Chapter 54: Group Stage (3)

Eddie, whose full name is Eddie Neahm Amherst, is a fifth-grade student from Salonia.
The White Magic Academy of Salonia is located near the Holy See’s capital, Salonia. It was originally a palace of an ancient kingdom, which later donated it to the white magicians who settled there, asking them to protect the people from imperial invasion—thus giving rise to the Holy See.
In Salonia, the locals do not refer to their capital as Salonia but instead honor it as [Svar], a term in ancient languages meaning “holy place,” through which the people of Salonia celebrate and remember their ancestors.
The most famous White Magic Academy in Salonia is built on this holy ground.
Throughout the long history of magic, only this academy qualifies to be listed alongside [Astrology City Sgdel] and [Heliorex] as one of the three oldest origins of magic, although its establishment came much later than those two.
When the Holy See was first founded, this academy did not exist. Unlike the ancient castle of Heliorex left by black magicians, the White Magic Academy of Salonia was built a hundred years after the Holy See’s establishment, right within the capital city of Svar.
After its construction, the twelve original cardinals of the Holy See unanimously decided to name it [Mirko], a term in ancient languages meaning “holy land.”
Although the Mirko Academy was established much later than the Heliorex Academy, centuries later, magicians still consider it one of the precious treasures of the magical world. After all, it is Salonia’s most famous White Magic Academy, having produced many great white magicians over the ages, including some who served as cardinals or even popes.
[The White Magic Academy of Salonia—Mirko!]
Like the empire, Salonia also has a noble class, but there is no distinction between commoners and nobles, let alone conflicts between them. Perhaps this is related to the initial conditions of each country.
In Salonia, titles are merely a source of honor without accompanying rights. In simple terms, Salonia’s nobles have no right to order a commoner to do something they do not want to do—a concept that would be unthinkable in the empire.
The people of Salonia worship the Supreme God, namely the Holy Light. They address the Supreme God as “Lord” or “My Lord,” whose meaning is self-evident.

The Salonians dedicate themselves to the Supreme God, willing to serve as His servants, never believing in any other deities throughout their lives—a difference from the multi-religious empire. In Salonia, the original nobility originated from descendants of the nobles of those ancient southern kingdoms, though only a few have survived to this day; most nobles instead came from those appointed by the church. After all, although Salonia is a theocratic state, its territory is nearly as vast as that of the empire, covering almost the entire southern region of the eastern continent. To govern such a large area, lords as administrators are essential. However, unlike in the empire, Salonian lords do not hold much power; at most, they are managers who maintain order in their regions. The real power lies with the local bishops in the monasteries, as Salonia is a theocratic state. When a child reaches a certain age, his parents send him to a monastery in a particular region, where a local priest recommends him to the Mil Academy. Basically, any child with certain talent can be recommended. Unlike Riox’s education system, which has low entry requirements but high graduation standards, the entry requirements for the Mil Academy of White Magic are much higher. Of course, this does not refer to requirements in terms of magic power or intelligence, but rather to a child’s aptitude—more simply put, their strong willpower. After all, the foundation of white magic differs from that of black magic, and the teaching methods at the Mil Academy are vastly different from those at Riox Academy. To study at the Mil Academy, one must have unwavering perseverance; those without determination will eventually be eliminated. At the Mil Academy in Salonia, you might not be taught any magic for the first one or two years. Apart from reading magic books and daily meditation, the students’ most common activity is prayer. Well, to be precise, it should be exposure to holy light! Because holy light is not just a mere element of light—it is a combination of faith and light elements. Without the power of faith, the white magic one casts can at best be called a light-type green magic. In this regard, the beginning of white magic is much more difficult than that of black magic. While black magic apprentices joyfully cast the fireball spell they’ve just learned, white magic apprentices are meditating, praying, and bathing in holy light. And when black magic apprentices eagerly engage in battles with others, white magic apprentices are still meditating, praying, and bathing in holy light…

