Chapter 12: What a Thrilling Battle!

Once the freshmen on stage were ready, Sezer gave the order, and the competition began.

“Who do you think will win?” An Xia asked.

He had already noticed that some quick-witted freshmen had started a betting pool, wagering Academic Credits.

“Hard to say,” Melva analyzed seriously.

“It depends on their proficiency with magic. If they are not skilled enough, then even a Level Two Mage may not be a match for a highly proficient Level One Mage.”

An Xia seemed to understand a little.

Beside him, Anders had begun trembling again.

At the thought of stepping onto the arena later and being watched by everyone, he was already so nervous that he could hardly contain himself.

On the first arena, the two freshmen had already begun casting spells, while those on the second and third arenas were still hesitating.

An Xia frowned in confusion.

After a moment’s hesitation, he asked Melva, “Why are they not just fighting directly?”

Melva did not quite understand what he meant. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, it takes them dozens of seconds just to cast a spell. Why don't they take advantage of that time and go up to beat their opponent?”

“Ah?” Melva’s mouth opened slightly. “But… isn’t that how magical combat has always been?”

An Xia lowered his voice. “Isn’t the purpose of the competition to get a good ranking?”

“Yes.”

“And to get a good ranking, you need to defeat your opponent?”

“Yes.”

“So as long as you defeat your opponent, that is enough, right?”

An Xia looked at the two freshmen on the first arena who were still constructing their rune structures.

“With the time it takes to build a spell, if you just rush up and beat them, would the fight not already be over?”

“Th-this…” Melva felt the same strange sensation she had experienced when speaking to that elder from the Secret Cult.

What An Xia said sounded absurd at first, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

But since ancient times, had competitions not always been conducted using magic?

If one did not use magic, would that not be the style of a fighter academy?

An Xia crossed his arms. “Rules are meant to be broken.”

Melva looked at him with a complicated expression.

She could no longer imagine what kind of scene would unfold when An Xia stepped onto the arena.

As she thought about it, she quietly moved a little farther away from him.

Better not let others think she was associated with him.

As long as his blood did not splatter onto her, it would be fine.

After dragging on for ten minutes, the battles on all three arenas finally ended.

In An Xia’s words:

On Arena One, Freshman A used three spells, all of which were blocked by Freshman B’s magic.

Freshman A cast another spell.

Freshman B ran out of mental power and could no longer cast, so he chose to surrender.

What a truly thrilling battle!

The second and third arenas were more or less the same.

“...” An Xia really wanted to complain.

You have actually turned this competition into a turn-based battle.

One move each—whoever runs out of mana surrenders. And yet the audience still finds it exciting.

This was truly ridiculous.

The three winning freshmen walked down the arenas amid enthusiastic applause and cheers, waving their hands as they moved to the winners’ area, waiting for the first round to finish before the second round began.

Meanwhile, the defeated freshmen lowered their heads in dejection, retreating to corners to wallow in their frustration.

Soon, from the instructors’ side, Sezer called the next six freshmen onto the arenas.

Time passed slowly.

Before long, it was nearly noon.

An Xia rubbed his slightly hungry stomach and thought that he should end his match quickly later.

It was about time to show these freshmen what a real battle looked like.

By now, both Anders and Melva had already finished their matches—and both had won.

Although Anders had been nervous, his sequence of spells left his opponent helpless.

If this were a turn-based game, Anders would definitely be considered a strategic player with a brain.

Melva seemed to have taken some inspiration from what An Xia had said earlier.

She split her attention into two tasks and directly used two spells at once to defeat her opponent.

When another round of matches on the arenas concluded, it was finally An Xia’s turn.

After so many rounds, the freshmen no longer needed Sezer’s reminders and stepped onto the arenas on their own.

An Xia’s opponent was an ordinary-looking boy.

Like the others before him, he immediately began constructing his rune structure.

An Xia, on the other hand, simply stood in place and sighed.

The freshmen below were puzzled.

They did not understand why An Xia was not constructing a spell.

“This kid… he is planning to—” In the instructors’ area, Sezer’s eyes widened. He was the only one who guessed what An Xia intended to do.

The next moment, An Xia shot forward like a leopard, his speed so fast that it left afterimages behind him.

All these years, although An Xia had not studied magic, he had constantly trained his body.

Because fighters existed in this world, even simple physical training brought him extraordinary gains.

He simply had not managed to cultivate battle energy.

The ordinary-looking boy’s face filled with panic.

The moment An Xia moved, he sensed that something was wrong.

But his rune structure was already halfway complete, and he could not free his hands to stop An Xia.

In this critical moment, the boy erupted with astonishing potential.

Like Melva, he managed to split his attention into two tasks—continuing to construct his rune structure while turning and running!

“Wow!” A chorus of exclamations erupted from below the arena.

However, the boy clearly lacked physical training and was quickly caught by An Xia.

“No!” the boy cried out, but it did nothing to shake An Xia’s iron resolve.

An Xia raised his fist and slammed a punch into the boy’s jaw.

BANG!

The boy’s rune construction was interrupted, and he collapsed on the spot, falling into a peaceful unconsciousness.

An Xia made a KO gesture.

Let him show these novice mages what a true battle looked like.

A mage who only knows how to cast spells is merely a casting machine.

Only those who combine close combat with magic can be considered true mages!

In the instructors’ area, Sezer struggled to announce An Xia’s victory.

The other instructors fell silent.

“I think this freshman is very suitable for your class,” a tall, thin instructor said, looking at a burly instructor beside him.

The burly instructor’s face darkened. “Get lost!”

The other instructors exchanged glances, then shook their heads in unison. “None of our classes are suitable for this freshman.”

Sezer sighed. “Let’s draw lots. Wherever he ends up is where he goes.”

When An Xia stepped down from the arena, the freshmen below were still deep in thought.

One of them looked up and asked the person beside him, “This is a magic academy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then why does this match look no different from a fight between a mage and a fighter?”

“Uh…”

“Look at him—his running speed is almost comparable to a Level Two fighter!”

“W-well…”

The freshmen began to question their understanding of the world. In the winners’ area, every freshman silently prayed that they would not encounter An Xia in the second round.

Melva and Anders had already moved far away, deliberately avoiding standing near An Xia.

They did not want others to recognize that they knew him.