Chapter 513: 513. before getting selected, there is more

’Can I take the last hit from you, Mantis?’ Theo asked through the bond.

The mantis was already preparing to charge forward again but paused and looked back at Theo. Through the bond, Theo felt a mix of reluctance and agreement in its emotions.

Theo chuckled inwardly. ’Don’t worry. Go and make the final attack.’

At that moment, it was as if the mantis had been waiting for eons to get that command.

It turned into a flash once again. Just as the dragon was struggling to rise in panic from the paralysis, the mantic hit again, unleashing another violent pressure blast that sent both parties skidding across different sides of the arena.

The coliseum fell into a heavy silence, not true silence, but the kind filled with pressure and anticipation as everyone stared at the referee.

"Third out of the three hits has been delivered by the Apex Bloom Tyrant." The referee raised the red flag toward Theo’s side of the arena.

"The victor is Theo Merrick!"

Roars of celebration erupted throughout the coliseum. Even some professors were so pumped up that they couldn’t help but smile as they praised the fight itself.

Through it all, Theo only looked at that one man who had started it all.

The headmaster stared back at him calmly.

Just like in the previous fight, the screams and cheers only fueled Theo’s adrenaline further.

He raised his fist high into the air.

For some in the crowd, the celebration became more than just support for Theo; it became the joy of a profitable bet paying off.

Among them, Erin was jumping up and down so aggressively that the people beside him had to calm him down.

He quickly moved through the crowd toward the stairs he was allowed to enter.

Meanwhile, Theo turned toward Serisca, who still looked stunned.

"I tried my best to hold back against you, Serisca," Theo said as he walked over and offered her a handshake. "Well... except against your dragon, obviously."

Serisca accepted the handshake with one hand while the other rested on the spit at her waist, where Theo had struck her.

"I am glad I was wearing armour, Theo. And congratulations for the win," she said with a smile.

But beyond that smile, Theo could see the frustration in those eyes, which said, ’I should have been the one to win.’

At that moment, Theo glanced back toward the area where he had felt all those violent tremors before.

In his mind, sections of the arena floor should have already been shattered apart by now, exposing the material beneath.

But to his surprise, that part of the arena remained completely intact aside from the sweat stains left behind during the fight.

"Can I ask you something, if you don’t mind, Serisca?" Theo asked before she could leave.

"Sure."

"That ability to shake the ground so violently... how did it not actually damage the ground?" Theo asked.

Serisca looked at Theo as if he had said something utterly ridiculous.

"Are you saying you never saw my Piper’s special attack before coming to this fight?" she asked in disbelief.

Theo only smiled in response.

Serisca didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"...That ability is a special one where Piper manipulates the ground for only a short period of time. During the manipulation, the ground shakes violently and affects anyone within the range, but it doesn’t actually do anything to the terrain," she explained with a sigh.

By now, most people had already left, while the remaining few were still trying to decipher what the two of them were talking about.

"I see. That’s quite the ability to have," Theo said, making Serisca let out a small ’hmph’.

"You can’t say that. Your beast came as a complete surprise to me. I knew there was some sort of suppression ability involved, but I didn’t expect it to be this serious. Also, what was with that spray you used in the end? Why did my Piper suddenly collapse to the ground like that? Is it poison?" she asked in panic as she remembered the dragon was still lying on the ground, glaring with boiling eyes.

The moment their gazes met, the dragon ran toward her on all four legs and quickly leapt into her arms.

Serisca gently caressed its head while it snuggled in her embrace like a child.

"No matter if it’s a dragon or any ordinary beast, a child is still a child, huh?" Theo muttered.

"Piper is only three years old," Serisca said, her eyes sharpening for a moment. "If you fight it again in five more years, the outcome will be completely different, Theo."

Theo merely nodded to that. Five years was an amount of time he couldn’t even fathom right now with how quickly he was growing stronger.

"Well then, to the next time," he said with a nod before heading back toward his entrance, the mantis walking beside him.

Many professors had been staring at the mantis ever since it materialized, but one particular professor looked as though he were deep in calculation.

"This creature shouldn’t even be possible. I need to speak with him as soon as possible and study that beast," the professor muttered.

The moment the other professors saw that look on the professor’s face, they either shook their heads or sighed deeply. Everyone knew that the professor was trouble, but the headmaster seemed completely fine with it.

Any problem Theo encountered would simply become another stepping stone toward making him wiser.

"Sir Theo! I won 2,000 GOLD COINS!" Erin shouted as he ran forward to hug Theo.

But the mantis stepped in between and raised its forelegs in a fighting stance.

"Oh, get out of the way," Erin said casually, patting the mantis on the face. The mantis didn’t retaliate, though it screeched loudly in protest.

"Don’t rile him up, Erin," Theo said as he tried to send the mantis back into the beast space, but it seemed it was in the mood to walk around.

"2,000 is a good number. Now, make sure you spend it on your plant beast; get it something good to eat," Theo muttered before turning toward Clara and Elias.

"So, how much profit did we make?" he asked with a sly smile, already knowing the answer from the way both of them were trembling in excitement.

"Our total after the initial gamble and the total is 21,000 gold coins, young master," Elias spoke as he looked at a small piece of paper.

Theo smiled while Erin looked at both the attendants with his eye twitching.

Clara smiled smugly. Anyone that would know how much they made on the bet would act like this. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Everyone was cheering for you, but not many seemed to have invested in your name, young master. They all had their bets on Count heir Serisca."

"Because that is the best decision, Elias. I was lucky that the dragon seemed to have only played with overwhelming natural strength with no tactic all this while, and Serisca taught it nothing," Theo explained.

"If it was any bigger, I would have struggled with even half a chance of losing this battle."

When he said that, his expression made Clara and Elias both horrified.

The moment Theo always got a realization like this, he would take it as a catalyst to grow stronger, but that would mean tunnel vision of only working on one thing no matter what.

"Sir Theo, about what we planned regarding a joint hunting session. When are we planning to do it?" Erin asked, and when his gaze fell on Clara’s eyes that had turned cold, he looked away in fright.

Elias had to tap Clara’s arm a little to let her know her emotions were showing.

Theo could see it too, whenever someone seemed like they were trying to take Theo’s help or somewhat use him, Clara always became highly protective.

"That fight might have been one of the easiest ones. We should go tomorrow, Erin. A few kilometers outside the royal capital, there is a forest where we can try our tactics," he said, making Erin’s eyes gleam with excitement.

From there, he just went back to the dormitory where, in just a few hours, Theo got a letter from the professor in charge of the arena battles that were ongoing.

In the letter, the usual congratulations were followed by what it meant to reach the 5th fight of the whole academy.

According to the professor, if Theo could defeat two more students out of the five, he would automatically be enlisted in the prospective team of the kingdom games.

The whole process after that was more complicated than just brutally winning against a student in a battle.

There were more components to the kingdom games, and the team that needed to represent the kingdom needed to excel in all those activities.

"Other academies in our kingdom will also perform in a national-level tournament, where the team that I will most likely get selected in will have to win against the other academies too before we will be selected for the kingdom games," Theo said what he understood from the last part of the letter.

He looked up at the two attendants who were looking at him while their academy material was in their hands.

"This is going to be a long fight, and we will need to prepare for it."