Upon feeling his body being held, the dragonewt struggled to free himself, which he indeed managed to do.

  However, as soon as he broke free, Alexander pushed him against the spell to pass underneath him and be almost unaffected.

  The dragonewt had no chance to defend himself and was hit squarely by the spell, which electrocuted him and knocked him out of the arena. But obviously he wasn't the only one hit.

  As the spell expanded omnidirectionally across the arena, all participants had to face it.

  The instant the spell finally ended, only 4 participants remained inside the arena:

  The 3rd-year student from Twin Combats Academy, who cast the spell.

  The 3rd-year elf from the Imperial Academy, who protected herself by distorting the part of the spell near her with a mass of mana.

  Alexander, who used the dragonewt to cross the |Lightning Dome|.

  And the 2nd-year student from the Imperial Academy, who resisted the spell using his sword, body, and energy, but was almost eliminated.

  With the semifinalists decided, the match order for the following fights was chosen: Alexander against the 3rd-year elf from the Imperial Academy, and the 2nd-year student from the Imperial Academy against the one from the 3rd year of Twin Combats Academy.

  Without any break for rest, Alexander was instructed to go up to the arena again. His fight would be the first semifinal.

  The moment he looked closely and carefully at the tall, beautiful, and curvaceous, yet "fragile" figure of his adversary, he felt his blood heat up and something inside him begin to stir.

  Such "fragile beauty" seemed to entice him—but it was merely a physiological reaction. Remnants of his monstrous savagery slipped through the cracks of his self-control.

  A fleeting sensation. His consciousness and his instincts recognized the danger she represented.

  His instinct for self-preservation ruled above all in the face of a true threat to his life.

  "My name is Liriel WoodWise," introduced the elf. "I know you are strong and very fast, but unfortunately your run in the tournament ends here. I will not underestimate you and will use all my power to crush you."

  "A pleasure to meet you, Liriel. My name is Alexander Ocean," replied Alexander. "And as foolish as my words may seem, I will make your speech mine… This is a tournament I cannot, and will not, lose."

  As soon as the judge authorized the start of the fight, a circle of fire appeared on the ground, keeping Alexander at its epicenter, and began spewing fire.

  "Give up now, or you'll get badly hurt," said Liriel, firmly holding her wooden staff pointed at Alexander.

  When he felt the mana in the arena stir and heard Liriel reciting something very softly, Alexander knew he was in trouble. Those were the basic steps to cast a Tier III spell, or higher, with all its power.

  Knowing he had no attack worthy of a Tier III spell, Alexander could only respond in the best way he could at that moment.

  In his case, that meant using |Asura| and |Water Field| to establish the base of a magical chain for |Mana Blessing| to strengthen the |Elemental Water Blast (MAX)|.

  By combining skill, technique, and spells into a power he should not yet possess, Alexander knew this would be the strongest attack he had ever cast.

  As Liriel finished summoning her spell— "|Amnis Ignis Petalis|" — he unleashed his own, using all the overload he had managed to accumulate.

  "KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM."

  The collision of the spells caused such a terrifying explosion that it shook the arena and created several cracks in the ground. But the crowd didn't care about that and only wanted to know who had won.

  The judge then dispelled the dust cloud with her power, revealing Alexander fallen outside the arena scorched, and Liriel, still inside the arena, practically unharmed.

  "..." Alexander.

  "The fight is over, but you did well," said Liriel in the direction where Alexander was lying. "Even being a Tier II spell, your magical blast almost equaled the power of my Tier III spell… I myself couldn't do something like that in my 1st year."

  "..." Alexander.

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  "You're right, it's over," said the judge. "But I think you won't like the result."

  When the smoke and dust completely dissipated and the commotion ceased, all spectators saw that the match judge was completely unharmed, and that Alexander's spear was in her hand.

  "The fight is over. The participant Liriel WoodWise lost the fight due to the need for my interference in the dispute," announced the judge. "If I hadn't held his spear, she would already be dead."

  Upon seeing that Liriel seemed somewhat discontent and frightened, the judge explained to her: "You lowered your guard."

  "The instant you felt your spell had prevailed, you thought you had already won the fight, because you knew most of the resulting explosion would go towards him," said the judge. "However, he only used that initial magical chain to wear down your spell and not suffer much damage… His real attack was throwing his spear infused with piercing energy after the spells collided."

  "You really are more powerful than him. But you are also much more careless and inexperienced," concluded the judge.

  With Alexander’s victory confirmed, the majority of the public—inside and outside the arena—erupted in celebration.

