Storm walked through the indicated door.
After climbing a long flight of stairs, he ended up behind a large grating.
A single guard stood by the door that was set in the grating.
As he was about to walk through it, the man held up his hand to block him.
"Wait until they announce your name first!"
At that moment the announcer addressed the crowd.
And now we come to the last of our qualifying rounds!
And it seems that the best has been saved for last!!
I must unfortunately report that we've had a last minute change to the roster..."
A series of 'boo's' and angry shouting came from the crowd.
"Fear not!! Due to the change, we will be refunding all bets for this next match and will give you 10 minutes to change your bets if you wish!!
But before you decide, let me first introduce this round's combatants.
Representing the magic school of Calahan Perdigrim . We have the dean's own firstborn son. Please welcome Merlin Perdigrim!!"
A round of applause erupted from the crowd as Storm's opponent stepped into the arena and took his place.
He was a middle aged man with shoulder length white blond hair and bright blue eyes.
He was wearing Gold robes and a staff that seemed to be a simple iron rod without additional adornments.
Storm tried to identify what kind of mage it was but he was unable to to do so.
"Watch your back, Storm!! I've got a bad feeling about this mage!!" Warned Mimereus.
And his opponent!! All the way from the Mysterious Arcanium!! Sebastian Hawthorne!!!
The crowd went wild when they heard what group Storm represented.
As Arcanium mages rarely decided to take part in such events.
Most people were eager to see how a mage from such an organization fought and were expecting a good showing.
The guard opened the door for Storm.
"Best of Luck to you!!
Give em a good show."
Storm stepped out and made his way to the center of the arena.
She shot a quick glance to where Aurora was seated.
She seemed startled when she first saw him, but that look of suprise quickly changed to anger.
The glare she gave Storm was enough to make his blood run cold.
"When a dragoness gives you a look like that!! It's best to run for cover!" Warned Mimereus.
"Hope you've got a massive gift you're planning to give her!!
Otherwise you should prepare yourself for a lot of cold, lonely nights!!" Joked Kalipso.
Storm pushed aside his relationship issues for the moment and focused on his opponent.
He seemed taken aback and nervous when he heard what organization Storm was from, but he quickly hid it.
Storm and the mage walked to the center of the ring and shook hands before making their way to the designated positions.
Storm raised a hand and a bolt of lightning shot from nowhere and went for his open hand.
As his fist closed around the bolt, it solidified and turned into his staff, drawing several more excited shouts from the crowd.
"Show off!!" Muttered Kalipso.
They waited while the people made their bets, and after 10 minutes, the announcer started the match.
Storm struck first with a quick burst of 3 lightning bolts. Much to Storm's suprise, the mage made no attempt to cast blocking magic or hit with a counterattack.
Instead he struck his staff into the ground in front of him and just waited.
The bolts struck the staff before disappearing from sight.
Only to fly back at Storm with greater speed.
He frantically cast blocking magic a second before the bolts hit.
At the first hit, his shield cracked from the force of the blow.
He barely had time to reinforce his barrier before the second bolt struck it.
The barrier shield shattered like glass as the second bolt connected with it.
Before he could do anything, the third bolt hit him in the chest and knocked him back a step .
One of the X's under Sebastian's name turned red as the hit was registered.
"First round goes to Merlin!!" Called the announcer.
The crowd were going wild in response.
"Guys!! I'm going to need some help!! How is he stopping my attacks like that!!" Storm frantically asked.
"I've got no idea?! I've never seen that before!?" Replied Kalipso.
Storm could feel Mimereus studying the mage with his eyes.
"Ahh!! Clever!! He's using the staff as a lightning rod, before redirecting the energy back to you.
He must be an alchemist!
A mage that can control metal, magnetism and raw force! " Explained Mimereus.
"How do I stop it?"
"Break the connection between the Rod and the ground, that should render it useless.!!" Suggested Mimereus.
Storm took his position again and waited for the next round to begin.
As the announcer started the second round, Storm fired an beam of light from his staff.
The beam cut clean through the staff and a moment later the two pieces fell to the ground.
The sudden destruction of his staff caught the alchemist by suprise and Storm scored his first hit by firing a small energy bolt at the startled mage.
"Well done!!" Praised Mimereus.
Storm's opponent returned to his position and the 3rd round was started.
The mage switched tactics and pulled several loose stones from the ground with his magic.
The stones transformed into shards of metal that he sent flying towards Storm at high speed.
Countering with light magic attacks, Storm destroyed each projectile before it reached him, then scored another hit on his opponent before he could summon more projectiles.
As the 4th round began, the mage drew every loose piece of stone from the ground and formed a near impenetrable barrier between him and his opponent.
Storm eyed the many projectiles aimed at him with concern.
If they all fired at once, he would not be able to destroy them all before taking a hit.
"Storm! I've got a plan!!" Whispered Kalipso.
She explained the idea mentally to Storm and he grinned in response.
The moment the round started he fired an orb of light straight into the air.
As expected, his opponent's eyes shot up as he watched the orb suspiciously.
The orb suddenly exploded, bathing the arena in bright light.
The mage raised an arm to shield his eyes as he became blinded and several groans came from the crowd as they were also caught in the flash.
Storm fired one light blast to crack an opening into the barrier and immediately followed up with another attack to take advantage.
As Storm scored his 3rd hit, the announcer called out.
"Sebastian Hawthorne takes the win and advances to the semi finals!!!"