The Kingdom's Chief Selection Tournament was set in the Royal Academy of Magic's largest arena. This magnificent structure, capable of holding five thousand people, was rarely opened except for the most important occasions. Today, the entire arena was filled to capacity.

I stood in the contestants' resting area, looking through the magical barrier at those familiar faces in the audience. Nobles wore their most magnificent attire, while magisters dressed in formal robes, and even the commoners' section was packed with spectators who had come to witness the event.


"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce today's special guest—" the host's voice, amplified by magic, resonated throughout the entire arena, "His Majesty King Edwin has graced us with his presence to cheer on our young magisters!"

The entire audience rose to their feet, applauding. I looked toward the VIP section where that imposing middle-aged man sat on the central throne, surrounded by several Court Magisters. The King's presence made the significance of the selection tournament even greater—this was no longer just a competition within the academy, but an opportunity to demonstrate one's worth before the royal family.

From my position next to the king, I saw Prince Theo. He was wearing formal royal attire today, with a confident smile on his face, occasionally chatting with the nobles beside him. When his gaze swept across the contestants' resting area, it lingered on me for a moment before turning toward Lina's direction.


I noticed Lina nervously adjusting something on her wrist—that must be the "Magic Amplification Bracelet" Karen had mentioned. From her uneasy expression, it was clear she had misgivings about the forbidden item she was about to use, yet she had no choice but to rely on it for a chance at victory.

"Eliana."


Karen's voice came from behind me. I turned around to see the silver-haired youth walking toward me. He looked much more serious than usual today, with an unprecedented fighting spirit gleaming in his eyes.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"I've always been ready," I replied calmly. "What about you?"

"Me too." He nodded, then lowered his voice and said, "No matter the outcome, today will be a memorable duel."

I looked at him, hearing a certain resolute tone in his voice. It seemed that Karen had made up his mind to show his true abilities today.

"Contestants, please note, the competition is about to begin!"

The host's voice sounded again, interrupting our conversation. The eight students who entered the selection competition were divided into four groups, competing according to the drawing results.

My first opponent was a third-year senior who specialized in defensive magic. This type of opponent, though difficult to defeat quickly, would definitely not pose a threat to me.

"First match, Eliana von Ethelgard versus Marcus van Deller!"

Accompanied by cheers from the audience, I stepped onto the arena. Across from me, senior Marcus looked very nervous, with beads of sweat already forming on his forehead.

"Please guide me." I bowed according to etiquette.

"P-please... teach me well." His voice trembled slightly.

Obviously, the overwhelming strength I displayed during training sessions had spread throughout the academy. Facing me, any opponent would feel enormous psychological pressure.

"Begin the match!"

Marcus immediately deployed his specialty—multiple defensive barriers, surrounding himself with layers of semi-transparent magical shields. This was indeed a clever strategy—since victory through offense was impossible, he would extend the match as long as possible to showcase his defensive skills.

However, he underestimated my power.

"Stardust Weaving: Third Form—Penetrating Light."

I extended my right hand, concentrating a slender silver beam of light at my fingertips. This beam appeared unremarkable, but the magical density it contained had reached an astonishing level.

A flash of silver light passed through, penetrating all of Marcus's defensive barriers as easily as if they were paper. The light stopped an inch away from his heart, emitting dangerous energy fluctuations.

"I surrender," Marcus immediately raised both hands.

The entire arena fell silent for three seconds, then erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.

"The match is decided! Eliana von Ethelgard is the victor!"

I withdrew my magic, bowed slightly to the audience, then walked down from the arena. The entire process took less than ten seconds, a concise and overwhelming victory that fully demonstrated my strength.

In the VIP seats, His Majesty the King was quietly conversing with the Court Magister beside him. From their expressions, it was clear that the magical technique I had just demonstrated had sparked their intense interest.

The subsequent matches proceeded methodically. Karen also defeated his opponent without any suspense, demonstrating superb magic sword techniques. His opponent was a fourth-year student specializing in attack magic, but against Karen's all-around offensive and defensive fighting style, he couldn't find any weaknesses at all.

Soon, it was Lina's turn to compete.

Her opponent was the Knight Commander's son—Robert de Clermont, a formidable adversary known for his close-combat magic. Robert not only possessed outstanding magical talent but also years of practical combat experience, making him one of the most formidable participants in this selection tournament.

"Match four, Lina Erlande versus Robert de Clermont!"

When Lina stepped onto the arena, I noticed her hands were trembling. That nervousness came not only from fear of her powerful opponent but also from anxiety about the forbidden item she was about to use.

"Be careful, Lina." Robert said politely, "I won't go easy on you just because you're a girl."

"I... I don't need that." Lina forced a smile.

"Let the match begin!"

Robert immediately displayed the prowess befitting the heir of the Knights Order. Wielding his magic sword, his movements were as swift as lightning, each attack carrying enough power to split mountains and crack stones. Lina desperately dodged and blocked, but was clearly at an absolute disadvantage.

After ten minutes, Lina was covered in wounds, and had consumed more than half of her magical power. Robert raised his magic sword, preparing to deliver the final blow.

At that moment, Lina suddenly stopped retreating.

"I won't lose... I absolutely won't lose!"

She tore off the strip of cloth on her wrist that was disguised as an ordinary ornament, revealing a black bracelet underneath that emitted an ominous light.

"A forbidden artifact!" someone in the VIP seats exclaimed.