  One of the spots in the final already belonged to Twin City.

  If the 3rd-year student from Twin Combats Academy, who was one of the heavyweights of this tournament, tipped to be champion, won his semifinal, the champion title would already be for the local academy and Twin City itself.

  Alexander, unaffected by the hysteria or the other fights, was already on his feet, recovering for the final.

  Diana's POV

  "He's in the semifinal!… He's in the semifinal!" happily celebrated Diana at the end of the battle royale, infecting everyone nearby with her smile and happiness.

  "Your adversary's trump card was good, but he knew how to use the combat field very well to his advantage," commented the surprised local director, who ended up staying close to Diana to clear up any possible doubts.

  "It seems you're getting good saplings," commented the Imperial Academy director with a bit of envy.

  "Some," agreed the local director with a wide smile. "It's a pity he doesn't have affinity with lightning… It takes a long time to develop another affinity."

  "You're complaining with a full belly," complained the Imperial Academy director with a bit of anger. "I finally found another person worth teaching after years, but I cannot accept him as an apprentice."

  "You were already biased just by bringing him here to participate in the tournament," warned the local director. "Pay close attention to your dealings with this imperial prince."

  "Do you think I don't know that? I don't want to get involved in these disputes," replied the Imperial Academy director. "I just… didn't want to see his talent wasted for these reasons… You know how it is."

  "..." Local director.

  The local director then said nothing more on the subject, as he had experienced something similar in the past. He really knew how frustrating that could be.

  "KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM."

  In considerably worse moods due to that conversation, they ended up neglecting the fight until the strong explosion shook the area, making them turn their attention back to the fight.

  "What exactly happened?" asked the local director.

  "Tier III spell vs magical chain with Tier II spell," replied Lucas.

  As one of the energy powerhouses of the Empire, the Imperial Academy director was the first to see Alexander fallen outside the arena. "This young man did very well… But in the end, a Tier II spell is still not comparable to a Tier III."

  "You're only half right," commented Lucas, holding Diana and Ocean, who wanted to invade the arena. "You can't invade the arena like you did last time… The tournament isn't over yet and he's not that hurt. So wait."

  As if wishing to validate Lucas's words, the moment the judge declared him the winner, Alexander got up and left as if he hadn't suffered serious injuries.

  It was as if he had jumped out of the arena at the last second to avoid most of the damage.

  "This kid is impressive," praised the Imperial Academy director upon hearing the judge's explanation. "He managed to win against a more powerful adversary than himself using a well-thought-out strategy, but difficult to execute."

  "Actually, I know this tactic," said Lucas. "He used it against me in our academy's admission exam… But this time his attack had to be more cruel."

  "Winning against adversaries stronger than him using tactics and tricks is one of his main qualities," commented the local director. "But he won't be able to win this tournament. His final opponent has magical affinity with the lightning element, which will absurdly suppress his magic."

  "Don't claim victory for your academy prematurely just because you eliminated my 3rd-year student," said the Imperial Academy director, smiling.

  "So what if your remaining student is an imperial prince?" scorned the local director, certain of victory. "My student inherited and can use his family's magical crest."

  The Imperial Academy director had obviously already noticed this since the battle royale, but also didn't want to insist on the subject and merely waited for the fight to start.

  As soon as the fight began, the imperial prince, who still seemed quite angry, advanced without any hesitation.

  During his approach, the 3rd-year student from Twin Combats Academy launched several spells to intercept him, but they were destroyed one after another by powerful slashes.

  Seeing that his opponent was dangerously close and having no more time to use another spell with power to stop him, the 3rd-year student from Twin Combats Academy activated his family's magical crest again: "|Lightning Dome|."

  As if he had been waiting for that spell to be cast, the imperial prince released a white-reddish energy, gripped his sword even tighter to imbue it with more energy, and countered: "|Crimson Fissure|."

  Before the |Crimson Fissure|, the |Lightning Dome| was cleaved.

  There was no clash. There was no resistance.

  The crimson energy advanced like an inevitable sentence.

  Upon seeing the |Lightning Dome| collapse before the |Crimson Fissure|, the judge advanced and stopped the prince's attack just before it hit his opponent, who was unprotected and suffering the rebound from having his progressing spell destroyed.

  "I warned you," said the Imperial Academy director with a wide smile.

  "Impossible," countered the director. "Even with the imperial family's {Talent}, this shouldn't be possible…"

  "He touched that level with the sword," explained the Imperial Academy director, exultant.

  "So young?… That explains his confidence," sighed the local director. "The title is yours this year."