CHAPTER~12 THE CHEMISTRY OF SURVIVAL
The next thing I knew—
We were in the arena.
Not just students this time.
Professors lined the upper stone platforms, their academy cloaks fluttering faintly in the mana-heavy air.
Some watched with idle interest.
Others with sharp, evaluative eyes.
At the center,
standing where the white sand was most undisturbed, was Sword Instructor Selene Lunaris.
She hadn’t raised her voice. She didn’t need to.
“Since you two are so eager to fight,” she said calmly, “this will be treated as a physical aptitude test.”
Her silver eyes moved first to Theo. Then to me.
“The result,” she continued, “will be added to your entrance exam evaluation.”
The murmurs exploded.
A test? Here? Now?
Theo’s lips curled into a confident smile. This only benefited him.
Me? My heart dropped straight into my stomach.
The Arena was a pit of white sand. I stood there, heart pounding, the red System screen still hovering at the edge of my vision.
[Dodge: 0/6 attacks]
[Land Hits: 0/3 minimum]
Theo von Brandis stepped forward like he owned the ground beneath him.
The sand barely shifted under his boots, mana humming around his body in neat, disciplined waves.
This wasn’t raw power. This was training.
Whispers spread like fire in dry grass.
“Rank 4?”
“The Casper stain... the bastard son, right?”
“He spilled juice on Theo?”
“He really bribed the examiners?”
I felt it again—Sense (Basic) flaring on instinct.
Suspicion. Hostility. Curiosity.
I ignored them, my eyes scanning the VIP box. High above the sand, the Top 3 were already seated.
Elena von Hestia sat like a statue of ice, her gaze indifferent.
Iris Aethelgard looked bored, swirling a finger in the air.
And then there was Arthur.
The Hero wasn’t looking at the Arena. He was looking at me. His brow was furrowed,
his steady, golden mana flickering with what felt like pity—or perhaps disappointment.
To him, I wasn't the hardworking student who earned Rank 4; I was the arrogant noble who bullied his friend and winked at their misfortune.
The atmosphere pressed against my skin like static. My Charisma was working overtime just to keep me from being hated on the spot.
Theo drew his sword.
The sound was clean. Too clean.
Steel sliding free with practiced ease.
No hesitation. No wasted movement.
“I’ll make this quick,” he said, his voice calm now worse than shouting. “Try not to scream. It’ll be embarrassing.”
My mouth went dry.
DING!
[Combat Initialized]
Opponent: Theo von Brandis (Rank 5)
Status: You are severely outmatched.
Suggestion: Pray.
“…Helpful,” I muttered.
DING!
[Weapon Handling: ACTIVATED]
Information flooded in. Not mastery, not skill but options.
Grip stability. Angle correction. Emergency deflection paths.
None of it mattered if I got hit.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Instructor Selene raise one finger. The arena fell silent.
“One rule,” she said evenly. “No killing.”
Her gaze sharpened.
“If either of you forgets that—I will remind you.”
Theo swallowed. I felt it. That wasn’t a threat.
That was a promise.
Her finger dropped.
“Begin.”
Theo vanished.
Not literally but the distance between us collapsed in a heartbeat. My instincts screamed,
the skill Sense operating at full power.
I twisted aside
His blade passed so close I felt the air tear.
[Dodge: 1/6]
I stumbled, barely keeping my footing, sand spraying as I rolled. The crowd gasped.
Theo didn’t slow. Didn’t smile. Didn’t gloat.
He came again. And again. And again.
Each strike was precise, controlled, merciless designed not to kill, but to break. I dodged on instinct alone.
[Dodge: 2/6]
[Dodge: 3/6]
My lungs burned. My legs screamed. This wasn’t a duel. It was extermination with manners.
Think.
Don’t fight him. Survive him.
I let my body drop on purpose.
He took the chance. Theo’s blade passed overhead.
For a split second... an opening.
I swung.
Not clean. Not pretty. But desperate.
The flat of my blade clipped his wrist.
CLANG!
Theo’s eyes widened.
[Land Hits: 1/3]
The arena went silent. Instructor Selene’s lips curved—just slightly.
