Chapter 39: Power and Consequence

*Date: 33,480 First Quarter - Chalice Theocracy*

When the new day's bells rang, Aris faintly heard them through his exhaustion. The dungeon run had drained him completely. When Orric called his name, already fully dressed for classes, Aris realized how late he was.

"Aris, you'll be late! Run!" Orric urged.

When Aris threw on his clothes, everyone had already left for their morning classes. But as he ran through the Academy corridors, he felt amazing. His breathing was easier, his speed was better than before. "I guess it worked," he thought, feeling the witness stone's power flowing through his body like liquid energy.

As he ran, he remembered Lyra's words from the night before: "I don't know what Blood Initiate titles are. It's probably special for Chalicians and Shadowborns."

"You're in the library can't you look it up?" Aris had asked.

"I've perused and read most of the common section, like you. There's no blood magic here in the public areas. There's a section I'm forbidden to enter, and first-years are too." She had leaned in conspiratorially. "They probably take you there after you swear unconditional loyalty."

"Fucking cult of a country," Aris had thought bitterly.

When he arrived at the classroom, Templar Rathvoss was already there instead of Maezana Silvermeadow, who was supposed to be teaching.

Rathvoss gave Aris a hard glance. "Like I told the class, we don't want you to relax after the dungeon. No dropping the ball. We move on today to solo duels. This won't affect your graduation, but it will show your friends and peers how you rank among them."

He pointed directly at Aris. "Like this late schmuck. Clearly weak in both mind and body. Who wants to take him down?"

No one raised their hand at first, but when Rathvoss roared expectantly, hands reluctantly rose. He picked out a fae girl named Sliver Stoneflower. Aris didn't know much about her other than that she was leading the fae classmates with natural authority.

As she walked to the front of the class, Aris noticed her confidence and grit. She wasn't just leading her peers with fae beauty alone and she possessed powerful magic. Anyone in this class was much stronger than him. Well, yesterday they were. Today, he had no idea what he possessed.

The duel began with Sliver taking the initiative. She raised her hands gracefully, and fire arrows materialized out of thin air, their tips blazing with intense heat. The projectiles streaked toward Aris with deadly precision.

Aris ducked and rolled, his enhanced agility from the witness stone allowing him to move with fluid grace he'd never possessed before. The arrows sizzled past his head, close enough that he could feel their heat singing his hair.

The duel continued with Aris constantly on the defensive, dodging and escaping Sliver's relentless magical assault. She conjured arrow after arrow, each one seeking his flesh with unerring accuracy. But Aris noticed something remarkable. His jumping, running, and reflexes were all enhanced by the witness stone's power. He felt like a different person, stronger and faster than he'd ever been.

Finally, he decided to use his only offensive spell. He raised his hand and focused his will, calling upon Light Missile with desperate determination.

What happened next shocked everyone in the classroom.

About thirty light missiles materialized around his outstretched hand, each one glowing with brilliant radiance. They flew toward Sliver in a coordinated barrage that lit up the entire room like a miniature sun.

She dodged most of them with fae grace, but three struck her directly. Her face was bruised from the impacts, and she staggered backward, clearly shaken. She got up slowly, her expression shifting from confident superiority to cold anger.

"You're finished now, human kid," she said, her voice dripping with menace. "I was trying to spare you because you helped my friend with healing touch, but you asked for it."

She manifested three fire arrows at once, each one larger and more intense than before. The heat radiating from them made the air shimmer. Aris rolled desperately to avoid them, feeling the flames scorch the stone where he'd been standing.

When he tried to charge his Light Missile again, knowing it probably wouldn't fire, something unexpected happened. His body twitched, his insides burned with an unfamiliar sensation. "Is this blood magic trying to activate?" he wondered. He ducked again as more arrows flew past, trying to charge the missile despite the agony building inside him.

This time, with the agony of blood magic coursing through his veins, his missiles materialized and flew toward his opponent with even greater force than before.

Sliver wasn't expecting another attack when she was pressing hard with her own offensive. She took most of the missiles to her body and was thrown two meters back, hitting the classroom's reinforced glass windows hard enough to crack them.

"Wow!" The class erupted in amazement. Mostly humans and beastkin were clapping for him, their voices echoing off the stone walls. Aris had won thanks to his new abilities and the extra power of the witness stone.

When fae students rushed to help their fallen leader, Rathvoss stopped them with a sharp gesture. "Let her suffer her weakness. Next! You and you," he pointed to two other students while pulling the unconscious Sliver to a corner of the room like discarded baggage.

The class continued with a collection of student magical duels. Some used low-level magic - sparks of flame, gusts of wind, simple shields of light. Others relied on fighting techniques, grappling and striking with enhanced strength or speed. The variety of abilities on display was impressive, each student showing their particular talents and training.

After the demonstrations, Orric approached Aris with genuine admiration. "Congratulations, Aris! I didn't know you possessed that much power."

A halfling student joined them, his eyes bright with excitement. "Yeah, man! When Orric said you were beat up by slugs, I thought you were just a bookworm who only learned healing. We should go to the next dungeon together."

Most of the human and beastkin students congratulated him, their attitudes toward him shifting from dismissive to respectful. But the fae students now looked at him with openly hostile expressions, their elegant features twisted with anger and the promise of retribution.

Aris felt the weight of their stares like physical pressure. He had won the duel, but he suspected he had also made dangerous enemies in the process.