The next morning.
At exactly nine o'clock, the sorcerers who had signed up for the competition gathered on a massive floating circular platform above Kathmandu.
Bruce Banner stood with his briefcase in hand, Betty by his side. Nearby, Tony Stark—looking pale but determined—kept his sharp eyes locked on Malrick, who hovered slightly above the platform. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff were also among the crowd, all waiting for the start.
"I won't waste time with long speeches," Malrick announced, his voice carrying across the gathering. "This preliminary round will decide who qualifies for the challenge. Let's begin the group assignments and battlefield allocations."
He tossed a spherical projection device into the center of the platform. Five beams of light shot out from its slits, dividing the platform into five equal sections. Above each section, enormous projections lit up, each one displaying lists of participants.
Over eight hundred names scrolled across the screens, each with three columns: defeats, times defeated, and assisted defeats.
"For fairness," Malrick continued, "each sorcerer has three lives. Severe injury, unconsciousness, or being forced out of bounds counts as a loss of one life. After defeat, you'll be healed and allowed back until your three chances are gone. The last ones standing will move forward."
The sorcerers murmured among themselves, their anticipation growing.
"According to your assignments, head to your designated combat zones. The selection for each group will be based on your performance in free-for-all combat. You have ten minutes to prepare. The first round will last one hour."
As his words ended, the projections above displayed a ten-minute countdown.
Sorcerers hurried to find their names and entered their assigned zones.
"Banner, look! We're in the same area—we can team up!" Wong said, pointing to Zone 2.
Banner scratched his head. "Isn't teaming up a little unfair?"
"Maybe, but everyone else is doing it," Wong replied, gesturing at clusters of familiar sorcerers already forming alliances.
Jarvis had tried to account for likely team-ups when dividing the groups, but friendships within Kamar-Taj ran deep. It was impossible to eliminate every advantage. Still, Malrick knew the true outcome beforehand. This round was less about fairness and more about letting Tony, Banner, and the others showcase their strength.
"Alright then," Banner agreed. The two entered Zone 2 together.
Elsewhere, Wanda, Pietro, Tony, and Mordo prepared in their own zones.
When the countdown hit zero, the word GO blazed across the five projections.
The chaos began immediately.
Half the sorcerers wasted no time unleashing spells in every direction. Brilliant beams of magic streaked across the fields, striking anyone caught unprepared. The opening salvo eliminated dozens in seconds.
Only the cautious survived the first barrage—those who quickly conjured defenses like the Rings of Raggadorr or Seraphim Shields.
Defeated sorcerers were instantly healed and sent back in, their combat records above their heads updated to reflect their losses. The second time around, most approached with far greater caution, defending first and striking second.
The battle truly came alive.
Tony was the most outrageous of them all. Draped in a long sorcerer's robe, he strolled forward with casual confidence, his lips moving almost faster than the eye could follow.
"Protego!" he cast in a fraction of a second, shielding himself before firing off spell after spell in a rapid-fire blur.
"Stupefy! Immobilize! Impedimenta! Confringo! Levicorpus! Incendio!"
Every kind of magic—combat, control, even prank spells—flew from his wand like bullets from a machine gun. Three incantations per second. His pace was so relentless that others couldn't keep up.
Sorcerers fell in waves before him, while Tony walked calmly through the battlefield as if taking a casual stroll. Within minutes, the record above his head read: 21/0/3.
Meanwhile, Banner and Wong made an equally strong showing.
The moment the fight began, Wong conjured a massive Seraphim Shield, blocking incoming fire. Behind the protection, Banner opened his enchanted case.
Thunderbirds, Hippogriffs, Graphorns, Zouwu, and more than a dozen other magical creatures erupted onto the field. The air shook with their cries as they charged the unprepared sorcerers.
Lightning rained from above as Thunderbirds screamed across the skies. Erumpents struck like living battering rams, tossing opponents aside. Graphorns' roars disoriented their enemies.
With Wong reinforcing their defenses and Banner commanding his beasts, they carved through opponents like a storm.
Elsewhere, Wanda and Pietro's zones also turned one-sided. Their combined assault left their enemies scrambling for any chance to fight back.
The preliminary trial had only just begun, but already the stronger contenders were making themselves known.
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Milestone
100 Power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter.
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