“Good,” she said. “Now don’t get greedy.”
Theo stepped back, mana flaring. His calm cracked.
“You—” He smiled. “—got lucky.”
Without Theo noticing, my fingers dug into the white sand. I didn’t look down. I didn’t hesitate.
I grabbed just enough to fill my palm.
Theo inhaled—and the mana around him surged. It wasn’t subtle anymore.
His aura flared outward in a sharp, pressurized wave. The sand beneath his feet cracked as power condensed along his blade.
The second wave.
A real one.
If that hits me, I’m not losing points. I’m losing limbs.
He lunged. Fast. Heavy. Decisive.
The sword screamed through the air.
FUSHHH—
I snapped my hand forward.
The sand exploded upward in a pale cloud, straight into his face.
Theo jerked back instinctively. “—WHAT—?!”
His mana stuttered. Not gone—but disrupted. Just for a fraction of a second.
That was all I needed.
I moved. Not forward, but sideways.
My blade came up low, awkward, ugly nothing like proper form.
Weapon Handling screamed corrections at me, but I ignored them and trusted the only thing I had.
Timing.
Steel struck fabric. Then flesh.
Not deep. Not lethal. But solid.
THUD!
Theo staggered, coughing, one hand flying to his face while the other barely gripped his sword.
[Land Hits: 2/3]
The arena erupted.
“He used sand?!”
“That’s dirty!”
“That’s—”
Instructor Selene raised her hand. The noise died instantly.
“Battlefield improvisation,” she said coolly. “Acceptable.”
Theo’s eyes snapped up, red and furious. “You—filthy—”
He wiped his eyes, mana flaring wildly now, no longer disciplined.
Good. Anger ruined technique.
I backed away, chest heaving, sweat pouring down my spine. My legs were shaking.
[Dodge: 3/6]
[Land Hits: 2/3]
One more. Just one more hit.
I looked at him. Theo’s face was as red as an apple, veins bulging at his temples.
Oooh.
Oh no.
“This is bad.”
Theo stopped holding back. Mana surged around him, wild and unrefined.
He launched himself forward like a missile, sand exploding behind his boots.
I focused everything on Sense. The world slowed.
I could see it all: the angle of his shoulders, the twist of his wrist, the exact trajectory. I knew where he would hit.
The problem was... my body couldn’t keep up.
My legs screamed to move. They didn’t. I couldn’t dodge this.
Panic flared.
I threw my sword up to block but it was rushed and sloppy. No stance. No grounding. Just instinct and desperation.
It wasn’t enough strength. If that hit landed clean...
Permanent bruise.
Internal damage.
Maybe worse.
Think.
No, FEEL.
I pulled mana inward. Not everywhere just one place.
My stomach.
I imagined it. Not as armor, not as scales, but something simple. Something dense.
A bulletproof vest.
Just there. Just enough.
DING!
[SKILL ACQUIRED: Low-Grade Partial Body Hardening]
[System Message]: Wow. You actually did it. You discovered defensive magic the same way a caveman discovers fire: by accidentally hitting yourself in the face with a rock.
Theo’s blade slammed into me.
BOOM!
Pain exploded but it didn’t tear me apart.
The impact sent me skidding backward across the sand, breath blasting out of my lungs in a violent wheeze. I crashed hard, rolling twice before stopping.
My stomach burned like it had been punched by a charging bull.
But I wasn’t broken.
No blood. No organs screaming. Just pain. Lots of it.
Theo stumbled back, staring at his sword.
“…What?”
The crowd lost it.
“He blocked that?!”
“That was mana-coated!”
“That should’ve ended him!”
I lay there gasping, vision swimming.
[Low-Grade Partial Body Hardening: Active (1.3 seconds)]
Mana Cost: High
Status: Do not attempt again unless you enjoy organ failure.
I laughed. It came out as a cough.
“Yeah,” I muttered weakly. “Same.”
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Don't just stand there like a statue of stupidity! You still need two more hits to finish the quest. Or are you waiting for him to try your neck next?
Instructor Selene’s eyes gleamed. Not with concern but interest.
