainment couldn't hurt. He was laughing inside. *This is just hilarious. Maybe I should see if I can keep this persona going for as long as possible.*
He smiled inwardly and then spoke out loud. "Something wrong, little baby? Can't break my little force field? How adorable. Do you need mommy's help to break it for you?"
Some students chuckled, and some even burst out laughing. But Jared was anything but amused. He started pounding the force field harder, shockwaves rippling off it, but it didn't budge. It didn't even crack or chip.
"You—you—I'll kill you! I'll kill your entire family! I'll kill everyone you love! Do you hear me? Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"
*Now he's just rambling out of rage,* Arthur thought.
Finally, Arthur let the force field drop. He pointed a finger at Jared, and a beam of energy shot out, hitting Jared square in the chest. The impact knocked him backward and sent him flying through the air. Some students had to duck their heads as Jared flew past, narrowly avoiding being hit by his body. Eventually, Jared landed on the ground, passed out cold.
All the students could finally leave.
*This was more fun than I thought,* Arthur mused. *Maybe I should do this more often.*
He smiled, but the smile was tired. *Now I just have to wait a few hours for my magic to regenerate.* He sighed. *Well, at least I can go now.*
He left through the exit of the academy, and everyone else followed.
---
**Thirty minutes later**
Arthur knocked on the door of his home. Both of his parents opened it, their beautiful faces—more beautiful than anyone else he knew—lighting up as they smiled at him. They didn't need to pick Arthur up from school; he could fly. He had that much magic. Some students couldn't fly, as flying required quite a lot of magical energy, which Arthur possessed in abundance.
They invited him in. Arthur sat down on a nearby couch, leaving his things on the ground carelessly. He would pick them up later and bring them to his room, but for now, he just wanted to relax. After all, half of his magic was drained. Sure, using that much hadn't been necessary, but it didn't deny the fact that half of his magical reserves were gone. If only he had put just five percent into the shield—ten percent, even—it would have been sufficient.
*How much will I fall asleep?* he thought as his eyes closed. He laid his head on the armrest of the couch, feeling the softness against his cheek.
"Mom, wake me up for dinner," he murmured aloud, his voice already thick with drowsiness.
His eyes closed, and he finally fell asleep, his breathing evening out as exhaustion claimed him.