Infinite System Inheritor Return From The Abyss - Chapter 411

Chapter 411: Chapter 409: Staring contest
Nymira scanned the students. “Who wants to go against Jinhyu?”

Nayoung’s hand shot up. “Me! Me!” But before Nymira could say anything, Nathan had already stepped forward, walking calmly to the middle of the field.

Nayoung’s jaw dropped. “Nathan! So mean!” she pouted, lowering her hand with a grumble.

Jinhyu scratched the back of his head as he stepped forward too. “Seriously… him?” he muttered.

But he still got into position, his face turning serious. Nymira raised her hand. “Begin.” Before her hand even dropped fully, a small fireball lit up in Jinhyu’s palm.

He didn’t chant, didn’t speak—he just sent it flying.

Boom!

Nathan didn’t move much. His eyes followed the fireball, and just as it neared him—he sidestepped smoothly, his coat fluttering slightly from the heat.

Jinhyu heistating. “Alright.” He raised both hands.

Three fireballs formed in the air, spinning quickly. Without hesitation, he shot them forward one after the other—left, right, center. Nathan didn’t block. He didn’t summon a weapon.

He simply moved. Slide. Twist. Duck. His movements were sharp but calm. He never panicked, even as the fire hissed past him. Jinhyu’s attacks came faster. Flames shot like arrows, dancing in the air, crashing against the ground where Nathan stood seconds ago.

But Nathan’s expression didn’t change. His feet barely left the dirt, but every time, he was just out of reach.

“Is he… not fighting back?” Hannah whispered.

“No,” Elshienne said. “He’s observing.”

Suddenly, Jinhyu formed a large fireball with both hands. It floated, burning hot, then launched with a loud roar.

Everyone tensed. But Nathan finally raised one hand. The moment the fireball neared him… it stopped.

Right before hitting Nathan, the fireball froze in the air. “What the—” Jinhyu blinked.

The fire twisted, wobbled, then began floating to the side slowly—like someone invisible was holding it. The air buzzed.

Nayoung gasped. “Wait… is he… controlling the fire?”

Minseok leaned forward. “Whoa, Prof said that Nathan telekenisis is different from normal but He didn’t say this different!”

The fireball suddenly cracked, then burst into harmless sparks in the air. Nathan didn’t even blink.

Jinhyu stared, stunned. “…He really just—held my spell?”

Nathan finally moved forward, but he didn’t rush. He lifted one hand, and with a twitch of his fingers, chunks of earth lifted off the ground—small floating stones forming a circle around him like orbiting moons.

Jinhyu raised his hand again, but one of the floating stones darted forward, smacking the ground in front of him and breaking his focus. Then another. Then another. Jinhyu dodged, trying to launch another fireball, but they kept coming, forcing him to move more than attack.

“Enough.” Nymira raised her hand. The stones fell. The wind calmed.

Jinhyu took a deep breath, sweat on his brow. “Man… you didn’t even throw a punch…” Nathan didn’t answer. He simply turned and walked back to his group.

Nayoung pouted again. “He didn’t even let me fight.”

Minseok clapped. “Still… that was crazy. He held fire like it was nothing.” They are now walking closely to each other.

“Wait, can we normalize explaining?!” Nayoung said, almost panicking.

Elshienne narrowed her eyes, muttering. “He didn’t control the fire… he controlled the air around it.”

Hannah heard her. “The air?” Elshienne nodded, her tone more curious than surprised.

“Yeah. Fire needs oxygen to burn. If you take that away or block it, the fire weakens or dies. Nathan used telekinesis to trap the air around the fireball. He didn’t touch the fire directly—he squeezed the space tight so no fresh air could reach it.”

Nayoung blinked slowly, clearly just starting to process it. “…Nathan can control the air?!”

Elshienne blinked at her, then giggled. “Not like that, Nayoung. He’s not an air mage. He just used telekinesis to move the space around the fire. Think of it like this: fire needs three things—heat, fuel, and oxygen. Nathan removed the oxygen.”

Now even Jinhyu and a few other were listening in. Elshienne continued, “He made an invisible pressure bubble around the fireball. Without air flow, the fire can’t stay alive. Then, before it could react, he compressed it and crushed the flames.”

Jinhyu looked impressed. “That sounds like something only someone who studies science would even think of doing.”

“He does,” Elshienne said, smiling slightly. “Nathan likes physics.”

Nayoung groaned and dropped her head onto Hannah’s shoulder. “I feel like I just sat through a science class…”

Hannah chuckled and patted her back. “You understood enough.”

Sion glanced at Nathan, who stood calmly in the middle of the field. His face was blank, unreadable as always. Sion clicked his tongue and looked away, slightly annoyed.

Meanwhile, Nayoung suddenly threw her hands up in fake despair. “That only means Nathan is OP!”

“I’m not,” Nathan replied flatly.

Nayoung spun toward him, pointing dramatically. “Yeah you are! Not only can you control solid objects, you can also control the things we can’t even see! How is that not OP?!”

“I said it’s not,” Nathan repeated, locking eyes with her now.

A beat passed—then both of them fell into a sudden staring contest. The group leaned in, watching. Nayoung squinted hard, lips twitching, trying not to blink—but after a few seconds, she groaned and looked away. “Alright, you win. Hmph.”

Laughter broke out.

“You can’t win a staring contest against Nathan,” Elshienne said with a small smile.

“No one can!” Nayoung said, throwing her hands in the air again. “Just look at him! His expression looks dead! It’s so uncomfortable!”

That made Hannah laugh quietly, and even Minseok and Jinhyu chuckled loudly. They all glanced at Nathan, who was now slightly frowning—though it was hard to tell if he was annoyed or just… being Nathan.

Minseok laughed harder. “Even when he frowns, he looks like he’s planning our funeral.”

Jinhyu nodded. “Yeah. It’s like staring into a void that judges you.”

Nathan just crossed his arms and looked away. “I think he’s sulking,” Hannah whispered to Nayoung.

“I think we’re all going to die in our sleep,” Nayoung whispered back dramatically.

Even Elshienne shook her head with a chuckle. “He’s just quiet.”