Alexander didn't understand why Diana dragged him to their house.

  However, since he had nothing else to do and knew she must have her reasons, he didn't mind and followed her.

  The next morning, at the time the fights resumed, the arena was already fully restored.

  The amount of resources the academy had at its disposal was no joke.

  According to the draw order, Alexander would be the first to fight, yet, his opponent didn't seem very willing.

  The fight ended up being little more than a brief exchange of blows. Obviously, it ended with Alexander's victory.

  The other fights also didn't have very intense battles.

  Although the academy had the region’s best young fighters, some still stood out well above the others.

  As the competition advanced and the finals approached, the fights began to become more interesting and intense.

  Despite that, no one seemed willing to give their all against Alexander.

  They were probably afraid of angering him and ending up like his first opponent.

  Along with the arrival of the quarterfinals, a truly interesting confrontation finally appeared.

  Stella was drawn to fight against Hector.

  The fight between the two was hard for Hector. He was at a disadvantage in destructive power.

  When he started to become really cornered, he released a large amount of energy and mana to form a cloak of fire.

  With the dense cloak of fire enveloping him, Hector began to suffer less damage from Stella's spells, which made it difficult for her to maintain control over him.

  Hector seemed annoyed at being forced to use that combat technique—his big ace in the hole.

  He still took advantage of the fact that he was no longer so limited by Stella's spells to begin pressuring her.

  That cloak completely changed the course of the fight. Stella was powerful for her age, but Hector would ultimately win.

  The only problem with this logic was that Stella didn't agree with it.

  The moment she was cornered, Stella launched a semi-suicidal attack that threw Hector out of the arena—at the cost of also being hit by the explosion.

  The two were promptly attended to by the academy, but everyone watching already knew that was the end of the line for both in the tournament.

  There was no way Stella would win in the semifinals after all the wear and tear she had, even if she were treated and healed.

  The other quarterfinals had no surprises. The semifinal matchups were defined as Alexander x Stella and Jason x Mark.

  The waiting time between fights was even extended so the competitors could recover.

  Once the rest period was over, Alexander returned to the arena.

  To the surprise of most spectators, Stella chose to go up to face him as if nothing had happened.

  Seeing that Stella would indeed try to face him, Alexander used the moment they were going to their positions to talk to her: "I'm not calling you weak, Stella, but you'd better give up. You know, even better than most here, that the chances of beating me are low."

  "Even if you were completely well—and you're not—it would still be very difficult for you to beat me," argued Alexander. "I don't want you to end up seriously hurt."

  "..." Stella pondered a bit on Alexander's words, but in the end she still chose to fight. "It's not up to you—nor anyone but me—to say what I can or cannot do, much less how far I can go."

  "Professor Lucas already warned you," reminded Alexander. "Having the determination to win is good, but advancing blindly just out of pride is pure recklessness and won't lead anywhere."

  Hearing Alexander's words, Stella bit her lip, drew a kind of wand.

  It contrasted with the scepter she had been using until the previous fight, and launched a |Great Fireball| as if it were nothing.

  Alexander partially recognized the wand in Stella's hand—or rather—the material used to forge it: the wood from the {Tree of Good Fortune} that he had given her during the integration event.

  Even being pleasantly surprised to see that wood had been so useful to her, Alexander channeled energy into his spear and retaliated.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  He tore her spell in half, avoiding the hit.

  When her spell didn't work, Stella launched a succession of spells and began moving around the arena trying to find an opening.

  Not wanting, or being able, to underestimate the destructive power of Stella's spells, Alexander avoided all he could using |Ascending Flow|. He cut the rest with his spear while trying to reach her.

  Seeing Alexander approaching dangerously fast, Stella used a |Wall of Fire| to push him away.

  However, Alexander just gripped his spear tighter.

  Using |Energy Modulation| to fire an energy blade with |Sweep| against the epicenter of the spell, dissipating it.

  Thinking she had created a good opening with her last spell, Stella launched a |Fire Explosive| in Alexander's direction.

  However, when the compressed fire spell moved far enough away from her, he threw a combat needle infused with his energy at it, exploding it.

  "BOOOOOOM."

  "Stop it, Stella. You've already lost," tried Alexander. "If you had thrown the combat needle earlier, your spell would have exploded near you."

  "You’re so focused on winning that you’re putting yourself in danger," argued Alexander. "I already know your spells… You have no way to beat me."