Theo stared at me now. He wasn't furious anymore.
He was uncertain.
And uncertainty was dangerous.
Theo took a step back. Not a retreat, but a recalibration. His grip tightened, knuckles white, mana spiking unevenly. The discipline was gone.
Only power and pride remained.
“You think that changes anything?” he growled. “You think tricks make you my equal?”
I forced myself up onto one knee. My stomach screamed.
But I smiled anyway.
“No,” I said. “I think they make you angry.”
Theo snapped.
He came in low, blade drawn back for a cleaving strike meant to end it. No restraint.
Instructor Selene’s eyes sharpened.
Too much. Even she could see it.
Sense (Basic) flared again. The world slowed.
I couldn’t dodge. Not fully. So I didn’t try.
I stepped into it.
The crowd gasped. Theo’s eyes widened as his strike adjusted on instinct.
That half-beat was everything.
I twisted my wrist. Not to block—to deflect.
Ting.
Steel rang. His blade slid off mine at the wrong angle, the force redirected just enough to save me.
I stepped in. Too close.
I reversed my grip and swung. Not the edge. The back of the blade.
THUD!
The flat steel slammed into his jaw with a dull, brutal sound. Theo’s head snapped sideways. Blood sprayed into the sand as he stumbled back, completely exposed.
[Dodge: 4/6]
[Land Hits: 3/3]
For a heartbeat—the arena went silent.
Theo didn’t fall. He straightened slowly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
His eyes weren’t furious anymore. They were cold.
Mana surged. The pressure made the air vibrate. Sand lifted from the ground around him, hovering as if gravity had forgotten its job.
This wasn’t a duel anymore. This was a death match.
Instructor Selene took a step forward. But she didn’t stop it. Not yet.
Theo raised his sword. “One more,” he said quietly. “And you’re done.”
My vision blurred. My mana pool was nearly empty. My stomach still burned like it had been caved in.
I didn’t have another exchange left.
Unless...
Water. No.
I clenched my teeth. Not water. H₂O.
In my last life, water didn’t need magic to be dangerous. It just needed pressure.
I stopped thinking like a mage. I thought like someone who’d seen machines carve steel without blades.
Mana gathered. But this time, I didn’t picture waves or streams.
I pictured molecules.
H₂O.
Too big.
“No,” I whispered. “Smaller.”
Narrow. Compressed.
I imagined a nozzle. A channel. Pressure forced through a point too small to be safe.
My arm screamed. Blood ran from my nose.
Theo lunged. Too fast.
I released it.
BOOM—!
The water didn’t splash. It detonated.
A condensed jet tore forward like a liquid spear,
slamming into Theo’s shoulder with a sound closer to a cannon than a spell.
The impact twisted him sideways. His footing shattered as he skidded across the sand in a storm of mist and red.
Theo crashed hard, rolling once before stopping.
The arena exploded.
“That wasn’t magic—!”
“Did you see the pressure?!”
“That’s impossible!”
I dropped to one knee. Then both.
My arm went numb. My vision tunneled.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Mana: EMPTY
Congratulations. You have successfully violated several unspoken rules of magical theory.
Side effects include: nausea, dizziness, and future lectures explaining why this was a terrible idea.
Theo pushed himself up slowly. His shoulder shook. His armor was cracked.
He didn’t charge again. He didn’t speak. He just stared at me.
Not with hatred. With something worse.
Understanding.
Instructor Selene stepped between us. “That’s enough.”
Her voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be.
Theo opened his mouth—she looked at him—he closed it.
Selene turned to me, silver eyes sharp, measuring.
“…Interesting,” she said.
The arena was silent again. And this time, no one was breathing.
[SYSTEM EVALUATION]
Dodge: 6 / 6
Land Hits: 4 / 3
Result: PASS (Overqualified)
Rewards Granted:
Stat Bonus: Agility +1, Sense +1, Charm +1
Skill Increase: Weapon Handling Boost, Sense (Enhanced Reaction Window +0.2s)
Mana Insight: Increases efficiency of non-standard spellcasting.
Spell Unlocked: [High Pressure Water Cannon]
