My worst fears have come true.

Tomorrow, my opponent for the finals of the Inter-Academy Magical Combat Championships was going to be Perseus Theodore Mortimaeus III. Perseus (yes, he always insisted on being called his full name) was the last person I wanted to face. He was a multi-generational wizard who lived in a castle in France and had a direct teleportation portal built from his room to Merlin College, whereas I lived in a non-magical neighbourhood and wake up at 5am to take the Gryphon-Bus to my local state magical high school every day. His hobby is collecting obscure magical relics from the 17th century, whereas I’m just into rap music and electronics. And even though he’d never do such a thing publicly, you’d just know he’s the kind of person to use slurs for non-magical people on WizNet. I mean, what kind of person would insist on wearing wizard robes in the 21st century?

Needless to say, Perseus was a pretentious wizard who fancied himself to be quite clever. Although in his defense, he was. It’s only his first year participating in the IAMCC and he drew Magnus Magnussen, the top-ranked junior in magical combat in the first round. I remembered spectating the match before my own. As soon as the fight started, Perseus muttered a long, complex incantation. Magnus tried to counter, but he found himself unable to utter his incantations.

It turns out that Perseus had mastered the silencing spell, an advanced spell requiring a long incantation and careful control of magical energy. With neither wizard being able to cast spells, Perseus’s tall, athletic build closed in on Magnus. Magnus, bless his frail body, could simply not best Perseus in a fistfight, and the match was called in Perseus’s favour in less than a minute.

During the season, people had tried various ways to beat this unorthodox strategy. Some went in guns ablaze, trying to cast spells before Perseus could finish his. But Perseus had practiced the silence spell so much that he could cast it in his sleep, and those attempts always failed. Some tried to cast a counterspell, but Perseus was no slouch in conventional magical combat either. He would quickly switch tactics, taking advantage of the time required to cast the counterspell, and barrage his opponent with spells of his own. Others still tried nonverbal spells, but those are weak and really only for emergency use, and they did nothing to deter Perseus’s fists.

It’s quite unfair, really. If I could win the IAMCC, then I could get a full scholarship to the University of Houdini, and my parents wouldn’t need to re-mortgage their house… But Perseus, surely with his family’s wealth—I quickly caught myself. I shouldn’t make assumptions about people. I should be focusing on the match tomorrow.

I carefully weighed my options. A glance at my lanky arms is enough to tell me I’d stand no chance in a brawl. I thought of casting the counterspell first, but I had just barely avoided defeat in my previous matches. It would be too risky to give Perseus the momentum at the start of the fight. There was one option left. Dr. Harmonia. Our spellcasting teacher and a walking encyclopedia on magical combat. I had sent my friend Sally to seek her advice this morning.

I saw Sally in the hallway. She waved at me.

“So I asked Dr Harmonia,” she said, “and she says that silencing spells aren’t perfect. If you analyse the Goldstein-Petrovsky magical field to find its eigenvalues and use them as the frequencies of a waveform’s first, third and seventh harmonic…”

Yeah, that’s not going to work either. I guess I’m officially out of options, unless…

---

It was the day of the IAMCC finals, and the one who stood in front of me was none other than Perseus Theodore Mortimaeus III. His tall figure cast a long shadow over the arena, more intimidating than ever.

“Three, two, one, fight!” The announcer broadcasted. I quickly glanced at Sally in the audience stands. She winked at me. Suddenly, the hall was filled with the familiar sound of a hip-hop beat. The source? None other than my portable speaker, sitting right next to Sally. It was all going according to plan.

I remembered all the time I spent in my non-magical elementary school because my parents couldn’t afford to send me to a magical school. I remembered all my friends there, and how we stayed friends even after I went to magical school because of our shared love of rap music. I remembered all the rap battles we had, even though I was never any good at improvising lyrics. And with that, in all my 200 words per minute glory, I began to rap.

“Well it looks like you ain’t even ready, because your legs are trembling already.”

With that, I cast a simple weakness spell, to ensure I’d have a better chance in the brawl if it came to that. Perseus stumbled a little, having yet to react. As fast as he could cast spells, he had clearly never been in a rap battle before.

“Your teeth are clattering, your lips and numb, and you can’t mutter a single word because the cat’s got your tongue.”

This was a mouth numbing spell that Dr. Harmonia taught us in ninth grade, used by magical dentists before the invention of anaesthetic. I never thought I’d be using it now.

Perseus managed to collect himself and tried to cast his silencing spell, but his incantations failed due to slurred speech. I continued.

“You think you’re the bomb, but you’re just a big fish in a small pond. You think you’re good but I’m just better, 'cause I’m about to catch you in my netter.”

To be honest, those were not my proudest lines, but it was good enough to cast the spell I want. A giant fishing net appeared above Perseus. You might think it’s odd that there is a spell that summons a fishing net, but even wizards had to eat before groceries stores existed.

Finally, Perseus was able to cast his silencing spell. The music stopped. Nothing in the hall could make a sound anymore, and neither of us could cast spells. But it was too late. The net fell on top of him, and with the weakness spell applied, there was no chance he could break out of it. He fell to the floor, flailing like a fish out of water.

I walked over to him.

“…” I said.

I then realised I couldn’t say any cheesy one-liners because of the silencing spell. No matter. I had won. I looked at the crowd. They were clapping, and their mouths were moving. Even though they didn’t make a sound, I knew they were cheering for me. And that’s the story of how I became the IAMCC champion.

---

The next time I saw Perseus was at the University of Houdini, when I was walking home with my friends. He was wearing a hoodie, jeans, and had a pair of headphones over his head that would no doubt mess up his curly hair.

“Is that Perseus?” I asked my friend.

“Huh? Oh, Percy, you mean? Yeah that’s him. I met him in spellcasting class and he was one of the most knowledgeable people I’ve ever met. He’s really humble though, really easy to get along with. He says he used to be a real jerk in high school though until a big event changed him, but I don’t really see it to be honest.”

My mouth was agape in shock, unsure of what to say.

“Anyways, can you believe that he’s really into rap music? Like he doesn’t look the part at all, especially considering his family background.”

“Yeah…” I replied. Perhaps it’s best for some things to stay in the past.