As Alex returned to his seat, four eyes scanned him from head to toe.
"Nice job, very clever of you," said Scarlett.
"When did you even master Water Spear?" asked the ever-curious Tessa.
"Ever since the midterms, when I created it. I never stopped training it, and in the last six months I doubled the effort—hence why I mastered it so quickly," Alex replied with a faint smile.
Tessa opened her mouth to ask more, but she was called; her fight was next.
Alex really hoped she would win—he wanted to face her in the finals.
Her opponent was Arven Drayden, who wielded ice and lightning.
From watching his previous fights, Alex gathered that he was quite skilled, but overall, still below Tessa's level.
'She should win this one… wait.'
Alex almost forgot the combats were rigged—he simply never faced any competent opponent, so it slipped his mind. Now he remembered.
'Their skills aren't that far apart. Depending on his artifacts, Arven might actually win this fight.'His fists clenched unconsciously.
Scarlett noticed but couldn't comment. Aside from brief congratulations or minor talk, she wasn't allowed to speak to her participating students. She returned her attention to the arena.
She knew nobles used accessories—artifacts that the nobles could hide and that should be confiscated, yet they weren't—but she didn't know yet that the membrane itself also boosted power.
Alex knew because he had gauged their true power levels during practical classes during the year. Scarlett, on the other hand, only knew her own students, and while she noticed sudden increases in strength in the nobles in her class, she assumed it was due to training or hidden artifacts.
The combat began. Tessa opened with a classic Fire Ball.
Arven countered with a Lightning Lance—the same spell Mirelle used.
Boosted by the membrane and artifact, the Lance tore through the Fire Ball, turning offense into defense.
Tessa widened her eyes and cast Ice Shield. The Lance hit, cracking it all over, but failing to pierce.
She couldn't believe the spell held that much power after breaking through hers.
She cast Ice Rose Field, freezing the ground as roses of ice bloomed across it.
Arven immediately launched another Lightning Lance.
Tessa anticipated it and threw herself sideways, dodging just a couple of beats faster—yet the Lance grazed her side, leaving a thin red mark on her membrane.
She retaliated with a barrage of Fire Balls, targeting both Arven and the open space untouched by ice roses.
Arven now had to decide: defend against the barrage, or cross the thorny field.
He chose neither. Instead, he leapt high into the air, and before landing, he triggered an artifact.
A frosty shockwave erupted from him, shattering the field of roses in a wide radius.
"Ice Nova!" Scarlett exclaimed.
"It looks like something a Tier 1 mage shouldn't be able to use," Alex muttered, low, as if he was talking to himself but clearly meant for her.
"Yes, it's greatly weakened—but it's still an advanced spell," Scarlett replied.
Since an artifact triggered the Ice Nova, Arven hadn't cast a spell, so he immediately cast another the moment the first ended.
Everyone knew that it shouldn't be possible.
Normally, Tier 1 mages had a natural cooldown of around 0.2 seconds between casts—maybe 0.1 in a life-or-death moment due to the adrenaline.
This was due to the speed at which mana traveled from the core outwards, and then inwards again. This was upgraded as one got stronger.
Yet Arven's cast came even faster.
Tessa assumed she had an opening and cast a massive Fire Ball, thinking she had outplayed him.
She didn't expect another Lightning Lance to fire at the exact same time.
The Lance—double-boosted by the membrane and a second artifact—carried the force of a quasi-intermediate spell.
It tore through her Fire Ball and hit her center mass, launching her out of the arena.
Against all expectations, Tessa lost.
The referee raised his hand."Winner, Arven Drayden!"
"Such bullshit," Alex muttered.
Tessa stood and marched toward the referee, ready to accuse Arven of cheating—but Alex shook his head firmly.
She understood instantly.
The referee wouldn't act. Even the teachers were bought.Her only option was returning to her seat, bitterness weighing on her chest; this was her closest clash with corruption.
As she sat, Alex spoke softly.
"Don't be too disappointed. You won on that last exchange. If Arven wasn't boosted by both the artifact and the membrane, you'd have painted the floor with his face."
He was trying to comfort her. Even knowing the academy was corrupt, seeing it used directly against her hit differently.
"What? The membrane?" Scarlett asked without thinking. She then looked at Alex with wide eyes, praying that he wouldn't answer her.
"Yes. It boosts noble students' power output. I know their real limits from class, and none of them should be able to reach quasi-intermediate power—much less consistently. They'd need two boosting artifacts, since most haven't even reached novice level."
Now that Tessa had lost, Alex no longer cared whether he got disqualified—his desire to fight had evaporated.
"What are you doing? Shut up!" Scarlett hissed.
"Student, you can't speak to your teacher while still participating!"A nearby referee noticed and stepped in.
"You are hereby disqualified!"
"I don't give a fuck," Alex said plainly.
"Why? Don't you—" Tessa began, but another voice cut her off.
"I still wish to fight him. So please rescind his disqualification. I'll accept his advantage."
Alex recognized the voice immediately.
Dorren walked toward them with a smug grin.
"Are you sure, student?" the referee asked.
"Yes, I am."
"Long time no see, fucker," Dorren said to Alex."I still remember you running with your tail between your legs during midterms."
"Where's your boyfriend, Dorren? Did he dump you already?" Alex shot back.
Tessa watched silently, mildly embarrassed. Childish or not, she understood the hatred between them.
Scarlett did too.
"You know, I'm glad Marc was killed. Ah—seeing your face then was priceless. Shame it wasn't me."
Both Tessa and Scarlett froze.
Dorren had crossed a line.
And Alex snapped.
"You want to fight, waste of oxygen? Then let's fight."Without waiting for a reply, he marched toward the arena.