The moment the bracelet was activated, Lina's magical power grew explosively. Her eyes turned an eerie red, and her body was surrounded by a vortex of black energy. This power far exceeded her original level, even reaching the realm of a high-level mage.

"Something like this... shouldn't appear in a student competition!" The mages in the audience frowned one after another.

But the competition had already begun, and since His Majesty the King hadn't called for it to stop, they could only let it continue.

The transformed Lina pounced on Robert like a fierce beast. Her attacks became wild and chaotic, but their power increased several times over. Robert was caught off guard and quickly found himself overwhelmed with no way to fight back.

Finally, under a powerful magical impact, Robert was blasted off the arena and lost his ability to fight.

"The match is decided! Lina Erlande wins!"

But Lina's condition looked very poor. The backlash from the forbidden artifact made her face as pale as paper, her body swaying unsteadily. Nevertheless, she managed to stand firm and looked toward the VIP seats.

Prince Theo was giving her an approving look, as if saying: "Well done."

This scene stirred a hint of disgust in my heart. Victory obtained through such means deserves no praise whatsoever.

●--

The semi-finals were about to begin.

Karen and I were placed in the same match, which meant we had to determine a winner between us. The other semi-final was Lina against a second-year prodigy student, but given Lina's current condition, winning shouldn't be a problem.

"The four contestants advancing to the semi-finals have been determined!" the host announced excitedly, "Now, let's witness the most spectacular duels!"

I stepped onto the arena platform, where Karen on the opposite side had already drawn his magic sword. That sword emitted a pale blue light, clearly having undergone special magical enhancement.

"Eliana." Karen looked at me seriously, "Today, I will use all of my strength."

"I'm looking forward to it," I nodded, "Let me see your true level."

"Let the match begin!"

Karen didn't maintain distance as usual, but charged directly at me. His swordsmanship was admirably exquisite, each move precisely executed, with smooth and natural transitions between offense and defense. More importantly, he perfectly integrated magic into his swordplay, forming the unique Spellblade School.

I observed his fighting style while dodging. This was indeed an opponent worthy of respect—he didn't rely on any external forces, reaching this level entirely through his own talent and effort.

"Dancing Wind Blades!"

Karen swung her long sword, countless wind blades shot out from the sword tip, forming an impenetrable attack network. This level of attack magic could hardly be performed even by senior students.

I didn't dodge, but instead stretched out both hands, drawing complex rune patterns in the air.

「Stardust Weaving·Fifth Form——Absolute Defense.」

Brilliant starlight formed a spherical barrier around me. All the wind blades were absorbed by the barrier, transforming into even more brilliant starlight.

「Attack-Defense Conversion——Starlight Reflection!」

I bounced back all the absorbed energy, countless beams of starlight shot toward Karen like raindrops.

Karen reacted extremely quickly, he raised his long sword, drew a perfect circle in front of him, then shouted: 「Absolute Defense——Full Moon Shield!」

The shield formed by sword energy blocked most of the starlight attacks, but a few still penetrated the defense, leaving slight wounds on his shoulders and arms.

"What an amazing magic." Karen wiped away the blood from the corner of her mouth, the fighting spirit in her eyes burning even more intensely, "But, I haven't given up yet!"

He took a deep breath, and the light on his magic sword grew more intense. I could feel that he was preparing to use some kind of powerful finishing move.

"This is my original ultimate sword technique—" Karen raised his sword above his head, his entire body surrounded by silver magical power, "—Silver Light Absolute Slash!"

A massive silver sword energy descended from the sky, with enough power to split an entire mountain. Even seasoned archmages would have to take this level of attack seriously.

But for me, this was far from enough.

"Star Dust Weaving, Type Nine—"

I brought my hands together, then slowly opened them. Countless brilliant stars appeared in my palms, rotating and singing, releasing light bright enough to illuminate the entire arena.

"—Creation Stars."

The stars flew into the air, colliding with Karen's sword energy. The massive energy explosion made the entire arena tremble, forcing spectators to protect themselves with magical barriers.

When the light dispersed, Karen's sword energy had completely vanished. But my stars continued to slowly rotate in the air, like a miniature universe.

Karen looked at this scene with a complex expression on his face. He understood that this wasn't even my full power.

"I surrender," he sheathed his sword and bowed deeply to me. "The stage of the finals rightfully belongs to you."

The venue fell silent once again, then erupted into applause even more passionate than before. Karen's grace earned everyone's respect, while my power left everyone in awe.

I walked up to Karen and extended my right hand: "Thank you, Karen. This truly was a magnificent duel."

"It's my honor to fight with you." He grasped my hand, "Please teach that cheater a good lesson in the final."

I nodded, then turned and left the arena.

The other semi-final ended with Lina's victory, as expected. Her opponent had no resistance whatsoever against the power amplified by the forbidden artifact.

Now, the finalists were confirmed: Eliana von Ethelgard versus Lina Erlande.

I returned to the rest area to prepare for the final confrontation. Through the magical barrier, I saw Prince Theo in the VIP section, smugly conversing with the nobles beside him. He occasionally glanced in Lina's direction, his eyes full of anticipation.

Obviously, he was waiting for the moment when Lina would defeat me with a "miracle". That would be the climax of his carefully planned revenge—to have the proud aristocratic lady who once rejected him be defeated by his new favorite in front of everyone.

But he will be disappointed.

Because true miracles never belong to those who rely on external forces.