The first round had barely ended, yet the audience was already in an uproar.
Thousands of voices mixed together, creating a chaotic storm of excitement.
"Woah! Did you see that? She used ice magic to make him slip!"
"That's not even impressive! Look at that other girl — healing and buff magic? She's the ultimate supporter! And she can fight too!"
"Are you kidding me? That guy used a mana blast! A mana blast! Do you know how ridiculous that is!"
Whispers, shouts, and laughter filled the massive stadium.
And this was only the first round.
Above the arena, floating several meters in the air, a teacher raised his hand.
His voice echoed through the magical amplifiers surrounding the arena.
"The second round will begin in three minutes."
The crowd buzzed even louder.
On platform eleven, Lily stood quietly.
Unlike many of the other participants, she wasn't panting or exhausted. Her breathing was calm, and her posture remained composed as she looked over the battlefield.
Then—
"Miss Lily! Miss Lily!"
Two platforms behind her, Olivia was waving both arms wildly.
"I won! I won!"
Her voice carried easily across the platforms.
Lily turned around and nodded politely.
"Good job."
She then lifted her magic card slightly, her lips curling into a small proud smile.
"My new magic tool works quite well too."
Olivia's eyes sparkled.
"That's amazing!"
The next round was beginning.
This time the matchups were supposed to be more balanced.
At least… that was the plan.
The floating teacher raised his hand again.
"Begin when you are ready."
Lily's opponent immediately locked eyes with her.
She didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Her stance was cautious, her guard raised as if expecting something sudden.
Lily calmly spoke.
"Earth Pillar."
The girl instantly reacted.
Her gaze snapped downward toward Lily's feet.
She waited.
And waited.
But the pillar never appeared.
For half a second, confusion flashed across her face.
Then—
BOOM.
A massive stone pillar erupted behind her.
The impact launched her forward before she could react.
She crashed to the ground unconscious.
The teacher didn't even hesitate.
"Winner — Lily Aedile."
Lily brushed dust off her sleeve.
A familiar voice immediately rang out again.
"Lily! I'm finished too!"
Olivia was standing triumphantly on her platform.
Her opponent…
…was not.
The poor boy was half buried in the ground, his legs sticking awkwardly out of the cracked stone platform.
It looked like someone had hammered him straight into the earth.
He twitched weakly.
Olivia smiled brightly.
Across several platforms, Kane quietly observed everything.
His match had ended before it even began.
The moment his opponent saw him walk onto the platform, they simply raised their hand.
"I surrender."
No one wanted to fight the boy whose magic felt like a mages biggest weakness
…
Round after round passed.
The matches became fiercer.
More intense.
Lily defeated her opponents through clever spell usage and tactical thinking, constantly mixing different spells in ways her opponents couldn't predict.
Olivia crushed hers through overwhelming brute force.
She fought like a wild storm that refused to be contained.
Kane…
Kane barely needed to fight.
His magic alone frightened people enough that most surrendered immediately.
And the one student who didn't surrender…
…well.
The medics had to carry him away.
Eventually, the announcer's voice rang through the arena again.
"We have now reached the semi-finals."
However—
Something was wrong.
There were still twelve participants standing.
Eight more than originally planned.
High above the stadium, in a large stone tower overlooking the arena, several academy officials were gathered around a large enchanted viewing window.
The atmosphere inside the room was chaotic.
"Sir! This year's applicants are too strong!" a thin man shouted nervously.
"There are too many contestants reaching the semi-finals!"
"At this rate we'll end up with six finalists!"
Standing near the window was the headmaster.
He was an old man.
But calling him merely "old" felt insufficient.
He was tall — unusually tall for someone his age — with a thin but straight posture that made him look like a crooked tower refusing to collapse.
His beard was long and silver-white, reaching almost to his waist.
Yet it wasn't messy.
It was braided carefully into three neat strands tied with small golden rings.
His eyebrows were so thick and long that they drooped slightly over his calm eyes.
And then there was his hat.
An absolutely ridiculous hat.
It was enormous.
A tall, pointed wizard hat that seemed almost absurd in size, leaning slightly to one side like a crooked mountain peak.
The brim was wide enough to cast a shadow across his entire face.
Strange glowing runes were embroidered along the dark fabric, occasionally pulsing faintly like distant stars.
It was the kind of hat that screamed:
"Yes. I am definitely a wizard."
The headmaster slowly stroked his beard.
"No problem," he said calmly.
"It is their fight."
"We have no right to interfere."
The financial adviser nearly exploded.
"No, no! That's not the problem!"
"If we had just counted properly and matched them correctly we wouldn't be in this situation!"
"Sir, why did you insist on duels despite the obvious mismatches?!"
The headmaster didn't answer.
Instead, he continued staring through the enchanted window.
Below them, magic flashed across the arena like fireworks.
"Fu fu fu…"
"Well."
"This is interesting."
"Perhaps it was simply meant to be."
"Sir!! That is NOT the issue!" the adviser groaned.
"If we have more than one winner, how are we going to distribute the high-level magic tools?"
He began pacing back and forth.
"If I had known this would happen, I would never have allowed those damned recruiters to scout so many applicants!"
"Always saying 'talent this' and 'talent that'!"
"The only real talents I've seen this year are those two commoners they scouted!"
"And one of them even received a legendary magic tool!"
He slammed his hand against the table.
"What kind of talent deserves something like that?!"
"Yes, she can cast advanced magic at her age, but that still doesn't justify a legendary artifact!"
"And don't even get me started on the other benefits given to the other commoner—!"
"Are you finished?" the headmaster asked.
"…Of course not!"
"I still have more things to say about—"
"Look outside."
The adviser paused.
"…Yes, sir?"
He reluctantly turned toward the window.
Outside—
Six battles were happening simultaneously.
Flames twisted violently through the air.
Shards of ice shattered across the stone platforms.
Wind blades sliced through the arena like invisible knives.
The power on display was far beyond what students their age should normally possess.
Advanced magic.
Unusual intermediate spells.
And even abilities that looked suspiciously close to unique magic.
Every fight was intense.
Every clash drew cheers from the crowd.
Not a single second of the tournament felt boring.
The adviser slowly fell silent.
The headmaster smiled faintly.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
The arena roared below them.
Young mages fought with everything they had.
For victory.
For pride.
For the chance to rise higher.
The headmaster spoke quietly.
"It is a reminder."
"We call ourselves scholars."
"But before that…"
He watched the arena with bright eyes beneath his enormous hat.
"We are all beings who seek to climb."
"Higher."
"And higher."