Chapter 83: The Battle for Top 16.
Sandra and Victoria faced each other as the referee stood beside them. Both girls were calm, but their eyes were sharp and focused.
The crowd gradually grew quiet as everyone waited for the signal. Then the referee raised his hand and said loudly, "Begin."
The moment the word left his mouth, Sandra disappeared. Her body moved like a flame carried by the wind. In the next instant, she appeared behind Victoria with a fire blade already formed in her hand.
The heat around the blade distorted the air as she swung it sideways with full force.
But before the blade could reach her, an earth wall rose between them. The wall formed instantly, stopping the attack completely. Sparks flew as the fire blade struck the solid earth, but it failed to break through.
Victoria did not stay still. She pushed mana through her body and suddenly rose into the air. Her robes fluttered as the wind gathered around her.
One by one, many wind cutters formed around her. The sharp blades of compressed wind spun quietly, waiting for her command.
Victoria raised her hand and launched all the wind cutters toward Sandra at once.
Sandra reacted immediately. She moved backward while dodging each attack. Her movements were fast, clean, and very precise. Every step, every turn, was perfect. As she moved, many fireballs formed around her.
They shot forward and clashed with the incoming wind cutters. Some fireballs collided with the wind attacks, while others continued toward Victoria.
Victoria quickly shifted her position in the air, narrowly dodging the fireballs that came toward her. Heat passed by her face as the attacks missed.
Suddenly, a windstorm began to form around Sandra. The strong wind wrapped around her body, spinning faster and faster. It completely enveloped her, lifting her off the ground.
Sandra began to float inside the storm, but the sharp wind started cutting her skin. Many small cuts formed on her arms and legs as she tried to move inside the storm.
Sandra frowned slightly, then fire began to form around her body. Flames spread from her shoulders and back, wrapping around her like armor.
The fire expanded outward and covered the entire windstorm. For a moment, only roaring flames could be seen.
After a few seconds, the fire slowly began to disappear. When the flames faded, Sandra was seen standing where the storm had been. Her breathing was heavier now, and she had small injuries on her body, but she was still standing strong.
Then she vanished again.
In the next instant, she appeared beside Victoria. A fireball was already formed in her hand. Without hesitation, she launched it at point-blank range.
The fireball hit.
A loud explosion echoed as smoke rose from the impact. Flames spread for a moment before slowly fading away. The crowd watched closely.
When the smoke cleared, a small metal piece was visible beneath it. Suddenly, the metal expanded and covered Victoria's entire body, forming a full protective shell around her.
It was a trick Victoria had seen Henry use before, so she had learned it as well.
At that moment, many earth spikes rose from the ground.
They shot upward and formed a cage around both Sandra and Victoria. The spikes were thick and tall, blocking all escape paths.
Victoria had done this to limit Sandra's movement because Sandra was faster than her. This was something Aiden had taught her.
Once again, many wind cutters formed around Victoria. She raised her hand and launched them straight toward Sandra, who was now trapped inside the cage with her.
Sandra did not panic. Fireballs formed around her and clashed with the incoming wind cutters. Sparks and flames filled the small space as both attacks collided repeatedly.
Then both Sandra and Victoria moved forward at the same time.
They knew that using any large spells in the small cage would injure them both badly. So, they chose to fight using martial arts.
Sandra arrived right in front of Victoria and threw a punch toward her face.
Victoria caught the punch with her hand. She twisted her body smoothly, released Sandra's arm, and then delivered a roundhouse kick straight at Sandra's neck.
Victoria had learned taekwondo from Aiden. Even though she didn't know what this fighting style or martial art was called, she learned it because it suited her perfectly.
To her, this martial art was something she had never seen before. She was amazed by how good it was compared to the martial arts she had learned.
Then the kick landed.
Sandra was sent flying backward. She crashed into the earth cage wall as dust rose into the air. The impact shook the ground slightly.
When the dust settled, Sandra was standing there with her hand on her neck. She had been injured. The pain was intense, and her breathing was uneven, but she endured.
Then she took a deep breath and vanished again.
