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Chapter 120

Prior to my participation in the Magic Tournament, I visited the creator of spirits whom I had once known and explained my situation. I hoped that he could inform the spirits that they were free to cooperate with anyone looking to use the power of the spirits against me.

Frankly speaking, spirit magic was no threat to me.

In the first place, spirit magic had no effect on me. Moreover, my identity had been revealed to the celestial realm, demon realm, and spirit realm. The spirits were likely to hold back their power in a fight against me, and there was a chance that spirit magic would not even be summoned.

It had long been known that spirit magic of conflicting attributes could be used to counteract the invocation of spirit magic. The interruption of chanting and techniques was an alternative method as well. However, it was not uncommon for spirits to refuse cooperation. Such a situation could occur if one’s opponent was more favored by the spirits, or if one’s opponent was blessed and protected by spirits of the same attribute but of a higher rank. In my case, all the spirits except the God of Spirits were partial to me.

This situation was exceedingly unusual. Furthermore, I was aware of the underlying intentions of this Magic Tournament and was interested in Eksu’s growth. Hence, I was genuinely reluctant to accept the spirits’ goodwill.

As a result, I ended up asking the God of Spirits for a favor. Even though I was Eksu’s opponent, Eksu should be able to borrow the power of the spirits without a hitch. I managed to rekindle my past friendship with the God of Spirits, while my opponent would still get the chance to shine during the match. In my mind, I reckoned that I had made the best preparations possible.

Eksu, who was clueless about these secret machinations, demonstrated a fearless determination to crush me, the strongest of Galois Magic Academy.

Fumu, a real man preparing for battle. 

Eksu and I took our places. Before the final great battle of the first round, the crowd’s excitement burned once more around us. I flitted my glance to the side and caught sight of a corner of the spectator stands. Selina, Fatima, Diodora, Dramina, Ryoukichi, and Liu Yuu were waving enthusiastically to me. As for Vaje, she was as aloof as always. When I spotted her, she raised her head, as though trying to impress me with how suave she seemed.

「Those cheering for you seem to be certain of your victory.」

Eksu seemed to have followed my gaze. His words were neither mocking nor offering praise. Rather, he muttered an honest statement that sounded like a confirmation for himself.

From the commentators’ seats, the Arc Witch was finding the perfect moment to signal the start. Though, a few remarks were offered as entertainment before the start of the battle between powerhouses.

「I plan to live up to their expectations.」

「I guessed so. Ah, by the way, I missed the chance to mention this earlier. We’re both students of Magic Academies. Even though our ages differ, we’re in the same academic year. Feel free to speak more casually. We aren’t in a situation where we have to fuss about everything anyway. Besides, I’m not that petty.」

If I were a commoner interacting with Eksu, the son of a noble family, I would have to behave in a manner that distinguished my status. However, we were fellow Magic Academy students right now. As students, there was an unwritten rule to disregard our status and do away with the social hierarchy. That was the reason Eksu had urged me to speak on equal footing with him.

「In that case, let’s do so. Your supporters are quiet, but I can feel their gazes burning with enthusiasm.」

I looked to a corner of the spectator stands behind Eksu. A gorgeous lady in her forties was surrounded by nearly twenty men and women. Anyone could have guessed from the jade-colored hair they shared with Eksu and their passionate gazes at Eksu.

「Is that your mother?」

「In addition, my father, my siblings, and their bodyguards are present. I have seven stepfathers and many step siblings, but this just proves the close ties of my family.」

「It’s wonderful to have a tight-knit family. I believe that fights between family members who share blood are one of the most deplorable things in the world.」

「From your words, it’s clear that you have a deep affection for your family. Impressive, though your family doesn’t seem to have come to cheer you on…」

「For the farmers who live at the northern border, it’s hard for them to come to the Royal City, nor do they have the time. However, my impression of you has changed from before the match.」

After hearing my frank reply, Eksu knitted his brows rather sheepishly. He was probably reflecting on his earlier behavior as inappropriate. Remorse and guilt colored his face, and I reckoned that I should view him in a better light than my initial impression of him.

「My behavior was extremely rude. I sincerely apologize for saying something offensive. However, I won’t go easy on you in this battle.」

「These are two different matters anyway. Well, seems like it’s time for the great witch to speak. Let’s end our merry chat.」

「You’re right. It was a surprisingly enjoyable chat. I’m not particularly thankful, but I was planning on keeping that trump card hidden until Haruto guessed it. If there’s a need to, I’ll be putting it into use!」

「If you don’t, you’ll be putting me in a spot. Anyway, I’m planning to clinch the title of the strongest Magic Academy student.」

「I thought you were a humble person, but you’re surprisingly confident. My impression of you has changed greatly as well.」

In that case, we were in similar situations. The atmosphere on the stage seemed to cool, though the Arc Witch seemed to be waiting for our conversation to end before she swiftly signaled the start of the battle. In an instant, the tension in the arena peaked.

