A new day rose over the academy—another day in the arena, another series of battles waiting to unfold. The commentator’s voice echoed through the broadcast system, lively and energetic as always.

  “—Welcome, dear viewers, tuning in from the arena studio! Let’s hope we can once again witness an excellent match today. And chances are high, because our opening event features none other than Arvian, child of the greatest noble family!”

  Up in the stands, Lyrien, Arlen, and Toma watched together, ready to cheer for their friend.

  “This should be interesting,” Arlen said with a grin.

  “I just hope it won’t be as boring as his previous matches,” Toma muttered, leaning back casually.

  Lyrien couldn’t hold back a soft, amused giggle.

  Then the moment arrived. The bell rang sharply, followed by the commentator’s enthusiastic announcement.

  “—Dear viewers, the match is officially beginning: Arvian vs. Thonk! Up until now, Arvian has finished his opponents in record time. But will someone finally manage to challenge him? Thonk is a third-year student and one of the outstanding talents of his grade. Everything is set for another exciting clash!”

  Arvian stood tall in the arena, his expression calm and unwavering. Across from him, Thonk—massive, broad-shouldered, and built like a granite wall—stared him down with the focus of a seasoned fighter. His short blond hair only emphasized the sheer solidity of his frame.

  As soon as the signal was given, Arvian opened with his usual technique, attempting to freeze his opponent in place. Thin frost shot across the ground toward Thonk—

  —but Thonk slipped past it with nearly invisible speed, appearing right in front of Arvian in a blur. From the elbow down, both his arms hardened into solid stone as he wound up for a devastating blow.

  Arvian reacted instantly. Ice surged up from his palm, forming a crystalline shield between them.

  The impact exploded across the arena.

  The shield shattered on contact.

  The commentator practically shouted with excitement.

  “—Look at that, folks! What incredible power! He smashed through Arvian’s ice shield in an instant! It looks like Arvian won’t be getting a quick victory today!”

  Arvian kept counterattacking, unleashing wave after wave of freezing energy. But each layer of ice met the same fate—crushed effortlessly beneath Thonk’s stone-hard arms.

  Then Thonk’s speed surged again. He closed the distance even faster than before, his movements almost impossible to track. He swung another brutal strike toward Arvian.

  Arvian threw up another shield in desperation—

  —but Thonk’s fist punched straight through it and connected directly with Arvian’s side.

  Arvian’s thoughts raced as he staggered back. I managed to soften the hit… but this is really bad!

  Thonk wasn’t about to give him a second to recover. He charged in and unleashed a relentless barrage of punches. Arvian kept forming ice barriers in front of himself, but every single one shattered the moment Thonk’s stone-hardened fists touched them. Each break brought Thonk closer… and closer.

  Eventually, Arvian couldn’t hold the defensive line. Thonk broke through completely and hammered him with full force. One blow. Then another. Then another—each hit crushing into him like a landslide.

  Arvian’s breath burst out of him as he collapsed onto the ground, a spray of blood escaping his lips. He tried to rise, but his legs buckled, forcing him down onto one knee. His fingers dug into the arena floor while he gasped for air.

  The referee’s voice echoed through the arena, beginning the count.

  “Eight…”

  While Arvian struggled to stand, Thonk finally spoke, his voice low and mocking.

  “I’m not as weak as your previous opponents.” You’re not going to beat me that easily. And besides…” He cracked his stone fist, tilting his head with a grin. “A good friend of mine—the student council president—asked me to take care of you properly.”

  The commentator sounded completely stunned.

  “—Unbelievable! Arvian is down! Time is almost up—wait… if I’m seeing this right… he’s trying to stand!”

  With a final push, Arvian forced himself upright just before the count could finish. He lifted his head and locked eyes with Thonk, determination burning behind the exhaustion.

  “It won’t be as simple as you think,” he growled. “Come on. Try me.”

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  Thonk didn’t need to be told twice. He surged forward, the floor cracking under the force of his launch. Dust exploded behind him, the shockwave vibrating through the entire arena.

  Arvian instinctively retreated, raising his arm. A thin, razor-sharp jet of ice blasted from his hand, slicing through the air with a hissing chill.

  Thonk looked almost prepared for it. He raised his left hand, and in an instant, the limb darkened and hardened into stone. The jet of ice hit it dead-on, but all it managed to do was scatter tiny white cracks across the surface.

  This won’t be easy… Arvian thought, already bracing for the next attack.

  Using the force from blocking the ice, Thonk lunged forward and swung his right fist. The skin thickened as he moved, veins transforming into jagged patterns like cracks in a boulder. The power behind the attack made the air itself vibrate.

  Arvian threw himself aside just in time.

  The punch smashed into the arena floor with the sound of a collapsing cliff. Dust blasted upward, chunks of stone scattering across the battlefield.

  The commentator nearly screamed into the mic.

  “—Thonk has revealed his first strike! If that had hit anyone… that would’ve been an instant end! Arvian dodged perfectly!”

  Arvian kept retreating while running, lifting his arm and firing a stronger burst than before. The icy beam thickened as it blasted out, tearing through the air and leaving a trail of tiny snowflakes swirling behind it. The cold finally reached Thonk’s arm—cracks spread across the stone-like surface with sharp, echoing snaps.

  Thonk felt it.

  The cold.

  And it provoked him.

