The morning arrived with an unusual amount of energy.
Karte had woken before dawn, and by the time Baston opened his eyes, the small table in his room was already filled with food.
There were fresh bread, honey-glazed sausages, scrambled eggs, and even a small bottle of imported fruit juice that normally cost more than Karte's daily wage.
The servant stood beside the table like a proud general who was inspecting his army.
"Please eat well, young master," Karte said with shining eyes, "Today is another round of the competition."
Baston stared at the food for several seconds, "Someone bought all of this?"
Karte nodded vigorously, "Yes! You need the strength to win by the way!"
The enthusiasm in the servant's voice was almost frightening, making Baston sighed inwardly.
Strangely enough, the person who was the most excited about the competition was not the one who had to fight. It was the servant who had the most motivation.
Meanwhile, Baston himself felt no burning desire to climb higher in the tournament. Winning meant the attention and such attention meant new trouble. However, the path had already been chosen.
If Baston wanted to execute his strategy with Levan, he needed a higher standing in the competition. The more visible his achievement became, the more convincing his future offer would be.
Such influence required the credibility and such credibility required the results. In the end, there was no choice for him.
He ate quietly while Karte watched him with sparkling anticipation. After finishing the breakfast, Baston cleaned himself and left for the academy arena. The moment he arrived, he realized the atmosphere had changed.
Compared to yesterday, the crowd was smaller but the excitement was sharper.
Many participants had already been eliminated during the first round. The remaining students were no longer the beginners or lucky survivors.
They were the competitors who had proven themselves and that made the arena far more dangerous.
*****
Anyway, today's rule was different.
Seven participants would fight simultaneously and their points determined their victory. Defeating an opponent granted five points and surviving every three minutes granted one point. The match would last thirty minutes.
It was a system that encouraged both aggression and endurance. Noticing this special rule, Baston quickly calculated the possibilities.
If someone eliminated six opponents, they could gain thirty points immediately.
That was the maximum but surviving the entire match without defeating anyone would only grant ten points.
In theory, someone could stall the entire match but Baston doubted the academy would allow such an obvious loophole to dominate the tournament.
Somewhere in the design, there must be a balancing factor. He did not know what it was, yet soon, the announcer's voice echoed across the arena.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
The mana amplified the voice effortlessly, "Are you ready for today's battle?!"
"YEAH!"
"START THE MATCH!"
"LET'S GO!"
The excitement rolled through the arena like a thunder and the announcer smiled broadly.
"Then, without further delay… Let the second round begin!"
The seven students stepped onto the marble battlefield and Baston was among them. The arena barrier shimmered faintly and then, the match began.
*****
At first, Baston expected the chaos.
The previous round had erupted immediately into a storm of spells, but this time, no one moved. Instead, something far stranger happened.
The other six participants slowly distanced themselves from him. It was not done randomly but deliberately.
They formed a loose half-circle around him. All people was facing him, making the fat boy frowned slightly. It looked like a formation of six people against one.
He felt a faint chill run along his spine. This was not a coincidence since it was already premeditated before.
The silence broke suddenly when one student launched a fire spell at another participant. The attack was fast and precise.
The target barely reacted before being blasted backward and out of the arena. The gasps soon erupted because it had taken less than a minute.
The attacker smiled proudly since five points already belonged to him. The staff quickly carried the defeated student away but Baston was not watching that. He was watching the others.
They did not react to the attack. Instead, they subtly repositioned themselves like they were protecting the attacker, shielding him, and blocking Baston's possible path.
The understanding soon dawned on him since the plan was revealed.
One person would harvest the points while the others would control the battlefield. In this case, he was only the obstacle here.
Baston scratched his cheek casually, "So, that's how it is…"
He murmured quietly since they were treating him like a monster that needed the containment. He had no other way but to launch a simple ice attack toward the nearest opponent.
Immediately, two defenders reacted and their spells collided with his ice projectile and shattered it.
At the same moment, three attackers rushed toward Baston from different angles. Their coordination was almost perfect.
