"Oh oh~ Bai En is up, Yuno, look quickly."
On the viewing platform, Yuno and Asta were intently watching the assessment. After all, that guy… was a powerful rival in their pursuit of their dreams!
"I know, Asta."
Right after saying that, Yuno, looking out at the battlefield, added, "At first, I thought you wouldn't even win the preliminaries, but I didn't expect you to win by a fluke. However… the next battles won't be so simple."
"Don't worry, you'll still lose in the end. After all, I'm the one who will become the Wizard King."
"Huh?" Asta looked at Yuno, who was a head taller than him, his brows furrowed tightly. "What the hell are you, you aloof handsome jerk, talking about? I'm the one who will become the Wizard King! You should worry about yourself first. I've already passed the preliminaries, you know!"
"I won't lose."
"Why?"
"Because I'm the one who will become the Wizard King."
"That's me!"
"Me!"
The two argued like children until someone in the crowd shouted, "Look! One team has already moved!" Only then did they refocus their attention on the battle below.
"The other team hasn't made any move yet. It looks like they're discussing tactics?"
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"I specialize in Plant Magic, which excels at recovery and support. Recently, I've also learned offensive Magic… What kind of Magic do Senior Gosen and Senior Bai En specialize in? Although I've seen it before, more clear information is for the victory of this battle."
"Plant Magic, which excels at recovery and support? And she's also mastered offensive Magic?" Gosen moved excitedly, as if every gesture of the girl could stir his heartstrings. "You're amazing, Mimosa~"
"Alright~ Now I'll introduce my Magic in detail."
Gosen took out his flintlock pistol from his waist. The fiery red patterns on the gun became lifelike due to the infusion of magic. "I use Flame Magic. Due to my weapon, I specialize in mid-to-close range Magic combat."
"As long as the enemy enters my attack range, I can turn him into a sieve with Flame Magic~"
After speaking, he walked up to Bai En, who was standing by the dirt mound gazing into the distance, and patted him, saying, "It's your turn. What are you looking at? So serious?"
Before Bai En could respond, Mimosa behind him reminded, "The enemies have already moved and are rapidly approaching us."
"It seems they want to engage us directly from the front. Should we confront them head-on or fight a flanking battle?" She asked for their opinions.
"Are they getting close?" Gosen murmured, pointing his flintlock pistol straight ahead. "Once they enter my range, how about we give them a spectacular surprise?"
"Hey, Bai En, after I attack, what do we do? A frontal assault?"
Gosen didn't think his Flame Magic could defeat three Order of Knights simultaneously in one go, so he asked Bai En about the next battle plan.
One reason was that Bai En was currently the Vice-Captain of his Order of Knights. The other was… he was strong, a fact that had been fully proven in the Magic Palace and the Dwarf Kingdom.
People are often more inclined to ask for the opinions of the strong.
"Let's fight head-on." Bai En gazed down, his black eyes exceptionally bright.
"Alright then, after I complete the first volley, we'll break through directly from the front and win the match in one fell swoop!" Gosen spun the flintlock pistol in his hand, reminding Mimosa beside him, "Miss Mimosa, be prepared~"
"Okay."
Mimosa responded, looking at the light projection on the flower. The red dots had already covered most of the distance and were still coming at full speed.
"Actually… there's no need for such trouble. Let's end the battle quickly and conserve our strength for the next assessment."
Bai En's sudden remark made Gosen and Mimosa pause. 'No need for such trouble? What does he mean?'
"What did you just say? No need for such trouble?" Gosen asked as if he hadn't heard clearly.
Both of them looked at Bai En, only to hear him murmur to himself, "Don't sleep, Xiao Tong, wake up, it's time to get down to business. I'll treat you to something delicious later."
The pearly white grimoire slowly turned its pages, until it reached the last three pages, which were as transparent as glass.
'His grimoire's pages are so strange, completely different from the ones before? What's going on?' Mimosa pondered, her gaze fixed on the somewhat peculiar grimoire.
Suddenly, a beautiful little girl with red eyes and black hair appeared on the grimoire's pages, lazily stretching her arms. Her almost transparent wings flapped, and the little girl flew around Bai En, babbling and dancing.
'So beautiful, her eyes are like a red ocean.' Mimosa murmured in her heart, 'But what is this? A spirit like Yuno's? But aren't Magic Spirits only the four elemental spirits: wind, fire, water, and earth?'
Even Mimosa, who had received an excellent royal education since childhood, did not recognize this little creature.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry. How about I treat you to some cream cake later?" Looking at Xiao Tong circling and flying, Bai En started making promises like a boss.
Upon hearing the words "cream cake," Xiao Tong nodded heavily, a happy smile appearing on her face. She flew over Bai En's head, and several toy-like small swords floated beside her.
If you looked closely, you would notice that these were precisely Bai En's well-tempered cooking utensils.
Xiao Tong lightly pointed with her fair little hand, and a small sword floated out from the encirclement, then, with a wave of her hand, the small sword swiftly flew into the sky.
Upon reaching a certain height, just as her little hand was about to drop, Bai En interjected, "Place it gently."
Xiao Tong responded with an "aba" and nodded softly.
Her fair, lotus-root-like hand instantly swung down, and the small sword in the sky plummeted. A shimmering white circle flashed across the sword's body.
Rick and his two companions, who were moving forward through the dilapidated buildings, stopped. Caster turned to look at the two behind him and asked, "Did you hear anything?"
Falt nodded, "It sounds like something cutting through the air, and it's getting louder."
Rick reacted the quickest. He looked up at the sky and murmured, "What's that? A sword? It feels so small!"
'But why is the commotion so great? It hasn't even fallen yet… It gives me a feeling of a meteor crashing down.'
A strong sense of unease magnified infinitely in his heart. Rick shouted, "Cast magic towards the sky!"
Without any hesitation, upon hearing the shout, the two beside him moved. Flames, fueled by vines, spewed fiercely towards the sky, and a huge ice prism shimmered behind the flames.
But… in just an instant, the composite Flame Magic and the huge ice prism collapsed downwards.
The air around the small sword subtly showed signs of collapsing and trembling under pressure. A heavy force beneath the sword's tip crushed downwards, it was incredibly domineering, mixed with sparks that cut through the air, as it plunged down.
It was like a meteor falling from the sky, or the roar of an enraged deity!
The magic crystal shattered into fine dust with a "bang."
Rick and his two companions were crushed to the ground, unmoving, by the immense force amidst the buzzing sound. As the sword's shadow fell, the ground caved in and violently cracked into countless fissures. The air vibrated intensely, and the booming sound was like trembling wind and thunder, with a fiery red boundary appearing at the edge of the sunken circle.
At the center of the scattered ice shards and overflowing flames, the small sword stood upright, plunged into the sunken ground.
With a "tseng" sound of the sword's breath, a white wind howl unleashed outwards like a dragon, causing sand and trees to wildly churn.
"Round Five, assessment over!"
...