---
Whispers in the Corridor
It started as a rumor.
That Harvey—mysterious, distant, and dangerously talented—had refused a class-wide ranking match.
That he had mocked the elite dueling club.
That he called the "top ten" a joke.
Whether he said it or not didn't matter.
By the time it reached the ears of Ardyn Vale, the #1 ranked student and a noble-born dueling prodigy, the challenge was already accepted.
> "You don't get to spit on the throne and walk away," Ardyn had declared. "Tomorrow. Noon. The arena."
And so it began.
---
The Invitation
Harvey sat quietly in the Academy's secluded library when the invitation arrived—not by letter, but through the system.
> [System Duel Invitation Received] Opponent: Ardyn Vale Stakes: Public Reputation & Title of Elite Rank 1] Do you accept?
He tapped yes without even looking at the full terms.
> "Ardyn, huh…" he muttered, closing the book titled 'Theory of Mana Chain Reversal'.
He remembered Ardyn from his previous timeline.
Not because of friendship.
But because Ardyn had been one of the first to die—executed as a scapegoat when the Empire turned on its own.
Now? He was still arrogant. Still blind.
But this time, Harvey wouldn't let things play out the same.
---
The Arena
The dueling arena roared with students.
Professors lined the upper decks, masked by illusion arrays.
This was more than a fight.
This was political theater.
> "Is that the bastard son of House Gravemore?" "What's with the gloves? He doesn't even channel through a wand?" "He looks bored. Is he sick or something?"
Harvey stepped into the circle in his uniform, hands in his coat pockets, expression unreadable.
Across from him, Ardyn stood gleaming in enchanted armor, channeling a blade of condensed plasma-mana. His mana flared like a golden inferno.
> "You should've stayed in the shadows," Ardyn called. "Now everyone's going to see you break."
Harvey tilted his head.
> "Bold of you to think I haven't already seen this moment before."
Ardyn blinked. "What?"
The bell rang.
---
The Duel Begins
Ardyn opened with Starburst Pierce—a mid-range attack that shattered barriers and seared nerves.
The crowd gasped.
But Harvey didn't move.
He simply raised a single finger.
And rewrote the spell mid-air.
> [Spell Copy: Starburst Pierce Recognized.] [Spell Modification: Layer Shift + Arc Delay.] [New Spell Created: Voidburst Arc – Activated.]
The golden spear twisted in space—and slammed back into Ardyn from above.
He blocked, barely, coughing blood.
> "You copied—no, rewrote—my spell?!"
> "Try harder," Harvey said calmly.
Ardyn screamed, unleashing Emperor's Edge, a fourth-tier spell only nobles could wield. The entire platform shook.
Harvey walked through it.
Untouched.
His coat flared as shadows bled from his sleeves.
> "You fight like someone who's never faced death."
He extended his hand.
> [Spell: Phantom Cage – Executed.]
Chains of invisible force wrapped around Ardyn before he even realized they existed.
The battle was over in a heartbeat.
---
The Aftershock
Silence.
Then thunderous whispers.
> "That wasn't even ranked magic—what was that?" "He moved like he already knew what Ardyn would do." "Did he use forbidden code magic?"
Dean Vaughn, watching from above, leaned forward.
> "He's accelerating," he muttered. "He's starting to bend causality."
Beside him, a masked woman—the Academy's secret protector—narrowed her eyes.
> "If he keeps evolving like this, we won't be able to contain him."
---
Ardyn's Eyes
Collapsed on the ground, Ardyn looked up at Harvey.
But he didn't see arrogance in those eyes.
He saw something worse.
A man who had already lived through this moment before—and no longer feared consequences.
> "What are you…?" Ardyn rasped.
Harvey leaned down, voice cold.
> "The one who remembers."
Then he walked away.
---