If Baston attacked one person, the defenders blocked him. If he attacked again, another student struck him from the side.
The pattern repeated again and again. They were not trying to defeat him, but instead, they were restraining him. From the spectator seats, several whispers spread rapidly.
"This boy is going to lose…"
"How can he fight five people at once?"
"Even ice magic won't save him…"
The audience had already concluded the outcome but Baston remained calm. He could break the formation easily if he revealed his true strength.
However, that would draw the attention. Too much attention would only endanger him so he needed to observe first.
His eyes narrowed at the gaps between them. The coordination was clean, too clean for the students who had just met in the arena.
It wasn't only that they moved in rhythm. It was that they moved as if they had rehearsed the rhythm beforehand.
Every time one attacker lunged, another already angled their body to close the retreat. Every time he shifted his weight toward the left, someone on the far right adjusted a half-step early like they were responding to a signal that he could not see.
To prove the conjecture, he tested it.
He lifted his hand, gathering a small amount of mana and intentionally letting the chill leak out visibly as if he were preparing a bigger spell. The nearest opponent stiffened with widening eyes.
Still, the defenders didn't react to Baston since they reacted to someone who commanded them.
At the fraction of a second, one of them glanced toward the boy with the fire attribute. It was not a look of fear but it was a look of confirmation.
It was a signal. It was not obvious since they never shouted. Something subtle ran secretly between them.
He watched their mouths and no one spoke, yet the moment the boy's fingers twitched, the two defenders moved. That could be a coincidence so he forced another test.
He stumbled deliberately, letting his foot scrape the marble louder than necessary. It was a fake mistake to give an opening, urging the three attackers to surge in at once.
In this time, the defenders did not protect themselves since they protected the boy's space. Their formation curved around him like a shield that had only one purpose.
Baston's gaze flickered briefly to the stands.
There were many spectators, many voices, and many faces, but then, he noticed something that didn't belong to the usual response.
At the edge of the upper seating, two students stood too still. They weren't cheering, they weren't betting, and they weren't even watching the spells like everyone else.
They were watching him. It was not done with excitement but with calculation.
When Baston's eyes met theirs, one of them lowered his head immediately as if refusing to be caught. The other turned slightly, hiding his profile behind a pillar.
Baston's heartbeat remained steady but his mind became colder.
This was not only a group inside the arena because there might be a group outside the arena too.
If this strategy was organized, then it wasn't about points anymore. It was about removing him before he climbed higher.
Before he reached someone's attention and before he got close to something he wasn't supposed to touch.
He exhaled quietly then he smiled faintly, "Alright… Let's see who blinks first..."
*****
Six minutes passed and everyone gained two survival points. Meanwhile, the same boy struck again, making another opponent fell.
Five more points belonged to him, and now, the same boy had twelve points. The difference on the score was very obvious.
Baston watched carefully.
The defeated student had barely resisted. He was almost like he had surrendered from the very beginning.
A faint smile appeared on his lips since it was quite interesting. This was not merely the teamwork because this was planned. With this action, it meant the boy was a leader to everything.
Such leader always created weaknesses.
*****
Baston quickly changed his strategy. Instead of targeting one opponent, he attacked randomly.
A sudden ice spear here and a freezing gust there. Sometimes, he targeted the nearest and sometimes, he targeted the furthest.
The defenders were forced to constantly adjust.
Their coordination began to strain. Their mana was drained, their stamina was weakened, and their formation slowly loosened.
Baston waited patiently like a hunter who was testing a trap. Until then, he suddenly struck hard.
"ICE BLAST!"
A massive spike of ice erupted from the arena floor and its target was the leader, the one with the most points.
"BLOCK IT!" someone shouted.
All the defenders unleashed their spells simultaneously. They hurled flames, wind, water, and lightning into one direction. The combined attacks quickly cracked the ice, shattering it completely.
The leader soon laughed, "Ha! You can't defeat me!"
He stepped backward proudly right onto a thin sheet of invisible ice.
