Inside Star Shine Academy's waiting room, five students were gathered for the Mage Division Tournament.
Three males and two females.
For Alex, only one of them was a complete stranger—not that he knew the other three personally. Even those he recognized were simply people he had seen before or heard of by reputation.
They were his teammates.
Draim stood near the far side of the room, his posture relaxed, his presence steady in a way that drew attention without demanding it. Within the academy, his name carried weight. He was widely regarded as the strongest mage across the first three years.
His gaze rested on Alex, thoughtful.
When their eyes met, Draim offered a small, subtle smile.
Next was Vivianne—Helena's cousin and the Crimson Rose of Star Shine Academy.
She stood slightly apart from the others, her posture straight, her expression composed—but there was something beneath it. A quiet sharpness, barely restrained, reflected in the way her eyes lingered on Alex.
Stoic on the surface, resentful underneath.
She said nothing.
Arista, on the other hand, made no effort to hide her reaction.
The moment Alex's gaze shifted toward her, she brightened instantly, a familiar, almost playful smile forming as she leaned forward slightly.
"Looks like we meet again, junior."
Her tone carried warmth—light, unguarded, completely at odds with the tension in the room.
And then—
There was the last one, Cassian Sabnock.
He didn't bother pretending.
From the moment Alex entered, his gaze had been fixed on him—sharp and unfiltered. Open disdain was written plainly across his expression.
If the others had questions, Cassian had already decided his answer. He scoffed, the sound cutting through the brief lull that followed Arista's greeting.
"Don't get the wrong idea," he said, his voice cold, edged with irritation. "Just because you awakened some talent and picked up a bit of half-baked strength doesn't mean you belong here."
The room fell quiet again.
He didn't stop there.
"You think that's enough to stand with us?" His gaze narrowed slightly. "You're not even close."
No one interrupted him.
Yet no one agreed with him either.
Alex remained still through it all.
He didn't react to Cassian's words, nor did he try to refute them. If anything, a part of him understood where they were coming from.
The level of the first-year tournament and this stage—
They weren't comparable.
Those matches had been controlled, limited in scope, designed to test potential rather than push it to its limits. Here, the expectations were different. The pressure was real, and the margin for error far thinner.
Compared to that, Alex's record—no matter how dominant—still belonged to a different stage.
He had overwhelmed his opponents, yes. But the highest-tier spell he had revealed was only Tier 3. That alone was enough to draw a line.
Many people still couldn't believe he was qualified to participate in the main tournament.
Even now, many couldn't accept his place here. Victories against first-years, no matter how decisive, weren't enough to erase doubt rooted in expectation and bias.
For most, that doubt remained.
And for many, it defined their judgment.
That said, the true experts did not dismiss Alex outright. They were skeptical—not of his talent, but of what his true capabilities were and how far his power extended.
Cassian belonged to the former. His stance was clear, his conclusion already made before the match had even begun.
Draim and Arista, on the other hand, belonged to the latter.
And then there was Vivianne.
She resentfully glared at Alex.
Alex noticed it.
'…What's her problem?'
He didn't know the reason behind it, and he didn't care enough to ask.
At the edge of the room, Aurora watched quietly. She had a faint inkling of the reason—but chose not to tell him.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
It was time for the deciding match—Stone Gate Academy vs. Star Shine Academy.
This was the deciding battle, the one that would determine who moved forward to the quarterfinals.
From the stands, Elena signaled to Arista.
"You're first."
Arista responded with a light nod, wearing her usual smile as she stepped forward, as if the weight of the moment hadn't touched her at all.
Across the field, Stone Gate Academy took their positions, their lineup reflecting exactly what most had expected.
They were composed almost entirely of earth mages.
Their strength lay in defense—terrain control, reinforced barriers, and endurance. Their style was predictable, but far from weak, especially in drawn-out engagements where stability mattered more than aggression.
Which was exactly why Arista had been chosen.
As a wind mage, her advantage wasn't direct opposition, but disruption. Wind magic excelled at breaking structure, interfering with defenses before they could fully stabilize, making her the ideal choice for the opening position.
On top of that, as Vice-President of the student council, her presence carried weight—both in strength and in image.
The moment she stepped onto the field, the difference was clear.
