Chapter 55: End of the Group Stage

“Match 23 of the fourth round in Arena 1: the winner is our school’s second-year student, Thos!”
As the referee professor spoke these words in a calm yet firm tone, the students watching around the arena fell silent.
It wasn’t until the winner stepped down from the arena and gradually disappeared from sight that cheers, exclamations of amazement, and shouts of envy filled the place like boiling water.
Who on earth was this kid named Thos?
The students who had watched the entire match began to whisper among themselves.
Vincent Flores, an outstanding second-year student, was well-known among Salonia’s students, though his name was often mentioned by professors in Riox as well.
But what about that kid named Thos?
To be fair, he wasn’t completely unknown, but most of the information about him was negative—things like the incident with the flood of magic maps and cheating during exams…
Almost all students in Riox knew that among the second-year students, there were three strange guys, and Thos was one of them.
But no one knew that this Thos was actually so formidable…
Even now, the shocking scene from earlier still lingered in the minds of the students present.
Although it was just the most basic spell, Fireballs, the sheer number and power of those spells made them unsure they could block them all.
After all, even a Level 5 boulder statue couldn’t withstand such a dense barrage of Fireballs. If it were just an ordinary magic barrier, its fate would likely be no better than those charred rocks on the stage.
“That kid… won?” Katrina asked her companion in disbelief as she watched the arena from afar.
“Ah,” Eddie nodded, turning to watch the unimpressive-looking winner walk away. With a serious expression, he said, “It’s unbelievable… that guy!”
Even the proud Gert showed a hint of concern, turning to whisper, “Gert, how many Fireballs did that kid cast just now?”
Gert adjusted his monocle and pondered for a moment before whispering, “If I’m not mistaken, he cast 252 Fireballs in about three minutes. Excluding the time it took for the spells to travel, his casting speed was two Fireballs per second… maybe even more…”

“Two fireballs? More?” Gayer’s eyes were filled with shock as he spoke in a dazed tone, “How is that possible? That little brat…”
Glancing at Gayer, Gert calmly analyzed in a low voice, “If it were an ordinary guy, they really couldn’t do this… The time required to condense the elements for fireballs is much shorter than that for fireballs. Under normal circumstances, an average person can cast one per second, while an experienced mage can cast about two per second…”
“You mean to say that that second-year brat, Heliriox, already has strength comparable to a mage? Tch! That kid is just as much a magic apprentice as we are!”
“Calm down, Gayer,” Eddie said softly to calm the agitated Gayer. “What Gert means is that that kid named Thos has already met certain standards to become a mage, just in some aspects. It’s not hard to understand—becoming a qualified mage isn’t just about casting a few powerful spells… But to be honest, although the power of his fireballs and fireballs isn’t as strong as that of his seniors, the sheer number… He’s truly a terrifying guy…”
With a somewhat surprised expression, Gayer looked at Eddie and said in a strange tone, “The Holy Light Wall… can it withstand it?”
Eddie lowered his head and remained silent for a moment before saying firmly, “Yes!”
“Tch!” Gayer quickly returned to his usual state, shrugged, and laughed, “Then that’s fine! Thinking about it, that kid is indeed surprising. But if the fireballs and fireballs he casts can’t shatter the Holy Light Wall, what’s there to worry about?”
Watching Gayer’s carefree attitude, Eddie shook his head with a bitter smile. Before he could speak, Gert sneered mockingly, “With your intelligence, it’s probably hard for you to understand…”
“What do you mean by that, bastard? Looking for a fight?”
“Stop it, Gayer,” Katerina said anxiously, trying to stop the angry Gayer. “Gert, please say less. There are many people around… Gert, if you’ve noticed something, you can just say it properly…”

“…” Nodding expressionlessly, Gert glanced at the angry Geller and said mockingly with a smirk, “It seems you still don’t understand. Well, out of consideration for Katerina, I’ll give you, a simple-minded guy, a special lesson! Listen, the defensive power of the Holy Light Wall is indeed strong, but such defensive magic usually has one weakness—each unit takes fixed damage. Suppose the Holy Light Wall can defend against 100 moles of magical damage, though this value isn’t absolute under normal circumstances. Take that brat’s Fireball spell for example; maybe the damage per spell is only a few moles. But if he can focus those fireballs on the same spot in a very short time, ten fireballs might be enough to shatter the Holy Light Wall, even though their combined energy is less than 100 moles! Do you get it now?”
“All focused on the same spot? That would break the Holy Light Wall? But doesn’t that magic self-repair when there’s enough mana…?” Tilting his head in confusion, Geller shook his head in bewilderment.
“Hmph!” Glancing at the puzzled Geller, Gert clearly didn’t want to explain the most basic principles of magic and continued on his own, “Whether the Holy Light Wall can withstand that brat’s Fireball spell doesn’t depend on the magic itself, but on that brat! If the attack just now was his limit, then one Holy Light Wall would be enough to deal with him. But if not… Hmph! The Holy Light Wall does self-repair with enough mana, but few people would do that…”
“Why?”
“You! Could you please go back and read some books?”
“Hey, what’s that tone? Gert, you’re really annoying me today…”
“Hmph, then I’m sorry about that…”
“Geller, Gert, stop arguing…”
Watching Geller and Gert arguing and Katerina trying to calm them down, Eddie shook his head. Recalling the scene of that brat leaping off the arena, he murmured, “Although Fireball spell doesn’t consume much mana, that amount… Is that his limit? But he shows no signs of mana depletion. His mana fluctuations are just like at the beginning… Incredible!”
With a faint smile on his lips and unmistakable excitement in his eyes, he chuckled and said, “What an interesting brat… I hope to meet him in the next match… Well, I definitely will!”
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhe had just returned to his companions.

