The Student Arena was packed.
News of the duel—The Engineer vs. The Prodigy—had traveled fast. Princess Vivian sat in the Royal Box, eating popcorn she had insisted the kitchen make.
"Kick his butt, Arthur," she whispered.
Down in the sandpit, Julian stood forty paces away. He held a wand made of Elder wood, tipped with a ruby. He looked majestic.
Arthur stood opposite him. He held... a metal rod. It was connected by a copper wire to a backpack he was wearing.
"The Backpack of Shame!" Julian shouted to the crowd. "He brings luggage to a duel!"
The referee, Professor Ignis, stepped forward. "Standard Dueling Rules. Incapacitation or Surrender. Begin!"
Julian immediately raised his wand. He began the Chant of the Inferno.
"Oh, Spirits of the Fire Realm! Hear my call! Gather the wrath of the sun and—"
Arthur didn't move. He didn't chant. He simply did the math.
[Distance: 40 meters.]
[Air Resistance: Negligible.]
[Target Conductivity: High (He is sweating).]
Arthur adjusted a dial on his belt.
"Ohm's Law," Arthur muttered.
V = I × R
"STRIKE DOWN MY ENEMY!" Julian screamed, a massive fireball forming above his head.
Arthur pressed the trigger on his rod.
He didn't shoot a fireball. He fired two small, barbed probes attached to thin copper wires. They flew through the air, propelled by compressed air canisters.
Thwip.
The probes hit Julian in the chest.
Arthur squeezed the handle. Discharge.
ZZZAAAAAAP!
The 50,000-volt charge from the Mana Battery in Arthur's backpack traveled down the wires.
Julian's eyes went wide. The fireball above his head fizzled out as his concentration shattered. His muscles locked up. He stood rigid for one second, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, and then—
Thump.
He fell face-first into the sand. Twitching.
Silence fell over the arena.
Professor Ignis ran over. "Julian? Julian!"
"He is fine," Arthur announced, reeling the wires back in. "I bypassed his nervous system. Temporary paralysis. He will recover in ten minutes, though he may taste copper for a week."
Arthur looked up at the Royal Box. Vivian was cheering standing up.
Arthur turned to the stunned crowd.
"Chanting is inefficient," Arthur lectured. "In the time it took him to ask the spirits for help, I completed the circuit. Speed dictates the victor."
[Victory Achieved.]
[Reputation Update: 'The Cheater' (according to nobles) / 'The Thunder God' (according to commoners).]
[Relationship with Julian: -100 (Humiliation) → +10 (Secret Respect for Power).]
Arthur walked over to the unconscious Julian. "You owe me a sandwich," he whispered to the body.
End of Chapter 24