Chapter 152: First Round

Érica entered the arena without feeling nervous.

Wearing her combat suit, she was equipping the best outfit she had.

While there was a limit to extra items in the tournament, a set of armor and weapon was vital.

In the case of a mage, the wand and robe counted as part of the combat gear and there were no limitations when talking about full sets.

All the academies equipped their students with the best suits or battle outfits commensurate with their different ranks.

Like her, the fighter she was facing was wearing light clothing and while he looked simple, it was noticeable that he had certain protections in more vital areas.

As someone whose father was a leader of his own guild, Érica could identify the details of her opponent’s equipment thanks to her experience when it came to interacting with adventurers.

Focused on magical defense, it was an outfit specialized in defending against mages, and on his hands, he had gloves with small spikes on them.

That was a savage style of fighting and, although it could be bloody, there was nothing wrong with it.

In this tournament, everyone would give their best, and she was the same.

Érica pulled out her wand and as she waited for the warning to start, she watched her opponent, planning her moves.

The fighter was also watching her and looked both tense and ready to lunge at her when the battle began.

“We are looking at the opening of the second day of the international tournament. Today we have the Hero Academy against the Russian Academy. We will surely all enjoy this match.”

The host’s voice echoed through the arena as all around the tourists applauded respectfully.

Erica was not unnerved by the gaze of those present or the hundreds of thousands of people watching the bout at this moment.

She narrowed down the number in her mind, but Hero Academy was a favorite, so it was possible that the people watching would be over a million, maybe more.

Nevertheless, Érica kept her calm, waiting for the start order.

Now she had another reason to strive to win.

If wanting to become strong before was a great motivator, now with the first prize present within her grasp, it only lit that fire inside her even more... Or in her case, the ice became colder.

The opportunity to ascend to S-Rank... Such a goal was in Érica’s sights and no one would stop her.

“You may begin!” Announced the host.

The fighter immediately charged towards her and Érica prepared a spell at high speed while concealing her source of magical energy.

“[Winter Area]” Érica muttered, getting the surrounding area to start freezing.

It wasn’t just a small area as would be expected from that spell, it spread and covered all around her.

The concrete floor froze, and the cold air got the approaching fighter shivering and hesitating.

A slight tremor that stopped him for less than a second and that brief instant was enough for Érica, who prepared several spells while manipulating her magical energy according to what she had learned.

She turned her magical energy within her into the ice element and, with that, prepared her spell to take the form she desired.

Giving a smile to the fighter, this individual looked at her coldly and charged again, creating platforms in the air as the barrier activated repelling the cold air that would slow him down.

“[Ice Arrow]” Érica muttered, launching arrows at her opponent.

She didn’t need to mutter out loud, but she did so for the fighter to notice.

And just as she assumed, the fighter tried to hit the arrows and to that individual’s surprise, the arrow exploded, releasing a layer of ice that spread across the young man’s body.

Murmuring helped inexperienced mages guide the magical energy and prepare the spell more quickly, however, it was not mandatory.

An experienced mage could cast the spells without muttering, just as Érica did now.

“Shit...”

Chains of ice rose up using the ice she generated from the wintry area and such chains trapped the fighter, who was tenaciously shielding himself with his barrier.

That spell was known as [Ice Cell] and served to restrain her opponent, and because of the fighter’s armor barrier protecting him, the spell didn’t cause that much damage.

Still, it accomplished the main purpose of the spell, which was to restrain, and Érica acted.

“Ugh...”

Waving her wand again, Érica made the chains turn into spikes that destroyed the fighter’s barrier, causing several slashing wounds.

At the same time, she launched the following attack.

“[Ice arrow]” Muttering again, Érica launched another ice arrow, this time stored in her wand.

Unfortunately, the fighter did not know this and instead of destroying it with his strong body; he dodged it by falling to the ground, which was frozen by the wintry area.

The fighter turned cautiously and fell into her trap, just as she wished.

