Night fell, and moonlight flowed like water across Andy's face.
Compared to the ordinary boy he once was—someone who carried a hint of inferiority—he now clearly exuded confidence and composure.
Some time ago, Miss Nora from the Magic Battle Arena had come to his home to discuss cooperation regarding the arena matches with him and his parents.
Although Nora had already explained the terms and conditions to him beforehand at the arena, Andy still felt uneasy about how his parents would respond.
After all, Battle Magic seemed rather unserious, and there was no precedent for it.
Even if the prize money looked attractive, in this relatively peaceful era, man-eating beasts were rare—but nobles who devoured people without leaving a trace were everywhere.
They could paint you a beautiful dream at first, then refuse to pay a single coin in the end—what could you do?
To nobles, contracts with commoners were no different from blank paper.
Because commoners simply couldn't afford the cost of going to court.
As long as nobles dragged things out long enough, they could ruin you completely.
So at first, although Andy was tempted by the generous terms offered by the Magic Battle Arena, he still kept a level head.
For someone his age, that was quite rare.
And it was thanks to his open-minded parents.
Otherwise, he would never have had the chance to attend Dole Primary Academy.
Andy arrived at the Promotion Zone and politely greeted the people around him who said hello.
He found a seat, placed his metal box beside his right hand, and quietly waited for the ranked matches to officially begin at 6:30 PM.
A few minutes before the start, Andy casually chatted with those nearby while taking out his Element Cards and preparing.
Then he heard a commotion near the entrance.
"Rowell is here!"
"Wardson too!"
"With ranked matches starting, of course they'd come—we all predicted it."
"I thought nobles wouldn't care much and might show up a few days late, but they actually came right on time."
"They usually come once a week. They were just here a couple of days ago—clearly they're aiming for the first Silver promotion."
"Good thing promotions on the first and second floors are calculated separately, or Andy's group might not hold their ground."
"What are you talking about? You're overhyping them. With Andy's match volume, those two aren't necessarily stronger—just got into Battle Magic earlier."
"You newcomers didn't witness the opening-day match, so you don't know their true strength."
"Tch, so what if they're veterans? You still can't beat me now!"
"Hey, let's settle this—come play a round!"
Listening to the chatter, Andy glanced toward the entrance and saw three figures heading upstairs.
Based on what others were saying, two of them must be the well-known Rowell and Wardson.
The pair in front—a man and a woman—were Rowell and Leticia. The lone figure behind them was the cold, iron-blooded Wardson from the Grand Arena.
To be honest, this was Andy's first time seeing them in person.
He usually came at night, while they mostly visited during the day.
As the top players of the commoner and noble groups, respectively, they had somehow never crossed paths in the entire month since the arena opened.
Andy felt a bit regretful about missing their legendary opening match.
Although he had been dominating the first-floor matches and arena battles lately, many still believed Rowell and Wardson were stronger.
Of course, more people supported Andy.
But he didn't care much.
He hadn't faced them himself, so he couldn't judge.
For now, there was no conflict of interest—so it didn't matter.
After watching them head upstairs, Andy refocused on the ranked matches.
"Wardson, want to compete tonight? Let's see who reaches Silver first," Rowell said with a grin as they reached the second floor.
"No interest," Wardson replied flatly, heading straight to the counter to check the rules.
With their strength, reaching Silver was guaranteed.
And speed didn't reflect true ability—it often just depended on how weak your opponents were.
Wardson had no interest in such luck-based comparisons.
After reading the rules, he nodded slightly, then glanced at the achievement board.
Ignoring the flashy rewards, his eyes immediately landed on the same special achievement Andy had noticed—
"Magic Cup preliminaries…"
Wardson muttered, then smiled. "Now this is interesting."
Rowell, with Leticia beside him, also walked over. Wardson pointed it out.
"Rowell, since we never settled things before, let's do it here," Wardson said, tapping the words. "Final stage—one decisive match. How about it?"
Rowell raised an eyebrow, his gaze lingering on "Magic Cup," a spark of interest in his eyes.
"Sounds good. Seems interesting."
At first, he had only gotten into Battle Magic to pursue Leticia.
But after studying it deeply and playing regularly with her, even discussing strategies with peers—
He had become completely hooked.
Even without her encouragement, he would've accepted the challenge without hesitation.
Because nobles often had their own personal Element Cards and busy social lives, they didn't visit the arena frequently.
But they still played often—since they could duel anytime, anywhere.
Unlike most commoners on the first floor, who had to come to the arena unless they had earned their own card sets.
So for nobles, the Magic Battle Arena wasn't essential.
Recently, the first floor had been packed.
Meanwhile, the second-floor booth area—despite being more spacious—was often only half full, even when Mia was present.
Ron wasn't worried.
He knew once ranked matches began, more nobles would come.
After all, competing for status and showing off in front of weaker players—
That instinct wasn't limited by class.
It was simply human nature.
Soon, 6:30 PM arrived, and the staff officially announced the start of ranked matches.
Wardson and Rowell headed toward the Promotion Zone.
Other nobles gathered as well, including Betty—everyone eager to reach Silver and explore the third floor.
On the first floor, the moment ranked matches began, things turned intense.
Players dove into matches, battling fiercely.
Every win brought cheers; every loss brought frustration.
Those who kept losing quickly gave up and spectated.
But those who alternated wins and losses suffered the most.
Especially players with records like 10 wins and 7 or 8 losses—their progress was too slow.
At that rate, they had no chance of reaching Silver tonight.
These were mid-to-high skill players.
Whether they advanced early depended entirely on facing weaker opponents.
As weaker players gradually withdrew, their chances only decreased.
They would have to wait until the strongest players finished promoting before having an easier time.
Ron strolled between the first and second floors, checking for any issues that needed adjustment.
Nora followed beside him, relaying real-time data from staff.
Everything was running smoothly.
The top players were steadily progressing.
After about an hour and a half, a staff member in the center of the first floor picked up a microphone and announced:
"Congratulations to Mr. Andy for being the first to achieve a 30-win streak in the Promotion Zone and successfully advance to Silver rank!"
"Please proceed to the counter to receive your 'Silver' badge!"
—Boom!
The hall erupted into discussion, wave after wave of excitement spreading outward.
And soon, the commotion reached the second floor as well.