Chapter 53: Group Matches (Part 2)

The competition continued, and as time passed, more and more participants were eliminated, with those who won repeatedly being mostly students in the fifth and sixth grades.
At Rexox Academy, the third grade marked one threshold of skill, while the fifth grade represented another.
By the third grade, students had already gained a basic understanding of magic, so their curriculum was half as heavy as that in the first and second grades. Consequently, the knowledge and magic they could master were far beyond what younger students could achieve.
By the fifth grade, mastering magic became secondary; what mattered more was gaining combat experience. It was during the fifth grade that extracurricular simulated battles between students took place, allowing older students to better understand the true essence of magic.
Older students did not pursue flashy spells nor waste magic power by using them needlessly. Although they possessed advanced spells, they usually relied on less resource-intensive spells when facing opponents—a skill that younger students could not yet grasp.
Though there was only one academic year between them, the gap between fourth and fifth graders was much larger than that between third and second graders. Conversely, the gap between fifth and sixth graders was not as significant.
For example, in this competition, fourth graders might lose to third graders but were almost always unbeatable against second graders. Similarly, sixth graders on the verge of graduation might lose to fifth graders but would never lose to younger students. This had been a rule at Rexox Academy for hundreds of years.
Of course, this did not apply to some students with extraordinary talent.
“…The 25th match of the fourth round of group matches in Arena 4 is over. The winner is our sixth-grade student, Bert Chidell! Thank you, Chidell, for delivering such an exciting match! The matches in Arena 3 are now over. Please have the winning students gather in Arena 3 after being called upon: fifth graders Gary Elsie, Bonita Lancel, Celeste Wade; sixth graders Brian Alvi, Fabian Wick, Tabitha Bernice… second graders Scott O’Gill… fifth graders from Salonia Academy, Dandy Wellerum, Edie, Clift…”

“…Match 23 of the fourth round of group matches in Arena 3: Clemmy Brody, a sixth-grade student from our school, against Cliff Belas, a sixth-grade student from Salonia. Please have both contestants come to Arena 4 immediately upon hearing this…”
“…Match 19 of the fourth round of group matches in Arena 2: Harry Bryce, a fifth-grade student from our school, against Sadie Bachereld, a sixth-grade student from Salonia. Please have both contestants come to Arena 2 immediately upon hearing this…”
With almost no surprises, aside from Jiang Zhe, Raviya, and Scott who still hadn’t fought their final matches, Allen was the only one from Rex Academy qualified to advance to the finals as a second-year student. As for the third-year students, they fared miserably, barely able to resist their senior opponents and getting eliminated one after another.
That’s why, in the field of magic, talent sometimes matters more than hard work!
Well, although Allen’s battles actually had little to do with magic…
“Can you hear me? Guys!” When he heard the professor in Arena 4 read out the list of qualifying students, Allen excitedly tugged at Jiang Zhe’s sleeve, ignoring the strange looks from the surrounding students.
Why strange looks?
Have you ever seen a magic apprentice compete wearing iron gloves? Have you ever seen a second-year student capable of shattering rocks with a single punch?
After going through four rounds of group matches, Allen had become quite famous among the students of Rex Academy. Almost everyone knew this knight disguised as a mage, and a heavy-armor knight at that…
Especially some noble students in the fifth and sixth grades resented this boy from the wealthiest city intensely. It was bad enough that he had great strength; on top of that, he specialized in enhancement magic. Damn it, could a mage’s weak body compare to rocks? And he wore armor with high magic resistance—son of a rural nouveau riche! Truly infuriating!
Perhaps that was what most of the noble students who were knocked out by Allen’s punches were thinking.
As for why they were noble students, well, at least those higher-grade commoner students didn’t show much resentment after losing to this junior, especially after learning that Allen’s father’s count title had been bought with gold coins…
In fact, by the fourth round of matches, whether it was the competing students or the onlookers, their conflicts mainly revolved around commoners vs. nobles, and the Empire vs. Salonia. Grade no longer mattered.

