Harry reached home in the evening. He told his family about the fighting class, leaving out the pain and soreness he was still feeling. Once he mentioned that he had won the duel, they were genuinely happy for him. They remembered how Harry had been watching fighting shows since he was a child, so they always expected him to have a strong interest in combat sports.
The next day was declared a rest day for his class. From Sunday to the following Sunday, two sections would be selected for the fighting class, just like Harry's class had been chosen this week.
In the evening, Harry met his friends and told them about the duel. They listened with great interest and were clearly impressed after hearing the whole story.
Ron laughed and said, "Thank God the gym made you strong enough to defend yourself."
David added jokingly, "You only won because you're so short. Adrian probably couldn't even see you."
Harry simply nodded. He didn't mind these kinds of jokes—he had long been used to them.
After spending some time with his friends, he returned home and enjoyed dinner with his family.
Meanwhile, at the school, Principal Eleanor Graves sat in the monitoring room with four supervisors. They were reviewing the recordings of the fighting class matches.
At first, they were pleased with the students' performances. The fights looked promising and showed good potential.
However, when Harry's duel appeared on the screen, their attention sharpened.
They noticed Harry's quick thinking and Adrian using his ability to its full potential. But near the end of the match, something strange happened.
Adrian's final move looked… slow.
Principal Graves frowned slightly.
"Supervisor Clark," she said, her eyes still fixed on the screen, "is the recording corrupted? Why does it feel like Adrian suddenly slowed down?"
Supervisor Daniel Clark shook his head.
"No, ma'am. The camera system is working perfectly. Even we were confused when we reviewed it."
The principal stared at the screen again, replaying the final seconds several times.
Finally, she said quietly, "Pull up all available information about Harry."
Within moments, Supervisor Clark opened Harry's student file. Every detail about him appeared on the screen.
Principal Graves read the file carefully. Ten minutes passed in silence.
Gradually, her expression became calm.
"Harry is not an Aetherbound," she said slowly. "Then why did Adrian slow down?"
She paused, then added, "Did he cheat?"
Supervisor Clark immediately shook his head.
"That shouldn't be possible, ma'am. A Rank-B instructor was supervising the match. We specifically requested him from the police force."
"Did the instructor report anything unusual?" she asked.
"No, ma'am."
A brief silence filled the room.
Finally, Principal Graves spoke again.
"Then we will confirm it ourselves."
She closed the file.
"Arrange a retest for Harry."