The combat arena filled with the buzz of excited voices as students filed into the stands. Today was the first day of evaluations, and everyone wanted to see who would rise and who would fall.
Aiden sat in the waiting area with the other first-round participants, trying to keep his hands from shaking. Around him, students showed off their talents in subtle ways. Fire users let small flames dance between their fingers. Earth manipulators shaped the concrete floor into patterns. Lightning crackled harmlessly around Marcus Aldrich's arms as he chatted with his followers.
Nobody paid attention to Aiden. Good. Let them think he was just nervous.
"First match," announced Professor Vale, the combat instructor. "Emily Forsythe versus David Chen."
Aiden watched Emily step into the arena, barriers of blue energy already forming around her. David, a thin boy with wind manipulation, took the opposite side. The match lasted three minutes before Emily's defenses overwhelmed his attacks.
More matches followed. Most were straightforward displays of power versus power, with the stronger talent winning. A few showed real tactical thinking, using terrain and timing to gain advantages.
Then Aiden heard his name.
"Aiden Cross versus Kevin Marshall."
His opponent was a stocky boy with earth manipulation, B-rank. Aiden had seen him in classes but never talked to him. Kevin looked confident as they entered the arena, probably figured this would be an easy win.
"Begin!" Professor Vale shouted.
Kevin immediately slammed his hands against the ground. Stone spikes erupted from the arena floor, racing toward Aiden in a straight line. Fast, but predictable.
Aiden had already started his self-hypnosis the moment they entered the arena. "I am faster than humanly possible," he'd whispered under his breath while Kevin was grandstanding for the crowd.
The world slowed around him. Kevin's spikes moved like they were underwater. Aiden sidestepped easily, closing the distance between them while Kevin was still focused on his attack.
Kevin's eyes widened as Aiden appeared in front of him much faster than he expected. He tried to create a stone barrier, but Aiden was already inside his guard.
"Sleep," Aiden whispered, looking directly into Kevin's eyes.
Kevin's expression went blank. His hands fell to his sides, the half-formed barrier crumbling back to dust. He stood there swaying slightly, completely unconscious on his feet.
The arena fell silent. Students leaned forward in their seats, trying to understand what they'd just witnessed. Kevin Marshall, a solid B-rank earth user, had simply... stopped fighting.
Professor Vale stepped closer, studying the unconscious boy with professional interest. "Fascinating. Complete mental shutdown with a single command." He looked at Aiden with new respect. "Match goes to Cross."
Aiden released his speed enhancement and immediately felt the familiar exhaustion hit him. But he kept his face neutral as he walked back to the waiting area. Kevin would wake up in a few minutes with no memory of what had happened, thinking he'd simply fainted from nerves.
The other students stared as Aiden passed. Whispers started up again, but they sounded different now. Uncertain. Maybe a little afraid.
"Next match," Professor Vale called. "Marcus Aldrich versus James Potter."
Aiden settled into his seat to watch Marcus fight. The duke's son stepped into the arena with his usual arrogance, golden lightning already dancing around his fists. James Potter, a nervous-looking boy with shield generation, took the opposite side.
The match was brutal and one-sided. Marcus's lightning overwhelmed James's defenses in seconds, leaving the boy twitching on the ground from electrical burns. The medics had to carry him out on a stretcher.
Marcus stood over his defeated opponent with a satisfied smile, making sure everyone could see his dominance. When his gaze found Aiden in the stands, his expression darkened.
Two more matches passed before Aiden's name was called again.
"Second round. Aiden Cross versus Lisa Brennan."
Lisa was a fire user, A-rank, with flowing red hair and a reputation for cruelty. She'd burned three different boys during practice sessions, claiming they were "accidents." Everyone knew better.
As they faced off in the arena, Lisa let flames engulf her hands. "Hope you're ready to get burned, slum rat," she said loud enough for the crowd to hear.
Aiden didn't respond. He was already whispering to himself, layering multiple hypnotic suggestions. Speed, strength, pain resistance, enhanced reflexes. The combinations were getting easier with practice.
"Begin!"
