HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 17

Standing at the elevated dueling circuit, Draco malfoy yelled,

"I challenge Axel Hunt to a duel!" 

'What the—' 

Before Professor Alice or Axel could say anything, the hundreds of first years who were piled around them started making a ruckus, cheering or hooting.

You have to say, wizards are a drama-loving bunch. These kids didn't know who the heck Axel Hunt was, but they knew they were in for some drama.

Axel pondered what to do. It wasn't like he was particularly angry, just annoyed. Who would bother losing their temper against an annoying bug bugging them? 

But… that's not to say that they won't take satisfaction in crushing that bug. 

He looked around at the naive kids cheering for Draco, as if they'd get to see a duel similar to how they'd seen on their Magi-mirrors. 

He mentally shook his head. He wasn't in a good condition, he can't deny that. He can't do magic properly, he can't deny that. He isn't fast or dexterous anymore, he can't deny that. 

But… even without any of this, he'd never be in a bad enough condition that bugs like these start to think they can beat him in a fight.

'Alright,' he was done thinking everything through. 

There weren't any consequences major enough to stop him from giving this bug a good crushing.

Cracking his neck from side to side, he stepped forward. 

"I accept," he announced in a voice that wasn't loud, yet it reached every ear through the noise of the crowd. 

"Woah!" 

"Yeahhh!"

"Fight!"

    ...

The peanut gallery was fully enjoying the free show. 

Professor Alice, thinking that it was all fun and games didn't stop the two. 

"Alright, a dueling challenge on the very first day, what a great way to start! Come up, you two," she said, not knowing that the intentions of the participants were quite dark. First years won't be able to do much anyway. 

Under everyone's encouragement, Axel stepped into the ring, facing off against Malfoy. 

He still had his hands in his robe pockets while he stood relaxedly in the ring. His presence alone exuded a pressure that'll make a skilled fighter know that he was not an easy opponent. Professor Alice also couldn't help giving him one more glance, wondering if she was imagining things. 

"Alright, no lethal spells. And I'll be stopping the duel before anyone could get seriously hurt," she announced before stepping out of the ring.

"Now, bow before standing on the two opposite spots," 

Standing right in front of Axel, Draco did an imperceptible bow,

"Scared, cripple?" He asked with a smirk.

Axel nodded, "About one thing," he admitted before he looked at the Professor.

"Professor, what if I accidentally seriously injure him?" He asked, making Draco grit his teeth.

Professor Alice had heard this question too many times. Too many students hesitate to even cast spells at each other these days. Even her Nevi has similar problems. 

"Don't worry, dear. You are under my supervision, so I'll stop before anything serious happens. Besides, injuries are common in dueling. If your spell was non-lethal, then you won't get into trouble," she answered as if she already had this answer memorized. 

What she didn't know was that Axel had asked this question on purpose, so that he won't be blamed later.

They both took distance from each other and took the spots that had been marked on each side of the circuit.

"Wands ready!" Announced Professor Alice. Draco leveled his wand against Axel while Axel was still standing with his hands in his open robe's pockets.

The next thing Professor Alice was supposed to do was say- 'Start'. But she paused when Axel didn't draw out his wand. 

Though apparently, this was enough of an announcement for Draco since he already brandished his wand, yelling out his first spell even before the match officially started. 

"Furnunculus!" (A jinx that causes a serious breakout of acid boils or pimples)

A sickly green beam was shot at Axel, but everyone was surprised to see that while the spell beam approached him, Axel… didn't move at all!

The spell beam whizzed past him, passing over the heads of the observers below before hitting the opposite wall.

Throughout the event, Axel didn't even flinch. 

Everyone thought that Axel hadn't moved at all and Draco had just missed, except Professor Alice and Draco Malfoy himself. If you look at his feet, you'd realize that he wasn't standing on the original spot that was marked in the ring. He was standing just a bit to the left. 

"Hey, look! He's not standing on the marked spot!" 

Many among the students also only noticed it now as they began pointing it out to others. 

Malfoy glared at Axel,

"Lucky fluke," he muttered before launching another spell.

"Inflatus!" (Inflates the target.)