A sixth-grade commoner student wouldn’t sulk after losing to a fifth-grade commoner student; on the contrary, he’d even cheer for the one who defeated him. But if he lost to a Salonia student or even a noble student, it would be hard to see any smile on his face—this was true even among noble students.
“Alright, hurry up and go to Arena 4! If you’re late, the professor might exclude you!” Compared to Allen’s enthusiasm, Scott remained much calmer—of course, this also had to do with him not yet advancing from Arena 3.
“Hey! That won’t do!” Shrugging, Allen chuckled and waved his hand, saying mockingly to everyone, “Well, good luck to you all. I’m off now!”
“Hmph!”
As Allen walked excitedly toward Arena 4, older commoner students kept greeting him—some with jokes, some with encouragement, some with reminders—while noble students merely snorted coldly.
Jiang Zhe had seen this phenomenon many times. Take Scott, for example: when this noble student from an ancient family in the empire’s northeast won, it was usually other noble students who applauded and cheered, while most commoner students mocked him.
Lavia was somewhat different. Although she was also a noble, being a girl and having both beauty and strength that won most people’s approval, plus not being unpleasant, some commoner students would applaud her. Of course, if she had been a boy, it would have been another story.
As for Jiang Zhe…
Needless to say, he was a complete commoner. When he won the third round of the group stage, those commoner students who had been watching for fun gradually realized that this junior student wasn’t as unremarkable as he seemed. Naturally, out of hostility toward noble students, the commoner seniors began to see Jiang Zhe as one of their own—purely and simply. Unlike Allen, who was supported by commoner students only because of his humor and kindness, Jiang Zhe ultimately belonged to the merchant class.
In fact, this combination of people puzzled many students at Rexox. They couldn’t understand how students from the noble, merchant, and commoner classes could get along so harmoniously, let alone someone as striking as Lavia.
Nobles had their circles, commoners had theirs—this could be considered a tradition of Rexox Academy. But in Jiang Zhe’s eyes, such classification was utterly meaningless.
Yes, completely pointless!
When it came to human interactions, should one judge by someone’s status or by how well their personalities fit together? At least Jiang Zhe chose the latter!

The word “friend” is pure—there’s no need to consider bloodline or status at all. If those factors are taken into account, the meaning of “friend” changes, and at best it becomes nothing more than a combination of mutual interests.
“…Match 23 of Round 4 at Arena 1: sophomore student Thors…” The professor acting as the referee shouted loudly from Arena 1.
Pushing up his glasses, Scott chuckled and said, “It’s your turn finally, Thors! We can’t lose here—otherwise, who knows what Allen would say!”
With a slight smile, Jiang Zhe murmured, “Allen would probably laugh triumphantly, glad he doesn’t have to face us in the match…”
“Hmm,” Scott frowned thoughtfully before shaking his head. “Given his personality… heh! He should be proud for a while…”
“Heh!” With a faint smile, Jiang Zhe was about to turn toward the arena when he suddenly heard a whisper.
“If you lose… don’t come back!”
Glancing at Lavia, who was staring at him expressionlessly, Jiang Zhe forced a smile and said, “Hey, do you do this every time there’s a match? At least say something encouraging!”
Lavia froze for a moment, then bit her lip and whispered, “I… won’t lose, so…”
“So?”
“So… if you lose, I’ll…”
“Kill me, right?” Jiang Zhe looked puzzled, though he knew Lavia wouldn’t say anything encouraging given her personality.
Yet as he passed her, he unexpectedly heard a barely audible, gentle voice.
“Don’t lose…”
“…Ah!”
Meanwhile, the referee professor kept repeating his announcement over and over.
“…Match 23 of Round 4 at Arena 1: Thors, a sophomore from our school, against Vincent Flores, also a sophomore from our school. Please have both contestants come to Arena 1 immediately…”
“…Student Thors? Sophomore Thors, please come to Arena 1 right away after hearing this…”
After calling three times, he still saw no sign of Jiang Zhe, prompting the students watching from the sidelines to start discussing.
“Thors? That lucky brat?”
“Yes, in the first match he faced a fourth-year student who only knew how to curse, and in the second match, a third-year student from the magic enchantment class. His luck is way too good, isn’t it?”
“Luck? Did that jerk say that? If it were just luck, could he have beaten his opponent in the third match? A fourth-year student from the Fire Blue Magic class!”

