CHAPTER 183: ONLY THE MONSTERS REMAIN

The fifth day of the Royal Academy Tournament arrived. This was the most important and most exciting day of the Tournament.

To the students, today was going to be the most intense battle. This day would decide which students were truly the ones above the rest. Only the strongest of them would be able to move forward to the next day.

Even if you don’t win the tournament, as long as you win on this day and make it to the sixth day of the tournament, that means you were the cream of the crop among the best of the younger generation in Norvaegard.

Those who reach this round in the tournament would never yield and would even bite their enemies if it would bring them victory.

***

The atmosphere inside the coliseum was unlike the days before. The cheers were still there, loud, thunderous even, but beneath them was a tension that coiled like a drawn bowstring.

Every student who stepped into the arena today did so with clenched jaws and sharpened eyes. The earlier rounds look like a game compared to the ones happening today

The current matches had no hesitations; no one tried to figure out what their opponents would do. Now the focus was to attack fast and win as quickly as possible, trying your best not to allow your opponent to make a move.

The smell of dust and iron hung in the morning air, mingling with the hum of mana, the aura leaking from the fighters.

Spectators leaned forward from the stands, nobles and commoners alike, their gazes locked on the stage. Even the instructors wore grim expressions.

They knew that from this day onward, every clash had the potential to make or destroy a future.

***

The very first match of the day was a brutal one. Knowing that no matter the damage taken in the arena would be turned into nothing once outside, they used everything at their disposal to win.

Flames clashed against blades of wind, and a powerful explosion created black streaks into the arena floor. Every impact shook the coliseum, forcing the protective barrier to shimmer with strain.

No one was holding back anymore. There was even one who could no longer move his hands, but started kicking and biting his opponent.

Mages who had exhausted their mana started fighting using their bodies. They punched, they kicked, even though it didn’t look elegant but rather barbaric, they would do anything to win.

Also, unlike the other days where there was only one match, today there were two matches for those who won their first match.

The rule alone was enough to make even the strongest frown. Enduring one life-or-death battle was already grueling; fighting two in the same day pushed both body and spirit to the edge.

Physical exhaustion, mental exhaustion, mana exhaustion, aura exhaustion, every kind of exhaustion was felt once they left the stage.

Unfortunately, though the ancient spell using the ley lines could restore the body back to what it was before entering the arena, it cannot restore the energy used.

Still, despite all that, the moment they achieve victory, most would scream in joy. Some of the students even cried.

Rachel, who was watching among the crowd, was amazed by how different the fifth day was from the other days.

This was what she imagined the warrior kingdom of Norvaegard would look like, where every person, noble or commoner, fought not just to win, but to prove their very existence. To prove their valor and honor through battle.

She could feel it even from the stands, the heat, the killing intent, the desperation. The students below weren’t just fighting for glory anymore; they were fighting to be remembered.

’Is this the true face of Norvaegard? Though they have nobles who use honor and dignity as excuses, at the same time, they do understand what those two are more than most.’

The crowd roared again as another match ended, a deafening blend of cheers and gasps that echoed off the stone walls. One fighter stood tall in the dust, his chest heaving, his opponent sprawled unconscious at his feet.

The referee raised his hand, declaring the winner, and the arena erupted once more. But Rachel didn’t cheer. Her eyes remained fixed on the fighters leaving the stage.

Their faces were pale, their steps unsteady. Even with their bodies restored by the leyline spell, the exhaustion in their eyes was unmistakable.

"Even victory looks painful," she whispered to herself.

She wasn’t wrong. There was no longer any glamour left in these fights, only resolve, pride, and the desperate will to stand.

She could hear the loud beating of her heart. She was rather excited. This was what she came here to see.

***

One of the ducal heirs finally took the stage; it was Elyra Runescar. Most of her matches, similar to the other ducal heirs, were of overwhelming victory.

Yet this time her opponent was actually able to last more than a minute. Elyra’s opponent focused on defending himself from Elyra’s fast-paced attacks.

Elyra no longer held back this time and was truly trying to defeat her opponent as fast as possible.

