Ice formed instantly.
Julian's hands glowed with cold blue light, and frost spread across the arena floor in intricate patterns. The temperature dropped so fast King could see his breath.
Beautiful, King thought, watching the ice crystals form. Each one unique. He's creating art while fighting.
Julian thrust his palm forward. A spear of ice shot toward King—sharp enough to pierce steel, fast enough to blur.
King tilted his head. The spear passed by his ear and shattered against the arena wall.
Another spear. Then three more. Then a dozen, all from different angles.
King weaved between them. Not running, just stepping precisely where the ice wasn't. His feet barely moved, but somehow he was always in the safe spots.
He's testing my defenses, King realized. Smart. Learn before committing.
"Stop moving!" Julian snarled.
He slammed both hands down. The entire arena floor froze solid—a sheet of ice so smooth it reflected the sky like a mirror.
Students in the crowd gasped. Some clapped.
King looked down at his feet. The ice was cold, but not uncomfortably so. Like standing on a cool stone floor in summer.
Julian slid across the ice like he was born on it, moving with inhuman grace. His fist, encased in jagged ice, came straight at King's face.
King caught it.
The ice cracked around Julian's hand from the sudden stop. His momentum vanished completely, like he'd hit a wall made of absolute stillness.
"How—" Julian tried to pull back. Couldn't. "Let go!"
"Your ice techniques are very elegant," King said, examining the frozen gauntlet around Julian's fist. "The crystalline structure is perfectly aligned. How long did it take to learn this?"
"I SAID LET GO!" Julian formed ice with his free hand and punched with that too.
King caught that one as well.
Now Julian was trapped, both fists held in King's palms, unable to move forward or back.
"You're strong," King said. "I can feel the force behind these punches. At least three hundred pounds of pressure. That's impressive for someone your age."
Julian's face contorted with rage and something else—fear, maybe. He jumped back, abandoning the ice gauntlets entirely. They shattered in King's hands, and Julian slid to the far side of the arena.
"Fine," Julian said, breathing harder now. "You want to see real power? I'll show you real power."
---
His eyes began to glow. The temperature dropped further—painfully cold now. Students in the lower seats started shivering.
"Unique Talent," someone in the crowd whispered. "He's using his Unique Talent!"
Ice erupted around Julian in a swirling vortex. Not normal ice—this was darker, denser, radiating an aura that made reality feel wrong.
"Absolute Zero Domain," Julian announced. "Within this field, molecular motion stops. Heat ceases to exist. Everything freezes—matter, energy, even magic."
Oh, King thought. That's not just ice. That's manipulating fundamental physics. No wonder it's called Unique Talent.
The domain expanded outward, consuming the arena floor. Everything it touched frosted over instantly—the ground, the walls, the air itself seemed to crystallize.
Students scrambled back from the arena's edge. Some conjured fire magic just to stay warm.
The domain reached King.
Cold washed over him. The kind of cold that would kill a normal person in seconds. The kind that made molecules stop vibrating.
King stood in the center of it, completely unaffected.
"Impossible," Julian said. "You should be frozen solid!"
King looked at the swirling ice around him. It was quite beautiful, really. Like standing inside a snow globe during a blizzard.
"It's very cold," King acknowledged. "Your control is exceptional. I'm impressed."
"You're IMPRESSED?!" Julian threw both hands forward. "Then be impressed by THIS!"
The entire domain compressed, focusing all its power on King. The temperature dropped to levels that shouldn't exist in nature. The very air froze solid, forming ice crystals that hung suspended in space.
King reached into his pocket—a pocket he'd created specifically for carrying things—and pulled out an apple. He'd taken it from breakfast and forgotten to eat it.
Might as well eat now, King thought. This might take a while.
He bit into the apple.
The crunch echoed across the silent arena.
Julian stared. The crowd stared. Even Instructor Vera looked confused.
"You're eating," Julian said flatly.
"I was hungry," King said around the mouthful of apple. "Please continue. This is fascinating."
Julian's composure cracked. "FASCINATING?! I'm using an A-Rank Unique Talent! You should be frozen! Dead! Not eating a snack!"
"But I am eating a snack," King pointed out. "So maybe your technique needs adjustment?"
Something in Julian snapped. He roared and poured everything into his domain. The cold intensified to reality-breaking levels. Ice formed on top of ice, crystallizing in impossible geometries.
King took another bite of his apple and started walking forward.
Each step was casual, unhurried. The ice tried to form around him and failed. The cold tried to freeze him and couldn't. He walked through the Absolute Zero Domain like it was a mild breeze.