“That only proves how useless you commoners are. Fourth-grade students can’t even beat a second-year kid. They use the high-consumption Fire Dragon Spell right away and end up losing due to depleted magic power. What else but being idiots could that guy be?!”
“You bastard!”
“Stop arguing! Where’s that kid named Thos? Why hasn’t he arrived yet?”
“Could he have withdrawn? Although he’s also in the second year, his opponent is an outstanding second-year student—not some idiot who got zero points on the ancient magic history exam!”
“Vincent Flores? From the Flores family? I heard his father is highly regarded these days…”
“Hmm… Isn’t that Vincent Flores the student who got full marks in all courses in the first year? I heard the professor mention him…”
“All of them? It’s just a few courses. What’s so special about that?”
After waiting two full minutes, the professor standing in the arena frowned, clearly growing impatient. He raised his hand to speak but, as if thinking of something, slowly lowered it again and read the competition schedule aloud once more.
“Sorry, Professor!” After rushing, Jiang Zhe finally arrived at Arena No. 1 by the time the professor repeated it for the fourth time.
“It’s really you, kid,” the professor said helplessly, shaking his head. He stepped closer to Jiang Zhe and whispered, “If it weren’t for my good impression of you after the first match, I would have ruled you a withdrawal long ago. Be more careful next time—come over immediately when you hear the call, understand?”
“Understood, thank you, Professor!”
“Hmm…”
“Will there be a next time?” Suddenly, a tone of scorn came from somewhere.
Jiang Zhe looked up and realized his opponent this time was the same guy who had clashed with him and Allen during registration—Vincent Flores.
Facing the scorn, Jiang Zhe said nonchalantly, “It’s hard to say!”
“Hmph, is that so?” Vincent smiled faintly, then, to Jiang Zhe’s surprise, gave a polite bow. Looking at Jiang Zhe’s puzzled expression, he said coldly, “Commoners are just commoners… They don’t know what courtesy is!”
Seeing the contempt in the other’s eyes, Jiang Zhe frowned and imitated the bow. To his surprise, the other guy burst into laughter.
This left Jiang Zhe utterly confused.
However, the mocking voices around him made him understand why.
“Hey, you brat named Thos—do you even deserve such a bow?”
“Commoners are just commoners!”
“Haha, get beaten quickly and scurry back to your village with your tail between your legs!”
“What are you idiots talking about?”

“Isn’t it just some absurd courtesy? Thors, defeat that bastard across from you! Teach those fools who think they’re of noble blood a lesson!”
“What the hell did you say just now?!”
“I called you an idiot, got it?”
“Stupid commoner, daring to challenge the dignity of nobles?”
“Stop trying to scare us with that nonsense about noble dignity. Just bully the younger students more. Don’t get cocky just because your father is a marquis—won’t you still have to bow to me later?”
“Hmph! Do you think you’re qualified to be a royal mage? Stop joking!”
Suddenly, the entire Arena 1 became like boiling water, with sparks of hostility flaring between noble and common students.
“Shut up all of you!” The referee professor, clearly not wanting Ryox Academy to lose face in front of the Salonia students, shouted angrily, “If I hear one more word unrelated to the match, I’ll deduct ten points from each of your annual evaluations for disrupting the competition!”
Under the threat of reduced annual evaluations, the tense atmosphere gradually calmed down. After all, no one wanted to face severe punishment over this matter. But the calm that ensued felt especially oppressive…
“Vincent, give that commoner kid a good lesson!”
“It should be Thors who teaches that bastard, right? Go ahead, Thors! We’re behind you!”
“Knock that commoner kid down! Go ahead, Vincent!”
“Use fireballs to take care of your opponent, Thors!”
The match between Jiang Zhe and Vincent hadn’t even started, yet the atmosphere below the stage was far more intense than on it.
“Hmph…”
Looking at the smirk on his opponent’s lips, Jiang Zhe said calmly, “Is that so funny?”
“Of course,” Vincent said mockingly, brushing dust off his shoulder, “There’s nothing funnier than a commoner performing noble courtesy…”
“I hope you’ll be the one laughing last!”
“What do you mean?” Vincent frowned at Jiang Zhe and said disdainfully, “Don’t be naive enough to think I’ll lose to you. A few wins have made you so arrogant? I’m different from those guys…”
“Indeed different. At least you talk more nonsense than them!”
“Tch, damn it! I hope your skills are as good as your mouth…”
Meanwhile, in a corner of Arena 1 below the stage…

“Stupid…” Scott pushed his glasses up and muttered, “Provoking the opponent is indeed a strategy to win, but it doesn’t work on everyone. Some people become calmer the angrier they get… You miscalculated, Vincent. Though it doesn’t happen often, Thors becomes terrifying when angry…”

Meanwhile, at Arena 4…
“Hm? Someone wants to provoke Thors?” Allen looked up toward Arena 1 with a smile and spoke to himself, “I wonder which idiot is so reckless… This is going to be interesting!”

At the same time, not far from Arena 1…
“Is it about to start?” Eddie said in a serious tone, staring at the arena. “If my intuition is right, that second-year brat named Vincent is quite skilled, but… the guy across from him is even more terrifying. He wins every match using only fireballs… Does he really only know that one spell, or… It’s starting!”