If black mages spend their entire lives learning magic and exploring its mysteries, then white mages devote most of their time to prayer and meditation. A firm belief and ample magical power—without either, one cannot be called a white mage. Moreover, the process of accessing holy light varies from person to person; some students can cast it after just one or two years, while others may need five, ten, or even twenty years. Those who doubt their faith in the gods might never be able to cast a holy light spell in their entire lives. Some may doubt this, but it is the truth. Although the Church does not acknowledge it, black mages have been studying white magic for a long time. They believe this form of power is very similar to dealing with demons, the only difference being that dealing with demons requires a heavy price—even one’s soul—while white magic demands faith. Let’s not discuss this for now. Coming from Salonia to Heliorox, Eddie initially wanted to broaden his horizons. He wanted to see the black magic of the empire and understand the magical skills of children of his age there. Unlike his arrogant and reckless companion Gayer, as an apprentice favored by Archbishop Gary Weplington, Eddie was an outstanding student at the Mill Academy, both in terms of character and ability. Besides his aptitude and strength, his cautious attitude and strong will were also reasons why Archbishop Gary Weplington valued him. During these two days of competition, he carefully observed the students of Heliorox Academy, studying the magic they used and their combat techniques. He had to admit that the students of Heliorox Academy had far more combat experience than those from his own academy. The defensive magic of the Holy Light Wall, which used to make them proud, was no longer effective against these powerful black magics. There had already been three instances where the Holy Light Wall cast by his academy’s students was destroyed by their opponents… The sixth-grade students of Heliorox Academy were indeed formidable rivals, and Eddie had never doubted this. But before that, he was more interested in another person… A second-year kid named Thos… Someone who had already mastered magic sensing, element compression, and multiple spellcasting… It was unbelievable. Even his own Holy Light Wall, which generated the most magical power, would find it difficult to resist that guy’s multiple fireballs at the same time. Katerina was right—this guy… was strong! Extremely strong! “Boom! Boom! Boom!”

While Eddie waslowering his head thinking, the battle in Arena 1 continued. Although it was just a fight among second-year students, I don’t think anyone would consider it a “playful battle among younger students,” as both sides had enough strength to match fourth-year students. It was a classic battle between a fire mage and a summoner, and within just a few minutes, it attracted many students to watch. They were shocked by what they saw. Vincent Flores, an outstanding second-year student who specialized in summoning, was actually being overwhelmed by a lower-performing second-year student who specialized in fire magic? That was absurd! Even ignoring their academic records, the fact that summoning magic was being suppressed by fire magic… Was Vincent too weak, or was his opponent too strong? I think those who had been observing the battle from the start would never think Vincent was weak. How could someone who could summon three Windfang Wolves at once without any aids be considered weak? Add to that his enviable magic staff… After using it, he could summon seven contract beasts at once. Yet even so, he was still overwhelmed by his opponent—a fellow second-year student, and what’s more, the opponent didn’t carry any items that could enhance magic power, unless those white gloves he wore, seemingly distributed by the academy, could do so… There was an unwritten rule in the battles among students at Rexx Academy: students who specialized in summoning couldn’t summon more than three contract beasts. It wasn’t a ban, but such battles lacked challenge. Take Vincent, for example—he summoned seven contract beasts at once. Which student could claim they could definitely defeat him? Aside from senior students who also specialized in summoning, no one dared say so. Whether it was called despicable or cunning, after all, summoner battles were meant to exhaust the opponent’s magic and stamina using contract beasts to achieve victory. Why not summon a few beasts and make the opponent expend a lot of mental and physical effort dealing with them? I think during the apprentice phase of magic, few would want to fight a summoner, especially apprentices who studied green magic, as green magic was the most draining in terms of magic and mental energy. But the battle in Arena 1 completely overturned their assumptions—a green magic apprentice was actually overwhelming a summoner. It was unbelievable…

And what’s even more incredible is that guy named Sos never moved a step throughout the whole thing. He didn’t even aim at his opponent’s contract beast with his eyes, yet the fireballs he cast hit the target time and time again. There’s also that skill of summoning seven fireballs at once… Good heavens, how could such a thing happen? My strongest spell is fireball… What should have been laughable now left everyone speechless. As is well known, among blue fire magic, spells focused on flames are good at restraining opponents, while those focused on fireballs excel at dealing damage. But it’s never been heard of anyone being able to combine offense and defense just with fireball magic… “Roar!” Seemed to be provoked by the flames rushing at them, a Swiftfang Wolf rushed to Jiang Zhe’s back and spat out a barely visible wind blade—this was the only magic they could cast. “Be careful, Sos, wind blade!” An older civilian student warned immediately, as the junior on stage was also from the commoner class. They certainly didn’t want to see those noble bastards gloating after winning. But to everyone’s surprise, Jiang Zhe didn’t move at all. Of course, his inaction didn’t mean the fireballs he controlled didn’t move. Under everyone’s astonished gazes, a fireball floated over to Jiang Zhe’s back and blocked the wind blade head-on. With a loud boom, the fireball exploded, yet the one controlling it remained unharmed. “This…” Staring at Jiang Zhe, surrounded by four or five fireballs in the middle of the stage, a third-year student exclaimed in surprise, “Is this Fire Shield Magic?” “No!” The older student beside him shook his head and said in a peculiar tone, “It’s still fireball magic…” “Then… what about that one?” The third-year student pointed at the battlefield, as he saw at least four fireballs attacking Vincent at the same time. “Chain Fireballs?” “No…” The older student shook his head again, saying helplessly, “It’s still fireball magic…” “What about that magic that explodes and spreads flames? Is it the fourth-level Explosive Fireball?” The older student sighed inexplicably and slowly said, “It’s all fireball magic…” Yes, it’s all fireball magic… No one who also studied blue fire magic knew better than them what kind of magic Jiang Zhe was using. Whatever Fire Shield Magic, Chain Fireballs, or Explosive Fireballs—those were just extremely ordinary second-level magic spells, nothing more…