She reappeared beside Victoria and kicked toward her side. Victoria bent backward just in time, dodging the attack by a small margin. The punch passed close to her body.
Victoria moved again and delivered a side kick to Sandra's side. Sandra fell to the ground, gasping for air as the blow knocked the wind out of her.
Slowly, Sandra got up. Her movements were slower, and her breathing was heavy.
The moment she was fully upright, a straight kick landed directly in her stomach. Her body bent forward as the air was forced out of her lungs. She fell to her knees, holding her stomach.
Victoria stopped attacking.
She looked at Sandra and said politely, "Let's stop it here. You really are strong. You fought me really well."
Sandra, gasping for air, looked at Victoria for a moment. She understood her situation clearly.
Inside this cage, she could not use her speed properly, and in close combat, Victoria was far superior to her. Continuing the fight would only cause more injury.
She took a deep breath, raised her hand, and said.
"I give up." The referee heard this, and he stopped the fight.
The crowd applauded both of them as they left the arena.
Then it was Joshua's fight.
Joshua faced a boy named George Gregory. He was the seventh-ranked student from the water department.
The moment the fight started, Joshua used blitz. He appeared instantly in front of George. George could not react in time as a punch landed straight on his face.
George was sent flying. Before he could even hit the ground, Joshua vanished again and appeared behind him in midair. He landed a kick straight on George's back, sending him flying in the opposite direction.
George crashed into the arena wall as dust rose upward.
From within the dust, many streams of water formed and shot straight toward Joshua. Joshua did not move. An earth wall rose in front of him, completely blocking the water streams.
The attacks splashed against the wall and fell to the ground. Then, Joshua began to float in the air. Lightning bolts crackled around him with power. He raised his hand and unleashed them toward George. George was too slow to react.
The lightning bolts bombarded him. He created a water wall at the last second, but it was not enough. The wall shattered as the lightning struck his body. After the attack, George was seen lying on the ground, covered in injuries.
Suddenly, his body twitched. He clenched his teeth and tried to stand. With great difficulty, he pushed himself to his feet. Right in front of him, another large lightning bolt formed and approached him at high speed.
Before he could react, it reached him instantly. George closed his eyes, accepting defeat. The lightning bolt was suddenly stopped just before his face—by the referee.
The referee looked at Joshua and said, "It's enough." Then he announced loudly, "The winner of this match is Joshua Draconia." The crowd did not respond as Joshua left the arena.
The referee then carried George to the healing team. Afterwards, the other matches continued. Christian won his fight; Peter easily defeated his opponent. Alan Ossuary and Kayla Parnell secured their spots.
The twins used illusion spells to trap their opponents and won. Ronald Ashdown and Eric Bowman from the wind department also advanced. From the earth department, Victoria already secured her place, and Keith Faust won his match.
Maria and Nathan also secured their wins. From the fire department, Paul and Brian emerged victorious. Angela also won. Janice and Noah won, while Jeremy's opponent forfeited before the match even started.
The top 60 rounds ended, and the final 30 students were decided. From the water department, Ashley and Bryan advanced. Aiden was not included because he was already in the top 16.
From the fire department, Ian, Paul, and Brian competed. From the wind department, Jack, Ronald, and Eric advanced. From the light department, Noah, Aaron, and Janice moved on.
The lightning department was represented by Joshua and Christian. The earth department had Henry, Victoria, and Keith. The parasitic department was represented by Olivia, Maria, and Nathan.
The puppeteer department included Kyle, Alan, and Kayla. The healing department had Angela and Peter. The illusionary department's competitors were Jeremy and the twins.
These twenty-seven students fought in the first contest, with only two absent: Liam, who had been defeated by Aaron, and Hannah, who chose not to participate.
The remaining three, Gary Amorth from the lightning department, Pamela Bromley from the puppeteer department, and Rachel Cadaver from the wind department, fought their way here.
The battle to determine the top 30 was about to begin. The winners would advance to the final sixteen, where Aiden was already waiting. Who would win and reach the top sixteen was completely unpredictable.
Author's Note: All the best students of each department have now successfully reached the top 32. Now they were going to face each other to see who was the strongest among them. Stay tuned for more chapters.