Betting had become common among the academy students in a dark place within its corridors. In that location, the children of wealthy and noble families placed their wagers. Some had gained huge amounts of money, while others shed tears of defeat.
However, the final day of the tournament was different.
All bets were in favor of the Winter King, Glass Sano.
No one dared to bet on the Apex Star, Shion Lan.
One of the students said,
"Shion Lan is skilled, but there are still limits he cannot surpass when facing Glass Sano."
"Exactly. He reached the finals only because he was lucky."
"I don't think anyone will bet on his victory, so the final match cannot even have a proper wager."
However, a fascinating beauty entered the place. She had red hair and blue eyes.
Pearl Jewel said,
"I came to place a bet."
The student responsible for organizing the wagers sighed.
"A bet cannot be created without someone willing to bet on something, so the betting will end for today."
But Pearl took out two support papers and said,
"The wager will be on the Apex Star, Shion Lan, with a value of five hundred thousand coins."
"What?!"
Everyone who heard the number shouted in shock.
Pearl continued,
"The person betting on his victory is Shion Lan himself, so organize the wager."
When the organizer saw the documents, one of them contained a value of two hundred thousand, while the other contained three hundred thousand, he smiled.
"Place your bets!"
After confirming them, many students moved to increase their wagers in order to gain the largest share.
However, another person entered and placed a bet.
He was an ordinary student, but he handed over a paper.
"I bet one million coins on Shion Lan's victory."
"...!!!"
No one could understand what was happening.
Even Pearl did not expect someone to trust Shion's abilities.
She did not recognize the person, but she realized,
'He came on behalf of someone else who does not want to appear personally.'
The bids increased again, and the ratio between Glass and Shion reached 3:1.
Pearl thought,
'Shion has three hundred thousand, and I have two hundred thousand. Although what I am doing is a risk, it does not affect my plans. In fact, if I win, I might accelerate my plans even further... But who else bet on him besides me?'
The boy stepped back, revealing other people such as Baro Ferrer and Fiore Tai.
They said,
"We bet ten thousand on Master!"
Everyone was surprised that they possessed such an amount of money.
However, Baro thought,
'Since we became followers of the Crown Princess, we have received gifts every month as if we were her knights. She will even provide us with an advanced training program during the vacation.'
Seeing the odds, Fiore asked,
"After we win, what should we do?"
Baro said while registering the bet,
"We will think about that later."
More and more students began appearing one after another, ordinary people trying to gain any share of the wager.
The total amount exceeded seven million coins.
....
Solan Neumann was with her aunt Lindy, facing one of the mages from the Magic Tower.
The mage said,
"Lady Hart, I did not expect that you had not controlled Solan Neumann. However, her feelings toward Shion Lan are still something we can discuss."
Solan replied with a cold voice,
"First, the Pure Spirit is not under my control. I am her disciple.
Second, Solan Neumann's feelings are none of your concern.
Third, and most importantly, you wanted me, not Solan."
The mage spoke arrogantly,
"And what makes us desire a fourth-level witch like you? The Pure Spirit was the one we wanted. Since she is not under your control, we can cancel the contract."
Without arguing, Solan said,
"I agree."
The mage turned toward Lindy, but she did not add anything.
With a smooth movement, the contract was brought out, along with a support paper containing fifty thousand coins as compensation for ending the contract.
After everything was finished, Lindy asked,
"Are you certain about your decision, my lady?"
Solan replied,
"I only want a peaceful life. I do not need to reveal myself to anyone just so they can point at me and say that I am Solan Neumann, the Pure Spirit."
She left.
Her aunt asked,
"Where are you going?"
Solan answered,
"I am going to bet on Shion's victory."
Her aunt said,
"But doesn't the current prediction indicate that Shion will lose?"
Solan stopped for a moment.
"Even if Shion's chances were zero, I would still support him."
She left with a red face.
Lindy shook her head with a smile.
"Young people... Those days..."
"Lindy!"
Lindy turned around and saw Rita Lan, Shion's mother, smiling at her.
"I haven't seen you in a long time!"
Lindy bowed slightly.
"Lady Lan!"
Rita felt uncomfortable seeing her friend bow to her, but she controlled herself and asked Marie,
"Can I bring a friend to my private balcony?"
She looked around to see if there were any nobles nearby.
Marie replied,
"You may bring whoever you wish, my lady."
Rita moved forward, grabbed Lindy's hand, and said,
"Let's go!"
While being dragged away, Lindy asked,
"Aren't you worried about Shion?"
Rita replied,
"Of course not! This is the academy tournament, not a real battle. His Majesty and the Academy Director are present, so nothing will happen to my child."
Before entering the box, they were greeted by Forite and her children.
Rita adjusted her expression, making sure she appeared as the noble lady who remained untouched by anything in the world.
She arranged everything for Lindy.
After confirming everything, they entered and sat down.
All the nobles and spectators appeared.
With the announcer's arrival, discussions began about who would become the winner.