"No," Julian whispered. "No, this isn't possible. Nothing survives Absolute Zero. NOTHING!"
King reached him in six steps. Julian was shaking now—from exertion, from cold, from fear.
"Your technique is very good," King said gently. "But you're working too hard. You're forcing the ice instead of asking it to cooperate."
"Asking? ICE DOESN'T—"
King finished his apple and flicked the core aside. Then he reached out and tapped Julian's forehead with one finger.
Just a tap. The gentlest possible touch.
Julian flew backward.
Not violently, but undeniably. He slid across the ice he'd created, through his own domain, and crashed into the arena wall twenty feet away.
The impact wasn't hard enough to injure him—King had been very careful about that. But it was hard enough to break his concentration.
The Absolute Zero Domain collapsed. Normal temperature rushed back. Students gasped as warmth returned.
Julian sat against the wall, ice falling off him in chunks, staring at King like he'd seen a ghost.
"What are you?" Julian asked quietly.
King walked over and extended his hand. "Just a student. Like you."
Julian didn't take the hand. Just kept staring. "No. Students don't walk through Absolute Zero. Students don't tap people with their finger and send them flying. What ARE you?"
"Someone who thinks your ice magic is beautiful," King said honestly. "You've clearly trained for years. The control, the precision—it's art."
"Art?" Julian laughed bitterly. "I just threw everything I had at you, and you ATE AN APPLE."
"I was hungry," King repeated.
"THAT'S NOT—" Julian stopped himself, taking a shaky breath. "You're mocking me."
"I'm not," King said. "I genuinely think you're skilled. Your talent is impressive. I learned a lot watching you manipulate thermal energy at that level."
Julian looked at King's still-extended hand. Then at the crowd watching in complete silence. Then at his own hands, still trembling from channeling so much power.
"I lost," Julian said. "Completely. Utterly. To an F-Rank."
"Ranks don't measure everything," King said.
"Apparently not." Julian finally took King's hand and let himself be pulled up. He swayed slightly, exhausted. "I've been training since I was five. Combat masters, magic tutors, the best education money could buy. And you just... walked through it all like it was nothing."
"It wasn't nothing," King said. "It was very cold. If I were actually F-Rank, I would have lost."
Julian stared at him. "You're trying to make me feel better."
"Is it working?"
"No." But Julian's lips twitched slightly. Almost a smile. "You're strange, King Von Deluxh."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
---
Instructor Vera walked over. "Match concluded. Winner: King Von Deluxh by technical superiority."
The arena exploded with noise. Students shouting, arguing, demanding explanations. Some cheering, others booing.
King ignored it all. He was watching Julian, who looked like his entire worldview had just shattered.
"For what it's worth," King said, "you're the first person whose attacks I actually felt. That cold was real."
"First person?" Julian said. "You've fought others?"
"A few. But your ice was different. It touched something fundamental." King smiled. "I think if you keep training, you'll become someone truly exceptional."
"I'm already exceptional!" Julian snapped. Then he deflated. "Or I thought I was. Before today."
"You still are," King said. "Losing doesn't change that."
"How can you say that? You just beat me effortlessly!"
"Because you tried your absolute hardest. You didn't hold back, didn't make excuses, didn't give up even when things looked impossible." King looked at him seriously. "That's what makes someone exceptional. Not winning. Trying."
Julian was quiet for a long moment. Then: "You're definitely the strangest person I've ever met."
"Third time today someone's told me that."
"Can't imagine why." Julian straightened his uniform. "But... thank you. I think. For not humiliating me worse than you could have."
"I wasn't trying to humiliate you at all," King said.
"I know. That's what makes this worse." Julian started walking toward the exit. "I need to... think about things. Reassess my life. Maybe cry a little."
"Crying is good," King said. "I've heard it helps process emotions."
Julian paused. "Have you never cried?"
"I don't know how," King admitted.
"Of course you don't." Julian shook his head. "See you around, King Von Deluxh. I think I hate you. But I also think I respect you. I'm still figuring out which one wins."
He left through the competitor's exit.
King stood alone in the center of the arena. The crowd was still going wild, but he tuned it out. He was thinking about Julian's face—the moment when confidence became confusion became acceptance.
He'll be okay, King thought. He's strong in ways beyond power.
---
"KING! "
His roommates rushed onto the arena floor. Marcus got there first, grabbing King's shoulders.
"That was INSANE!" Marcus shouted over the crowd noise. "You just walked through Absolute Zero! And ate an apple! Why were you eating an apple?!"