Lisa immediately launched a torrent of fire at Aiden. The flames were hot enough to melt steel, meant to end the fight quickly. But Aiden was already moving, his enhanced speed carrying him out of the fire's path.
Lisa spun to track him, sending waves of flame sweeping across the arena floor. But Aiden moved like liquid mercury, always one step ahead of the burning death she hurled at him.
"Stand still!" Lisa snarled, frustration clear in her voice.
Aiden closed the distance during her next attack, ducking under a gout of flame that singed the air above his head. Lisa tried to create a wall of fire between them, but Aiden leaped through it without hesitation.
His pain resistance held. The flames licked at his clothes and skin but he felt nothing. To the watching crowd, it looked like he was immune to fire.
Lisa's eyes went wide as Aiden emerged from her flames completely unharmed. Before she could react, he was close enough to grab her wrist.
"You feel no anger," he whispered, looking directly into her eyes. "Only peace. Only calm."
The change was immediate. Lisa's flames guttered out as her expression shifted from rage to serene confusion. Her whole body language transformed, shoulders relaxing, face softening.
"I..." she said quietly, "I don't want to fight anymore."
She sat down in the middle of the arena, looking around with wonder like she was seeing the world for the first time. The crowd murmured in confusion. Lisa Brennan, notorious for her vicious temper, acting like a peaceful child.
Professor Vale stepped forward, studying Lisa with fascination. "Personality alteration through direct hypnotic suggestion. Remarkable control." He looked at Aiden. "Match goes to Cross."
Aiden walked back to the waiting area as medics helped the docile Lisa to her feet. She would return to normal in an hour or two, but she'd remember being calm and peaceful. The experience might even change her permanently, make her question her own aggressive nature.
More students stared now. The whispers were getting louder, more urgent. The slum rat with the joke talent had just defeated two opponents without throwing a single punch or taking any real damage.
Marcus Aldrich was watching too, his expression dark with something that might have been worry.
The third round pitted Aiden against Robert Kane, no relation to any professor he might have met. Robert had gravity manipulation, A-rank, and a reputation for crushing his opponents literally.
As they entered the arena, Robert was already increasing the gravity around himself, his feet cracking the concrete floor. "Time to put you back in the dirt where you belong," he growled.
Aiden began his preparations, but this time he tried something new. Instead of multiple small enhancements, he focused everything into one overwhelming suggestion.
"I am unstoppable," he whispered. "Nothing can slow me down. Nothing can hurt me. Nothing can stand in my way."
The hypnosis hit him like a drug. Power flooded through his body, but more than that, absolute confidence filled his mind. He wasn't just faster or stronger now. He was inevitable.
"Begin!"
Robert immediately increased gravity in a wide area around Aiden, trying to pin him to the ground. Normal humans would have been crushed flat. Even enhanced students would have struggled to move.
Aiden walked forward like the crushing force didn't exist. Each step cracked the arena floor, but his pace never slowed. Robert's eyes widened in disbelief as his supposedly overwhelming power had no visible effect.
"Impossible," Robert muttered, pouring more energy into his gravity field. "You should be paste!"
Aiden reached him and grabbed Robert's shirt with one hand. The gravity manipulator tried to increase the field even more, but Aiden's hypnosis made him believe he was truly unstoppable. His mind simply refused to acknowledge any limitation.
"Kneel," Aiden said quietly.
Robert's knees buckled. Not from hypnosis this time, but from pure physical intimidation. Faced with someone who could ignore his most powerful attacks, his will to fight simply crumbled.
"I yield!" Robert gasped. "I yield!"
Professor Vale called the match, but Aiden barely heard him. The hypnotic enhancement was intoxicating, making him feel like he could take on the world. He had to consciously force himself to release it, and the comedown left him shaky and exhausted.
But he'd proven his point. Three wins, three completely different approaches. He wasn't just some one-trick slum rat. His talent was versatile, powerful, and growing stronger with each use.
As he returned to the waiting area, Aiden caught Marcus Aldrich's eye across the arena. The noble's expression had shifted from contempt to something much more dangerous.
Recognition. Marcus was starting to understand that Aiden might actually be a threat.
Good. Let him worry. Let them all worry.
The real show was just getting started.