Jiang Zhe now gradually understood the meaning of what Professor Hodd had said back then: advanced magic is mostly just multiple applications of simple spells with reduced damage. So even if one only masters Fireball, it can take on various forms through different applications—of course, this is based on ample magic power, precise control, and strong mental strength.

“A quite skilled Fireball…” Father Andrew, standing in a room of the ancient castle and gazing from the window at Arena 1, said with a light laugh to his assistant monk beside him. “It seems this kid has an excellent mentor…”

“Are you referring to Hodd Kendy, Your Eminence?”

“Hmm…” Bishop Andrew frowned slightly before nodding and murmuring, “If this kid’s mentor is Hodd Kendy, then he hasn’t given it his all. Hehe, after all, Hodd Kendy’s mentor was the troublesome Flame Dancer Barrett…”

“Do you think that child will win, Your Eminence?”

“Hehe, didn’t I say? That kid hasn’t given it his all…”

“But…” Assistant Monk Eves James hesitated, glancing at Father Andrew. “But his opponent hasn’t given it their all either…”

As soon as he finished speaking, in Arena 1, just as Vincent was about to be hit head-on by four or five Fireballs, several sharp thorns suddenly sprang up from the ground and precisely pierced those Fireballs.

“Boom! Boom!” The Fireballs exploded, which surprised Jiang Zhe.

After the smoke cleared, Vincent slowly raised his head, staring at Jiang Zhe with a fierce gaze and sneering, “Surprised, huh?”

“…” Glancing at him, Jiang Zhe shook his head. A flame appeared at the tip of his raised right finger, quickly forming into a Fireball. Then, glancing at the sharp thorns in front of Vincent, he said calmly, “A little!”

“Hmph!” With a cold snort, Vincent brushed off the stains on his magic robe. When he saw the burn marks on it, his expression turned grim, as it reminded him of the embarrassing scenes earlier.

Staring at those burn marks for a long time with a pale face, Vincent finally raised his head and said coldly to Jiang Zhe, “I didn’t intend to expose myself in a competition like this…”

“Hmm?” Frowning in confusion, Jiang Zhe glanced at Vincent.

Vincent tapped the ground spikes in front of him with his wand and sneered, “I won’t kill you. At most, I’ll make another hole in your body. Where do you think would be the best spot?” As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly caught a glimmer of red light out of the corner of his eye, startling him. “Boom!” The fireball aimed at him was pierced by the ground spikes at the last moment, causing it to explode. Vincent narrowly avoided the attack, but even so, his face was stained with black soot from the explosion. “You bastard!” Vincent, who prided himself on his noble bloodline, was clearly furious, his face turning red. Yet Jiang Zhe showed no sign of embarrassment. He controlled a fireball to flicker back and forth in front of him and said calmly, “If I’m not mistaken, this is still a competition, right? And… I don’t want to hear any more nonsense from you!” “Damn it!” Glancing at his opponent, Jiang Zhe said expressionlessly, “If I’m guessing correctly, you must have also learned Earth-type blue magic, right? Hmph, go ahead and use it…” “Of course I will,” Vincent said proudly, holding his wand in his right hand and pointing at Jiang Zhe. “Stupid commoner, you’ll pay for provoking me!” With that, he took a deep breath and began chanting a spell. But the next second, another fireball suddenly appeared from somewhere and barely missed his robe as he instinctively dodged. With a loud “whoosh,” the hem of Vincent’s robe quickly caught fire. “You… you bastard!” “Hmph! Do you think I’m the kind of idiot who would just watch my opponent cast magic?” With a mocking laugh, Jiang Zhe waved his right hand, and three more fireballs were sent at Vincent. “Damn it!” As Vincent roared in anger, a rock barrier rose in front of him. Unable to control it in time, the three fireballs hit the rock barrier, scattering flames everywhere. “Do you think this will work?” Jiang Zhe said indifferently. Four more fireballs slowly formed in front of him before flying to the sides, circling around to attack Vincent. “Boom! Boom!” Two more rock barriers rose from the ground, blocking those fireballs for Vincent. “Planning to defend?” Jiang Zhe murmured in confusion. Just as he was about to continue attacking, he suddenly noticed several Galefang Wolves emerging from behind those three rock barriers. To be honest, these fast-moving low-level magical beasts could at most be considered cannon fodder under Jiang Zhe’s fireball attacks.

