"This youth named Kael is only a high-tier sixth-rank mage, not even seventh rank, yet he's grasped composite magic? Are youths nowadays truly this monstrous? And he's a first-year novice, correct, Dean Austin?" A white-haired elder mage fixed Austin with an intense gaze.
"Correct, he is indeed a freshman," Austin nodded, himself stunned by Kael's meteoric growth. The boy's magical prowess now rivaled his alchemical genius – what manner of prodigy had they stumbled upon?
"I didn't comprehend composite magic's principles until advancing to Arcane Mage," the elder murmured in awe. "Yet this boy…"
"He reminds me of Ethan in his prime," remarked a longtime tournament attendee. "No – he surpasses even that."
Zorath the Silent chuckled darkly, exchanging a knowing glance with Ethan. Their shared smirk spoke volumes.
---
Within the arena, Kael carefully guided the frostfire tempest, ensuring the flames obeyed his will. The tornado-amplified Meteor Shower raged with thrice its normal fury, reducing even the Golden Lion's imposing frame to a speck within the conflagration. The frostfire roared like a primordial beast, devouring everything in its path.
"Has the Golden Lion fallen?" The question rippled through the crowd. Emergency healers edged forward, awed and terrified by the cataclysmic display.
The inferno's ferocity obscured all vision. None believed any warrior could endure such devastation.
Yet Kael's tension never eased. Through the flames, he sensed it – a hulking silhouette still standing, its labored breaths cutting through the roar.
The Golden Lion fought on.
Kael's eyes narrowed. Though the warrior's body trembled faintly, his battle aura burned undimmed. Worse, his energy now carried a predatory edge that set Kael's instincts screaming.
Seizing the moment, Kael began chanting anew – this time, a summoning spell.
Yet the Golden Lion emerged from the sea of flames, his body charred black. Only the crucial areas of his trousers remained intact; the rest hung in smoldering tatters. Blood oozed from countless burns, yet the warrior wore a manic grin.
"Kael!" His roar cut through the inferno's dying crackles. "I owe you thanks! Without your pressure, I might never have taken this step!"
The change was palpable. Arrogance radiated from the Golden Lion like heat from a forge, his gaze predatory.
Kael tensed as azure battle aura erupted anew from the warrior's body – deeper, purer, blazing with newfound intensity.
"Ah," Ethan murmured from the stands. "He's broken through."
Warrior Academy students erupted in thunderous cheers, their chants shaking the arena. The truth was undeniable – under Kael's relentless assault, the Golden Lion had shattered his limits.
Seventh-rank warrior.
"By the gods!" Vesper's commentary rose hysterically. "Kael's in mortal peril now! Last-minute breakthroughs aren't unheard of in the Martial-Magic Tournament, but this? This changes everything! Can our first-year prodigy withstand a seventh-rank opponent?"
All eyes locked on Kael.
Unfazed by the uproar, the mage completed his incantation. The air rippled as an intricate magic circle materialized, its crimson patterns bleeding into reality.
"Flame Summon: Nine-Tailed Inferno Fox!"
A piercing shriek tore through the arena as the summoned creature manifested. Towering over fifteen meters, the fox's blood-red fur rippled like liquid fire. Nine massive tails slammed the ground rhythmically, each impact trembling the earth. Its blazing eyes fixed on the Golden Lion with primordial malice.
"So this is your famed summoning magic?" The warrior cracked his neck, battle aura condensing around his fists. "Let's see if your pet can handle seventh-rank power!"
The arena polarized – Warrior Academy's jeers clashing against Magic Academy's tense silence. The true battle had only just begun.
"Attack!" The Nine-Tailed Inferno Fox drew power from Kael's mana reserves, its massive form shooting forward like a crimson bullet. Flames erupted in its wake, scorching the arena floor as it lunged at the Golden Lion with clawed paws larger than carriages.
Facing the charging beast, the warrior sneered. "Tidal Surge!"
Cobalt battle aura surged like ocean depths before him. Dozens of afterimages split from his body as he met the fox's swipe head-on. The collision detonated shockwaves that shattered stone slabs, flames and water vapor exploding in equal measure.
CLANG!
A metallic screech tore through the air – Kael grimaced, teeth rattling from the ultrasonic vibration. The Inferno Fox staggered back three thunderous steps, while the Golden Lion hurtled through three arena pillars before crashing into the barrier. Even seventh-rank strength couldn't outright overpower a high-tier summon.
Kael snorted, sheltering behind the Inferno Fox as he began another incantation. "Frostfire Meteor Shower! Tornado!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The arena transformed into a frostfire hellscape once more, meteors spiraling through cyclonic winds.
"Bloody hell," a warrior spectator muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "Glad I didn't face this pyromaniac. I'd be charcoal by now."
"Aura Burst!" The Golden Lion's roar shook debris from cracked pillars. Twelve concentric layers of battle aura now enveloped him – his seventh-rank upgrade from the previous nine.
Yet Kael shook his head in contempt. Raw power without finesse. The freshly ascended warrior fought like a berserk bull, squandering his newfound strength on brute clashes. Each reckless strike against the Inferno Fox only widened the Golden Lion's burns while draining his unstable aura reserves.
The frostfire vortex swallowed the Golden Lion whole, his cobalt battle aura blending with the icy flames. The Nine-Tailed Inferno Fox lunged simultaneously, fangs like molten daggers aimed for the warrior's throat.
Amplified by the fused Meteor Shower and Tornado, the flames' ferocity reached apocalyptic levels. Even seventh-rank power couldn't withstand this onslaught – between the spell's crushing pressure and the Inferno Fox's relentless assault, the Golden Lion couldn't breach Kael's defenses.
"All that strength, wasted through recklessness. Pathetic." Ethan shook his head from the stands. The Golden Lion's breakthrough had granted him a divine blade's might, yet he wielded it like a toddler – clumsy and self-destructive.
"Boring." Dylan turned away before the finale, already striding toward the exits.
CRASH!
The Inferno Fox's tail whipped sideways, slamming into the Golden Lion's ribs. Frostfire tendrils snared the warrior mid-air before hurling him beyond the arena's edge.
Gasps rippled through the crowd as the Golden Lion skidded across stone, leaving a smoking trench. He clawed at the ground, muscles trembling – rose halfway – collapsed.
"Im…possible…" Blood-flecked lips formed the words. "Seventh rank… lost… to… a sixth…"
Magic Academy's delayed roar of victory erupted like pent-up thunder.