Would it be the Winter King, Glass Sano, the great genius of the powerful Sano Family who obtained the heritage of one of the greatest warriors?
Or would it be the Apex Star, Shion Lan, who had recently gained enormous fame but whose performance in the tournament had been lower than expected?
The announcer began:
"Today, we will witness the final battle between two second-year students. However, before that, I would like to announce the owner of third place..."
With a gesture of his hand, an image of Moon Swordsman Kin Light appeared.
"The match between Kin Light and Sol Hart was supposed to happen, but Sol has not appeared since this morning. Therefore, she is considered to have withdrawn."
"What?!"
Rita was shocked.
However, Solan appeared in her spiritual form and said,
"I do not care about obtaining third place, Aunt."
Rita asked,
"But don't you feel sad?"
Solan replied,
"It does not matter. I already have enough credits to graduate from the academy. I do not need anything from the tournament."
She looked down.
The gates slowly opened.
A deep excitement filled the arena.
The announcer announced:
"In the final match, we begin with the second-year student, heir of the Sano Family, and the great genius among the Six Great Families...
The Winter King, Glass Sano!"
With this announcement, Glass entered with his usual calmness.
The audience shouted his name.
The announcer continued:
"And on the other side, the second-year student, the currently most famous noble, the holder of the highest record for completing difficult missions, and the head of the noble Lan Family...
The Apex Star, Shion Lan!"
Shion entered simply, but carrying pride and greatness within him.
The mention of his achievements caused the audience to cheer for him.
The two looked at each other.
Both drew their swords.
As they waited for the beginning of the match, the entire arena became silent.
Everyone watched.
Crown Princess Jina Joul observed calmly.
With the signal to begin...
Shion moved at incredible speed toward Glass.
Glass used,
"(Absolute Freeze)!"
Without chanting the spell, using his fourth-level power.
The aura and magical energy around Shion began freezing.
But Shion continued his attack.
"(Cutting Stars)!"
With a swing of his sword, nine star-like cuts appeared and rushed toward Glass.
Glass blocked the attack using only his sword aura.
He was surprised that Shion was unaffected by his spell.
But Shion continued with a forward thrust.
"(Star Surge)!"
Glass used,
"(Ice Age Touch)!"
He extended his hand forward and covered Shion's sword with a layer of ice.
However, the ice cracked under Shion's strength.
Both retreated.
The audience was amazed.
They had believed the match would end with one attack.
But they saw that Shion remained standing.
Glass thought,
'Although (Absolute Freeze) is a powerful spell that prevents the opponent from freely controlling their aura, it can be countered in several ways...'
He rushed toward Shion and swung his sword.
Shion blocked and attempted to stab him.
But Glass was faster.
He moved behind him.
Only to be surprised by claws forming on Shion's hand.
"(Star Claws)!"
Glass retreated while continuing his thoughts,
'The first way to defeat this spell is by using aura and magical energy while narrowing the range, just as Braj Torano did.'
'The second way is by using the power of heritage and the guardian spirit, because the energy will have another source, just as Kin Light.'
'And the final way...'
Shion used another technique.
"(Star Tide)!"
Glass responded,
"(Ice Tide)!"
"(Ice Blades)!"
With a swing of both swords, glowing stars collided with icy blades.
Their cutting movements clashed, creating a scene of cold mist throughout the arena.
Shion used it.
He pushed his hand forward.
"(Paths of Stars)!"
Lines of stars rushed toward Glass, targeting his joints.
He barely avoided some, while others struck him.
However, his icy aura froze the effects of the attack, preventing serious damage.
Glass thought,
'The final way to withstand my power is through complete harmony between soul, body, and energy.
And from what I see...'
His eyes focused on Shion's majestic star aura.
'This star aura comes from Shion himself. He does not need anything else.
Like a star in a vast space... alone, yet continuing to shine.'
Shion held his sword with both hands.
The powers of fire and water began approaching each other.
His body and soul began merging.
The two stars and the two magic circles approached each other.
Until they reached the final obstacle.
They needed the correct pressure so Shion would not be harmed.
Outside, the aura surrounded his sword.
It carried both the power of fire and the flow of water.
A powerful pressure erupted from Shion.
He thought,
'I do not believe there is any aura that can surpass Shi Yun Lan's (Death Aura).'
He smiled.
'I can endure it thanks to my Star Power.'
'By analyzing my previous battles against him before his death, I could face a level if he did not use a fourth-level technique.'
His eyes were sharp.
'Now, I face Glass.'
'Although he is at the same level, his techniques are originally third-level techniques strengthened by sword aura and mage's mind.'
'They are only an increase in power.'
'Although Glass is a talented genius, he fights me with the intention of competition only.'
'Unlike Shi Yun Lan, who fought me with the intention of killing me.'
'So...'
Suddenly, the air around Glass Sano changed.
Shion was surprised.
He saw Glass's cold blue eyes staring directly at him.