[ONE WEEK LATER — THE GRAND COURTYARD]
The entire academy was buzzing with anticipation.
Princess Astrid Solmere was arriving today.
Daughter of Duke Solmere. Heir to the Stormblood family. A Fifth Circle prodigy at age fifteen who'd reportedly mastered storm magic so completely that she could summon hurricanes with a thought.
The Church had called her "blessed by the Lightning God."
Nobles called her "the future Seventh Circle Saint."
Students called her "untouchable."
I called her "probably overrated."
I sat on the edge of the fountain in the Grand Courtyard, watching the crowd gather. Hundreds of students lined the pathways, craning their necks toward the main gate. Even professors had shown up, standing in respectful attendance.
Selis bounced excitedly beside me. "Aren't you even a little curious? She's supposed to be incredible!"
"Meh." I bit into an apple. "Fifth Circle at fifteen. That's... fine, I guess."
Cael, standing with arms crossed, raised an eyebrow. "You were Fourth Circle equivalent at six."
"Exactly. So why would I be impressed by someone who took fifteen years to reach Fifth?"
Selis punched my arm. "Could you maybe not be insufferable for five minutes?"
"I could. But where's the fun in that?"
BOOM.
Thunder cracked across the clear sky.
Dark clouds materialized from nothing, swirling above the academy in a perfect vortex. Lightning danced between them—purple and gold, beautiful and terrifying.
The temperature dropped ten degrees instantly.
Wind howled through the courtyard, carrying the smell of ozone and rain.
And through the main gate, riding a literal storm cloud, came Princess Astrid Solmere.
She was... striking.
Tall and elegant, with platinum blonde hair that seemed to move with its own wind. Her eyes were storm-gray, crackling with barely contained lightning. She wore flowing white robes trimmed with gold, and a circlet of silver lightning crowned her head.
Power radiated from her—Fifth Circle, refined and controlled, far beyond what most people achieved in their entire lives.
The storm cloud lowered gently, depositing her in the center of the courtyard before dissipating into mist.
The crowd erupted in applause.
She smiled graciously, bowing slightly to the assembled students and professors.
Dramatic entrance. I respect that, I thought, taking another bite of my apple.
Headmaster Alderon stepped forward. "Welcome, Princess Astrid. Luminaris Academy is honored by your presence."
"The honor is mine, Headmaster." Her voice was melodious, carrying easily despite the lingering wind. "I've come to learn from the best and to test myself against worthy opponents."
Her gray eyes scanned the crowd—and locked onto me.
I waved lazily with my apple.
Her expression didn't change, but I saw the flicker of curiosity.
Oh. Someone told her about me.
"I've heard," she continued, still looking at me, "that this academy houses a student of... unusual talent. A boy who claims to stand beyond the divine order."
The courtyard went silent.
Everyone turned to stare at me.
I grinned. "Claims? Nah. I just am beyond it. No claiming necessary."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Professor Aldric pinched the bridge of his nose. "Valdris, please—"
"I challenge you," Astrid interrupted, her voice sharp as lightning. "Here. Now. Let's see if your arrogance is justified."
The crowd exploded into excited whispers.
I finished my apple and tossed the core aside. "You sure? I literally just got comfortable."
"I'm sure."
I hopped off the fountain edge, stretching lazily. "Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you."
The crowd cleared a space—fifty meters in diameter—and I walked to one end while Astrid took the opposite.
She settled into a combat stance, hands already crackling with purple lightning. The air around her hummed with power, charged particles making everyone's hair stand on end.
I just stood there, hands in my pockets, grinning.
"Ready?" Headmaster Alderon called.
Astrid nodded.
I yawned.
"Begin!"
She moved.
Lightning Step—but perfected. She didn't just accelerate; she became lightning itself, crossing fifty meters instantaneously.
Her palm, wreathed in storm magic capable of obliterating stone, thrust toward my chest.
Spatial Limit: Infinity.
Her hand stopped.
Millimeters from my heart.
Unable to advance even a fraction further.
Her eyes widened. "What—"
"Yeah, that's not gonna work." I tilted my head. "Want to try something else?"
She leaped back, hands moving in complex patterns.
"Storm King's Descent!"
The sky exploded.
Seven lightning bolts—each one carrying a million volts—struck down simultaneously from the swirling clouds above, converging on my position.
The sound was deafening. The light blinding. The power absolute.
The protective wards around the courtyard flared desperately, barely containing the overflow.
When the light faded, I stood in a circle of scorched earth, completely untouched.
Still yawning.
"That tickled. Got anything stronger?"
Astrid's expression hardened.
She raised both hands, and the storm clouds above began to rotate faster, forming a perfect hurricane eye directly overhead.
"Final Authority: Tempest God's Judgment!"
This wasn't Fifth Circle magic.
This was Sixth Circle.
She'd hidden her true power.
The hurricane descended—a column of pure destructive force containing wind speeds over three hundred miles per hour, interwoven with continuous lightning strikes, crushing air pressure, and temperatures cold enough to freeze flesh instantly.
It was the kind of attack that could level a city block.
The kind that Church Saints used in wars.
The entire courtyard held its breath.
I raised one hand.
Red Force: Maximum Output.
BOOM.
The hurricane reversed.
Not stopped. Not blocked. Reversed.
The entire storm was repelled back into the sky with twice the force it had descended, dispersing into harmless clouds in seconds.
Silence.
Absolute, complete silence.
Astrid stood frozen, staring at me, her storm-gray eyes wide with disbelief.
"That was... impressive," I said genuinely. "Sixth Circle magic at fifteen? You're actually pretty talented."
I walked toward her casually.
"But see, here's the thing about storms. They're powerful. Destructive. Unstoppable."
I stopped three meters away.
"Unless you're standing in a place where storms simply... don't exist."
I raised both hands.
Domain Expansion: Infinite Boundary.
The courtyard vanished.
Replaced by endless white void.
Astrid gasped, trying to summon her lightning—but nothing happened.
Because in infinite space, there was no atmosphere to ionize. No clouds to charge. No medium for electricity to exist.
Her power was meaningless here.
"In my domain," I said, my voice echoing from everywhere and nowhere, "I control what exists and what doesn't. And right now, I've decided storms don't exist."
She fell to her knees, not from force, but from the sheer overwhelming realization.
The gap between us isn't closeable through training or talent.
It's fundamental.
The domain collapsed.
We were back in the courtyard.
Astrid was on her knees, trembling slightly, sweat dripping down her face.
I offered my hand.
"You're strong, Princess. Genuinely. But you asked if my arrogance was justified."
She looked up at me—at this six-year-old boy with white hair and glowing blue eyes who'd just casually dismantled her strongest technique.
"It is," she whispered.
I pulled her to her feet and grinned. "Don't feel bad. Everyone who fights me learns the same lesson eventually."
"What lesson?"
"That in this world of Circles and divine blessings, where everyone grows stronger through the same path..."
I turned to face the silent crowd—hundreds of students and professors staring at me with expressions ranging from awe to terror.
"I alone stand beyond all of it."
"I alone rewrite the rules."
"Because I alone am infinite."
My eyes blazed blue.
"I am the Honored One. And there is no one—not in this academy, not in this kingdom, not in this entire world—who can stand at my level."
The crowd remained silent.
Because they all knew, watching me standing there radiating absolute confidence and absolute power—
It wasn't arrogance.
It was fact.