My All Powerful System

The Wind Affinity Arena was alive, the whole place buzzing like a hive, they were excited.

On the stage the barrier was set up, two figures stood opposite each other, both in AETHER Blessed Academy Deep Blue uniform, both breathing steady, both with B ranked Wind affinity. Top 2 strongest in their class.

Lira Verne, her green hair tied back in a tight braid, eyes calm, hands loose at her sides like she wasn’t even there, like the air itself was holding her up.

Matthew Snow, a tall guy, sharp jaw, hair a mess from the training he did earlier, grinning like this was the most fun he’d had all year, fingers twitching like he was already calculating angles.

At the edge of the stage, Teacher Mira Scott stood with her arms folded, blonde hair tied up, eyes sharp enough to cut glass.

She was the one who trained both of them, and right now she looked proud and excited at the same time, because she knew what was about to happen.

She raised one hand, mana humming in the air, thick and cold, and then dropped it.

”Begin.”

The arena exploded.

-——-

Matthew moved first, fast, a blur of wind cutting across the stage, his palm slicing out and sending a sharp wind like blade straight at Lira’s chest, the air screaming.

Lira didn’t dodge, she stepped, just once, to the side, and the sharp wind missed her by an inch, tearing into the barrier behind her and making it crackle, sparks flying.

”You’re still doing that opening?” Lira said, voice quiet, but it carried across the entire arena.

Matthew laughed, already spinning, kicking off the ground and launching three more blades at her from different angles, each one whispering as it cut.

”Still works if you can’t catch it,” he said, and for a second he was behind her, elbow coming down, wind coiling around his arm like a whip.

Lira twisted, caught his wrist, used his momentum and threw him, but he landed on his feet, skidding, wind wrapping around his legs like boots.

”Almost a draw match.” Matthew said, wiping blood from his lip, because she’d clipped him with a backhand on the way out. ”Teacher Scott said you’re that close to me.”

His eyes narrowed, and then something shifted. A faint blue light crawled up his arms, tracing old glyphs under his skin.

His Blessing: Tactician’s Gaze

Costs mana to maintain. Lets him see air currents, predict movement 0.5 seconds ahead, calculate the best vector to strike.

”Teacher’s almost right,” Lira said, and then she was gone.

But not to Matthew. To his eyes, she flickered. His blessing screamed at him. ’Left, no right, no....

She moved like wind should, almost making no sound, just pressure shifting.

She appeared to his left, her palm was open, and hit him with a Compressed Burst that sent him sliding across the stage, boots carving lines on the ground, dust kicking up.

Matthew coughed, grinned wider, blood on his teeth. ”Okay, okay, you’re fast.”

In the stands, Kira shot to her feet.

”No, get him Lira!” she shouted, flames flickering around her fingers without her noticing, her flames reacting to her emotions.

Next to her, Emily was already standing too, both fists clenched.

”Don’t let him corner you!” Emily yelled, then glanced at Kira, and both of them nodded at each other.

On the other side of the stands, Ava sat with her legs crossed, her arms folded, watching like this was a lecture.

Next to her, Eira was leaning forward, eyes wide, mouth slightly open.

”I didn’t know she was this strong,” Eira said her was voice low and surprised. ”Lira? She was always avoiding people.”

Ava didn’t look away from the stage. ”Quiet people are always the strongest,” she said simply. ”They don’t waste energy talking. They save it for winning.”

Back on stage, Matthew wiped more blood off, this time from his eyebrow, and his blessing flared brighter.

”You’re good,” he said, breathing hard now. ”Really good. If I win this, I’m taking you on a date, deal?”

Lira blinked, then a small smile touched her lips as she thought about Lynx.

”If you win,” she said.

Her own mana stirred, and silver light bled from her ankles up to her knees.

Blessing: Zephyr Step

Costs mana to maintain. Reduces air resistance around her body, lets her ride her own momentum, makes every step weightless, every turn instant.

”Deal,” Matthew said, and then his whole aura changed.

Wind howled.

He slammed both palms together, and the air around him compressed, twisted, formed into two massive drills on each arm, spinning so fast they blurred.

”Twin Tempest!” he roared, and shot forward, the drills screaming, his Tactician’s Gaze locking onto her center mass.

Lira’s eyes widened, just a fraction.

She crossed her arms, summoned a wall of wind, but the drills tore through it like paper, and one of them caught her across the ribs.

She flew back, hit the ground as she rolled, coming up bleeding from the side, but she was still smiling, and her Zephyr Step kept her from hitting as hard as she should have.

”I hope you’re watching this Lynx, putting up a show for you.” Lira muttered.

”Peak,” someone in the crowd whispered and people agreed with him.

”This is good,” Teacher Mira murmured, and she wasn’t talking to anyone. Her own hands were folded behind her back.

At Amira’s House.

Lynx was standing now, TV light reflecting in his eyes, his hand gripping the couch so hard his knuckles were white.

Amira was beside him, also standing, one hand on his back, the other on her waist.

”That’s it,” Lynx said, voice shaking from excitement ”That’s Lira.” He laughed loudly.