Sure enough, with successive booms, within just over ten seconds, the fireballs controlled by Jiang Zhe hit those contract beasts one after another, no matter how fast they were. Yet just as Jiang Zhe was about to turn his attack to Vincent, the ground suddenly trembled. “Wha… what’s going on?” The people present asked each other in surprise as they felt the ground shaking. “This is…” A senior student stared in shock at the small hill gradually rising in the center of the arena and murmured, “A rock statue?” “No…” Another student beside him, also watching the scene, said in a low voice, “It’s a boulder statue!” “A boulder statue? A Level 5 Earth-type transformation magic, a boulder statue?” “That noble brat actually has the power to cast a Level 5 magic?” “Good heavens…” Amidst the gasps of the students watching from outside, on Arena 1, a huge humanoid earth puppet was slowly and laboriously rising from the ground. Just its arms were larger than those of an ordinary adult. “That brat named Vincent is not simple either,” Eddie said in a low voice, frowning at the scene. “If I’m not mistaken, a boulder statue isn’t a regular transformation magic—it’s a enchanted transformation magic. Its size and strength far exceed those of a rock statue, and it can also trigger magical effects similar to earthquake spells… This is a very advanced magic!” “Hey!” Gayer said with a mocking look at the arena, “Just one boulder statue already occupies most of the arena. That brat named Thors doesn’t have much space to dodge. If he’s forced out of the arena, he loses the match. And if he’s hit, hehe, ordinary people have no way to withstand the immense power of a boulder statue, let alone that brat Thors! This is going to be interesting…” “But the other side is also struggling,” Gert said calmly, squinting up at the giant creature. “That imperial noble boy named Vincent summoned no less than fifteen contract beasts earlier. Just in terms of mana, he can’t sustain this magic for long. Besides, looking at how sweaty he is, this magic has already exceeded his limits…”

“Hmm,” Eddie nodded in agreement. “His magic fluctuations are extremely unstable. It’s clear that this simulation magic is too much of a burden for him. Even with the enhancement from those two earth-yellow stones, it’s still too difficult for him to cast the Rock Golem at this stage. But I think he should be able to hold on for a few minutes… If that second-year kid named Thors can avoid the Rock Golem’s attacks and hold on for a few minutes, the opponent will lose due to exhaustion of magic power…”
“The key is whether that kid can hold on,” Gayer said with a smirk, taking pleasure in the situation. “In a 30-yard competition area, facing a Rock Golem as tall as a mountain, how many minutes can that kid last? Hey! Just admit defeat—getting injured would be terrible…”
“He…” Katrina said softly, glancing at Jiang Zhe on the field. “It seems he has no intention of giving up at all…”
“Oh?” Gayer scratched his head and laughed heartily. “Does that kid still want to win? That’s so interesting… Hehe!”
Rock Golem?
To be honest, during these past two days of competitions, Jiang Zhe had seen it at least three or four times. But those who cast this magic were all students in grade five or above.
Moreover, watching the competition from the sidelines was completely different from facing such a massive creature up close. At least when standing on the sidelines, Jiang Zhe didn’t feel the immense pressure from this monster.
The Rock Golem was an advanced version of the Rock Statue magic. Not only was the soil used to create the puppet harder, but the Rock Golem itself also had magical effects similar to earthquake spells. For a weak magician, just those earthquake spells were enough to make them lose their balance, not to mention those terrifying giant fists. After all, when the empire attacked other countries in the past, this Rock Golem magic was used to capture fortresses. Even the strongest fortress defenses couldn’t withstand its fierce blows, let alone Jiang Zhe.
Add to that the unique recovery effects of earth-type simulation beasts…
“Hahaha, what’s the matter? What about your favorite Fireball spell?” As Jiang Zhe observed the giant monster before him, Vincent panted heavily while sneering arrogantly. “Are you hesitating whether to admit defeat?”
The moment the Rock Golem appeared, the entire competition area fell silent, allowing Jiang Zhe’s voice to reach Vincent’s ears clearly.
“Admit defeat? No, that’s not what I mean!”

