My Joker System: From Low Mana Trash to the Mightiest Wizard!-Chapter 127: Arcana Primis Cup: Quarterfinals

"And Felix Dargon proves why he’s the tournament’s top contender!" roared Akari, though she was clearly less excited than when she had announced Fernan’s victory.

"Barely sweating, he takes out Competitor Liora, who had an unreal run in this year’s Arcana Primis Cup. It was unfortunate that the talented freshman’s mana pool didn’t hold up until the end, but her constant efforts to go for the win until the very last moment were truly admirable. I can’t wait to see how she performs in next year’s tournament."

Hal was slightly dejected by Liora’s loss.

However, he couldn’t deny that she had performed remarkably well despite being severely outmatched.

She simply hadn’t had as much time to train as Felix. Otherwise, she might have had a more-than-decent chance of emerging victorious.

A few moments later, Liora stood up and descended the stage, her expression mostly unchanged.

She had known from the start that she would lose.

But no matter what anyone said, to her, her performance was a win.

She was far removed from the cowering girl she had been at the beginning of their ventures in the Luminous Runeforest Region of the Ancient Great Forest of Eordyrr.

The realization that she might now be more adept at real combat than at Light Elemental Magic was a welcome one.

There wasn’t much for the crowd to digest except their collective regret over Liora’s unlucky draw.

Had she been matched with a slightly weaker opponent, she might have had a chance to advance.

What was done was done, however, and the tournament had to proceed.

"With the conclusion of the last battle, the top eight have been decided!"

The venue then magically dimmed after Akari’s announcement, despite it being the middle of the day.

"Above are the new seedings for the quarterfinals."

The huge holographic screen at the center of the stage then lit up once again, displaying the faces, names, and new seedings of the competitors:

Felix Dargon, 1st Seed

Donner Rakurai, 2nd Seed

Pierro Macario, 3rd Seed

Aurora Ignis, 4th Seed

Hal Fennec, 5th Seed

Ennya Kasai, 6th Seed

Fernan Fidomar, 7th Seed

Kairo Ashwick, 8th Seed

"What?! How could Hal be ranked higher than me?!" complained Ennya, flashing a frustrated look at Hal, who returned it with a smug smile.

Fortunately for her, it was lunchtime.

At the very least, she could argue with Hal—if only for the sake of her own satisfaction.

She immediately went to invite him to lunch after Akari’s official announcement of a one-hour lunch break.

"You go first, I’ll follow. I just need to talk to someone real quick," Hal replied, making Ennya slightly displeased and sulky.

She somehow knew he was going to talk to Liora, probably to console her after the loss.

The red-haired midget could only watch as Hal walked away, then turned around with a snort and entered the participants’ buffet tent to grab a meal while waiting for him.

Meanwhile, Hal headed toward Liora’s tent.

He flapped the tent covers open but was confused and slightly disappointed to find that the white-haired maiden wasn’t there.

’Huh? Where could she have gone?’

He could only scratch his head and return to where Ennya was, mildly disappointed.

And so began the great argument over who should have been seeded higher upon his return to the participants’ buffet tent.

It was only near the end of the break that the two began talking seriously about their chances.

Ennya scratched her head, unsure whether she could win against Pierro and his puppet army, as there was a pretty good chance she wouldn’t be allowed to cast a single spell.

Hal, on the other hand, was as confident as ever, despite his next opponent being the fourth-seeded Aurora Ignis, which tickled Ennya’s heart.

She liked seeing Hal like this.

Over the past few months, she could only imagine how gray her childhood friend’s life had been. At times, the thought made her lose focus during her closed-door training.

She had thought she would never see this version of Hal again, and she was just relieved that he was still himself.

Ennya would rather hear him boast all day than see him dejected. Somehow, her heart couldn’t handle such a sight.

...The lunch break inevitably ended.

The betting stations were still open, but the odds had already been adjusted, and there were no longer any chances to make money off Hal like before.

People could only pull their hair out in regret for not being courageous or crazy enough to bet on him making the top four earlier, because now there was a genuine chance he could.

"Everyone, I hope you had a nice lunch because you will need energy for our remaining matches!" Jhow began, stirring the crowd to cheer and whistle in excitement.

"I, Akari, welcome you all to the Arcana Primis Cup’s Quarterfinals, featuring battles between the eight brightest youngsters of this batch. Without further ado, let us begin. Hold on to your seats as the battle between the second seed, Donner Rakurai, and the eighth seed, Kairo Ashwick, shall begin shortly. Competitors, please ascend the stage!"

The aggressive airhead was as confident as ever as he walked up, daring to lock eyes with Hal instead of his opponent.

Kairo naturally felt disrespected and furious with Donner’s actions.

He inwardly vowed to do whatever it took to teach the bastard a lesson that one must focus on their current opponent before looking beyond.

As the two competitors drew their weapons, a thunder elemental wizardry glove and a water elemental staff, the timer began to count down.

Only in the final few seconds did Donner turn his attention to his opponent.

Immediately after the timer hit zero, Kairo roared,

"Eat this, arrogant bastard!"

A massive, raging tidal wave surged forward with three horrifying Aqua Sharks crashing toward Donner, nearly swallowing him whole.

But just as the arrogant airhead was about to be devoured, the tide violently parted down the middle, thunder crackling in the air.

"Eat what, dumbass? How about you eat this?" taunted Donner with a smirk, now right in front of Kairo and poised to strike.

The disciple of the former Thunder Magna then palmed his opponent, sending him flying out of the stage while being electrocuted by bluish-purple lightning.

Kairo was left frothing at the mouth, unconscious after a single, vicious exchange.

"G-Gods! Just when we thought the battles were about to get scrappier, we witness a one-hit kill! Competitor Donner bares his fangs of thunder and eliminates Competitor Kairo with a violent Thunder Palm! The second seed brute-forces his way into the semi-finals!"

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