“Hey, man, great job!” Allen, who had also made it to the finals, said jokingly as he wrapped an arm around Jiang Zhe’s shoulders. “I saw everything just now… Hahaha, look at those idiots’ shocked faces! You won so beautifully! That idiot Vincent must be utterly embarrassed now… Awesome! Really awesome!”
“Uh… Allen,” Jiang Zhe said irritably, struggling to breathe under Allen’s grip. “Could you let go first?”
“Oh, okay…”
Glancing at the imposing Allen, Scott said with a light laugh, “It’s not great, but since he can use the Bouldering Statue, Vincent Flores is actually pretty strong. Anyway… congratulations, Thors!”
“Hehe, thanks,” Jiang Zhe replied with a smile. Seemingly remembering something, he looked around and asked, “Have… have Scott and Avi’s match started yet?”
Before Scott could answer, Lisa exclaimed in surprise, covering her mouth, “Avi? Thors, you…” She stared at Ravia in disbelief, only to see Ravia look away nervously.
“Is… is there something wrong?” Jiang Zhe asked puzzledly. Seeing his friends staring at him in shock, he grew even more puzzled. He glanced at Ravia accidentally and saw her turn away slightly panicked.
At that moment, the referee’s voice came from Court 2.
“Match number 21 of the fourth round in Court 2: Ravia Phavalia, a second-year student from our school, against Tong Gil, a fourth-year student from Salonia Mir Science. Please come to Court 2 right away!”
Seemingly unable to stand the ‘mischievous’ smiles from Lisa and Lailira, Ravia stammered, “I… I need to go to my match now…”
“Hehe…” Lisa gave Ravia a strange smile and said earnestly, “Go ahead and do your best, Avi!”
“Uh… thanks, Lisa!” As Ravia turned to leave, Jiang Zhe walked up to her. Her expression immediately became tense, and she said awkwardly, “Is… is there something?”
Jiang Zhe smiled slightly and said, “Don’t lose!”
Ravia’s sharp eyebrows trembled as she turned around and snapped, “Of course not, idiot!”
“Hey…” Watching the girl walk away, Jiang Zhe was both amused and exasperated. Shrugging, he said helplessly, “I just tried to encourage her… What kind of attitude is that?”

“Hehe,” Lisa said softly, glancing at the girl in the distance, “Sos, Avi is very happy…”
“Huh? Really? I didn’t notice.”
“Of course she is…”
“No way. Her tone was so harsh just now…”
“Hehe…”
Watching Lisa and Lailira whisper to each other, Jiang Zhe shook his head in confusion. Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder. Turning around, he saw a girl with long black hair saying to him, “Congratulations, Sos!”
“Who are you…” Jiang Zhe looked at her in doubt. Just as he was about to speak, Allen exclaimed in surprise, “Lilith?”
The girl giggled and waved her finger playfully, saying, “Shouldn’t you call me Senior Lilith? Junior Allen?” Then she turned to Jiang Zhe and pretended to be sad, saying, “Haven’t we met before? It’s so sad… Hehe, I didn’t expect Junior Sos to be so amazing, much better than me, the senior…”
Jiang Zhe then remembered that this girl was Lilith, whom he had met a few times last year. She was Dia’s roommate and a third-year student… well, she should be a fourth-year student now.
“Not at all,” Jiang Zhe said humbly, shaking his head. “It’s just good luck…”
“Hehe, still refusing to tell the truth? I can see everything clearly, you know…”
“Hehe,” Jiang Zhe smiled and glanced around. Seeing that she was alone, he asked in confusion, “Are you alone? Where’s Dia? Is she participating in this competition? I haven’t seen her for some time…”
“You know,” Lilith said helplessly, looking at Sos, “Everyone is like this. Shouldn’t you call her Senior Dia?” She paused, frowned slightly, and whispered, “I think you won’t be able to see her for a while…”
“Hm?” Jiang Zhe frowned, asking in confusion, “Why?”
“Well…” It was clear that Lilith had some reservations.
“If you don’t mind, could you tell us?”
“Hmm… okay,” Lilith thought for a moment, then leaned in and whispered in Jiang Zhe’s ear, “Dia originally didn’t want anyone to know about this, but I think it’s fine to tell you… About ten days ago, Dia received news from her hometown. Her mother fainted while working…”
“What?”

