Aetheric Chronicles: Reborn As An Extra

The fourth match between Lady Celia and Prince Morgan ended exactly as Adrian had expected. The royal balcony erupted in applause, though Adrian's expression remained composed.

Two mages of their caliber made for an impressive display, but there was little suspense for him. Between experience and raw skill, Lady Celia's victory had been all but assured from the start. Morgan had tried valiantly, yet his inexperience had shown through glaringly.

Adrian leaned back slightly, his mind wandering as the defeated prince stalked off the field, his head low. 'Morgan will probably find a way to hate me for this somehow, typical of him...' Adrian thought, though the idea amused more than worried him. Morgan's bruised ego was no concern of his.

His focus shifted instead to the semi-finals. His thoughts turned to the possibility of facing the 'mysterious' Masked Man—either here or, more ideally, in the finals. Despite the swirling questions about the man's identity and skill, Adrian felt no anxiety. Confidence radiated from him, the result of relentless training and meticulous preparation.

To his mild surprise, the matchups announced for the semi-finals broke those expectations:

The Masked Man would face Prince Cedric.

Adrian himself was to duel Lady Celia—again.

From across the arena, he could feel her gaze. Her piercing eyes locked onto him as if to silently reaffirm her challenge.

A faint smirk played on Adrian's lips. 'Rematch it is then.'

He stood as the herald's voice boomed across the stadium, announcing their names and beckoning them to the ring.

Celia was already there when he stepped onto the stone platform. Her presence was commanding, her water-blue robes flowing lightly in the breeze. She offered a subtle nod before speaking, her voice cool and confident.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I won't go easy this time," she said. "You should go all out as well."

Adrian returned the nod, his tone steady but calm. "It would be rude not to."

The arena fell silent as the beginning signal rang out, a bell-like chime echoing through the air.

---

Celia wasted no time. With a fluid motion, her hand swept across the air, and water magic surged forward. A torrential wave cascaded over the fighting arena, saturating the ground and turning the once-solid footing into a thick, muddy quagmire.

Adrian clicked his tongue as he felt his boots sink slightly into the mire. Her strategy was clear—limit his speed, hinder his mobility, and force him to fight on her terms.

Celia didn't stop there.

She raised her hand, and from it, a barrage of wind-blade spells materialized, whistling sharply as they tore through the air toward him. Adrian sidestepped the first with ease, his body shimmering as he started using his Temporal Echoes, creating afterimages that danced around the arena.

But Celia was ready.

Her eyes tracked the field, her fingers weaving intricate sigils mid-air. The blades of wind turned, homing in on the afterimages with pinpoint accuracy. One after another, they struck true, dispelling the echoes almost as soon as they appeared.

Adrian's eyebrows rose slightly in approval as he darted away from the muddiest sections of the ground. 'She's been paying attention,' he thought. Celia had clearly analyzed his tactics and fights from their previous encounter and crafted a counter-strategy.

She wasn't allowing him to close the distance either—her barrage of smaller, low-level but precise spells kept him at bay. Water orbs exploded into cascading streams, sharp icicles rained down from above, and cutting gusts swept unpredictably across the field.

Adrian's eyes gleamed with quiet determination as he dodged, deflected, and occasionally absorbed the blows with his aether shield spell. Despite her relentless assault, he couldn't help but smile. 'Efficient. She's saving her strength while wearing me down. Smart indeed.'

But he knew better than to let her dictate the fight. In terms of raw Aether reserves, Celia outclassed him by a significant margin—five to eight times, even given her current restrictions. The longer this match dragged on, the slimmer his chances of victory would become.

A second smile flickered across his lips, this one sharper. 'It's time to switch the plan.'

---

Adrian's stance shifted slightly, his fingers curling around the hilt of his sword as faint arcs of silver light danced along its blade. He lunged forward, testing the waters. Celia responded instantly, conjuring a swirling wall of water that lashed out like a serpent, forcing him to retreat.

She smirked. "Is that all? You'll have to do better than—"

Her words cut off as Adrian's figure blurred. Temporal Echoes appeared again, but this time, they moved erratically. Celia narrowed her eyes, tracking each one as they zigzagged toward her. But instead of charging her directly, they split off, forcing her attention in multiple directions.

Celia unleashed a wide-range wind spell, but this was what Adrian had anticipated. The moment her focus shifted to the afterimages, he planted his foot into the muddy ground and drove forward.

'Shattering Phantom Step.'

A sudden burst of force radiated out from his footfall, cracking the arena's floor and dispersing the mud near him. The shockwave pushed Celia off-balance, interrupting her spellwork for a split second—enough for Adrian to close the distance to just outside her preferred range.

Celia recovered quickly, water forming tendrils around her in a protective sphere. Adrian didn't press the attack. Instead, he raised his hand, summoning a small but bright glyph of pure aether that hung in the air.

"Ripple Shard." Continue your journey with empire

The glyph flashed, and dozens of tiny, razor-sharp shards of energy launched from it, each one aimed precisely at her sphere. Celia countered by thickening the water barrier, but Adrian's intent wasn't damage—it was disruption.

The shards ricocheted off the barrier at calculated angles, splashing harmlessly around her, but with each strike, the vibrations destabilized her control.

Celia's concentration faltered for the briefest moment. Her eyes widened as Adrian's true attack revealed itself—a glimmering silver blade hurtling toward her, carried by an echo slashes from the far side of the arena.

She raised a hand, summoning a geyser of water that deflected the blade, but Adrian was already moving again, his footsteps light and swift, his strikes precise and unrelenting.

For the first time, Celia looked rattled.