“That’s good,” Vincent wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a few deep breaths, and said viciously, “I don’t want you to give up either. If you do, how can I repay you for the humiliation I just suffered? Hm?!”
“Then you can rest assured—I won’t choose to give up!”
“Hahaha!” It seemed this magic truly exceeded Vincent’s limits. His forehead was now covered in sweat as he covered it and laughed twice, then looked at Jiang Zhe mockingly and said, “I see. You’re thinking about how to deal with it, right? Hm? Using your favorite fireball spell? You can give it a try, hahaha!”
“That’s exactly what I mean!” Jiang Zhe said calmly. He raised his right hand, pointed at the giant stone statue, and without casting any spells, a fireball quickly formed at his fingertip and was launched at the statue like a cannonball.
“Boom!”
With a loud explosion, the fireball struck the statue’s nose and burst into a cloud of black smoke. But when the smoke dissipated, Jiang Zhe frowned.
That guy wasn’t even scratched?
“You can try again!” Vincent laughed triumphantly.
Frowning, Jiang Zhe formed another fireball and targeted the statue’s chin.
“Boom!”
This time the effect was much better. At least a small piece of rock was knocked off the statue’s chin. Unfortunately, within just a few seconds, the dent in the chin healed again—this was a characteristic of the earth-type mimic puppets.
“It’s useless,” Vincent said, waving his finger at Jiang Zhe and laughing loudly. “Your favorite fireball spell can barely tickle the giant statue, hahaha! How about this? I’ll give you one more chance to try again. Thank my kindness, you stupid commoner!”
As Vincent laughed wildly, Jiang Zhe silently watched the giant creature. After more than ten seconds, he showed a slight smile and said calmly, “Should I thank you then?”
As he spoke, one after another fiery red vortices appeared in the space in front of him…
“It’s useless. No matter how many times you hit it, the giant statue will heal itself…” Vincent’s words suddenly stopped as his eyes widened in disbelief.
What was he seeing?
Just like all the students watching, Vincent absurdly noticed that more and more fiery red vortices appeared around the guy across from him…
Ten…
Fifteen…
Twenty…
Twenty-five…
Even more…

“Good heavens!” an upperclassman girl covered her mouth in shock, stunned. “How did he do that?”
“It’s unbelievable…”
“That brat… Is that kid really in the second grade? Good heavens!”
Amidst the gasps of those watching from the academy, Jiang Zhe slowly raised his right hand, pointing at the giant in front of him, and said calmly, “Can it repair itself? Then destroy it completely!”
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of fiery red vortex elements grew denser around him…
“This is…” Eddie murmured, staring intently at the battlefield. “Fire… fire bombs? Smart! The structure of fire bombs is much denser than that of fireballs. This guy…”
Glancing at Vincent, who still looked stunned, Jiang Zhe snapped his fingers.
In an instant, dozens of fire bombs struck various parts of the giant rock statue at incredible speeds, almost simultaneously. Meanwhile, more fiery red vortices continued to appear around Jiang Zhe…
All the students present were stunned. They stared in awe at this incredible scene: endless streams of fire bombs, like shells, bombarded every part of the giant rock statue, shattering its hard soil layers.
“Boom! Boom!”
“Crack! Crack! Crack!”
The sounds of bombardment and stones hitting the ground filled the air. In everyone’s eyes, the mountain-like giant rock statue kept breaking apart under such intense bombardment.
At that moment, there was only one thought in their minds.
The fire bomb technique they had dismissed as insignificant was actually so powerful…
That brat…
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
After about ten seconds, the giant rock statue on the field was gone, leaving behind only a pile of slightly smoldering soil…
Looking at Vincent, who still looked dumbfounded, Jiang Zhe said calmly, “My professor once told me never to underestimate my opponent, no matter when! You might have heard that too, but sadly, you didn’t keep it in mind… Oh, and when I registered, I said my strongest skill is fireball magic, followed by fire bomb magic…”
“Match 23, Round 4 of Arena 1: Winner, a second-year student from our school, Sos!”