Unknowingly, his foot slipped and his balance vanished. Out of nowhere, he fell out of the arena. The silence swallowed the crowd before the referee immediately raised his hand.
"Disqualified!"
For several seconds, nobody spoke before the laughter erupted.
"Ha… ha… ha… He eliminated himself!"
"Such incredible strategy!"
"The fat boy has tricked him!"
The noble student who fell outside the arena turned red with rage. He began shouting at the referee.
"It's not fair! I just slipped and I was suddenly disqualified? My father will hear about this! I'll make sure you're fired!"
The referee looked unimpressed, "Is your father the king?"
"No! But he has connections with the royalty!"
"Then, you may complain after the tournament."
The argument continued uselessly. Inside the arena, Baston had already stepped away quietly.
The leader was gone. Now, the remaining players had to think for themselves. That was when the real chaos began.
*****
The remaining students did not rush to Baston. Instead, they avoided him completely.
Twelve minutes passed and everyone gained more survival points. Now, each participant had four points.
Baston could eliminate them quickly but something strange happened. Whenever he approached someone aggressively, they threatened to jump out of the arena.
If they disqualified voluntarily, he would gain nothing.
The understanding dawned upon him since their mission had never been a victory. It was to sabotage because someone wanted Baston to get eliminated.
Baston scratched his cheek again, "So troublesome…"
Still, if they all escaped early, the remaining time would automatically give Baston the survival points which meant they could not abandon the arena completely.
They had just trapped themselves.
*****
The minutes continued to pass from fifteen, eighteen, and twenty-one.
Everyone now had seven points and the other participants were exhausted. The sweat soaked their robes and their mana reserves dwindled but Baston still stood calmly.
His breathing was steady and his eyes were sharp. The spectators began noticing his superior condition.
"That fat boy… He doesn't look tired."
"You're right…"
"The others are barely standing…"
The shift in the momentum became obvious. Baston had allowed them to burn themselves out before it was his time to move.
"ICE BLAST!"
The spell exploded outward and two opponents hurriedly blocked it but Baston had already rushed forward.
The third student panicked, "Damn it! I'm leaving!"
He jumped backward toward the edge of the arena but Baston smirked. Because behind him, an ice wall had already risen silently. The student slammed into it and the horror soon filled his face.
"WAIT…"
Baston punched him, straight across the jaw.
"BAM!"
The boy collapsed instantly and the referee raised his hand.
"Five points to Baston!"
The arena soon erupted, following the announcement.
"WHOAAA!"
"INCREDIBLE!"
"HE TURNED IT AROUND!"
With nine minutes remaining, Baston now held twelve points. The momentum had completely shifted.
The last two participants looked terrified since their mana was nearly empty and their bodies exhausted. They truly understood that victory was impossible.
In the arena, Baston still stood like a mountain. He glanced at the arena clock, signifying twenty-four minutes. Everyone gained another survival point.
Now, he had thirteen points and it was more than enough to secure the first place.
The crowd leaned forward since they expected a grand finale with two more eliminations. It would be truly a perfect victory.
Unfortunately, Baston had another way of thinking. Instead of winning, he walked calmly toward the edge of the arena.
Suddenly, he stepped out of the arena. The gasps soon exploded across the audience while the referee could only blink multiple times.
"Baston is disqualified..."
The arena quickly erupted with confusion.
"What?!"
"Why would he surrender?!"
"He was already winning!"
No one understood. From the audience's perspective, it was madness but Baston simply adjusted his robe and walked away. Inside his mind, the calculations were clear.
Winning the round would make him the center of attention again. His spectacular finish would attract even more scrutiny but it would be different for a second place.
The second one was safe because it was respectable yet forgettable. It was exactly what he needed.
Behind him, the remaining two participants stared at each other in disbelief. The audience continued arguing loudly but Baston had already disappeared into the corridor.
Far above the arena, in the shadow of the observation balcony, someone smiled faintly because Baston had just proven something very interesting.
He was not merely strong since he was very careful and cautious. Such person was far more dangerous for the real game.