This time, many people saw it. Even before Draco's spell was cast, they saw him languidly stepping to the side.

Once again, the spell flew past him, missing him by a narrow margin.

??!!

"What?!"

"He moved even before the spell was cast!" 

That was indeed the case. Axel was moving even before the spell was cast. It seems quite easy, right?

But it was not that simple. Your opponent isn't blind. He can change his aim at the last second as well if he sees you moving. 

This time, when casting the spell, at the last moment, Draco suddenly slowed down his cast. It was expected that like all the times, Axel would move to the side this time as well. But, contrary to his expectations, Axel just stood there unmoving, as if he didn't intend to move in the first place. 

Draco thought that since his movements were so obvious, Axel must have easily noticed it when he slowed down his cast.  

'So, you'll only move when you're certain that I'll cast, huh?' he thought as he had another idea. 

This time, he didn't stop casting the spell. In fact, he cast it very quickly. But this time, he purposefully aimed a bit to the right. 

Now, when he moves, there'll be a 50% chance of the spell hitting him. But, contrary to his expectations, Axel didn't move at all! 

He just stood there, letting the spell miss him yet again.

Meanwhile, the peanut gallery was enjoying the show. Axel noticed that many of them were holding up their Magi mirrors, and the lights were flashing out of them. He didn't have a clue what the fuck they were doing.

Professor Alice had dropped her playful attitude and was now looking at the duel with some interest. 

Everyone was thinking only one thing: Was it just a coincidence? 

Axel shook his head. 

"You don't get it, do you?' He asked Draco as he stepped forward. 

"Flippendo!" 

This time, Axel had once again moved to the side before the spell was cast. His movements weren't fast or hurried. He seemed to have just randomly stepped to the side while walking. 

"Densaugeo!" (Cases Grotesquely elongated teeth)

He once again moved and the spell missed. 

"Flipendo!"

He had just leaned to the side.

Spell after spell was fired from Malfoy's wand and Axel was dodging them all even before they were fired. All the while, he was calmly walking toward Draco with his hands still in his pockets.

"Let me explain it to you, you dumbass," said Axel between his spells. 

"I'm simply predicting the path of all of your spells based on your movements, from the direction your eyes are looking, to the direction your wand is point to the twitch of your every muscle. And moving out of the way at the moment when you can't change the direction anymore," he explained simply. 

Anyone was welcome to try if they had the talent. He might be crippled and might not have much magical capability. But, 

'I'm still the master thief, you bastard,' 

He was still the guy who'd honed his talent and skills for years. Some of his skills might have been disabled after that incident, but he still had many skills that were far more rare and valuable.

Some of them were: His sharp eye-sight that could read his target's every movement, his sharp mind that could predict all the possibilities and movements in a beat, and his insane reaction speed that enables him to act in an instant, as if he was moving out of pure instincts.

Thus, as someone so much superior than this bug, his patience had finally waned after this bug's repeated attempts to annoy him.

*CHEERS* 

The peanut gallery went insane when they saw the unreal scene happening in front of them. It almost looked like Axel could see the future. The flashes of their Magi-mirrors intensified. 

Draco couldn't do anything and Axel was soon standing right in front of him.

"You need a good thrashing, bug," Axel told him even as the boy almost instinctively began backing up. 

Axel's one hand finally came out and it snatched Draco's wand right out of his hands. 

He noticed that Draco's wand seemed to pulse in his hand. It wasn't as strong as his wand, he could feel the wand eager to draw his magic. 

"Hey, give it back! You filthy little—" Axel ignored him as he focused on the wand. 

[Loyalty by conquest.] Said system helpfully.

'Interesting,' he thought. 

"Electrica inpulsa," he murmured. 

*Crackle* *Crackle* 

Axel grinned. It wasn't as powerful as his wand, but the spell did work.

Draco Malfoy was infuriated when his wand was snatched right out of his hand. It was almost similar to having your girlfriend stolen from you.

"GIVE IT BACK!" He yelled as he tried to seize it back. 

*Zap* 

But instead, he got lightly electrocuted as soon as his hand touched his wands. 

"OUCH!"

