"Round five, assessment concluded!"
"The winning team is Team I!"
The Imperial Knight's voice echoed across the empty platform and the simulated battlefield. Healing Mages entered the field, their swift conclusion to the battle catching everyone off guard.
"What the hell was that?! So strong!"
"A winner was decided without even seeing a face; an overwhelming battle."
"Wow!" Julius, a magic enthusiast, looked at Bai En and Xiao Tong beside him with sparkling eyes. "What is that? What is that little guy, like the Four Great Spirits?"
"Special magic?"
"The gravity magic on the sword is incredibly powerful!"
"This…" Asta looked at the battlefield after the fight ended, the massive crater making his body tremble involuntarily. "So strong! Bai En is truly so strong!"
Yuno's expressionless face, like a block of ice, showed a hint of solemnity. The Wind Elf Bell, wearing a light blue dress, flapped her wings in the air, her eyes wide as she looked at Xiao Tong, whose stature was almost identical to her own, a great curiosity evident in her gaze.
"Asta… are you scared?" Yuno said indifferently.
"Scared?"
Asta turned to look at Yuno, his dark eyes exceptionally profound. They looked at each other. "Rather than scared, I'd say I'm excited… isn't fighting someone like that more interesting?"
"I say, Yuno, could it be that you're scared?"
The provocative words did not bring more color to that perpetually expressionless face. Yuno said chillingly, "No, I will win!"
"The one who becomes the Wizard King will definitely be me!"
"…It'll be me!"
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The roar of the wind subsided slightly. Mimosa and Gosen, standing on the dirt mound, stared blankly at the enormous commotion ahead for a long while.
"Damn it—" After a long pause, Gosen suddenly blurted out an interjection.
He strode over to Bai En and stared at him.
Xiao Tong frolicked and flew in the air, extending her small, snow-white hand forward. The 'General' that was plunged into the crater shot out a black ink line, quickly flying back. The already slender small sword expanded dozens of times the moment it approached her.
The 'General,' like the other kitchen utensils, was displayed at Xiao Tong's side, constantly rotating around her like a battle skirt.
"What are you doing?" Bai En took two steps back, asking Gosen, who was staring intently at him, in confusion.
"I didn't even get a chance to show off my magic, and you've already ended the battle."
"…Then, in the second round, you go first?" Bai En asked tentatively.
"No!" Gosen turned and gave a dramatic refusal. Then he cautiously leaned his back towards Bai En. "Please continue to carry me to victory like this, Vice-Captain Bai En."
For victory, he had uncharacteristically used the honorific "Vice-Captain."
Six hundred thousand yul, a raise… little imaginary elves were waving and beckoning within reach.
"Cough, cough…" Gosen wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth. "Didn't you say last time in the Bronze Fertile Plains that you were lucky and only managed to win by using a magic that couldn't be used again?"
"Can that magic that couldn't be used be used now?"
"No… it's because of Xiao Tong. I introduced her to you last time; she's a Sky Elf, similar to the Four Great Spirits. Thanks to her, I've become slightly stronger, and the power of my magic has also increased by a tiny bit."
That's right, just a tiny bit.
"No wonder you wouldn't lend Xiao Tong to me." Gosen mumbled a few words, then looked up at Xiao Tong. "Xiao Tong, after the assessment, do you want to go out and play for two days with big brother? Big brother will buy you lots and lots of delicious things~"
Seemingly sensing Gosen's ill intentions, Xiao Tong, flying in the air, made a face and stuck out her tongue at him: "Blech…"
A spatial portal appeared, and the three of them—Bai En, Gosen, and Mimosa—returned to the empty platform where they had been observing.
Gosen eagerly boasted about his glorious victory to Sesk.
Sesk returned two helpless eye rolls and then solemnly warned him, "Although winning the assessment is important, don't forget that the standard for Royal Knight members is not just the Magic Knight who wins until the end."
"It's—their own performance in battle. Therefore, from a certain perspective, having a teammate who is too strong is not necessarily a good thing."
Gosen was stunned: "Huh? Is that so?"
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The fifth round of the selection assessment concluded, and the selection assessment continued.
The subsequent battles between Mage teams were not like the fifth round, where victory was achieved with extreme individual strength in a crushing manner. After a relatively long stalemate, the winners were decided by their distinct individual fighting styles or more spectacular team coordination.
The winners of the sixth round were Team K, which included Luck and Klaus… The winners of the eighth round were Team P, which included Yuno and Noelle.
Then, each winning team rested briefly on the empty viewing platform before entering the second round of winner's bracket battles.
The first to go were Team B, which included Asta, and Team C, which included Coral Peacock Vice-Captain Kirsch Vermillion, Magna, and Blue Rose female member Soma.
Before the match began, several Mages in white robes appeared on the original simulated battlefield. They worked in groups of four, casting composite magic. The original single environmental zone disappeared, replaced by a complex terrain made of combined elements.
Low hills with protruding rocks, large puddles, piles of architectural debris… various environments were cleverly placed together.
The complex environment further tested the Mages' basic qualities and abilities.
On the platform, the two teams, first to play in the new round, were having a simple exchange. The man with slightly curly golden hair and wearing the Coral Peacock purple cape, placed a hand on his forehead, striking an extremely flamboyant pose.
"Hmph hmph… Even if the stage changes, my beauty will not change!"
This fellow, who was proclaiming his "beauty," was none other than the Vice-Captain of the Coral Peacock squad—Kirsch Vermillion. Besides that, he was royalty and Mimosa's older brother.
As Gosen murmured that someone's style actually surpassed his own, Mimosa quietly took a step back and lowered her head, 'How embarrassing, big brother.'
"Very well~ Now it's the end for the filthy, I'll take care of you beautifully, so prepare yourself!" Kirsch turned and looked coldly at Asta, who was a commoner and dressed shabbily, saying contemptuously.
"Huh?"
Asta retorted, "I'm quite a handful, so don't underestimate me!"
Magna, beside him, also exchanged opening remarks with Asta: "Asta~ We shouldn't hold back~ This time, be prepared to be defeated by your senior. Don't cry if you lose!"
"I won't, Senior Magna, let's both do our best."
...