Chapter 26: The Genius Student Challenges Her

The Rythundeir Ducal Flagship had barely completed its hard-lock sequence in orbit when the Imperial Gifted Academy erupted into a fresh wave of chaotic noise.

The sudden uproar across campus was not caused by the hidden assassination conspiracy, nor was it about the ancient subterranean facility buried beneath the wilderness.

It wasn’t even because Major General Raevor Veyr had personally brought an allegedly E-rank student aboard his flagship under maximum security.

Instead, the academy’s central communication network was screaming because a famous upperclassman had just issued a public, formal challenge.

The academy’s central training arena was packed to absolute capacity, with thousands of students filling the elevated observation tiers.

Panicked, excited whispers echoed continuously through the stands as a tall, imposing young man stepped onto the primary combat platform. The glowing holographic banners above the stage illuminated his pristine uniform and sharp features.

His name was Kael Rivenhart, the academy’s most celebrated S-rank student prodigy.

At twenty-two years old, Kael had already mastered high-level mental combat techniques and ranked comfortably among the absolute strongest cadets in the entire Imperial Military Academy. He turned toward the entry gate where Rhaevia was walking onto the floor.

A condescending, mocking smile curved his lips as he looked down at her slender frame.

"So this is the legendary genius dark horse everyone across the capital has been talking about?" he called out, his voice amplified by the arena’s audio array.

The deafening roar of the crowded arena instantly quieted down, every eye fixed on the center ring.

Rhaevia stood at the opposite end of the wide platform, her dark eyes entirely indifferent as she adjusted her sleeve cuffs. Her physical body was calm, completely unbothered by the pressure of thousands of staring students.

Kael slowly walked a short circle around the edge of the ring, looking her up and down with obvious disdain.

"An E-rank trash student who suddenly awakens as a mythical 3S Guide during a routine field trial," he said, pausing to let out a theatrical laugh. "How remarkably convenient."

Several cadets in the lower observation tiers exchanged awkward, uncertain glances.

Kael continued loudly, raising his voice to address the entire audience. "Do you honestly expect any rational person in this academy to believe that miraculous diagnostic result?"

Rhaevia raised a single eyebrow, her posture remaining perfectly relaxed.

"I don’t particularly care what you or anyone else chooses to believe," she answered smoothly, her tone flat and dismissive.

His arrogant smile instantly vanished, replaced by an irritated scowl.

"Of course you don’t care," he sneered, taking two sharp steps toward her.

"You don’t care because you already know the objective truth," Kael declared, his voice cutting clearly through the silence.

A sudden, low murmur spread rapidly through the surrounding spectator stands.

Kael’s voice sharpened into a harsh accusation. "Your initial diagnostic scanner malfunctioned on the planet, shattering under a simple power surge. That is all that happened, and every single test conducted after that was contaminated by the first system error."

He raised a finger, pointing it directly at her forehead. "You have never once demonstrated actual 3S-level mental control in a real tactical environment."

"You have never defeated an actual S-rank opponent in hand-to-hand combat."

"And until a few short weeks ago, you were nothing more than an E-rank trash student who couldn’t even complete basic academy physical training without collapsing," Kael spat out, his words laced with venom.

The harsh words struck the listening crowd like flying sparks, sparking heated arguments across the tiers.

Rhaevia remained perfectly silent, her dark pupils tracking his aggressive movements without a trace of fear.

Kael completely mistook her quiet, analytical silence for paralyzed weakness.

"Yet suddenly, despite your pathetic track record, you are receiving private military protection from Major General Raevor Veyr himself," he added, throwing a mocking glance toward the executive box.

A few nearby freshmen gasped aloud at his dangerous implication.

"How very fortunate for you," Kael continued, his gaze becoming deliberately, deeply insulting.

His lips curved back into a sneer. "Perhaps your real talent isn’t mental energy or combat at all."

The entire training arena went completely, dead silent.

Rhaevia’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, a cold, sharp glint flickering deep within her pupils.

Kael smiled triumphantly, stepping closer to the center line. "Perhaps you simply learned how to attract powerful men to fight your battles for you."

The temperature inside the massive arena seemed to plummet by ten degrees in a single microsecond.

Several senior faculty instructors standing along the sidelines immediately stood up from their seats in anger.

"Kael! Watch your tongue on the arena floor!" one chief instructor barked.

Before the teachers could step onto the platform, Rhaevia calmly lifted one hand, holding her palm up.

The instructors halted in their tracks, caught off guard by her absolute authority.

She looked directly into Kael’s glowing eyes, her expression utterly calm.

"Are you finished speaking?" she asked quietly.

Kael blinked, thrown off by her complete lack of emotional agitation.

Rhaevia took a single, slow step forward onto the reinforced combat tiles.

"If you genuinely believe my awakening is a fluke or a technical error..." she began, her clear voice carrying effortlessly across the quiet arena. "...then step across the line and test it yourself."

The crowd in the observation stands instantly exploded into chaotic, deafening roars.

Kael stared at her in utter surprise before a wide, ruthless grin slowly spread across his face. "You are actually daring to challenge me?"

"No," Rhaevia replied, her dark eyes hardening into pure, unyielding steel. "I am simply accepting yours."

Another deafening roar swept through the entire facility as the spectator tiers cheered.

Kael immediately activated his high-grade S-rank mental field, refusing to hold back. A brilliant, violent aura of silver energy erupted around his tall body, cracking the air with static electricity as his pressure expanded outward.

"Then I will personally show everyone in this academy what a real S-rank combatant looks like!" Kael shouted, stepping fully onto the central duel platform.

Rhaevia walked steadily onto the active combat platform, her physical frame appearing fragile compared to his surging energy.

Her current host body was still far weaker than his heavily conditioned physical form. Her newly unsealed Guide pathways were still recovering from the recent diagnostic overloads. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

However, somewhere deep within the dark corridors of her mind, the hardened instincts of the veteran commander who had survived a bloody apocalypse stirred to life.

She looked at Kael’s arrogant posture and flexed her slender fingers. Just another arrogant opponent who mistook rank for true battlefield experience.

Fine, she thought coldly.

Across the wide arena floor, Kael raised his hand toward the overhead sensor array.

The primary barrier hummed to life, sealing the platform in a transparent sphere of energy.

[DUEL PROTOCOL: ENGAGED.]

[MATCHUP: S-RANK STUDENT VS. 3S GUIDE CANDIDATE.]

A massive holographic countdown materialized in bright red text directly above the ring.

[THREE.]

Kael’s silver mental pressure surged to its absolute maximum, sending shockwaves against the protective barrier.

[TWO.]

Rhaevia’s dark eyes turned as cold and lifeless as liquid nitrogen.

[ONE.]

The central tone chimed, and the duel officially began.