“Fourth round, second match of the group stage…” On the stage of Arena 1, the referee professor glanced at Jiang Zhe, then at Vincent, raised his hand, and shouted, “Start!”

As soon as the words faded, Vincent, who was murmuring spells, waved his right hand. Three clouds of smoke appeared in front of him. Before the smoke dissipated, three fang-covered Windfang Wolves rushed out of the mist. The next second, a fireball exploded on one of the Windfang Wolves, scattering flames everywhere and sparking discussions among the students watching.

“What… what’s going on?”
“Oh my god…”
“To summon three contract beasts at once in such a short time—that guy named Vincent is amazing. But that fireball…”
“So fast…” Eddie stared at the arena in astonishment. “Not only fast, but its power isn’t reduced at all… No, since he could kill one Windfang Wolf instantly, the power of that fireball… that kid named Thors must have mastered compression!”
“Element compression? Impossible!” Though surprised by the situation, Geller shook his head. “I know element compression is a skill fire mages must learn, but I can’t believe such a kid has already mastered it!”
“Then how do we explain that missing Windfang Wolf?” Gert adjusted his monocle and said expressionlessly, “Windfang Wolves are second-tier wind-type magical beasts. Although their level is ordinary, it’s usually impossible to kill them with just one fireball!”

Not to mention others, even Vincent found it somewhat unbelievable.
“Kill in an instant?”
How is that possible?!
Glancing at Jiang Zhe, who was only raising one hand, Vincent’s gaze grew increasingly wary.
It wasn’t because the opponent’s fireball spell could kill his contract beast, but rather because of the speed of that fireball spell…
Although he could sense the opponent’s magical fluctuations, it was… too fast! Did that kid only take two seconds to cast a fireball?
“Tch!” Using his mental power to control the remaining two Gale Fang Wolves to circle Jiang Zhe on the stage, Vincent sneered, “Is this the fireball spell you’re best at? Its power isn’t bad, huh! But don’t get too proud. I was just careless earlier. Under normal circumstances, your fireball wouldn’t be able to keep up with the agile Gale Fang Wolves…” His words suddenly stopped, and his eyes showed an expression of disbelief.
Almost simultaneously, two fiery red vortices appeared in front of Jiang Zhe. In the blink of an eye, two steaming fireballs shot off in opposite directions without pause. Then, with a loud boom, there was no other living being on the battlefield except Jiang Zhe and Vincent…
Glancing at the shocked Vincent, Jiang Zhe said calmly, “What did you just say?”
“Dual casting?” Eddie, who was watching, could hardly believe his eyes. Although they were just two level-two fireball spells, remember, those two Gale Fang Wolves were running rapidly on the stage. To control two fireballs at the same time and hit the targets accurately under such conditions required a level of control that even a second-year student couldn’t achieve.
“That kid… is really strong!”
Glancing at Eddie, Geller, who usually disagreed with him, was also silent this time.
And compared to them, the students watching around Arena No. 1 were even more buzzing with discussion.
“Good heavens, it’s unbelievable! That kid actually…”
“I told you that kid named Sos was special! Hahaha, Sos, go for it! Beat that pretentious noble bastard!”
“Damn it!”
“…” Looking at his opponent standing not far away and the voices from all around the battlefield, Vincent felt his face burn with heat.
Lose? Lose to a commoner? Ridiculous!
With a cold snort, Vincent took out a finely crafted magic staff from his robe. The handle of the staff was even inlaid with four gems in green and yellow colors.
“Despicable! Using a magic staff! Damn it, it’s even inlaid with wind jade and earth yellow stone! Bastard!”

“Stupid commoner, props are also part of battle! That kid named Thors can use a wand too, ah, but I guess such a guy can’t afford any magical props either, hahaha, Vincent, give that kid a good lesson!”
“Damn it…”
“It’s just Fireball…” Vincent glanced coldly at Jiang Zhe, waved his wand a few times with his right hand, then recited a spell before saying harshly, “Rude commoner, let’s see how long you can last!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a large cloud of smoke appeared in front of him. As the smoke gradually dissipated, one, two, three… he had summoned seven Galefang Wolves at once.
But when he raised his head to control the Galefang Wolves to attack his opponent, he was shocked to see seven fiery red vortices appear around the opponent at the same time. In just one second, seven fireballs of equal size appeared on the stage, to everyone’s disbelief.
Looking at the opponent’s almost stunned expression, Jiang Zhe raised his right hand and said calmly, “I’ve said it before, I’m best at… Fireball!”
“Slap!”