Her opponent was overwhelmed by her speed and could do nothing but simply block her attacks. He was waiting for the chance to counter, but there was none. Elyra’s sword was like a silver storm that was trying to blow him away.

’It’s do or die now!’

The student had no choice but to make a move before the timer ran out on him. He was not going to win this match by relying on the judges, seeing as all he did was defend. His only chance of winning was to attack and win.

The student used every bit of his aura to do a counter-attack, but the second he switched from defense to offense was the end.

Elyra was too fast and used that moment when he was ready to attack as an opening. She quickly subdued the student once she spotted an opening.

"Winner! Elyra Runescar!"

***

The other ducal heirs were also doing their best now. Mireya Aeromont, since the other students saw her match against Raina, her current opponent had prepared to deal with her illusion spells.

Unfortunately for him, Mireya no longer stuck to just using illusion spells. As an Aeromont, Mireya was quite proficient in using elemental magic and other styles of magic.

Even though her main talents and focus were on illusion, she was still better than most in other spells as well.

Mireya bombarded her opponent with different elemental spells. She even used illusions to trick her opponent, to which was real and which was false, but there was really no need for that.

The sheer amount of her bombardment made it very difficult for her opponent, who was not expecting such an assault, and he quickly fell.

"Winner! Mireya Aeromont!"

***

Evander Judicar, who had fought the entire tournament without attacking and only defending, had also gotten serious.

His opponent was bombarding him with shards of ice. It was under the category of a water spell, and it was the best offensive spell a second-circle mage who uses water spells could use.

It wasn’t as powerful as a simple fireball, but the amount of mana needed to use the spell was small, and the chances of getting hit were higher since just a single spell had dozens of shards of ice attacking you.

There was also the fact that these shards of ice can grow depending on how much you pour in; they also have great penetrating power.

Evander, who was enveloped by his aura mantle with his divine blessing, blocked the attacks with his shield while charging at his opponent.

The mage he was fighting could not run and was smashed by Evander’s shield. Just one hit and you could hear the mage’s bones shattering. That was the end of the match.

"Winner! Evander Judicar!"

***

Lucen took the stage, and for the first time since the start of the tournament, he finally used his unique magic.

Lucen created two revolvers in both hands. His opponent was holding a shield and a warhammer.

The moment the match started, Lucen fired his revolvers. The student had some understanding of what kind of weapon was created by Lucen’s unique magic was since he saw it in the fight against Reginald.

The student quickly defended himself by raising his shield. Lucen then fired several shots while using a skill. Lucen’s bullets ricocheted against each other, making them hard to defend against.

The opponent was unable to do anything as he knelt on the ground and fainted.

"Winner! Lucen Thornehart!"

***

The foreigners who were watching the match were stunned. This was the first time they had seen Lucen’s unique magic. They had heard rumors of a weapon that the Dukedom of Stellhart was making that could make the sound of thunder.

It was obvious to them that those two weapons Lucen was using. Was that not just his unique magic? Was that something that could be created for anyone to use?

These were the questions in everyone’s mind right now.

***

Due to Lucen’s performance, not many had focused on the next match, which was Eisen’s match.

His opponent was the son of a Viscount who had hired some people to kidnap the other party. The student in question wasn’t aware of his father’s maneuvering, but was confident in winning.

Yet, the second the match started, the commoner, who was one of the favorites to win, used the earth wall spell, then shattered that earth wall with telekinesis.

The shattered earth wall sprayed stone towards Eisen’s opponent at incredible speed, which Eisen increased by using his telekinesis spell to give a slight push to each stone heading towards his opponent, making it faster.

Eisen, with his creative way of using the first circle spell, earth wall, and the first circle spell, telekinesis, thus creating something that looked like the third-circle spell, stone rain.

The opponent could react fast enough and defended himself with his aura mantle, but it was not enough, as he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Winner! Eisen Terre!"

***

The second matches of each ducal heir, and Eisen was no different, as they overwhelmed their opponent with their speed, power, and creativity. Despite their opponents’ desperate struggles, they could not snatch the victory away.

The fifth day of the tournament drew to a close. The weak had fallen, the strong had bled, and only monsters remained.