Time passed, and it was now time for our very first match in this tournament to begin.
I was smiling because of the deal I had made with Lurok. Those three questions were bound to be extremely useful in obtaining information from him. Still, before that, I still had to win the tournament, or at the very least, go further than Lurok in the tournament.
Oliver and I were on the sidelines as our students faced one another in a single row.
My strategy for this first battle was quite simple. Annihilate the enemy as fast as possible. I didn’t want to make this whole thing last hours, which is why, the student I had sent on the Arena first was the student who was the strongest in my class.
The one who had even managed to surprise me because of her talent was the Emperor’s daughter, Ariel Valandor.
“Honestly, I don’t know why you made such a stupid bet. If you can beat her, it’ll already be a good performance,” I said to Oliver, who was sitting right beside me.
“Tsk, you don’t know anything. We’ll win without any problems.”
I shrugged, already knowing that was wrong.
“How about this. If you guys can defeat Ariel, then I’ll consider it your win, and you will be able to ask me anything you want, and I will do it apart from things like leaving the Royal Academy or other stupid stuff like that. Deal?”
Oliver rubbed his chin as this was quite the tempting offer, after all. There was no reason for him to refuse to be frank. He knew deep down that there was no chance for him to win this bet.
That’s why, after a few seconds, he nodded.
“Alright, I agree. Still, only one student, you’re quite arrogant.”
“I’m not. She’s special, you’ll see.”
After all, Ariel was different. Even when she had seen the dead body of Derek, she hadn’t reacted in the least, her gaze unwavering as if she had seen such things dozens of times in her life.
Even when she had guided the students while facing the Cyclops, she had acted like a army general who had a lot of experience.
I couldn’t tell what her experience was or what her past was, but one thing was sure. She had gone through a lot, even if she was the Emperor’s daughter.
And finally, after another five minutes, the first duel in the Arena began.
The crowd went wild as Ariel faced one of Oliver’s students.
Ariel stood still at the beginning simply eying the man who she was facing, wondering what move he would pull out.
***
Ariel POV
I didn’t know what to expect from a summoner. It was the first time in my life that I was facing, and I was wondering what kind of beast they would summon.
I wasn’t too worried though, I just wanted to have a taste at their power or if they could remotely impress me.
Still, a few seconds passed, and there was still nothing impressive being shown by my opponent. He looked scared of even looking at me in the eyes for some reason.
Let’s hope that the next one is, at the very least, a little better…
I dashed forward and immediately got in range of attacking my opponent, and instead of using my sword, I used my fists, hitting him right in the stomach. It made him fall down in an instant, and that was how I won my first battle in the tournament.
“Weak.” I muttered under my breath. “Next one.”
Someone else came up onto the Arena with a resolute look in his eyes. He seemed confident in facing me, which was a nice change of pace from the last person I just hit.
“Come on, show me something interesting,” I said without much thought.
The crowd seemed to react to my every word, but I blocked them out so that I could fully focus on the fights before me. After all, I could still vividly remember my professor’s request before the first match began.
“Beat them all, and don’t pity them.”
And that was exactly what I was planning on doing.
My father hadn’t talked much about my professor, but I knew that he was extremely powerful. I hadn’t gotten the details, but from what I had seen, I didn’t need to. He was said to be a normal soldier, but there was bound to be more.
There was no way that a normal soldier would get an invite from the Emperor to teach students.
Nevertheless, I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind as I focused once more on my opponent, who looked pumped.
“Summon something, isn’t that what your power is?”
The man nodded, energy suddenly gathered around his hands, and a beast finally appeared.
However…it was, uh, extremely disappointing. What came out was literally a zombie. How was Zombie supposed to protect him?
I released a sigh and simply did the same thing as before, defeating the enemy in a single strike.
“Who’s the strongest out of all of you?” I suddenly asked as I couldn’t be bothered in facing small fries for the next hour.
Everyone in their group looked toward one person in particular.
He had blue hair, and the look in his eyes was definitely different from the rest of them. I couldn’t say what was different about his gaze, but maybe it was his graceful presence as he walked up to the Arena.
Still, there was something different. I could feel it. I wouldn’t be able to defeat this man as easily as the rest of them.
He walked up to the Arena, and he gathered his energy much faster than the previous person, and there was also a LOT more aura.
Within seconds, a creature appeared and looked down on me. It was much taller and much bigger than me in every single sense of the term.
The creature facing me was a Titan.
