The entire square was in utter bewilderment.
"You... weren’t you a summoner?!" roared Larena, partly in disbelief and partly in fury, unsure whether her opponent was taking her lightly or not.
"I’m not," were the only words that came out of Hal’s mouth before he continued his onslaught, firing a vicious [Glacial Shard] to distract his enemy as a translucent, blackish-purple magic circle formed beneath Larena.
The lady, though still confused, bewildered, and disoriented, managed to fire back a Rock Bullet, which completely lost to Hal’s icy projectile, shattering into pieces.
It was enough to reduce the power and redirect his attack, however, granting the young aristocrat some breathing room and a chance to counterattack.
The next moment, chains emerged from beneath her, latching onto her arms and legs, holding her down.
"C-Conjured Chains!" gasped the entire square, along with a decent number of the important people in the luxurious hall.
A silvery-blue magic circle appeared above the main stage before anyone could even process what had happened, one that was far from the size of Lucien Winter’s but covered a fairly large area.
Icy shards then emerged from it, raining down on the bound Larena.
These were her last words in the tournament, uttered in defiance as the special protective barrier surrounding her was destroyed.
As the icy mist cleared, the young aristocrat was revealed to be lying on her stomach, unconscious.
The crowd was silent in utter disbelief.
Even Akari, who normally enjoyed wizard duels, was tongue-tied.
Why wouldn’t they be, when Hal had cast five spells of three different types in a single battle?
Adding those to the Spirit Wolf and Blink spells he hadn’t used today...
As it appeared, Hal Fennec, a one-star freshman of the Grand Magic Academy, could cast Spatial, Ice, Summon, Conjure, and Light-type spells.
What the hell was going on in the academy?
If a guy with such insane comprehension was just a one-star student, then a majority of their students shouldn’t even be admitted, no?
"C-Competitor Hal is unreal!! Too unreal!! With a vicious and unheard-of combo of Conjured Chains and Glacial Rain, he annihilates his opponent and advances to the top sixteen!!" Akari roared at the top of her lungs after finally managing to snap herself out of a disbelief-induced stupor.
"How I wish I could split Competitor Hal’s heart and head open so I can learn his secrets! Unfortunately, such a thing is illegal and isn’t a part of my job."
After taking a brief pause to breathe, the rising pop star continued:
"What’s a part of my job, however, is to get the tournament going, so hard as it may be, let us move on to the next match..."
The crowd and even the important people in the Gaora VIP Hall indeed found it hard to move on.
How they wish it was Hal’s turn again.
Fortunately, there was an issue they wished to clarify with Deputy Headmaster Korvus, which was Hal’s status as a one-star student.
They shall settle with bugging the poor old man for answers for now...
A less interesting, one-sided match took place, and one of the competitors advanced before it was time for another spicy match featuring another sudden dark horse from the Grand Magic Academy: the freshman five-star, Liora Whitemane.
Aside from another who lucked out in the draws and had already been eliminated earlier, she was the last freshman five-star student of the academy who was still in the tournament.
Liora was currently matched with the fourteenth seed, a disciple of a renowned master wizard and the second young master of a prominent, though not aristocratic, wizardry clan.
Based on her earlier displays of aggressiveness, raw spell power, and combat mastery, everyone believed she had a decent chance of defeating her opponent, who was already in his second year of studying wizardry.
If she fought as well as she did yesterday, that is...
This was still an uphill battle for her.
The white-haired maiden ascended the stage and faced her opponent, Garong, with a serene expression.
It seemed as though she wasn’t the least bit nervous, earning her another nod of approval from the empire’s higher-ups.
After facing Fellkins, humans just aren’t scary anymore, and she didn’t have anything to lose in this match.
Why would she feel nervous?
Plus, didn’t Hal just cheer for her just now?
"Liora Whitemane, I must commend your physical appearance. You’re truly quite a sight to behold." smiled the short but slightly plump Garong. "What I like the most about you is your skin color. What do you say we grab something after this? My treat."
"That’s...quite the preference...Thanks for inviting me but I’ll pass..." Liora responded, drawing her light elemental wand as the timer above their heads counted down.
"Hmph, fine. I don’t really like you that much anyway. Just don’t come begging me later."
Garong’s voice quickly turned cold as he pulled out a strange elemental staff with a pentagram-shaped head, slightly longer than a wand.
The timer soon hit zero and the two wizards sprang into action.
The plump young master began by summoning a Spirit Bear and two Spirit Wolves that stood protectively in front of him.
On the other hand, Liora continuously fired Glow Needles at the wolves, hoping to at least damage them while the distance was still in her favor.
Garong responded by controlling the wolves, making them evade the needles by jumping sideways before charging at Liora in a zigzag path, the bear following behind them.
The slightly plump young wizard then summoned three Constrictor Vines that sneakily circled Liora.
There would be no escaping the vicious paws and claws of the beast summons should the plant ones catch her.
Fortunately, a light elemental wizard had never been easy to catch.
"Illuminate" Liora exclaimed, causing a golden orb to materialize and immediately burst into a blinding overdrive, taking away the vision of the wolves, the bear, and their caster for a moment.
By the time they regained it, Liora had long left her original position.
Garong sensed danger from the left and immediately turned to look, inwardly cursing as he was forced to activate the recall function of one of his wolves, using it as a shield against the horrifying piercing light shooting his way.
Struck right in the throat, the poor summon dissipated back to mana particles.
What happened was only a brief exchange between the two young wizards a year apart in age.
However, it was enough to leave the crowd short of breath, compelling them to cheer in absolute excitement.
The match between Liora Whitemane and Garong Moonchaser turned out to be every bit as exciting as it was expected to be.