Auric finally walked to the arena.
"Now, Student Auric has taken the stage. Who would like to go first?" Principal Denis raised his hand while looking around.
Suddenly, a muscular man rushed into the arena. He was wielding a big warhammer as though it weighed nothing.
He wore a black tank top and jeans, showing his muscles.
"With a face like that, you shouldn't have gone to the academy. Just go into showbiz." The man grinned. "Well, I don't mind putting some makeup on you. With my hammer, that is."
"Oi, you bastard! Don't you dare touch that face."
"I'm going to beat you if you aim for his face!"
"Wha—" The man was dumbfounded when he received a strong reaction from his own classmates.
In the end, Auric's face still worked its charm even in this university.
Auric sighed. "Would you believe me that I knew nothing about this tournament until a few minutes ago?"
"Who asked?"
Auric let out a long sigh.
"Enough chatter. If you are going to challenge him, you need to pay the ticket." Principal Denis stopped them. "Student Auric. I sympathize with your position, but you can't undo all this. Fight and lose. Well, that's what I'm supposed to say as the representative of this university, not as an educator, of course. Hohohoho!"
"…" Auric couldn't say anything. He just watched the man hand over a notebook to Principal Denis.
"I've received the battle technique." Principal Denis nodded with a serious expression.
"Jason. That's the name of the man who will defeat you."
Principal Denis announced, "I will personally referee the fight fairly. Lethal moves are allowed because I will personally stop them before it's too late. So, please fight however you want."
Auric understood that even though the principal was the referee, Maya would definitely be paying attention to the match.
If the principal unfairly gave his opponent an advantage, Maya would show no hesitation in making a mess out of it.
Therefore, Auric nodded. "Understood."
"Let's start!" Jason raised his warhammer and released his element.
Judging from its color, Jason possessed a fire element. Its intensity was not as high as he expected. If he had to rate the element, he would give it about 2.9/5.
It wasn't low, but Auric had been thinking about getting only elements with a rating above 3.0. Still, it was a good alternative in case he needed it.
So, he stored it in his memory, hoping to remember it for a long time.
"Are both of you ready?"
"I'm ready, Principal." Jason grinned with excitement.
"I'm ready as well." Auric nodded with a solemn expression.
"All right. You may start." Principal Denis took a step back.
"So, are you going to say you'll let me make the first move or something?" Auric asked.
Jason snorted and rushed toward Auric. "Who would let his opponent make the first move? I am not that foolish!"
"Is that so?" Auric snapped his finger.
Jason suddenly widened his eyes because he felt a powerful flick on his forehead, which knocked him back.
"Eh? What?" Jason didn't understand what was going on. The only thing he realized was that his vision was already fixed on the ceiling.
Auric, on the other hand, used the Plant Outburst to summon spikes in a way that bound Jason's body. It didn't scratch him, but it was enough to show that if Auric had wanted to kill him, he could have died at least three times.
"That's the end of the match, I believe." Auric smiled.
"!!!" Everyone was stunned. Even Principal Denis couldn't contain his shock.
Only Maya was smiling.
Principal Denis couldn't believe what he had just seen. 'Did he just form a very thin line of energy to flick his forehead and disrupt his balance? An energy line that thin was difficult to notice for a first-year student, let alone for a brute like Jason.'
He finally saw the reason Maya was confident in this tournament. She definitely believed Auric wouldn't lose.
'How could a student like him learn this kind of advanced technique?' Principal Denis inhaled deeply.
He shook his head to regain his composure and announced, "The match is over. Auric Elfe won."
"What did he do?"
"How did Jason's body get knocked back?"
"So, he is not only handsome but also powerful!"
"Who cares about his face right now?"
"I do."
The students had various comments. However, this battle allowed them to know that Auric wasn't going to be an easy opponent.
If they wanted to fight him, they needed to learn about his techniques first. So, they wanted to take another look at Auric's skills.
Principal Denis raised his hand. "All right. Anyone else who would like to take a chance?"
Even though he asked it casually, his eyes were demanding that they come onto the stage. Principal Denis couldn't afford to lose face after a single battle.
Auric should have lost to a fire element, yet for some reason, he defeated Jason so quickly.
In that case, what they had to do was very clear.
Ultimately, a woman went up onto the stage. "I will take a chance."
The woman had long red hair and a rather fiery aura.
"Hello." Auric nodded with a smile.
"Fellow student, why don't we make an additional bet? If you lose, how about becoming my boyfriend?"
"Hahaha. Even as a joke, I can't agree to it." Auric shook his head calmly.
"Why? With your face, it wouldn't be strange if you already had a girlfriend."
"Not at all. I just don't like to play around with people's feelings."
"What?" The reactions came from outside the arena. "He doesn't have a girlfriend?"
"So, that's another way to get him!"
For some reason, his answer brought much more competition to the tournament.
"…" Auric's eyebrows twitched.
Maya was the only one chuckling. "I've told you not to mess around with your face. Now, you will understand what I truly mean."
Principal Denis coughed. "Cut the chatter!"
"I'm sorry, Principal." The woman handed over a book. "This is my battle technique."
Principal Denis asked, "Are both of you ready?"
