"So, guys, what are you planning?" Aizis asked casually, took a breath.
"I have a lot to ask you, Aizis," Maria said with a strong voice. Her eyes showed a hint of seriousness.
"I know what you want to know. Please wait a bit more, and I'll tell you everything," Aizis replied.
Marco smiled.
"It's actually bothering everyone," Marco thought to himself.
"Well, if you don't have any plans, I believe it's best to leave now," Aizis said.
"Do as you please," Maria replied, let out a weary breath.
Aizis drew a red magic circle and teleported away with a flash of light.
Marco and Maria also teleported away.
After teleporting away, Raizel appeared inside his own room.
After finishing his regular tasks, he lay down on his bed. After joining such a battle for the first time in a long while, he seemed exhausted.
"The level of presence… it's pretty abnormal. I believe I can take care of this one, but is it okay to take them with me as well? I don't know."
Someone knocked on the door. It was familiar to Raizel.
"Come in."
A tall, dark-red-haired middle-aged person entered the room. It was Raizel's father, Edward Rionel.
Edward Rionel is one of the most fearsome entities in the entire world. Due to his extraordinary intelligence and magic power, he's feared by everyone around him. He is one of the strongest magic lords in the world. With his huge amount of magic power and excellent physical appearance, he can create a presence anywhere.
"You?"
"I heard about your academy event. How's everything going?" Rionel asked in a strong, effective voice.
"Everything is fine."
"If you have any problems, don't hesitate to tell me. I will do anything for you."
Raizel didn't reply.
"Do your best. I will always keep you in my prayers. I wish for you to achieve everything you want."
Rionel left the room.
"Since it's an order from my teacher and parents to do my best in the event, I must do it."
The next morning,
As the moon disappeared, the sun finally rose in the east.
As always, after finishing his regular tasks, Raizel teleported to the academy.
But before Raizel arrived, Aizis was already there. It seemed like they had been waiting for him.
"So, you're here, Raizel," Aizis said.
"Yes, but what about the others? Why are they late?"
"They're late because they're late."
"What?"
"Nothing."
They heard loud footsteps. Someone was running toward them quite fast. It was a familiar face—Marco.
"He's here."
"I'm extremely sorry for keeping you guys waiting," Marco said, breathing heavily.
"Only me, not both," Aizis replied with a long breath.
"Well, well, sorry for the delay, my dear honorable mister Aizis."
Aizis smiled.
"By the way, I can't see Maria here yet. What's wrong?" Aizis said suddenly.
"She told me she was going to be a bit late, but it's…" Marco said.
Someone's voice came from behind. It was Maria all along.
"Sorry, guys, I'm really late."
"It's fine, it's fine. Let's go inside now," Aizis said.
They entered the academy.
The event was supposed to take place in the stadium of the academy. The stadium was built by top-tier creation magic users as a practice center for the students. But now, it was the venue for the Demonic Level Upgrade event.
Since they were a bit late, most of the students seemed to be present already. The whole stadium was filled with countless audience members and noble family members who were there to choose their perfect disciple.
The academy was huge, and so was the stadium. The whole stadium could be as large as a city.
Raizel and the others sat on the side of the participant's venue. It was on a corner side of the stadium, placed right after the audience section. They marked it as a specific area just for the students.
"Their choice was really good. For an event like this, it's the perfect place," Aizis said.
The stadium was active and loud. Everyone around was chattering with each other until the event organizer started speaking.
"Dear students and our honorable nobles, I would like to thank you for coming here today. As you are all aware, this is the event where the commoner students get the chance to be a disciple of the noble families, and the nobles get the chance to choose their suitable and talented disciple. So then, let us begin."
A huge lightning spark brightened the whole stadium for a second.
"Well then, my dear students. It's time for the first round. As for the first round, I would like to invite Marco and Miyaro to enter the stage."
Due to the immense amount of magic power, Marco's every step was creating shockwaves. He was intentionally doing this. Even though no one can turn their magical presence to zero, many magic users can minimize their mana presence. Marco had always hidden his magic power, but now, he released the barrier that was lowering his presence.
On the other hand, Miyaro wasn't really afraid of Marco's presence. He simply took Marco's presence head-on. However, Marco's presence didn't affect him.
Miyaro was the first to speak.
"That's some fearsome presence. The mana pressure is really creating some nice moments here," Miyaro said.
"Well, right now, I don't think I should hold back my mana presence. I respect my opponent."
"That's nice to hear. But I'm not sure if your confidence is good enough to give you the victory here," Miyaro said with a minor smile.
Marco smiled slightly.
"The most important attribute for victory is confidence. However, I'm not just confident here. I'm sure I'm going to win," Marco replied.
"Well then, I believe it's your time to prove it."
Miyaro drew a magic circle and summoned a golden katana. With the katana in his left hand, he flew toward Marco.
He swung his katana directly toward Marco's chest with agile movement.
Marco easily dodged it and jumped a few meters away.
"You're pretty fast.'' Marco took a breath.
''But I wonder if it's enough for me," Marco said with a smile.
Miyaro repeatedly tried to cut Marco's chest, hand, leg, and even head. He became desperate to win.
"He lost control over himself. That's bad," Marco thought to himself.
Once again, Miyaro tried to cut down Marco's head with excellent speed. However, this time, he became so desperate that he covered his sword with every part of his magic power and swung it toward Marco's head.
His whole body, his eyes, and his face were covered by mana as well. He was using his mana to its extreme.
At the moment his katana reached Marco's neck, a storm of fog covered the surroundings.
The fog took both of them out of sight for a moment.
A few seconds later, they were revealed slightly.
Someone stopped Miyaro's katana—someone stopped it with just a finger. It was Marco all along.
Marco stopped Miyaro's katana with his index finger.
While Marco showed no expression, Miyaro's face was covered with fear and surprise, and he was sweating rapidly.
"You don't have any mana left, right, Miyaro?" Marco said with a minor smile.
Miyaro dropped his sword and fell to the ground.
Having used every bit of his magic power, he lost consciousness.
"Well, you were too desperate. But it wasn't enough to stop me. I told you already, I'm sure I'm going to win here," Marco said.
"Well then, as the opposing participant has passed out, I would like to declare Marco as the winner," the announcer said with a smile.
The whole stadium erupted in surprise at Marco's performance as he defeated Miyaro without using magic. Everyone present there fell silent for a moment.
Marco went back to his seat in the venue casually. There was nothing extra in his expression.
The moment he returned to his position, Maria spoke up.
"You actually did this,"
"I told you already, I will defeat him without using magic," Marco replied.
"Mm, that's nice."
"So what's with the magic power flexing entry? Why did you release your magic power while entering?" Maria asked.
"Even though he managed to resist my mana presence, he didn't resist what I wanted to do. My goal wasn't just to defeat him from the beginning, I wanted to defeat him without using my magic power, just like I promised you.'' Marco took a small breath.
''When he saw my magic power, his soul was shaken by the sheer amount of it. Thus, he failed to focus properly in the battle. If you observe closely, you'll see that none of his attacks were proper. He threw his sword randomly, and it was easy for me to dodge them. And in the end, his fear and desperation became so wild that he used all of his magic power and tried to land his katana on my neck. However, he was never close to me. I simply stopped his katana with my index finger. As he used all of his mana in the attack, he passed out due to the lack of physical energy." Marco stopped.