“Be quiet,” Lilith said softly, tapping Jiang Zhe’s forehead. “Although Dia told us her mother only had a minor illness, judging from her appearance these past few days, I feel things aren’t as she said…”
“You mean…”
Glancing at Jiang Zhe, Lilith hesitated for a moment before saying softly, “Dia didn’t tell you, did she? About her situation…”
Jiang Zhe shook his head. “I only know that Dia’s father is a lord…”
“Hmm, that’s right. But… if you have time now, could you accompany me to the academy’s garden? The senior was scolded by the professor just now, and she’s in a bad mood…”
“If the senior is in a bad mood, it should be me who accompanies you!” Allen interrupted cheerfully.
“I’m sorry, junior Allen. The senior doesn’t want her mood to get any worse,” Lilith said with a playful smile at Allen before turning to Jiang Zhe. “What do you think? There are some things even if you ask her directly, Dia won’t tell you…”
“…Alright then!”
“Sos!” Lilith called out to Jiang Zhe, who was about to leave. “Aren’t you waiting for Avi?”
“She definitely won’t lose… Lisa, could you please congratulate her for me…”
“I… I didn’t mean that…” Watching Jiang Zhe follow Lilith toward the castle, Lisa stamped her foot and frowned. “Idiot Sos!” Then, as if remembering something, she tilted her head and stared at Allen for a long time, asking doubtfully, “Allen… do you know her?”
“I do… Uh, it’s Senior Lilith. Scott knows her too…”
“Scott knows her too?” Lelira asked Scott softly.
“Hmm, what’s up?”
“Nothing… I was just asking casually…”
Just as Jiang Zhe had said, Ravia indeed won.
When the victorious Ravia returned to her companions, she found only Allen, Lisa, and Lelira there.
“Where are they, Lisa?”
“Avi!” Lisa, who was talking to Allen, turned around and asked eagerly, “Did you win?”
Ravia smiled faintly, with a hint of pride. “Of course!” She pointed around and asked, “Where are Sos and Scott?”
“Scott went to compete in Arena 3…”
“Oh, and where’s Sos?”
“He…” Lisa glanced at Lelira and said hesitantly, “He said he had something to do and left. He asked me to convey his congratulations to you…”

“Is that so…” A hint of disappointment appeared in Ravia’s eyes as she said softly, “I see. Let’s go back once Scott returns!”
Glancing at Ravia, Lisa called out tentatively, “Avi?”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Uh… nothing!”
Looking at Lisa in surprise, Ravia scanned the surroundings but sadly didn’t see that familiar figure among the crowd.
“Where did she go? That fool!” Ravia muttered disappointedly.
By dinner time, the day’s competitions finally came to an end. Out of the 400 competing students from Rexox Academy andMile Academy Academy, only 50 remained after four rounds of competition, and these 50 would be eligible to advance to the next round.
The professors acting as judges selected 64 capable students from those who lost, giving them a second chance as part of the losers’ group. After all, a student’s loss didn’t necessarily mean they were weak; there could be various reasons for their defeat. For example, in the grouping for the competitions, when a student studying green magic faced a summoner, the contract beast summoned by the opponent might be enough to cause their defeat—after all, students like Jiang Zhe and Allen were extremely rare.
For this reason, the judges recommended some students from the losers’ group who had the potential to perform better, allowing them to continue competing in that group.
Of the 64 students in the losers’ group, 16 would eventually qualify to compete in the finals against the 50 students from the winners’ group, with the final matches taking place among these 64 students.
It could be said that the finals were the real competition, and the students who earned one of these 64 spots were the best among their respective grades at Rexox Academy andMile Academy Academy.
After dinner, the professors at Rexox Academy combined the four earth-based arenas into one huge arena about 100 yards in size to accommodate the upcoming competitions. After all, most of these 64 students were in the fifth grade or above, and just the simulated beasts and summoned beasts alone would fill up a 30-yard arena—so the original size of the arenas was clearly insufficient.
For the final rounds, the professors at Rexox Academy posted the competition schedule on the bulletin board in the ancient castle right after dinner, giving the students time to prepare:
The first match: Jasper Beals, a fifth-grade student from Rexox Academy, against Arabell Dodd, a sixth-grade student fromMile Academy Academy.

Match 2: Albin Kross, a sixth-grader from Riox Academy, vs. Baldwin Kitchin, a sixth-grader fromMile Academy Academy.
Match 3: Allen, a second-grader from Riox Academy, vs. Vincent Flores, also a second-grader from Riox Academy.
……
Match 11: Scott, a second-grader from Riox Academy, vs. Wengert Danzi, a fifth-grader from Milko Academy.
……
Match 13: Sos, a second-grader from Riox Academy, vs. Lavia Favalia, also a second-grader from Riox Academy.