“[Ice Cannon]” Érica muttered, pointing her wand at her opponent.

This spell was complex and powerful, so she had to mutter to help herself cast it.

The poor fighter had barely hit the ground when a huge sphere of ice went flying at him at a high speed.

The fighter’s eyes narrowed, and instead of facing it, he tried to escape.

It was a good move, unfortunately, Érica waved her wand.

*BOOM*

That powerful shot exploded, sending a wave of cold and a shockwave that sent her opponent rolling across the ground, shattering her newly recovered barrier and freezing her body.

Érica didn’t even flinch and cast her favorite spell.

“¡!”

The fighter’s eyes only widened as she saw around her five thick and powerful spears of ice glowing as the sunlight reflected off the blue ice.

The last thing the fighter saw was as the spears fell to his body lying on the ground.

******

In a large room, Aurora looked at the gorilla standing near her.

“And what do you think of my companions?” Aurora asked the three-meter tall giant gorilla.

Her tone was slightly proud and she couldn’t help it when she had seen several individual fights that turned out to be fierce.

All the individual bouts were already underway and Aurora, who had been invited earlier by Rupert, invited him to watch the hero academy bouts.

Of all the fights, there was only one loss, with Cristian being the one who was defeated.

Aurora could not judge him, as Cristian fought quite well, however, his opponent was more tenacious and using some dubious tactics managed to beat him.

What they called ‘dubious’ tactics was that at a certain moment of the battle, the fighter used part of the destroyed floor and threw it into Cristian’s eyes, who was blinded for a moment, leading to his loss.

For her, that tactic was splendid, since in an actual combat there were no ‘dubious’ or ‘shameless’ tactics and there were only those tactics that led to victory and defeat.

Even she had used it... Still, if the individual A-rank bouts were counted, it was a splendid victory that gave them 9 points.

“Those little guys are fierce and, not to mention yours... They’re terrifying,” Rupert said with a low growl.

Elder Kernen nearby chuckled, and Aurora also gave a smile.

This private room was huge, enough for beasts bigger than Rupert to rest comfortably while watching the fights alongside the tamers.

Rupert was talking about Leslie and Érica, who had their own individual bouts, which ended with them winning in a landslide.

Érica was splendid at employing her various spells and it was clear that all that time she had been away from the academy, she had been working hard to improve.

Moreover, she made it clear that the time she spent away from the academic tournament she was not silently watching from the sidelines but was learning a wide variety of spells.

Leslie, for her part, showed the might of her weapon and she did not need to use her combat armor at full power, as the fighter underestimated her.

He saw a young woman with a sniper rifle in a small-sized arena and thought he could crush her.

Only for him to receive a powerful shot that sent him flying like a spinning top in the air.

“Now I understand how César got to be so strong,” Rupert said as he ate some fruit.

Aurora put on a thoughtful look as she heard the name she hadn’t heard in a while.

“Is he okay?” Aurora asked without hiding her curiosity.

Just like Edward and Akira, who were under her tutelage for a while, César was the same way.

The only difference was that César had some special circumstances and, while the two rarely communicated, Aurora liked to believe they were close.

“Yes, he’s very busy helping students and training at Cernunnos Academy. He’s overzealous and spends most of his time training as much as possible,” Elder Kernen replied, giving a half-smile.

Rupert let out something akin to a chuckle and grunted, “He’s as fierce as ever.”

Aurora gave a smile and was about to continue talking when she watched on the television as the B-rank group battle students entered the arena.

Frank, Dalia, Lucas, Jordan, and Nicole.

Those five students entered the arena while on the other side came the Russian Academy group.

As Aurora expected, three of the five students were not fighters.

An earth mage, an archer, and a swordsman, along with two fighters.

A group focused on hand-to-hand combat, but with more balance than just fighters.

The room was equipped with a television and several projections, allowing them to see the battle from different angles and hear everything that was happening in the arena.

