The next morning Lily woke up feeling exhausted from all the excitement from the previous night.
Her eyes barely stayed open as she dragged herself out of bed. Olivia was still asleep beside her, wrapped tightly in her blanket without the slightest intention of waking up early.
Lily rubbed her face tiredly before quietly washing up. Cold water splashed against her cheeks, helping her regain some awareness.
Outside the dormitory, the salty sea breeze immediately hit her.
The entire island already felt alive.
Students from countless academies walked through the pathways carrying staffs, swords, grimoires, and training equipment. Some discussed strategies nervously while others confidently laughed as if victory was already guaranteed.
Lily stretched her arms while walking toward the training grounds.
Even though she was tired, she could not relax.
After watching yesterday's matches, she finally understood how serious the tournament truly was. Every academy had monsters hidden within it.
And today the trio tournament was beginning.
Far away from the island, back in the kingdom—
Inside Formosa Academy.
A lonely boy sat in his classroom staring at an empty chair near the window.
Kane sighed.
He missed Lily.
Even though only a few days had passed, the classroom already felt painfully boring without her around. Nobody reacted to his jokes as dramatically as Lily did. Nobody got tricked as easily either.
Kane rested his chin on his palm while staring blankly ahead.
He missed being able to tease her endlessly without consequences. He missed forcing her to repay the wish she owed him by making her do ridiculous things.
Only after she disappeared did he realize how entertaining his daily life had become because of her.
"What a tragedy..." Kane muttered dramatically to himself.
The boy beside him looked over strangely before moving his chair slightly away.
Kane ignored him completely.
He also regretted not signing up for the tournament. Unfortunately, without a permission slip there had been no chance for him to participate.
Honestly, he wanted to see how strong the students from other regions really were.
Out of boredom, Kane had started talking with more classmates recently. Surprisingly, he ended up making several new friends outside of Lily, Olivia, and Arlen.
Still—
The classroom felt emptier than before.
Meanwhile, on the massive island arena surrounded by endless ocean, the trio tournament was finally beginning.
Unlike the solo and duo tournaments, the trio matches were held one at a time rather than simultaneously.
This allowed the audience to focus entirely on a single battle.
Additionally, there were three advancement brackets instead of one, making the competition even more brutal.
Thousands of spectators filled the enormous arena seats while waves crashed loudly against the cliffs surrounding the island.
Floating high above the battlefield, the referee raised his voice.
"First match of the trio tournament!"
The crowd instantly quieted.
"Bayarm Academy of the Sea versus Reservoir Academy, second-ranked academy in the kingdom!"
Cheers immediately exploded throughout the arena.
Students from both schools shouted proudly while waving flags high in the air.
Lily sat with the rest of Formosa Academy while watching carefully.
"Second-ranked in the kingdom already..." she muttered.
Even the opening match felt overwhelming.
The two teams walked onto the battlefield.
On one side stood a team of one boy and two girls.
On the opposite side stood three boys wearing matching dark-blue uniforms lined with silver.
The referee pointed toward the first group.
"Representing Bayarm Academy—Talia Crest, Vivian Rook, and Orion Hale!"
Talia energetically waved toward the audience despite nearly her entire face being hidden beneath layers of cloth. Only her eyes could barely be seen.
Beside her, Vivian casually twirled her wand through her curly hair while smiling confidently at the crowd.
Orion stood completely motionless.
His blank expression made him look less like a student and more like a statue.
Lily narrowed her eyes.
"He's weird..."
The referee then pointed toward the opposing team.
"Representing Reservoir Academy—Corwin Ash, Elowen Briar, and Malric Thornfield!"
The three boys bowed together in perfect synchronization toward the judges and audience.
Their discipline alone already showed why Reservoir Academy ranked so highly.
"You may begin!"
The instant the referee's hand dropped—
BOOM!
The entire arena exploded into motion.
Massive stone pillars erupted upward from the ground while fireballs streaked across the battlefield like meteors.
At the same time, dark armored knights emerged from pools of shadow and charged forward with heavy swords raised.
CLANG!
The summoned knights collided violently against stone walls raised by Talia.
Vivian immediately swung her wand.
Transparent barriers appeared throughout the battlefield, blocking several fireballs before they could reach Orion.
Meanwhile Orion still had not moved.
"He's not attacking?" Lily asked in confusion.
Reservoir Academy instantly noticed the same thing.
"He's the support type," Corwin muttered.
"Then eliminate him first."
Elowen vanished from sight.
Wind exploded beneath his feet as he accelerated around the battlefield at terrifying speed.
Before anyone could react, Elowen suddenly appeared directly behind Orion with a dagger coated in compressed wind mana.
"Too slow."
He stabbed forward.
BOOOOM!
A gigantic barrier materialized instantly around Orion.
Elowen's eyes widened.
The barrier was unbelievably thick.
Cracks spread across its surface, but it still held firm.
Far away, Vivian calmly lowered her wand while simultaneously defending herself from Malric's barrage of stone spears.
"She casted that while fighting another person?" Lily said in shock.
Even Olivia beside her had woken up enough to pay attention.
"That barrier control is insane."
Reservoir Academy quickly shifted formations.
Malric slammed both palms against the ground.
"Stone prison!"
The battlefield trembled violently.
Huge walls of stone rose around Talia, attempting to isolate her from the rest of her teammates.
At the same time Corwin raised his hand calmly.
"Misdirection."
A strange invisible pulse spread across the arena.
Talia suddenly frowned.
For a split second her perception distorted.
Instead of seeing Elowen charging toward Orion—
She saw Orion himself as the enemy.