  He lowered his stance, teeth grinding. “Now I’m paying attention.” His voice rumbled so deeply that Arvian could feel the vibration in his chest.

  Then Thonk charged.

  He came forward like a living siege weapon, every step carving deep marks into the arena floor. Arvian fired again—two shots, three—fast, precise blasts of ice, but Thonk tore through them like a stone giant pushing through a blizzard. Ice shattered in all directions, sparkling across the air like broken stars, yet Thonk’s arm only hardened further, turning thicker and even more terrifying.

  I have to keep him away… if he gets close, it’s over.

  Arvian focused. This time he released ice in a wide half-circle across the floor. A smooth, slick surface formed instantly.

  Thonk stepped onto it—

  —and slipped.

  The entire arena gasped as the massive man pitched forward, his balance breaking for the first time.

  Arvian struck immediately. He fired a concentrated ice beam straight into Thonk’s chest. The cold hit hard—white frost spread across his skin in an instant.

  But Thonk didn’t fall.

  He stopped.

  His chest lifted in a slow inhale…

  Then a deep, distorted, raspy laugh tore out of him. “Clever… you’re clever. But you’re playing too gently.”

  Arvian’s response came sharp and unwavering. “Mindless, reckless destruction can only be stopped with elegance.”

  That single line seemed to flip a switch in Thonk.

  He lunged forward with a speed that didn’t match his size—so sudden that Arvian barely caught the movement. Arvian dove aside just in time, dodging the sweep of Thonk’s stone-coated hand. Even the gust left behind by the strike was violent enough to send bits of flying gravel slicing across Arvian’s shoulder.

  He winced as pain shot down his arm.

  Thonk didn’t give him a second. He attacked with both hands now—alternating left and right blows, each one carrying the weight of an earthquake in human form. Arvian kept sliding back, pivoting, twisting, sometimes throwing small ice patches under his own feet to quicken his movement. But Thonk was relentless. Unstoppable. A walking natural disaster.

  One misstep, one slip, and Arvian found himself cornered against the arena wall. The ice beneath his boots made it even worse—his feet skidded at the worst possible moment.

  Thonk drew his fist back.

  He’s going to strike.

  Arvian reacted on pure instinct. Instead of a sharp beam, he blasted out a scattered cloud of ice—cold, bright, and blinding. The dust-like frost exploded across Thonk’s face, forcing the giant to duck his head with a grunt.

  Arvian seized the opening.

  He threw himself sideways—

  —and Thonk’s punch obliterated the wall behind him.

  Stone shattered like wet clay, fragments bursting outward in a deafening crack.

  “Incredible!” the commentator screamed, barely able to keep his voice steady. “Thonk nearly crushed Arvian! The boy escaped by a hair’s breadth!”

  Arvian pushed himself to his feet, shaking out his hand. His breaths came in thick white clouds, the cold already draining him. Thonk, however, was slowing—not from fatigue, but because thin lines of frost were spreading across his chest and arms.

  Finally… he’s slowing down.

  Arvian struck. Rapid bursts of ice shot from his hands like sharpened spears, peppering Thonk’s arms and leaving white cracks in his stone-like skin.

  Thonk growled and backed up under the barrage. Then he abruptly stopped.

  His eyes narrowed. Both fists clenched.

  Stone thickened across his knuckles, sealing the cracks shut completely.

  His voice dropped to a thunderous rumble.

  “Now it’s my turn.”

  He charged.

  Arvian fired ice from both arms as he retreated. It slowed Thonk—but didn’t stop him. The giant’s punches closed in, closer and closer, until Arvian felt the cold drain from his hands. Even the air felt heavy in his lungs.

  Thonk finally reached him.

  A single punch shot toward Arvian’s chest. He dove aside, but even the passing shockwave clipped his shoulder. Pain ripped through his whole body.

  “LOOK AT THAT!” the commentator roared. “Arvian can barely stand, but he’s still fighting! And Thonk—Thonk is moving like a living boulder!”

  Arvian lifted his gaze. Thonk was already looming over him, fist rising again. The ground trembled under his feet.

  Arvian braced himself. With everything left in him, he thrust his hand forward. A massive blast erupted—not precise, not clean, but overwhelmingly strong. The cold surged outward, slamming into Thonk’s chest.

  Thonk staggered—but stayed upright.

  Arvian didn’t let up. He kept firing, targeting the man’s most dangerous weapons—his arms—freezing them layer by layer until frost encased them completely. Thonk strained, but the frozen stone wouldn’t move.

  And then Arvian did the impossible.

  He jumped.

  High.

  With one sweeping motion, he froze the entire arena from above.

  The audience froze with it—eyes wide, breath visible. The cold radiated into the stands.

  “Thonk is completely frozen—he has no chance left! Arvian played this brilliantly! He froze both of Thonk’s arms!” the commentator shouted.

  The referee started counting.

  Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero…

  “And Arvian, in an unbelievable fashion, has won again!” the commentator thundered. “We’ll take a short break while the arena is thawed!”

  The audience erupted into applause.

  Arvian, however, was carried to the infirmary—his injuries were too severe to ignore.

  Up in the stands, Lyrien, Arlen, and Toma had watched every second. Toma’s teeth were chattering.

  “Man, it’s freezing…”

  “Let’s go check on Arvian,” Lyrien suggested.

  Arlen gave a quiet nod, and the three of them headed out together.