Her movements were smooth, controlled to a degree that made them seem effortless. Currents of wind formed and shifted at her command, weaving through the battlefield with precision.
Earthen barriers rose in response—thick and reinforced—but they never fully settled before being worn down, redirected, or dismantled from the edges.
She didn't clash against them directly.
She flowed around them.
From the stands, it looked clean—almost easy.
But Alex's gaze narrowed slightly as he watched, his attention fixed not on the result, but on the execution.
What appeared effortless was anything but, as every movement was deliberate and every spell carefully measured to maintain pressure without wasting mana.
It was control at a high level.
And it showed.
The first opponent fell without much resistance, the result announced almost as soon as the pace had been established.
The second match followed quickly.
This time, Stone Gate adjusted. Their defenses formed faster, their reactions more immediate. The pressure increased, and the exchanges lasted longer—but Arista adapted just as smoothly, shifting her angles and tightening her control until she broke through once again.
Another victory.
A ripple of approval spread through the crowd, quieter than a roar but no less genuine.
Even from the stands, Vivianne was cheering for her best friend's elder sister.
She was strong.
More than that—she was refined.
Arista did not remain for the third match.
After securing her second victory, the strain had begun to show. When she stepped back, her breathing was faintly uneven, and a brief dizziness passed through her before she steadied herself.
She smiled anyway.
As if nothing had changed.
As if it had all been easy.
But Alex had already seen through it.
No matter how effortless she made it look, the fight hadn't been easy—
Not even close.
With Arista stepping down, the flow of the match shifted—though not in a way that favored Stone Gate.
Elena's gaze moved across the remaining members before settling on Cassian.
"You're next."
Cassian didn't reply. He rose without a word and walked onto the field, his expression unchanged, though the faint edge in his eyes remained.
What drew Alex's attention—and much of the audience's—was that Cassian also possessed an affinity for earth magic.
The same as his opponent.
For a brief moment, the matchup seemed straightforward—two earth mages, both rooted in defense and control.
Their battle became one of endurance.
Cassian's approach, however, was different from Stone Gate's.
Where they focused on stability, he applied pressure. His constructs weren't static—they moved, closed in, and forced responses, leaving little room for his opponent to settle into a rhythm.
That difference decided the match.
Cassian didn't react to the victory. He reset his stance almost immediately, his gaze already fixed ahead.
"I'll continue."
The second opponent stepped forward, and the pace resumed, though this time the resistance was noticeably stronger. The exchanges stretched longer, pressure building as both sides pushed against each other more evenly.
Cassian didn't slow down.
If anything, he pressed harder.
But that was where the shift began.
A misjudgment.
A slight overextension.
Against an opponent who had been waiting for exactly that.
The balance broke—and with it, the result.
"Winner—Stone Gate Academy!"
Cassian stepped back, his expression tightening for just a moment before it settled again. He returned without a word, though the earlier confidence had clearly taken a hit.
Back in the waiting area, Elena's gaze moved to the remaining three—Alex, Vivianne, and Draim.
Arista was no longer an option. Her mana was nearly depleted, and there was no time to recover it mid-match.
After a brief pause, Elena made her decision.
Draim stepped forward calmly, the earlier ease in his expression replaced by focus as he made his way onto the field.
The crowd reacted immediately, their voices rising as anticipation built around his entrance.
His opponent this time—
A lightning mage.
Under normal conditions, earth held the advantage. Grounding and resistance made it an effective counter, but that only applied within limits. If the output exceeded what could be grounded, the advantage disappeared entirely.
The match began.
And the difference was clear.
Draim controlled the exchange from the start, overwhelming his opponent without giving him room to respond.
The final opponent stepped in soon after, but by then the outcome already felt decided. Draim maintained the same composure, the same level of control, and brought the match to a clean finish without allowing any shift in momentum.
When it ended, the announcement followed without delay.
"Star Shine Academy—victorious!"
With that, they secured their place in the quarterfinals.
Alex had wanted to go next—but Elena had turned him down.
It was the same answer as before.
Alex didn't press further, though the meaning was clear enough.
Once again, he had been held back.
From the side, Vivianne's gaze shifted slightly, a faint lift of her brow betraying her interest, while Cassian let out a quiet snicker, the earlier tension in his expression returning.