“Dalia, we’ll leave you the earth mage. Lucas take care of holding the archer, Frank will take care of the defense and I’ll go for the swordsman,” Jordan reported and looking at Nicole, whose eyes were sparkling, he asked. “Do you think you can handle holding off the two fighters?”

The technology used by the tournament authorities was high and for such a reason; the spectators could hear what the students were talking about.

Aurora smiled as she realized that her guests were surprised at Jordan’s question, and it was likely that other spectators were surprised as well.

Leaving two fighters to a young girl who looked thin?

That was certainly surprising and at the same time something to question about Jordan as a leader, however, Nicole clenched and unclenched her fists as she took a slightly excited breath.

“Let me have them. I won’t lose,” Nicole said, giving the fighters an intense look.

It was a bright and intense gaze, as anyone could perceive how the magical energy strengthened that fighter’s body.

Aurora gave a smile as she looked at her.

The host gave the typical introduction as both sides looked at each other, slowly feeling the tension.

“Let the battle begin!”

Then the fight started and the two teams charged forward, with the fighters taking the lead.

Nicole increased her speed and engaged the first fighter.

Instead of colliding fists, Nicole dodged that fighter’s punch and moved on to the next fighter, hitting with full force.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Two explosive impacts resounded and the fighter who received Nicole’s blow could defend himself, being pushed back by the force of impact.

Facing two opponents was a hard matter that was not just about defending, but keeping him attentive to her and Nicole tried her best.

As soon as she saw the first fighter move away, she spun towards the second fighter, dodging the blow and then attacking with all the ferocity she could display.

One would think that with both of them being one of the best fighters at the Russian Academy, they would be equal to Nicole, however, such an assumption was not even close.

Nicole was gaining ground and held both of them off while the bout was going on elsewhere.

From time to time, Frank would offer his assistance to Nicole both to protect her from other opponents and to prevent a fighter from escaping, allowing that young woman to withstand the ferocity of two foes.

Lucas took it upon himself to engage the archer and that young man’s shooting cadence was shown when he single-handedly pressured the opposing archer and, even then, supporting his teammates.

Dalia faced the earth mage and their combat was evenly matched, however, Lucas’ arrows supported her, leading to her being able to take the lead.

This was not only a group combat trying to divide its members to face their opponents for their accounts, but in the end, it was about keeping them safe until the battle was over so as not to give points to the rival.

Jordan, with overwhelming experience, faced the opposing team’s swordsman, showing his high experience as a B-ranked swordsman.

However, Nicole undoubtedly took all the attention from the fight.

“She’s too fierce,” Rupert said, and revealing his teeth, exclaimed. “I love it!”

Aurora gave an amused smile.

She couldn’t deny that Nicole was fierce and also tenacious.

No matter if she was hit hard, causing her to bleed and bruises to pop out on her face, Nicole would spit the blood from her split lips and perhaps broken teeth and charge forward again with unique enthusiasm.

It was impossible for her not to take heavy blows when facing two opponents and more so when it was a raw battle between fighters, even so, she continued to resist showing the tenacity of a fighter.

Exchanging blow after blow, the three fighters faced each other.

Two against one, Nicole showed that potential for which Aurora had invited her to join her group.

And here, present, slowly that potential was exploding, taking her to a higher position.

Three fighters who would normally have the same strength, this time the exception was seen as Nicole gained in strength and speed.

Getting closer and closer to moving up.

******

In the private box, Victor, with his guests, watched the match of three fighters.

“Tch. Vincent, if you had told me you had such a promising fighter, I wouldn’t have gone to watch the psionic fights,” Emperor Victor growled as he watched the projected recording of the Hero Academy B-Rank group bout.

Ferocity, talent, and that tenacity that was the core of every fighter.

What was most appealing was her enthusiasm and focus, but also the enjoyment of each battle.

Moreover, it was a terribly contagious enthusiasm that made her opponents focus only on her trying to take her down.

