The fireball roared towards Julian, a spinning sphere of superheated mana aimed squarely at his chest.

  The crowd screamed. A direct hit from a Rank 2 spell on an F-Grade student without a shield? That was a death sentence.

  Kaelen was already grinning, anticipating the smell of burnt flesh.

  Julian didn't dodge. He raised the **Sonic Lancet**.

  "Fire requires three things," Julian whispered, his mind accelerating as the heat washed over his face. "Fuel. Oxygen. Heat."

  He pointed the tuning fork at the incoming projectile.

  [Skill: Acoustic Vacuum]

  [Frequency: Low-End Bass]

  [Output: Burst]

  *THUMP.*

  It wasn't a sharp sound like before. It was a heavy, dull pulse of compressed air, like a giant invisible hammer striking the space directly in front of the fireball.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The sound wave hit the fireball.

  Usually, magic fights magic. But this was physics fighting chemistry.

  The intense pressure wave instantly disrupted the air density around the flame. For a split second, a localized vacuum formed. No air means no oxygen.

  The massive fireball didn't explode. It simply... winked out.

  *Poof.*

  It vanished into a puff of harmless grey smoke, inches from Julian's nose.

  Kaelen’s grin froze on his face. The crowd went dead silent.

  "What?" Kaelen stammered. "Where... where did it go?"

  "I cut off the oxygen supply," Julian explained, stepping through the smoke. "Your flame is impressive, Kaelen, but it's terribly fragile."

  Julian didn't give him time to cast again. He closed the distance.

  Kaelen panicked. He tried to summon a Fire Shield, but his concentration was shattered. "Stay back! My armor is-"

  "-Excellent at conducting vibrations," Julian finished the sentence for him.

  He slammed the tuning fork against Kaelen’s breastplate.

  [Resonance: High Frequency]

  [Target: Metal Lattice]

  The crimson armor didn't break. Instead, it started to vibrate violently. The metal turned into a bell, trapping all the sound energy *inside*, directly against Kaelen’s body.

  "ARGHHH!"

  Kaelen screamed, dropping to his knees. He wasn't being cut; he was being shaken apart from the inside out. His bones rattled, his vision blurred, and his equilibrium was destroyed. He dry-heaved, collapsing onto the dirt, completely incapacitated by vertigo.

  Julian stopped the vibration. He stood over the fallen noble, looking down coldly.

  "The duel is over," Julian announced to the silent canyon.

  He reached down, grabbed Kaelen’s limp hand, and slid the **Ember-Heart Ring** off his finger.

  Kaelen groaned, trying to pull back, but he was too weak to resist.

  "You... you can't..." Kaelen wheezed.

  "A bet is a bet," Julian said, inspecting the ruby ring. "Consider this your tuition fee. I just taught you a valuable lesson about fluid dynamics."

  He turned to the stunned crowd.

  "Anyone else want to question my methods?"

  No one moved.

  Julian nodded. He put the ring on his own finger. A warm energy flowed into him.

  [Item Equipped: Ember-Heart Ring]

  [Mana Regeneration: +20%]

  [Fire Resistance: +15%]

  "Good," Julian said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a leaderboard to dominate."

  Author's Note: