Chapter 57: The Final Match (Part 2)

The Boulders…
This immensely powerful Level 5 magic had once been his pride. Even at the prestigious Rexox Academy, which was full of talented students, which one could master such a high-level spell by their second year?
Although he relied on the two high-quality ochre stones on his wand, he had still managed to master this spell. He had planned to use it in the final match… but…
To this day, that humiliating scene still lingered in Vincent’s mind…
Wasn’t it just the lowest-level fireball spell? Using fireballs against boulders—he had never heard of such a ridiculous thing. Yet, such an absurd and laughable thing had happened. What was even more ridiculous was that the boulders, which he had taken such pride in, were completely helpless against those countless fireballs…
Damn it!
Firing over 200 fireballs in almost two or three minutes—damn it! Could humans really do such a thing? Was that guy a monster?
Just a commoner, one without even a surname, had defeated him, someone with noble bloodlines…
Bastard! Unforgivable!
Sos… One day, I’ll make you pay for this humiliation tenfold, twentyfold!
And until then…
Looking up at the strangely dressed guy in front of him, seeing the casual and mocking expression on his face, Vincent felt rage surge within him.
This guy was even more despicable than that commoner…
Just the son of a country bumpkin, a scoundrel who bought a countship with money. How could such a person be called a noble?
No! Such people deserve to be called the shame of nobility!
As a magic apprentice, he wore knight armor to compete—what’s more ridiculous is that he also brought a knight’s sword…
Did he think this was an arena?
Losing to a commoner was already humiliating enough—how could he lose again to a clownish bastard!
With these thoughts, Vincent suppressed his anger, raised his wand slightly, and said in a deep voice, “Allen Skander, do you think that defeating two low-level Windfang Wolves gives you the right to order me around? I admit I made mistakes in my fight against that commoner… I made two errors in those two matches. First, I underestimated that commoner’s strength, thinking Windfang Wolves would be enough to defeat him. Second, I summoned the boulders despite running out of magic power… Otherwise, that commoner without even a wand wouldn’t have been my opponent!”

“Huh?” With a teasing smile, Allen scratched his head and said jokingly, “It seems you still haven’t learned your lesson. Let me tell you—your biggest mistake is being too stupid… Idiot! Still not summoning a contract beast? Are you waiting for afternoon tea?”
“You…” Picked at repeatedly by his opponent’s mockery, Vincent could no longer suppress his anger. He glared hatefully at Allen and gritted his teeth, saying, “Fine! You’ll regret provoking me!”
“Hurry up, idiot! Don’t waste time. I still need to treat the beautiful lady to tea later!”
“Damn it!” Glancing at his opponent, Vincent muttered through clenched teeth before raising his magic wand and making a gesture in front of him. He murmured an incantation, and suddenly a circle of white mist appeared in front of him.
“Hey, wait… is it another Gale Fang Wolf?” Allen’s words stopped abruptly, his expression turning serious.
What emerged from the white mist was a magical beast Allen had never seen before.
This beast resembled a wolf but was entirely white. Though not as ferocious as a Gale Fang Wolf, its rolling blood-red eyes seemed to declare one thing: it was far more terrifying than those wolves!
What surprised Allen the most was that this wolf-shaped contract beast was also much larger than ordinary contract beasts. Even an adult cow might not be as big as its head. From head to tail, it was roughly three yards long. Its sharp fangs, exposed from its mouth, were like sharp daggers. Moreover, its four claws were more than twice as large as those of a Gale Fang Wolf, seemingly forged from steel, turning the hard rocky ground beneath it into soft mud.
Even more incredible was that rings of blue magical energy ripples constantly spread from this beast’s body.
“Good heavens, this… this is…”
“It’s unbelievable…”
All the students were stunned.
“Maltz Snow Wolf…” Ravia murmured, filled with surprise and an indescribable emotion.
“What?” Jiang Zhe, seemingly unaware, froze for a moment before turning to ask, “Do you know that wolf?”

Lavia smiled faintly, with a hint of inexplicable regret, and said, “How could I not know… This kind of wolf is called a Manz snow wolf, living in the snow-capped mountains of our Altak… In Altak, there are two of the most terrifying creatures, and one of them is the Manz snow wolf. Their thick fur can protect them from the extreme cold, and they can also launch attacks similar to wind magic… In Altak, as part of the coming-of-age ritual, every adult man must go alone up the mountains to hunt a Manz snow wolf, but many never return…”
“The coming-of-age ritual? At fourteen?” Jiang Zhe stared at Lavia in shock.
“Yes,” Lavia said softly, biting her lip as if recalling something, “In Altak, this is something every adult man must do. Altak doesn’t need cowardly men!”
“…”
Glancing at Jiang Zhe inexplicably, Lavia let out a light laugh in surprise and said softly, “Sos, the Manz snow wolf is a pack animal. No one, not even the stupidest, would go alone to challenge a pack of them. The best approach is to wait for an opportunity, find a lone one, kill it, and bring back its head…”
“Oh,” Jiang Zhe nodded in understanding, then suddenly felt puzzled and asked, “Hmm? Why are you telling me this?”
Lavia smiled slightly and said mysteriously, “It’s nothing. I just saw you didn’t know, so I explained it to you. After all, as a magician, it’s not bad to know a bit more, right?”
“That’s true,” Jiang Zhe nodded and turned to look at the Manz snow wolf on the battlefield, pointing at it and asking, “Then why is it called a Manz snow wolf? Logically, shouldn’t it be called an Altak snow wolf? Does ‘Manz’ refer to snow-capped mountains in your language?”
Lavia shook her head and explained, “That’s not the case. Actually, this name comes from the barbarians. You know, Altak borders the lands inhabited by barbarians and dwarves. For those barbarians, the Manz snow wolf is the best companion. In ancient languages, ‘Manz’ means mount and loyalty. The barbarians consider tamed Manz snow wolves to be their most loyal partners, and we’ve continued to use this name…”
“Oh!” Jiang Zhe finally understood. Then, as if remembering something, he asked, “You said the Manz snow wolf is one of the two most formidable beasts in Altak. So what’s the other one?”

“Another kind?” Raviya was stunned, a hint of fear appearing on her face as she whispered, “The other kind are solitary beasts, even more terrifying than the Manertz Snow Wolves…”
Before she could finish, the students in the arena erupted in another wave of screams—Vincent had summoned another contract beast.
Jiang Zhe felt the ground tremble repeatedly, and soon a statue resembling a human head rose up in the arena.
“Hey, what’s this?” Allen, just as curious as Jiang Zhe, was examining the statue when suddenly two beams of light shot from its eyes, narrowly missing Allen’s shoulder plate.
“The Emo Statue of Kario Island?” An older student stared at the statue in disbelief, murmuring, “This magic isn’t something ordinary people can learn. Where did that kid learn it?”
Indeed, ordinary people not only didn’t know the incantations needed to summon an Emo Statue—they didn’t even know such a marvelous existence existed.
This kind of information was always kept in the Imperial Royal Library, beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Just like the Giant Rock Statue that they couldn’t access in their second year, if Vincent could learn such magic, it meant his family must have at least one relative or member who served as a royal mage.
“That wolf seems a bit stronger than the ones before—interesting…” Allen said with a smile as he faced the growling Manertz Snow Wolves.
“It’s not over yet!” Vincent snorted coldly, annoyed, “Wanted to try the Giant Rock Statue, didn’t you?” As he recited the incantation, the entire arena shook violently as if in an earthquake. Meanwhile, a thirty-yard-tall Giant Rock Statue slowly rose before everyone’s astonished eyes. Its massive body blocked out the sunlight, casting shadows over most of the arena.
“Wow!” Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Allen looked up at the Giant Rock Statue and murmured, “This guy is really tall…”
Although it wasn’t his first time seeing such a Giant Rock Statue—having seen one at least once when Jiang Zhe fought Vincent—he still couldn’t fully grasp the immense pressure it exuded from watching from the sidelines.
Even the usually bold Allen couldn’t help but breathe rapidly in the face of such a huge monster.
Glancing at Allen with a hint of pride, Vincent said in a deep voice, “Summoning a Giant Rock Statue is indeed a huge burden, but as long as I quickly take care of you… you won’t have a chance! Allen Skander!”
“Oh? Then what are you waiting for?”

“Hmph!” Seeing that his opponent seemed unbothered, Vincent snorted coldly. Pointing at Allen with his right hand holding the magic wand, he said in a deep voice, “You’re lucky—it’s a competition. I won’t hurt you too badly, but I’ll at least give you a lesson!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the pure-white Maltz Snow Wolf suddenly pushed off with its limbs and, like a white gust of wind amidst dust and debris, rushed to Allen’s side in an instant.
“Clang!”
With a sound of metal colliding, Allen was forced to take a step back. Staring in disbelief at the Maltz Snow Wolf, especially at its claws as sharp as steel, he glanced at the white scratches on his iron gloves and murmured, “No way…”
“Allen underestimated it!” Ravia frowned as she watched the scene and said softly, “The Maltz Snow Wolf’s claws can cut through iron swords… If it were so easy to deal with, so many people in Altak wouldn’t die every year…”
“Is there really no good way to fight it?” Jiang Zhe asked in confusion.
Ravia glanced at Jiang Zhe with a faint, mysterious smile and said, “There is. The Maltz Snow Wolf can withstand extreme cold, but it can’t resist fire. Even ordinary red flames can cause severe burns and even be fatal to them…”
“Fire?” Jiang Zhe stared at Ravia in shock and shook his head with a wry smile. “That’s bad. Allen doesn’t know any fire-related blue magic…”
Glancing at Jiang Zhe, Ravia took a deep breath and said calmly, “So he’s in for a tough fight…”
Just as Ravia had said, the Maltz Snow Wolf far surpassed ordinary wolf beasts in strength and speed, and its sharp claws were deadly. Forced to use his knight’s sword, Allen still couldn’t harm the Maltz Snow Wolf. Its thick white fur acted like a sturdy armor, and even his strongest blows could only push it back without causing any damage.
“Hey, what the hell is this wolf?” Just as he muttered this, Allen suddenly caught something out of the corner of his eye. He quickly rolled to the side, and at the same time, a white beam narrowly missed his leg armor. Just brushing against it, the leg armor made ofmithril emitted a few wisps of white smoke.
“Damn it, what the hell is this?” Before Allen could even feel relieved for having escaped, he suddenly heard Lisa’s worried shout from the audience.
“Allen, be careful!”

Seemingly hearing Lisa’s warning, Allen abruptly turned his head only to see a rock fist larger than his own body crashing down on his back with force.
“Bang!”
“Ahh…” Covering her mouth with both hands, Lisa was clearly too shocked to speak, as she had witnessed Allen, unable to dodge in time, endure that devastating blow.
Not only him, but even Jiang Zhe and Ravia showed signs of concern. Except for Scott, who still seemed lost in thought, appearing distracted.
“Crack… crack…” As pieces of rock fell, the giant stone slowly retracted its fist. When it pulled it back from behind Allen, Allen swayed slightly but made no further movement, standing there with his head lowered—raising suspicions that he might have been knocked unconscious by the blow.
“Hmph!” With a cold sneer, Vincent said mockingly, expressionless, “I thought you had some skills. Turns out…” He then turned to the referee professor, “Professor, can we render a judgment now?”
“A judgment?” The professor smiled at Vincent and said, “Kid, this time it’s you who underestimated the situation!”
“What?” Before Vincent could understand, a cold gust, like a wind blade, whistled past his face. Immediately, he felt a burning pain on his cheek. Instinctively, he touched it and found some sticky moisture…
“Oops, missed!”
An unusually familiar teasing voice caught Vincent’s attention. He quickly turned his head and saw Allen holding the knight’s sword on his shoulder with his right hand, while his left hand touched the blood at the corner of his mouth. Smiling, he said, “This is bad—seems like those two guys are going to laugh me to death this time…”
“Hey, that kid Allen is unharmed? That’s unbelievable, right?”
“Yeah, he completely withstood the giant stone’s blow…”
“And what was that thing he used just now? A wind blade?”
“Idiot! Is that a wind blade? That’s a technique used by knights and warriors—slicing! Haha, so that guy is actually a knight?”
“Allen…” The chatter of the students seemed to draw Lisa’s attention. Holding Ravia, she broke into a smile upon seeing Allen safe.
“Hmph!” Patting Lisa’s back, Ravia said sarcastically as usual, “Don’t get too happy too soon. That guy is indeed injured, but… who asked him to act so cool? He deserves it!”
“He’s… Allen is injured?”

Before Lavia could speak, Allen, standing on the stage with his knight’s sword in hand, smiled at Vincent and said, “Surprised? I’m surprised too!” Then he pointed at the Rock Golem and joked, “Don’t be fooled by its size—it’s not that great! It’s a huge disappointment…”
“You’re seeking death!” Repeatedly mocked by the other party and with his self-proclaimed handsome cheeks cut by his reckless attacks, Vincent could no longer contain his anger. Pointing his magic staff at Allen, he growled, “Rock Golem!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Rock Golem slowly raised its huge, heavy fist. After a brief pause, it suddenly swung down at Allen below. The force was so intense that even the students watching from around the arena could feel the gust of wind, let alone Allen standing in the middle.
Yet Allen still stood there, smiling, with his knight’s sword in hand.
“Does this guy want to die?” Geller, watching from afar, asked his companion in confusion.
Like Geller, almost all the watching students didn’t understand what Allen was doing. Even the professor acting as the referee frowned, ready to provide first aid. After all, the Rock Golem had used all its strength—anything wrong could cost Rexox Academy a student due to this match…
But things took a turn completely unexpected. Just as the Rock Golem’s fist was about to hit him, Allen slowly raised his left hand. Under everyone’s astonished, puzzled, and regretful gazes, he faced head-on that fist larger than his entire body.
“Bang!”
A violent gust of wind spread out from Allen’s feet. To everyone’s shock, he, merely a second-year student, had managed to block the Rock Golem’s heavy strike with just his left hand. Good heavens, how could such a thing happen?
Looking at Vincent, who was stunned, Allen, with a faint red glow surrounding him, joked, “I told you earlier—this Rock Golem isn’t that great… But it seems like you don’t believe me!”
“…” Vincent finally snapped out of his shock. Pointing his magic staff at Allen, he growled, “Rock Golem!”
“Ugh…” The mountain-sized Rock Golem seemed to sense its master’s anger. It placed its left hand on the ground of the arena, intensifying the force of its right fist even more.
But…

Despite the giant rock statue’s massive size, the seemingly weak Allen didn’t back down even by a step. As the red light emanating from his body grew stronger, he managed to force the giant rock statue to take a small step back using just his left hand.
“Is this kid a monster?” Gayer said in awe, eyes wide.
Frowning and glancing at the battlefield, Eddie said in a deep voice, “From what I can tell, this guy must be skilled in enhancement techniques. But… even with enhanced strength, it shouldn’t be possible to achieve such results.”
To the shock of almost everyone, Allen suddenly exerted force with his left hand, pushing the giant rock statue back a few steps. Before it could stabilize, a visible gust of wind-like energy slammed into its chest, leaving a deep mark.
Then came a second, third, fourth strike—cuts that were originally part of knights’ and warriors’ techniques, now skillfully used by Allen. With cuts that surpassed even ordinary wind blades in damage, stones from the giant rock statue’s body kept falling off. Its massive frame struggled to stay upright as it kept retreating under the powerful blows.
Just then, the Moorish stone statue, seemingly forgotten by Allen, shot out a beam of light with a whoosh. Unexpectedly, Allen simply turned around to avoid it and counterattacked with a slash. With a loud crash, the Moorish stone statue was shattered to pieces.
“I didn’t forget…” Allen said with a smile. Then, sensing a gust of wind behind him, he leaped to the side and delivered another slash.
But this time, the attack was futile. The Manartz Snow Wolf that had attacked Allen got up again after being knocked down, its pale red eyes fixed on Allen as it growled softly.
At that moment, Vincent also recovered from the two devastating blows dealt to the giant rock statue and roared in indignation, “You damned fool! Don’t think you’ve won just because of this. As a mage apprentice, using knightly combat skills—you’re a disgrace to mages!”
Upon hearing his master’s command, the Manartz Snow Wolf showed its fierce side, while the battered giant rock statue seemed ready to attack Allen at any moment.

“It’s really tricky,” Allen said reluctantly, scratching his head after failing to deal any damage to the Manz Snow Wolf despite throwing it three times in a row. “Damn it, I didn’t prepare this move for you at all…” With that, he raised his knight sword with his right hand and then wiped it with his left hand. One of the four thumb-sized gems embedded in the hilt emitted a faint red glow, and at the same time, a row of fiery red runes appeared on the sword’s blade before it was instantly engulfed in blazing flames. “A magic sword?” Eddie was surprised upon seeing this scene. Shaking his head with a smile, he said, “So that knight sword was actually enchanted… But such weapons are strictly regulated in the empire. I really don’t know how that kid got it. Buying an enchanted sword like this would cost far more than a wand of the same class…” “Maybe that kid’s family is very rich,” Geller said jokingly, shrugging. “Haven’t you heard what people say? That kid’s father spent a fortune to buy a countship…” With a cold snort, he added in a strange tone, “Sometimes, some people in the empire are really annoying!” Meanwhile, holding a sword ablaze in his hand, Allen flicked his finger at the Manz Snow Wolf, saying mockingly and irritably, “The afternoon tea entertainment time is over, you damned white-haired dog!” “Roar!” The Manz Snow Wolf only growled around Allen, its eyes constantly fixed on the flaming sword, inadvertently neglecting Allen—after all, a beast remains a beast. Amidst the astonished and bewildered looks of the students watching, as Allen swung the sword sharply, a crescent-shaped wave of flames engulfed the Manz Snow Wolf like a tide. After a few screams, the wolf, unable to withstand the heat, flailed around in the flames before disappearing with a loud bang in a puff of white smoke. “And…” After dealing with the Manz Snow Wolf, Allen didn’t forget the ruined boulder statue. Wiping the sword blade again with his left hand, a row of blue runes appeared, and the entire sword emitted ripples with each noise. “What?!” Not only were the students present shocked, but Geller, Eddie, and the others were too stunned to speak. “It’s not just an ordinary enchanted sword…”

Everyone knows that enchanted weapons generally can only have one elemental attribute. If there are two or more, not only can the weapon serving as the medium not withstand the erosion of elements, but the cost of engraving runes and embedding gems alone is enormous. Even the upper-class nobles in the Imperial City of Sassen probably can’t afford such a huge expense.

“Is that kid from a wealthy family?” Gayer sneered in a tone of inexplicable dissatisfaction. “There are so many rich people in the empire. Two second-year students—one with a well-crafted magic wand, and the other with an enchanted knight’s sword infused with wind and fire. Tsk! It’s really annoying!”

“It’s nothing,” Eddie said calmly, watching the actions on the field. “Compared to them, I’m more concerned about that second-year kid named Thors. Don’t forget—he didn’t have any auxiliary items from the start!”

“Hmph!”

Meanwhile, on the field…

Allen, holding his knight’s sword transformed into a wind attribute, waved cheerfully at Vincent, signaling goodbye.

Then, with a whoosh, just one swing later, the air flow on the field intensified dramatically. A massive wind blade spun and struck the giant rock statue’s chest, piercing through its rock-hard torso.

This strike was far more powerful than before, like a storm sweeping across the field. The damaged rock statue was torn apart by the howling wind currents, turning into pieces of debris that fell to the ground.

A long silence ensued…

“This… how…” Vincent, whose clothes were in disarray from the strong wind, was clearly too shocked to speak. He watched helplessly as Allen stepped closer to him.

“Hey!” Allen glanced mockingly at Vincent’s magic wand and said with a smile, “You really don’t know better, do you? Do you really need me to come personally?” With that, he reached out, grabbed Vincent by the collar, lifted him up, and casually threw him out of the field. Then he turned to the referee professor and said, “Professor, you can make your judgment now!”

“Hehe,” the referee professor shook his head smilingly, then raised his head and declared in a deep voice, “The winner of the third match in the first round of the finals: Allen Skander, a second-year student from our school!”