Without hesitation she launched several compressed water blades directly toward him.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
Orion blocked the attacks instantly, but that tiny moment of distraction created the opening Reservoir Academy had prepared for.
"Elowen!"
"I know!"
Elowen appeared behind Orion again.
This time his dagger carried enough mana to pierce defensive spells.
He stabbed directly toward Orion's neck.
BOOOOM!
Another massive barrier appeared.
However this time cracks spread immediately across its surface.
Elowen grinned.
"I've got you—"
Suddenly Orion slowly turned his head toward him.
Their eyes met.
And for a moment—
Elowen felt something strange enter his thoughts.
"Move left."
Without realizing it, Elowen instinctively stepped sideways.
At that exact moment a stone spear launched by Malric accidentally shot directly through the spot where Elowen had originally been standing.
Elowen froze.
"What...?"
Orion finally spoke for the first time.
"Incite."
A strange pressure spread outward from him.
Lily immediately felt uncomfortable.
It was as if someone was whispering thoughts directly into her mind.
Orion calmly stepped forward.
"Duck."
Without understanding why, Malric instinctively bent slightly downward.
The moment he did—
Talia's water blade sliced through the space where his head had just been.
Cold sweat immediately covered Malric's face.
"What is this magic?!"
Orion's expression remained emotionless.
His unique magic did not directly control minds.
Instead—
It inserted impulses, habits, and ideas into people's thoughts.
Small suggestions.
Tiny instincts.
But in battle, even the smallest unnecessary movement could become fatal.
"Look right."
Corwin instinctively glanced sideways while casting.
That tiny distraction caused his spell circle to destabilize for half a second.
Orion instantly appeared before him.
The audience gasped.
Nobody even saw when he moved.
BOOOOM!
Corwin barely blocked the punch with a defensive spell, yet the impact still launched him sliding backward across the arena.
"He's fast too?!" Lily shouted.
Until now Orion had looked like a pure support mage.
But his physical ability alone rivaled close combat specialists.
Reservoir Academy immediately retreated together.
"Do not listen to him," Corwin warned seriously.
"He can influence thoughts somehow."
Elowen gritted his teeth.
"That's impossible to ignore during battle."
Vivian raised dozens of barriers across the field while Talia flooded parts of the arena with seawater to limit enemy movement.
Bayarm Academy slowly regained momentum.
Still, Reservoir Academy refused to collapse.
Malric slammed both fists together.
"Earth fortress!"
The ground erupted violently.
Huge stone walls surrounded the trio while countless stone projectiles floated around them defensively.
At the same time Elowen accelerated around the battlefield again, creating afterimages with his speed.
Corwin raised both hands.
"Misdirection!"
This time the magic targeted Vivian.
Her eyes briefly lost focus.
Immediately Elowen appeared beside her barrier formation.
"Break!"
Compressed wind exploded outward.
CRAAAASH!
Several barriers shattered simultaneously.
For the first time Bayarm Academy looked pressured.
The crowd erupted loudly.
"Reservoir!"
"Finish them!"
Lily leaned forward nervously.
The battle had become impossible to predict.
Then—
Orion smiled slightly.
It was the first emotion he showed all match.
"Scratch your neck."
Elowen unconsciously lifted one hand for a brief second.
That single moment slowed him down.
Talia immediately noticed.
Water surged upward beneath Elowen's feet before exploding into spinning blades.
"Water prison!"
Elowen barely defended in time, but the attack forced him backward.
At the same moment Orion spoke again.
"Turn around."
Malric instinctively looked behind himself.
Unfortunately for him, Vivian's compressed wind bullet was already flying toward his face.
BOOOM!
Malric crashed backward across the arena.
Before he could recover, hundreds of stones suddenly rose around him.
Talia pointed forward coldly.
"Go."
The stones shot forward endlessly like a storm.
Malric desperately raised wall after wall.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Every defense shattered instantly.
Finally the final impact blasted him completely out of bounds.
"Malric eliminated!"
The crowd roared.
Reservoir Academy had now lost one member.
Corwin's expression darkened.
"We rush Orion together."
Elowen nodded.
The two charged simultaneously from opposite directions.
For the first time all match Vivian looked pressured trying to block both attackers at once.
Elowen broke through the outer barriers.
Corwin bypassed Talia with illusionary clones.
Victory seemed possible—
Then Orion activated Incite again.
"Attack left."
Elowen instinctively shifted his strike slightly.
Unfortunately Corwin happened to be approaching from that exact direction.
BOOOOM!
Elowen's attack slammed directly into Corwin instead.
Corwin flew across the battlefield coughing blood.
"Sorry!"
"You idiot!"
But the damage was already done.
Orion instantly appeared before Corwin.
A single kick slammed into Corwin's stomach hard enough to launch him out of the arena entirely.
"Corwin eliminated!"
The audience exploded into cheers.
Only Elowen remained.
Breathing heavily, Elowen looked around desperately.
Everywhere he moved barriers blocked him.
Every attack felt manipulated.
Even his own thoughts no longer felt trustworthy.
Orion calmly stared at him.
"Lose."
For a brief second Elowen's body hesitated.
That hesitation became fatal.
A compressed wind bullet suddenly pierced his defense from behind.
Elowen slowly looked back toward Vivian in disbelief before being blasted completely out of the arena.
The referee immediately raised his arm.
"Bayarm Academy wins!"
Thunderous applause erupted throughout the stadium.
Even the referee sounded slightly excited while announcing the result.
Watching from the stands, Lily remained silent.
The trio teams truly were different.
Unlike the solo tournament which relied heavily on individual strength, these matches required intelligence, teamwork, adaptability, and trust.
Every academy present had terrifying talents hidden within it.