Axel nodded in satisfaction. This guy, he was already on his shit list from their very first interaction. He has always had a problem with this kind of person due to past reasons. 

The reason he was kicked out of the orphanage in the first place was because he had dared to defend himself against a rich second generation like this guy. Now, if this guy had any sign of human intelligence, he'd have learnt his lesson after knowing his skills and won't mess with him anymore. 

Well, apparently not.

"You—!" Jerking his hand back in pain, Draco's anger reached its peak, "You filthy mudblood! Give my wand back to me! My father—" 

"SHUT UP," ordered Axel in annoyance. Yep, they were the same. Do they think they can do anything just because they were lucky enough to be among the privileged? 

"Electrica Impulsa," 

*CRACKLE* *Crackle*

Well, they didn't know that he was the same guy who didn't submit even when he was tortured inhumanely for 10 minutes straight. 

But Draco didn't care. All he could see was his wand in the hands of this guy. Having never been punished his whole life, he simply didn't fear Axel. 

He tried to clutch Axel's throat as he yelled at the top of his lungs. 

"You Filthy Mudblood! My father would—" he screeched but stopped was when his own wand was shoved inside his mouth! Notice: It was Charged with two Electrica Impulsa spells.

"What?!"

*Gasp*

"Damn,"

"Woahh!" 

There was a mixed reaction from the crowd.

It was so out of the blue that even Professor Alice didn't expect it. She was just going to announce the end of the match. She wasn't worried about anyone getting injured since all the spell could do was zap people. How was she to know that Axel would shove it in Draco's mouth?!

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!"

A strangled sound of a pig being slaughtered came out from Draco as his whole body shuddered as if having a seizure. 

Magic suddenly surrounded both of them and separated them, taking the wand out of Draco's mouth, courtesy of professor Alice, but the damage had been done.

Axel dusted his hands off while looking at Malfoy who was lying pathetically on the ground, and there was a wet patch forming between his legs. 

"That should keep your mouth shut for a while," he murmured. His only regret was, that he should have charged it a few times more before plunging it in. Since his magic was too weak, the damage this boy suffered can't be called an injury. 

But he knew it was the best he could do considering the fact that Professor Alice would have stopped them as soon as it got even remotely dangerous. 

"Um… professor, would I get into trouble for this?" 

Professor Alice, who had diagnosed Draco and found that this drama queen hadn't actually suffered any serious injury, gave Axel a helpless look. 

"There's nothing serious. He's just shocked. So, you won fair and square,"

At this moment, someone clapped. And,

*Clap* 

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

*CHEERS*

Soon, the whole class was cheering for Axel.

Axel looked at everyone in puzzlement. 

'What the heck is with these people? Why are they making so much noise?' 

Though at that moment, he was distracted by a system notification flashing in front of his eyes.

*DING*

[Quest Progression: Make friends, make allies, and make a good impression with the wizarding world.

•Rewards on every successive step you take towards building a reputation for yourself such that people willingly follow you one day.

->You've made a very deep impression on the people by showing your capabilities. 

Rewards:

->+3% Approval. Total 12%

->Advice on how you can increase your magical output and learn other spells.]

Though apparently, the system wasn't done yet. 

*DING*

[Congratulations! You have successfully reached the first milestone of the approval rate, thus enabling the Akashic Records to provide you with much more substantial help.]

[New Feature unlocked.]

[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Class Feature.]

[You have unlocked your first Class, Arcane Thief.]

[You will be given techniques, magical spells, and missions to master this class and ascend to the next.]

With such a massive input of information in his head, Axel didn't know what to do. It was so much information that he decided to look through it after he's dealt with the current situation. 

Even though his actions might seem impulsive, as if he didn't care about the consequences, but he had done everything after careful calculations.

****

A.N: So? Was the bug crushing satisfying? And... the new system feature finally unlocked! The fun stuff begins now. Though now instant unreasonable power up. Read the upcoming chaps to know more about the new feature.

Please keep giving me powerstones. It's difficult to write such a high quality novel while also attending college.

Next Chapter title: The Arcane Thief

To read ahead and support this fic come to Pàtreon!

Patr eon.com/Snollygoster