As the two opponents stood completely opposite each other, the battle between them officially began!

Sia didn’t wait for him to come closer. She immediately started to cast a mid-level spell.

As she chanted, a large magic circle slowly started to manifest in front of the tip of her wand.

[Fire Magic: Inferno Shot!]

A medium-sized ball of pure, compressed fire shot toward L at full speed.

The mysterious boy stood completely calm, even as the blazing attack neared him at incredible speed. His sword rested quietly in the scabbard at his waist, with one of his hands resting casually on the hilt.

The fireball drew closer. The audience gasped as they looked at L, who wasn’t even trying to dodge the attack.

But just as the flames were about to engulf him, the fireball suddenly split cleanly in two. The severed halves of the flame passed harmlessly on either side of his body and disintegrated into sparks.

The entire arena stopped breathing. Absolute silence fell over the battlefield; no one had even seen him swing his sword.

His hand was still resting on the hilt along his waist, and his face remained completely hidden beneath his dark hood.

Sia didn’t waste time overthinking it. She gritted her teeth and prepared for her next attack. A massive amount of mana gathered in her wand, and a much larger, more complex magic circle formed in the air.

L looked at her calmly. He slowly unsheathed his sword from its scabbard. He leaned forward slightly, and then—he vanished.

He appeared directly in front of her while she was still focused on cultivating her magic circle. A look of absolute shock washed over her face.

L swung his sword in a vertical slash. A blinding silver light emitted from his blade.

The dense magic circle disintegrated instantly, tearing apart as if it were made of fragile paper. The sword slashed straight through the magic circle and stopped, resting gently against her throat.

Sia looked at him with pure dread as the sharp point of the steel sword pressed against her skin.

"I-I give up!"

she stammered, dropping her wand.

The crowd was dead silent. They had just watched a highly anticipated match end in the blink of an eye, without any dramatic clashes or drawn-out attacks.

Even the referee’s eyes were fixed entirely on the battlefield, so stunned that he briefly forgot to announce the result.

L pulled his sword back, sheathed it smoothly, and turned his gaze toward the referee.

The referee finally snapped back to reality and raised his microphone.

<The second match of the tournament has officially concluded...>

<...and the winner is... L!>

The crowd erupted into deafening cheers as the winner was announced. They didn’t know who this mysterious guy was, but they knew one thing for sure: they were going to see some amazing fights in the tournament today.

<Let’s focus on the next match!>

...

Inside the waiting room, the atmosphere had turned incredibly solemn. Everyone was intently focused on the battles happening out on the grounds.

Most of the competitors in the room had already lost their respective battles, so they were entirely focused on watching the remaining fighters.

Alen sat calmly on a bench. He had lost interest in watching the lower-tier battles. He had just fought another opponent in the second round and won without much difficulty.

But his mind kept replaying the battles of that mysterious guy, L. That guy had won every single match in less than thirty seconds.

Alen had certainly taken notice of that fact.

’Well... his battle tactics are quite simple...’

’He lets the opponent attack first, analyzes their timing, and then strikes back to instantly win the match.’

’He is certainly not a normal guy...’

L’s movements were so unbelievably fast that it was difficult for Alen’s eyes to even catch his figure.

’Who is that guy? Does he have some kind of high-tier movement skill? That’s highly possible... Let’s see. We are almost certainly going to face each other before the end.’

He looked across the room at the boy in the black cloak. L was sitting a few paces away from the crowd, calmly drinking a bottle of juice. He looked completely relaxed, acting as if he wasn’t worried about any of the battles to come.

<Now that the rest of the matches are finally finished, let’s decide the matchups for the Semi-Finals!>

<There are only four participants who have successfully made their way to the semi-finals!>

The holographic screen in the room suddenly lit up, displaying the final names.

[1. L]

[2. Alen]

[3. Sai]

[4. Elina]

<Now, let’s decide who will fight who!>

The screen split into two columns, and the slots started to spin rapidly, shuffling the names simultaneously. Slowly, the names locked into place.

<The matchups have been selected!>

<First Match: Alen Vs Elina>

<Second Match: L Vs Sai>

<Let’s start the first match without wasting any time! Both opponents for the first match, please make your way to the battlefield.>

Alen stood up from the bench and calmly walked toward the exit door.

Just as he was approaching the doorway, he accidentally bumped into a girl walking from the other side of the room.

"Ouch! Sorry..."

the girl apologized, hurriedly bowing her head at a strict ninety-degree angle.

"It’s okay, that’s fine," Alen said.

She looked up at him, and a faint hint of redness appeared on her cheeks as she took in his handsome features.

"Oh... it seems you’re going to be my opponent," she said softly, clutching a longbow.

"Let’s walk out together."

"So, you’re Elina," Alen noted.

"But we have to enter from opposite paths."

The girl blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, I forgot. Sorry... Let’s just go out the main door together, then."

Alen looked at her as she stared awkwardly at the floor and nodded. "Ok... Let’s go."

They walked out of the waiting room together. Once in the main hall, Alen didn’t linger; he immediately turned around and walked toward his designated corridor. The girl watched his back for a moment before turning to walk in the opposite direction toward her own entrance.

Alen walked through the dark corridor and reached the exit, stepping out into the blinding light of the battlefield.

The crowd cheered wildly at his entrance.

He didn’t give them a single glance. He didn’t come here to act like a model or a celebrity. His only aim was to win the match and claim the prize money. He couldn’t care less about anything else.

He stepped up to his starting mark and waited for his opponent. He didn’t have to wait long before Elina appeared on the opposite side of the dirt field.

She walked forward confidently, gripping the intricately carved longbow in her hand.

’It seems she is a long-range fighter,’ Alen thought, his eyes narrowing as he formulated a plan.

’I have to rush in immediately the second the battle starts. It will be incredibly difficult for me to dodge if she uses elemental magic to enhance her arrows.’

Elemental magic was highly effective when combined with physical weapons. For example, if someone infused a spear with lightning magic, its speed and piercing power would become five times stronger than a standard mana attack.

Similarly, if an archer used wind magic on their bow, the velocity of the arrows would become so insanely fast that dodging would become nearly impossible.

Alen had already figured out how to fight her. His tactical plan was set.

The referee raised his hand.

<Now that both opponents are in position, let’s start the match!>

<The battle between the Semi-Finalists... begins now!>