"That new spell of his looks strong."
Raye said, peeking at Lycus.
"Yeah, I wonder where he got the time to develop it."
The two of them were two seats apart, with Sofia and Jerusha sitting between them.
"You think he'll use it in our next free-for-all training?"
And with a small smirk on his face...
"On you, probably. I'm resistant to fire, remember?"
Then, realizing he would be the only one receiving Devin's new strong attack...
A frown appeared on his face!
"Yeah, sucks for you."
Raye mumbled while shrugging his shoulders, acting all haughty.
Lycus just stared at him with a scowl after that.
"DEVIN! DEVIN! DEVIN!—"
"GAH!? I THINK MY EARDRUM JUST EXPLODED!!!"
Devin was enjoying the cheering coming from the crowd.
'I wouldn't even have thought of receiving this much attention back then.'
He thought with a slight smile on his face.
"Everything has changed ever since I met them."
He mumbled, referring to Raye, Lycus, Kyle, and the others.
'It's getting better now—my life is getting better.'
Then, with a determined look on his face...
'I'll continue to strive and revive our household.'
He declared in his head!
And opening his mouth...
"Let's start by winning this tournament."
"Hmm, I should probably rest."
He started climbing down from the arena.
Devin was headed to where Raye and the others were.
Devin greeted as soon as he arrived at the resting area where the others were.
"Sup, congratulations on your win."
"Well done out there, Devin!"
Then Lycus, Sofia, Jerusha, and Lena followed respectively.
Devin responded to them.
"Sit down and rest. I think the other group is about to finish too."
Raye suddenly said that while watching the other arena.
Devin quickly sat beside Raye, and looking at the arena too...
"So it's just them two now, huh."
He saw Terri, one of his classmates, and Rickrey Marcos—the one who had defeated him after drugging him!
Devin frowned as he noticed Terri was at a disadvantage.
Terri was a swordsman, while Rickrey was a mage.
He was a mage who was also pretty good at close combat!
Rickrey continuously shot magic projectiles at Terri.
And Terri would respond by dodging them and getting close!
But when he did get close...
Rickrey would use his wooden staff and fight him in close combat too!
Terri was tired from fighting the other participants from the other academies earlier. They had targeted him and Cedric at the start of the match, just like what happened in Devin's group!
Rickrey was completely unharmed, and his stamina was as full as it could be!
As a matter of fact...
The fight was already pretty much decided!
Terri was just still fighting to keep his pride and to help Devin!
He was planning to tire Rickrey out, and he was hoping that Devin could watch their fight and study Rickrey's attack patterns!
And realizing this...
Devin silently thanked him in his head!
Raye turned his head to Devin.
"How should I provoke that Rickrey guy?"
Raye was confused by his words.
'Why would you even ask me that? I'm not an expert in that field.'
He said that in his head.
"Well, I would probably say something like—"
He proceeded to roast Rickrey in front of Devin.
Terri was panting, his grip on his sword shaky.
Sweat dripped down his face as he glared at Rickrey, who was still standing firm, his wooden staff resting on his shoulder.
"Heh... is that all you got?"
Rickrey taunted, taking a step forward.
Terri gritted his teeth...
And then he lunged forward!
His wooden sword sliced through the air!
Rickrey just sidestepped with ease to dodge!
He countered with a horizontal swing of his wooden staff!
Terri was hit on the right side of his torso!
His body twisted from the impact, and his vision blurred!
And before he knew it—
He collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
Silence filled the arena for a moment.
"Winner, Rickrey Marcos!"
Charles' voice echoed.
The students of Zion didn't cheer, they remained silent.
But out of courtesy...
They started clapping their hands for Rickrey.
A loud impact rang out!
Everyone's eyes widened in shock!
Rickrey had kicked Terri's unconscious body out of the arena!
"Why did you do that?!"
Gasps and shouts of outrage filled the stadium!
Even Raye, Devin, and the others were on their feet, their expressions dark!
Devin clenched his fists, glaring at Rickrey.
Lycus muttered, his jaw tight.
Raye's eyes were cold.
Charles' voice boomed across the arena.
Everyone turned to him.
Charles stood with his arms crossed, his expression neutral, but his clenched jaw showed his anger.
"That was uncalled for. You won the match. Do not disgrace this tournament with unnecessary violence."
"My bad, my foot slipped."
He said that with clear mockery.
Lycus took a step forward, but Raye held him back.
Devin clicked his tongue, his blood boiling.
And looking at Rickrey...
'I'll make sure you pay for that.'
He swore in his heart.
Rickrey simply turned his back and walked away, raising his hand mockingly as if waving off the accusations.
But one thing was certain...
This tournament had just gotten more personal.
Devin silently looked at him.
Then, with a frown on his face...
"Tell this to that bastard for me—"
Raye started cursing and insulting Rickrey!
Devin remained focused, taking note of everything he had just said.