  Every word Alexander said seemed to resonate with Stella and hurt her inside. She bit her lip so hard it seemed it would bleed at any moment.

  However, after a few seconds, she gave a slight strange smile and conjured another wall of fire to flee from him.

  When she felt she was far enough away, Stella stopped and began channeling a spell that seemed extremely familiar to Alexander.

  Noticing that her emotional state was on the verge of a breakdown, he turned to the judge. She was the muscular adventurer responsible for instructing the martial division.

  "Stop her. You know she's already lost," said Alexander. "If I fight back seriously, I could cripple her. At worst, she might even die."

  "..." Judge.

  Upon noticing that the judge would not stop Stella—and that there was no way to dodge such a powerful spell in that arena—Alexander began to channel energy into his spear. "Stop, Stella. If you continue, you're going to get hurt, and badly."

  Stella's response to Alexander was her spell: "|Elemental Fire Blast|."

  Having no more viable options besides a direct confrontation between them, Alexander fired his energy in a huge and powerful |Thrust|.

  Since Stella was the first to fire her attack, the attacks collided closer to Alexander. However, this ended up not mattering much.

  His thrust pierced and collapsed her spell, which began to implode in the air.

  "BOOOOOOM."

  The general audience even cheered at that exchange of blows, yet those with a little more understanding frowned.

  Unlike when Alexander fought Jason—where the attacks were mostly just destructive—this attack was not only destructive – it was designed to pierce.

  If he overpowered the enemy’s attack in the clash, his attack wouldn’t explode. It would keep driving straight through as long as he had enough energy.

  The moment he felt his |Thrust| overcome and pierce Stella's spell, Alexander immediately cut off its energy supply.

  But this didn't dissipate the attack—it continued towards Stella's chest.

  "SLAAAAASH."

  Just when Alexander and most of the audience thought Stella would be hit, a sharp and clean cutting sound rang in their ears.

  Alexander's |Thrust| and Stella's |Elemental Fire Blast| were not just cut, they were obliterated.

  Standing in front of Stella, who seemed deeply frightened, the judge sheathed her sword. "Participant Stella lost due to the necessity of interference in her fight."

  Feeling that was not the moment to talk with her, Alexander left the arena and went to find a place to watch the Jason x Mark fight.

  When Jason and Mark entered the arena, the already excited audience almost went into a frenzy.

  Those were the fighters with the strongest offense and defense of the tournament entering the arena to face each other.

  The moment they began their combat, blows began to be exchanged like raindrops.

  With the intensification of the fight, a "tempest" seemed to begin forming in that arena.

  The more they fought, the wider Alexander's smile grew. He could feel that neither of them wanted to allow themselves to be pushed back.

  Frustrated with the small injuries he had accumulated, but smiling—as if very satisfied—Jason was the first to retreat.

  Little did he know that was exactly what Mark was waiting for. He raised his shield and used |Charge|.

  Realizing he wouldn't be able to get far enough away, Jason clenched his teeth, energized his sword, and responded to the attack. "|Forest Splitter|."

  When the sword collided with the shield, Jason was thrown back, his hands trembling.

  However, watching the fight closely from the sidelines, Alexander noticed that Mark's hand also became a bit shaky.

  Feeling he could no longer underestimate Mark as he had done before, Jason used his buffs and advanced against him once more.

  Mark, who knew from the start he needed to give his all, wasn't bothered and just smiled at the recognition he received.

  From that moment on, Jason—taking advantage of his great speed—stayed on the offensive.

  Even so, he was still the one taking the most damage.

  Mark’s defense and combat skills were simply absurdly strong.

  Feeling that he was being pushed, Jason became anxious.

  Seeing no other way out, he decided to use the ace he had up his sleeve. "|Mountain Splitter|."

  Without any trace of fear, Mark released his energy and {Talent} at full power.

  He raised the shield, and faced Jason's attack. "|Steel Wall|."

  Their energies roared and exploded against each other with the collision, throwing both far away.

  Mark being pushed farther and Jason suffering more damage from the recoil.

  However, overall neither of them seemed to come out much on top.

  Jason, who recovered a bit faster, seemed to have seen something through Mark.

  He repeated his attack with even more force. "|Mountain Splitter|."

  Confident in his defense, Mark just repeated his technique: "|Steel Wall|."

  With the extreme increase in energy that both put into their respective techniques, the resulting force became so great.

  Jason's sword couldn't withstand it and broke, launching a piece of it towards its wielder's neck.