Instinctively, Cæ didn't feel much of a threat from the woman in front of him. His sense of how dangerous a person was not exactly the most rigorous way of evaluating people, but he had enough experience with it that he was somewhat confident in it.

Still, he kept his guard.

He hadn't run into too many proper mages despite having spent a year in the Elendir Institute of Magic, because most of his time had been spent around apprentice students who were still learning magic.

The Senior Program was different.

This program was comprised of actual apprentice mages; thus, he was now constantly surrounded by mages.

He still hadn't figured out how to size them up since their power and skill didn't necessarily show in their body like they did with physical combat.

The woman looked to be in her early twenties, perhaps a year or two younger than him. She carried herself with a light demeanor, with one foot tucked behind the other, with the tip of her shoe touching the ground, while both her hands were behind her back.

"…Nice to meet you as well, my name is Cæ," Cæ responded with a calm tone.

"Everybody knows your name." She remarked with an amused tone. "You're super famous even in the Senior Program, you know?"

"I wasn't aware," Cæ replied simply. "I only got into the Program this year."

"Well, everybody learned of you in the graduation ceremony of the last magicademic year," she informed him with a bemused tone. "Since you were the basis of the talent acquisition program in the slums and later led it. Rumors of your contributions in the slums as a part of the security team are circulating the entire institute, you know?"

He was somewhat aware of that, but not entirely. He was largely unplugged from the topics of discussion between the students in the Senior Program, especially since he had yet to make any friends in his year.

"…I see." He simply turned away as he checked the tournament placings.

By then, nearly all placings had been decided.

His immediate instinct was to search for Virlyd's match-up in the first block.

He stirred where he stood as he spotted the match-up.

[Silian Syvester vs Virlyd Mir]

"…Interesting," Cæ murmured.

This was quite convenient because he had just fought Silian a few months ago at the final exams of the Apprentice Program; thus, he had a pretty good handle on his strength. It would help him understand how strong Virlyd Mir was and just how difficult he would be to defeat.

Cæ's gaze shifted towards Silian, who simply stood there with a defiant expression that betrayed his unwillingness to give up. The young prodigious genius was unwilling to simply roll over and hand his opponent the win just because he was slated to lose.

Cæ, however, couldn't sense any arrogant jubilance in him over the match-up.

He sensed grim determination instead.

Meaning he understood that the odds were quite stacked against him in the match-up. He didn't arrogantly believe that he was the stronger one just because he was blessed with prodigious talent and his opponent was not as relatively talented, in comparison.

That was a great difference from the haughty little brat who tried to kill Cæ a little over a year ago because he was a 'slum mongrel.'

Virlyd, on the other hand, remained stoic as his dark brown eyes simply studied the tournament placing.

The spectating student body, on the other hand, went wild with speculation and consideration.

"These results are the most exciting!"

"Many of the favorites are in entirely different blocks altogether!"

"Sierra is in block three!"

"Virlyd is in block one!"

"Cæ is in block two!"

"They're not all going to face each other until the finals!"

Although there were certain favored candidates that were pitted against each other, like Silian and Virlyd, many of the other strongest senior students were split across different blocks, making them only able to fight each other in the final free-for-all battle.

"Oh man!" one student grew super excited. "I can't wait for that to come, it's going to be so incredible!"

"The final match is tomorrow! Come on!"

"Hey, they will be exhausted by the time they're done with their blocks. Even if mana can be replenished instantly, their stamina can't be, so they will need to rest."

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"Yeah, not to mention, it would be lame to see them fight when they're not at their strongest."

Regardless, the air was charged with excitement and energy while the atmosphere crackled with anticipation.

"We will soon begin with the matches. Each match has been assigned an arena. Please head over to your arena so that the pre-match protocol may commence," the announcer addressed all the participants. "The chronology of up match-ups will follow the numbers of the contestants. Thus, the first twenty matches will occur over ten combat arenas."

Cæ heaved a sigh of relief.

Given that he was number twenty-four, he would get to watch Virlyd's battle with Silian before his turn came up, making it possible for him to study the man's power and combat prowess.

His eyes shifted to the combat arena to which Silian and Virlyd had relocated. Each of the students, along with them, had also shifted locations with their respective opponents, taking their positions on the stage as the arbiter for each match recited the rules for each of them once more.

Out of all of them, however, Virlyd's match-up with Silian drew the most attention, for it was the most exciting match of them all by far. Virlyd was generally regarded as the strongest mage, while Silian was a prodigy newcomer.

They were complete opposites in every way.

Virlyd was known not to be a stunning talent by the standards of the Elendir Institute of Magic, especially compared to a genius like Silian.

He was, at one point, the same as any other student in the spectator seats, except he came from an affluent family. He was as old as Cæ, which meant that he had dedicated himself to magic from the age of sixteen to twenty-five.