“I enjoyed the fights at Aetherium Academy,” Vincent commented, giving a slight smile.

They couldn’t be in the same place all the time and since the three of them were the highest-ranking individuals in the international tournament, they had to go to other coliseums to watch other fights.

“That’s right. Their S-Rank is strong and their ability to generate and control psionic barriers was splendid,” Elder Harris pointed out and with a smile, he added. “Also, the S-Rank student who hid among the A-Rankers was strong.”

Aetherium Academy’s battles were still going on, along with Zerzura Academy and Paladin Academy, who were in the fifth group.

Aetherium Academy had two powerful and notable students among them.

“He is strong, but too arrogant. In the group combat, he showed that arrogance,” Emperor Victor said without giving it too much importance.

An S-Rank among the A-Ranks would undoubtedly be dominant, but the way he won, to the Emperor, it was arrogant.

He got carried away knowing that he was going to win by practically acting all-powerful... He didn’t mind that he did, however, the way he acted was what was annoying.

“That happens when someone young gets strong,” Elder Harris replied, giving a half-smile.

Emperor Victor did not reply and only smiled at his secretary Ersin when he received the cup of tea.

“Let’s see if the A-Rankers from Vincent’s academy can show us something more entertaining,” Emperor Victor muttered, looking directly as the next participants entered.

From the Russian Academy, all the A-Rankers were fighters while from the Hero Academy it was more varied.

Two young swordsmen, a young woman who was a fire mage along with a psionic, and then there was that young woman with a bag of chips in her hand.

“Is that the student I was talking about, Cecile?” Elder Harris asked and, with a curious tone, commented. “She doesn’t look as strong as she looks.”

Unlike the other ability users who showed a slight difference in strength, such as a fighter with their physicality or a mage with their magical energy, the young woman didn’t look strong at all.

“Victor, can you see through her?” Elder Harris asked curiously.

“She’s a student like any other. Slightly strong though,” Victor replied, smiling.

Ersin turned her gaze towards him and Victor focused his attention forward.

This box overlooked the arena, and they came to watch this fight directly.

The battle began and the young lady, Cecile called Alice, revealed her black arms, taking on the fighters with ease.

“Oh, an innate ability. It makes sense that one can’t easily see through her,” Elder Harris muttered, and stroking his beard, he surmised. “It’s like darkness magic, but with more terrifying control than an archmage.”

While the others were harshly sparring with their opponents, the young woman named Alice was using ten black arms to engage her opponent.

“A unique and extremely rare talent. Surely as she ascends, the stronger her ability to control over that darkness will become,” said Director Vincent, nodding.

The elders were analyzing the possibilities and characteristics of the young woman’s power, but Emperor Victor was looking at her strength.

She was playing...

That was the first thought that came to his mind.

The young woman named Alice was playing with her opponent, getting the battle in her favor, though not dominating him completely.

The most frightening thing was that when her companions needed her, she would send an arm to help them without having looked first.

Down there was someone who hid her strength to perfection and performed so brilliantly, she made people believe she was an A-Rank of great power.

The fight unfolded faster than one would expect.

First of all, the complete lack of balance caused the Russian Academy fighters to suffer defeat after defeat.

Only the young fire mage was creating great destruction with her spells, let alone the psionic.

When one went down, the other followed, and so on, until the wrestlers ended up losing completely.

A crushing defeat caused by the lack of organization of the Russian Academy.

The Emperor nodded in amusement, because if they were organized that way, it meant that their Director conveyed well what he had sought for this tournament.

They needed to learn that being ‘strong’ did not mean they would achieve victory.

Their lack of organization and all of their students being fighters revealed the students’ lack of leadership.

As the students left the arena, Victor watched the young woman leave the arena.

Before she was about to leave, that woman looked back as if she knew who was watching her, and Emperor Victor laughed.

“Truly a terrifying sight... And fascinating!” Emperor Victor exclaimed.

Just as one would expect from those close to his acquaintance.