When Lira used Zephyr Step to ride the backlash of Matthew’s drill and flipped over him, landing on his shoulders and driving a knee into his spine, he actually jumped.

”YEAH! Get Him.”

He turned, grabbed Amira’s face, and kissed her, quick and hard and happy, relief and pride bursting out of him.

Amira laughed into it.

Lynx knew Lira was good, but he has watch Matthew’s fight too, and he was also good as Lira. That’s why he’s excited.

On stage.

Matthew was breathing heavy, blood running down his temple, but he wasn’t stopping. Tactician’s Gaze was burning mana, but he couldn’t turn it off now.

”You’re tough,” he said to Lira, and there was real respect in it now, just like two warriors acknowledging each other. ”I’ve fought you in class for two years and I still don’t know how you move like that. You don’t even think, you just... flow.”

Lira wiped blood from her mouth. Zephyr Step was eating her mana too, her legs trembling.

”You’re strong too,” she said. ”Your drills are clean. Your reads are cleaner. If I wasn’t faster, I’d be down.”

”Let’s end this shall we,” Matthew said, but he was smiling, blood and all.

Lira just nodded.

He feinted left, Tactician’s Gaze told him she’d dodge right, so he sent a wind slash there, and he was right, she moved into it, but at the last second Zephyr Step let her ride the edge of it, the wind cutting her cheek instead of her throat.

”Wasn’t trying to,” Lira said, and then her stance shifted.

It was subtle, her weight going to the balls of her feet, her shoulders dropping, her eyes going half lidded, the silver around her legs flaring brighter.

Matthew frowned. ”What—”

Tactician’s Gaze was screaming, but it couldn’t keep up.

Lira vanished.

Not literally, but she moved so fast the air popped, first feint left, Matthew’s drill swung wide because his blessing predicted it, second feint right, he overcorrected because the blessing corrected too fast, and then she was under him, palm to his stomach, and she exhaled, all the air in her lungs.

”Gale Point.”

A Focused, precise needle of air driven by Zephyr Step’s momentum, was sent straight through his guard, straight into his core, bypassing the spinning drills entirely, and Matthew’s eyes went wide as he was lifted off his feet and dropped hard, onto the stone.

The impact cracked the stage. Teacher Mira removed the Barrier.

Silence for a second, then the students started clapping and chanting Lira’s name. Most Year 1s of course.

Matthew lay there, staring up at the ceiling, chest heaving, Tactician’s Gaze finally flickering out, and he was smiling.

”Dammit,” he said, his voice hoarse, there was blood on his lips. ”That’s why you’re number 1 in our class.”

His eyes closed, and he was out.

Lira stood over him for a second, swaying, Zephyr Step sputtering out, then her knees buckled.

Before she hit the ground, two people were already moving.

Kira and Emily hit the stage at the same time, sliding to her sides, catching her arms.

”Lira! Lira, hey!” Emily said, panic in her voice.

Kira’s hands were already trying to stabilize her. ”She’s okay, she’s just exhausted, mana depletion,” Kira said, but her voice was tight, because Lira’s blessing had burned through almost everything. But it was worth it.

In the stands, Teacher Mira clapped, once, twice. Then she stepped forward, voice amplified, echoing.

”Winner, and the 49th student representing AETHER Blessed Academy... Lira Verne!”

More cheers.

Lira cracked one eye open, saw the ceiling, saw Emily and Kira’s faces above her, and smiled.

”I wanna talk to Lynx,” she mumbled. ”Is he watching? Did he see? The blessing... did it look cool?”

”Yeah he saw,” Kira said, brushing hair out of her face, thumb wiping blood off Lira’s cheek. ”You were amazing, you idiot. Your speed is insane.”

”We’ll call him after the healers look at you,” Emily said, already walking, supporting most of Lira’s weight.

Behind them, Ava and Eira were walking down the steps too.

Eira was still buzzing. ”Did you see that counter? The double feint? His fast eyes couldn’t even track her at the end! I thought she was done.”

Ava nodded and chimed in, ”Right? She was smart, it was an eventful battle.”

They reached the infirmary doors together, and for a second, Ava and Emily locked eyes.

Emily’s mouth moved, barely audible ”Bitch”.

Ava just smiled and raised her middle finger at her. A polite gesture.

---

Inside, the infirmary the healers already moving, glowing hands over Lira’s ribs, over the bruises and the exhaustion, golden light sinking into her skin.

Lira was on a bed, propped up, still smiling like an idiot, while thinking of how Lynx would be proud of her.

Kira sat on one side, holding her hand. Emily sat on the other, stealing the blanket and wrapping it around both of them.

Eira pulled up a chair, talking a mile a minute about the fight, reenacting the battle with her hands.

Ava was also talking, telling Lira how she’s smart, strong and how her blessing was very cool.

Lira’s eyes fluttered. ”Tell Lynx... I won...”

”We will,” Kira said softly, squeezing her hand. ”Sleep first. You earned it.”

Lira slept peacefully.

Emily and Kira looked at each other. Tomorrow was their match.