The battle was thematic not just because of the gap in their inherent talent, but also their age and the fact that this was Virlyd's last year in the Senior Program and Silian's first year at it.

It was truly a battle with polar opposite contestants.

STEP

STEP

The two contestants arrived before each other, separated by three meters.

Virlyd's gaze was unyieldingly stoic and composed while Silian's eyes contained a flicker of fierce ferocity.

"Ooooh," Callou cooed as she arrived next to him. "I wonder who will win. What do you think?"

Cæ raised an eyebrow at his opponent before directing a gaze back to the match-up.

"Definitely Virlyd, from everything I've heard. The question is now about how easily and quickly he will win."

There was no question about this diagnosis in Cæ's mind; it was one that virtually everybody, except for the hardcore Silian fanboys, who rejected the inevitable.

And Silian himself, of course.

He clenched his fists as he gritted his teeth, almost as if trying to will himself to win the impossible.

"Silian Sylvester," Virlyd beckoned him with a deep, but respectful tone. "It has been a long time."

"Indeed, it has…" Silian managed to squeeze out.

"You have grown up a lot since we last truly met," the giant boulder of a man spoke with a knowing tone. "You used to be a lot more immature and arrogant, but now, you have matured and become a truly admirable student."

Silian's eyes sharpened. "Don't patronize me. I'm not a child anymore."

"…I suppose not," Virlyd replied with an unmoved tone. "I look forward to seeing just how much you have grown up."

Cæ frowned.

The two spoke as though they had known each other for a long time.

"The affluent families of Elendir are their own community," Callou remarked with a knowing tone. "I guess their families have known each other for a while."

"…That sounds plausible."

His gaze returned to the match-up as the arbiter stepped forward.

"The magicapita assignment will now occur. Do you, the two of you, authorize this Elendir Institute of Magic to seize temporary control of the assets in your name for the time being of this round?"

"I do," Silian declared.

"I do," Virlyd echoed.

"Very well then…" the arbiter filled with a device, before nodding. "It is done. Your magicapita has been equalized for this match."

Because the amount of mana that a cultivator had was directly proportional to one's financial net worth, it needed to be equalized for a fair match to occur. Thus, students would relinquish some of their assets to the Elendir Institute of Magic temporarily.

Of course, this was a great risk; thus, the laws and the systems in place regarding this transfer were unyieldingly and absolutely clear, designed to have absolutely no loopholes whatsoever.

Thus, the two mages were equalized in mana and ready for combat.

"Draw your wands or weapons."

Silian drew his wand.

Virlyd, however, simply raised his right hand.

On it was a gauntlet of metal.

Cæ frowned. "… Is he a martial mage?"

"Indeed." Callou nodded. "However, he is also well-versed in general combat magic. He is virtually invincible at all ranges, making him a menace to deal with in combat."

That was concerning to her because one of Cæ's advantages over his opponents was that he was much better at close quarters than they, allowing him to often end the match with close-quarters dominance. It was how he had won his match with Silian, in fact.

Here, however, it appeared that he stood no chance in close quarters, having yet to actually have mastered any martial magic for his own good.

"And begin."

In the blink of an eye, the battle between Silian and Virlyd began, immediately drawing the engrossed attention of all spectators.

Silian leaped away with a grim expression, while Virlyd remained standing where he was with a calm and patient expression.

WHOOSH

Several magic circles emerged before Silian as he waved his hand, causing several blasts of air to surge towards Virlyd with great speed and power.

And yet, a single swing of his right hand was all it took.

BOOM!

Silian's eyes widened as the single gesture dispelled his powerful magic violently.

It was effortless.

Virlyd's body hadn't even budged.

His weight hadn't even shifted.

The single motion of his hand was enough to snuff the air blasts that Silian had launched at him.

Of course, everybody knew that it wasn't raw physicality, hardly.

"His martial magic is powerful." Cæ's expression grew grim. "Bodycasting is generally weaker than magic circles and incantations precisely because it's the fastest. And yet, despite that… his martial magic is extremely powerful."

The power of a spell depended, among other things, on how much mana was poured into it, because power and value were generally proportional. The amount of mana poured into a spell was a product of mana-motive force and time.

Because bodycasting had the least time, it led to the least mana and thus the least power.

However, Virlyd's easy wave of Silian's power was a great indication of just how powerful his martial magic was and just how strong his mana-motive force was.

He was on a different level compared to Silian.

Silian gritted his teeth as his expression grew even more grim.

WHOOSH!

With a single wave of his hand, a large magic circle emerged before him as he began chanting an incantation.

"Dual casting," Cæ's eyes lit up. "It's remarkable that he's able to do that at his age. He's trying to cast an extraordinarily complex spell with great power in the hopes that that will be enough to take Virlyd down. But it leaves him too vulnerable."

Virlyd, however, didn't bother trying to even exploit this opening.

He simply stood there, waiting patiently for Silian to complete his spell, much to the shock of everybody.

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