「With that, let’s begin the final battle of the Magic Tournament’s first round!!」

Perhaps the Arc Witch was looking forward to Eksu’s growth after last year’s tournament or my performance as a Galois Magic Academy student not from the Great Four. For some reason, the Arc Witch’s voice sounded even more pumped up.

From Eksu’s alertness and full focus, it was clear that it was impossible for him to be lenient on a beginner. After all, I understood the underlying intentions of the Magic Tournament.

As expected, Eksu did not budge from his spot as he summoned the spirits of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—in the blink of an eye to rain down on me.

Great. The spirits answered Eksu’s requests obediently and are attacking me at full force. 

Eksu, and certainly the spectators and the Arc Witch, would never have imagined the thoughts in my mind.

According to Eksu’s wishes, the power of the spirits of the four elements manifested in the earthly world and surrounded me threateningly. There was a ball of fire large enough to engulf an adult man, a gust of wind so sharp it could slice iron, a water spear compressed as thin as a thread and ready to fire, and a mass of rocks that could easily demolish a few houses.

At the sight of this dense manifestation of spirit power that could easily kill and injure hundreds when unleashed, bustling could be heard from the commentators’ seats where Merle was located and from the spectators.

However, even louder gasps of surprise could be heard when I used the same spirit powers to fend off the attacks from Eksu.

In terms of attributes, it was best to strike fire with water, water with earth, earth with wind, and wind with fire. However, I parried off the ball of fire with a great fire spear, the wind blade with a wind hammer, the water spear with a water sword, and the rock shelling with a rock spear.

This was my attempt to demonstrate in the simplest manner to the audience, and especially Eksu, that we were equally matched in the realm of spirit power.

「I see. Mimicry.」

「We’re still… probing each other’s powers, aren’t we?」

「Heh. So, you’re showing me how relaxed you are. Fine, let’s make it… a spectacle, Dran.」

Delight lit up Eksu’s face when he noticed that I could match his abilities, as well as the realization of the full force of my attack. As a result, his joy intensified the quality and quantity of his magic.

As soon as I recognized the belligerent grin of the genius spirit wizard, a tornado of flames swirled alive like a red lotus with me in the center. A blazing storm swept the stage in an instant. With just his magic conjuration and thoughts, he managed to combine the spirits of fire and wind into one.

The high temperature was sufficient to melt iron, and the blades of wind could cut rocks. This was the storm that was hurled at me.

「Even for a hydra, this is pretty dangerous.」

Hydra, a powerful beast with multiple snake heads, had a gigantic body as large as a hill, robust scales, and formidable regenerative power. However, this tornado of flames would easily slice its scales and turn it into grilled meat.

Some considered it a species of dragon, but others thought of it as a snake. To be most precise, I reckoned it was closer to being a Lamia, like Selina. Vaje, Liu Yuu, and Ryoukichi would probably agree with me.

Presently, this posed no threat to me. However, I could not get lost in my thoughts. The battle might be stopped with others mistakenly thinking that something had happened to me.

Similar to Eksu, I asked several spirits for their assistance and broke through Eksu’s flame tornado from within. Though, I was probably channeling a force so unbearable that the spirits were shriveling up.

「Against wind and fire, it’s best to deflect with water and earth. It’s Selina’s forte.」

The friendly and dear serpent of my family was also extremely proficient with water and earth magic. The image of her popped into my mind as I conjured an enormous wave of water containing boulders field with spirit power, one formidable enough to sink even the largest ships to the bottom of the ocean

In no time, the flame tornado was extinguished by the torrent of rocks and soil I summoned. Steam overwhelmed the stage as bits of rocks and embers of flames scattered in the air. As soon as the tornado of flames stretching high into the sky was overcome by the shower of soil and rocks, the crowd who had been watching with their breaths held broke out in cheers.

Eksu was not shaken by the thunderous cheering and applause, nor by the defeat in spirit magic. Rather, he was preparing to execute his next summoning of spirit magic.

Fumu, as expected of a determined warrior.

As our battle heated up, the commentators grew even more enthusiastic with their explanations and remarks about the situation.

「Wow!! So flashy! What a spectacle! Contestants Dran and Eksu aren’t budging the slightest. Is this an expected ambush or the true powers of a warrior able to slay a High Goblin alone?!」

「That’s not it. If one is able to use that extent of spirit magic continuously, they’d have enough power to take out not just one High Goblin, but ten. Eksu’s growth is evident since last year’s tournament, though Dran still seems rather relaxed. We haven’t even had a peek at the limits of his powers! Even though he’s not part of the Great Four and he only transferred into Galois Magic Academy midterm, he is not in any way inferior to the previous four contestants!」