"Yes." They nodded at the same time.
"You may begin!"
"I am Silvia, and I do intend to win this match! I won't make a foolish mistake like Jason." Silvia leaped back and let her fire element erupt.
She raised her hand, and a fireball formed on top of her head.
Auric narrowed his eyes. This fire element was much more intriguing to him. The orange fire seemed to have a rating of 3.2/5. It would definitely be a good addition to his collection.
But if he took this attack head-on, his plant element would definitely lose.
However, Silvia actually made one big mistake.
Creating distance between them was not helping her. It was helping Auric.
Since there was a big gap between them, Auric had more time to prepare.
That was why he channeled as much energy as possible at once. It took more time to release, but the power became deadlier.
On the other hand, Silvia threw a massive fireball at him, planning to overwhelm him.
Normally, he would agree that his plant element wouldn't win against her fire element, but that was only true if she didn't give him time to prepare.
When the fireball was halfway toward him, Auric waved his hand.
He used the Plant Outburst one more time, but with his full power. The spikes became bigger, longer, and faster.
Bam!
The spikes pierced through the fireball. Despite being engulfed in fire, the spike continued moving toward Silvia's neck. It ultimately produced a small shock wave as a translucent barrier formed just in front of Silvia's neck.
It was Principal Denis' barrier. He stopped the attack at the last moment, showing that Silvia also got defeated in one move.
Principal Denis was stunned once again. 'Another advanced technique? The ability to release a massive amount of energy in one go and the ability to create a thin line of energy. How in the world did he learn all these techniques?'
Auric smiled at Silvia. "Sorry. I won."
Silvia gulped. If Principal Denis hadn't blocked the attack, the spike would have pierced through her throat, and she would have died miserably.
She never thought the gap between them was this big.
Even Principal Denis couldn't help but ask, "Sorry, but I have to ask you, how old are you?"
"I'm the same age as everyone here. I awakened a few weeks ago," Auric answered politely, understanding that they would have doubts.
Still, it was only his combat technique. No one should know about his identity as an evolution master in this city.
He wondered how big a shock it would be if that information were made known.
Principal Denis felt a chill down his spine. In fact, he felt a bit envious of Maya for having such a talented student.
"Do you perhaps… want to join Summering Spring University?"
"What the hell are you doing?!" Maya was the first to react. Her killing intent soared as she glared at him.
"Ahaha." Principal Denis smiled wryly. He couldn't help it after seeing such a talented student like Auric.
"I'm sorry, Principal. I'm good with where I am right now. Thank you for your evaluation." Auric nodded politely.
Principal Denis hurriedly changed the topic by asking the rest of the students. "Anyone else?"
His expression turned serious, as if telling them to send out a real fighter this time. He couldn't afford to lose more face than he already had.
In the end, a person actually came to the field. The man wore tight clothing as if he were squeezing all the space around him. His body was muscular, but not too big. More importantly, he was wielding two short swords.
"Raven Diash." The student introduced himself. He didn't speak another word.
Lindwurm couldn't help but say, "You may want to get a bit more serious against him, Auric."
'I have been serious in my previous fights. Well, I get the feeling that he is dangerous.' Auric smiled at Raven. "Auric Elfe. I hope we have a good match."
Raven didn't say anything else. He simply raised his stance and enveloped his body with his energy.
His element was similar to Maya's, a dark element. Unfortunately, the intensity was between Jason's and Silvia's elements.
Auric took a deep breath before nodding to show Principal Denis that he was ready for the fight.
The moment Principal Denis announced the start of the match, Raven leaped toward Auric.
Unlike Jason's straightforward movement, Raven moved in zigzags as if he were trying to avoid Auric's trick.
Auric raised his right hand, making a gesture as if he were about to snap his fingers.
"!!!" Raven abruptly stopped and jumped back to regain his distance.
It looked like Raven didn't understand Auric's trick.
This action gave Auric more than enough time to use the Plant Outburst at full power.
Instead of increasing the size, he put everything into increasing the speed and number of spikes.
As a result, five spikes emerged at the same time, going straight at Raven.
Raven was slightly startled, but he managed to twist his body.
Two of the spikes scratched his arm and the side of his chest, but they were superficial wounds.
Raven then waved his short swords as the dark wave cut through his spikes.
After freeing himself, Raven kicked the tip of a spike toward Auric.
Auric calmly withdrew his power, which caused the spike to disappear. But Raven actually used the spike to cover Auric's eyes as he closed in.
Auric waved his left hand upward.
Multiple roots shot out of the floor and surrounded Raven.
Raven cut through all the roots and closed the remaining gap between him and Auric. Before he arrived, Raven's body split into five figures.
"There it is. Raven's special battle technique. This time, he will definitely lose."
"I don't know who to cheer for."
The students expected Auric to finally lose. Normally, anyone who faced Raven would have to attack all of them to find the real body.
Raven was skilled enough to fool his opponent.
Auric raised his hand. The Plant General rose once again.
Each root was supposed to hit one body, but all five bodies managed to avoid their respective roots and head straight to Auric.
'I got you!' Raven waved his short sword, delivering the killing blow.
He didn't realize that a small smile had formed on Auric's face.