As Alex predicted, his next contestant was Mirelle Aldwyn.
She, just like Alex, had dominated every match until now, but unlike him, she never used more than a couple of spells.
All the time Alex wasn't fighting, he was thinking of a way to counter the girl's diabolical combination.
She was very smart to pick Illusion and Lightning as her elements; even the briefest lapse in awareness could allow a lightning strike to land, since it was the fastest element after light.
'Hmm… her illusion has to have some kind of trigger, right? Like visual or sound?' Alex analyzed, tapping his fingers against his arm.
Illusion did, in fact, require a suggestion for the target to fall for it—sound, an item, a word, a sensation—and once triggered, the spell ensnared the mind rather than the senses.
'Mirelle doesn't seem to do visual triggers, and by her stillness in the arena, it isn't an item either. So it has to be some kind of smell or sound.'
After watching her fights, Alex determined which triggers she didn't use, but the remaining possibilities were still plenty.
'Now that I think of it… I kinda know how to deal with sound and smell.'
His thoughts were interrupted when the referee called him—he was next.
Alex walked toward the arena, hoping she would use a trigger he could handle, but even if not, his opener wouldn't change.
He stood across from a pretty girl in an elegant purple dress. As they locked eyes, she smiled faintly at him.
This caught Alex off guard; he rarely received friendly behavior from nobles. Perhaps reaching the top eight had raised his reputation—curiosity often followed reputation.
'Or she's just that kind of woman. Seducti— No, wait. Why did I turn a smile into seduction? What the fuck?'Ever since what happened to Marc, Alex had grown paranoid, reading every noble action as manipulation.
Mirelle, meanwhile, found Alex intriguing. Like her, he mopped the floor with his opponents effortlessly, and she hoped he'd last more than a couple spells.
The referee stood between them and raised his hand."Ready?"
'Focus, Alex. Focus. Remember how you felt. They are the enemy.'
He let the memories surface—Trying to anger himself through them. His demeanor shifted; his pupils narrowed to tiny points as he glared at the girl, completely focused on her.
Mirelle blinked, startled by how fast he shifted from doesn't care to I'm going to kill you.
The referee swung his arm down."Start!"
Mirelle hummed a soft, melodic tune while leaping sideways, predicting Alex would open by setting up Water Scape or firing Wind Slicer, so she planned to deal with both.
But instead, a thick bubble of water spun rapidly around him, and he clamped his hands over his ears.
This time, Alex chose to open with Water Shield for two reasons.
One: it filtered out smell-based triggers.Two: if he fell for the illusion, the water shield naturally countered most lightning spells.
Covering his ears was for sound triggers.
Mirelle paused mid-step, surprised—and delighted.
'Yes. This is how a smart opponent reacts.'
Alex didn't know her trigger was, but he did know who they weren't. So he blocked every remaining possibility he could with a single action.
'Flawless,' was her assessment.
Still holding his ears, Alex jumped back, flicked a finger, and cast Water Spear, dropping Water Shield.
He wanted distance to avoid any scent-based trigger, and to reinforce that, he held his breath.
Mirelle's eyes widened—she hadn't expected minimal-gesture casting.
She chose sound as her trigger because most mages needed at least one free hand to channel spells unless they met strict conditions. She didn't know Alex met those conditions.
Outside the arena, Tessa leaned toward Scarlett.
"Isn't casting with minimal gestures only possible if an element is bound to your soul?"
"Not only," Scarlett replied. "If you master a spell you created yourself, you can reduce the gestures as well. No-gesture casting is a combination of soul-bound control and mastered self-made spells."
She spoke while watching Mirelle race across the arena, dodging the twisting Water Spear. The spell bent and curved like a hunting serpent—insidious to anyone lacking a full defensive spell.
"Gestures help control mana in their body flow through the circle. To reduce them, you either bind the element to your soul for raw control or you understand the spell's circle so deeply that gestures become redundant. Alex fits the latter—he created Water Spear, and judging by this, he mastered it."
Back in the arena, Mirelle was growing tired of dodging.
'I have to get rid of this damned spell.'
She continued humming, but distance and the water buffer prevented the sound from reaching Alex.
She had no choice but to counter strength with strength.
So she casted Thunder Lance.
The lightning tore through the Water Spear, dispersing it in a violent flash. But casting meant stopping the trigger—exactly what Alex expected.
For tier-one mages, multicasting was impossible; their minds couldn't handle the pressure of processing mana through two circles at the same time.
He dropped one hand from his ear and cast a stronger Spiked Water Arrow the moment he saw the lightning spark.
Mierelle's element choices had a flaw: those elements had minimal to no defensive spells. Lightning was mostly offense, and illusion was utility and deception.
Alex read her movement—she had predicted he'd fire the spell instantly, so she dodged early.
'Smart.'
He delayed half a beat, predicted where she'd land, and unleashed the arrow.
It crossed the arena in a blink and struck her neck cleanly.
Mirelle froze, stunned.
'I guess this is how the others felt when I defeated them…'Indignation welled in her chest. Being outplayed felt nothing like outplaying.
Alex's victory looked simple, but it was anything but simple—it was like playing chess where every enemy piece was a queen. He had to plan several steps ahead and gamble by dropping Water Shield.
But it paid off.
Now he was in the top eight, with one more opponent before the finals—where he hoped Tessa waited.