"I was hungry," King said for the third time.
"You made it look easy," Dante said, something like awe in his voice. "Julian used his Ultimate technique, and you just... casually strolled through it."
"It was cold," King said. "But not unbearable."
"Absolute Zero is literally the absence of heat!" Marcus said. "It's physically impossible to survive it without specialized protection magic!"
"Oh," King said. "Should I have struggled more?"
"YES!" Marcus threw his hands up. "No! I don't know! You're impossible!"
Nero was grinning. "I won so much money. I bet on you winning in under five minutes. Made a fortune."
"You bet on me?" King asked.
"Obviously. You caught a thousand-pound weight with one hand. Ice was never going to stop you." Nero counted coins from his pocket. "Though I didn't expect the apple. That was inspired."
Instructor Vera approached them. "Get off the arena floor. We need to clear for the next match."
"There's another match?" Marcus asked.
"Obviously. This was just the opening bout." Vera looked at King. "Good restraint. You could have hurt him badly. You chose not to."
"He's skilled," King said. "Hurting him would have been wasteful."
"Most victors don't think like that." Vera almost smiled. "You might actually be worth teaching, Von Deluxh."
She walked away to prepare the arena for the next duel.
King's roommates escorted him back to their dorm, all talking over each other about the fight. Students they passed either stared or quickly looked away. Some whispered. Others just watched in silence.
---
Back in their room, Marcus collapsed on his bed.
"You're famous now," Marcus said. "The F-Rank who beat an A-Rank using their Unique Talent. You're going to be a legend."
"I don't want to be a legend," King said. "I just want to be a student."
"Too late," Nero said. "You're both now. Welcome to being interesting."
Dante was quiet, looking out the window at the arena where another match was starting.
"What are you thinking?" King asked.
"That I want to fight you again," Dante said. "Seriously this time. I've been training, learning, improving. I want to test myself against you properly."
"Okay," King said.
"Not now. When I'm ready." Dante looked at King. "When I think I can actually make you try."
"I look forward to it," King said honestly.
A knock on the door. Marcus opened it to find Yuki standing there, arms crossed.
"Can I talk to King?" she asked. "Alone?"
Marcus and Nero exchanged glances but stepped out. Dante followed, closing the door behind them.
Yuki walked to the window, not looking at King.
"Julian is my arranged marriage candidate," she said quietly. "Was. I don't know anymore. Our families want to unite territories, combine magical lineages, all that political nonsense."
"I remember you mentioned that," King said.
"I've hated him for years. He's arrogant, entitled, thinks he's better than everyone because of his talent." Yuki turned to face King. "But watching him fight you... I saw something different. He tried. Really tried. Used everything he had. And when he lost, he accepted it."
"He's strong," King said.
"Not as strong as you."
"Strength isn't just power," King said. "He has something I don't. Pride. Self-awareness. A history that shaped him."
"You're defending the guy who just tried to freeze you to death."
"He wasn't trying to kill me. He was trying to prove himself." King sat on his bed. "There's a difference."
Yuki studied him with those sharp green eyes. "You really are different from everyone else here. Most people would gloat. Mock him. Use the victory to climb ranks."
"I don't care about ranks," King said.
"I know. That's what makes you dangerous." Yuki walked to the door, then paused. "Thank you. For beating him without breaking him. He needed that lesson, but he didn't need to be destroyed."
"You care about him," King observed.
"I hate him," Yuki corrected. "But I also... understand him. We're both trapped by expectations. Family legacies. Things we didn't choose." She looked back at King. "You're free from all that. Must be nice."
She left before King could respond.
---
King sat in the quiet room, processing the day. The fight, Julian's acceptance, Yuki's complicated feelings, his roommates' support.
I'm affecting people, King realized. Changing their paths just by existing near them.
Was that good? He didn't know. He'd come to understand mortals, not change them.
But maybe understanding and changing were inseparable. Maybe to truly know someone was to inevitably affect them.
Complex, King thought. Being mortal is so complex.
His roommates returned, bringing food from the cafeteria.
"Figured you'd be hungry," Marcus said. "After your apple."
They ate together, talking about everything except the fight. Just normal conversation between friends.
And King realized something: this was the best part of the day. Not the victory, not the recognition, not the fight itself.
This. Sitting with people who chose him. Eating terrible cafeteria food and laughing about nothing important.
This is what I came here for, King thought. This feeling. This moment.
Tomorrow would bring new challenges. More questions about who he was. More incidents, probably.
But tonight, he had this.
And this was enough.