In the span of just 45 minutes, as the 5-Star Competition went full throttle, countless students out of the hundreds of participants were being eliminated one after the other. Though they were distances apart, countless explosions and mana signatures could be seen and/or felt across the map. Among them all, one stood out like sour thumb.
White flames erupted from a single point, engulfing everything in their quake. Whether it'd be trees, ground or the very air, everything burned hot under the magical power of the attack.
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant…!"
"One participant…!"
"One participant…!"
"One participant…!"
"Guess I ended up going a little overboard with that one," said Arnold, looking at the ginormous molten crater he had created that stretched several kilometers away. "Well, no matter. The less people remain, the less interference there'll be when I fight him."
Ace came to Arnold's mind as an expectant smirk played on his lips. "I can't wait!"
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Within another location, an open plain with trees surrounding it…
Spears of lightning rained down brutally on participants without any chance for a comeback.
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"And there," said Stephany, folding back her fan. "But it would seem that brother dearest is very impatient. He's the Crown Prince and yet he's acting like a child that's just been given a new exciting toy. Anyway…"
She turned around, her eyes noticing a faint trail of mana that seemed to be hidden deep inside the forest. "I'm curious about who that peeping tom was."
She opened her fan, her eyes full of mischief as she followed the trail. "I suppose there's only one way to find out, right?"
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"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" a laugh boomed as students shouted out with voices of defiance. "HERE I COME!"
It was Mira, a sparking ball of fire being condensed in her hands before releasing it as a giant torrent of explosions which took out countless students without mercy.
"AAAAAH! Fuck that crazy bitch! What did we ever do to her!?"
"AAGH!"
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
The screams of the students who were being relentlessly pursued by her in her battle-crazed state echoed throughout the resonant explosion as they cursed her.
"And where do you think you're going!?" she said, a menacing yet excited grin showing on her face. "This is a battle royale! So come at me!"
"No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! AAAAAHHH!" screamed her latest victim as he went up in a brutal explosion that consumed others in the process, leaving her laughing at the top of her lungs from the sheer joy of battle.
Whether it'd be the female or male students that had barely managed to survive they all thought of only one thing: "Run… RUN AWAY!"
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Contrary to the fiery havoc that the dagger-wielding Mira was creating, Emilia was steadily defeating her opponents one-by-one. Even with the resistance they showed, her prowess in magical combat that had been honed by training with Ace had put her leagues above her peers.
The students that had ganged up on Emilia were imprisoned inside a water dome with blades rotating within it as if it was a crueler yet water-based iron-maiden.
"Efficiently and quickly. I can't give them any openings," Emi closed her hand into a fist, the water dome enclosing on the students trapped inside as it eliminated all of them in one fell swoop.
"That's your approach, right?" She thought, her mind obviously thinking about Ace and his own way of battle. "I'd better get going now."
She pressed on towards her next opponents, the competition still being far from over.
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In the meanwhile, Ace had been silently and efficiently eliminating his opponents without them even noticing him. Similarly to an assassin hunting his target, he would shoot at them with his gun, always going for a headshot.
If the opponent was tougher, he'd immobilize them by shooting at their legs, and then go in for a swift kill with a knife…
"That's another one down," he thought as his opponent's head that was about to fall off disappeared at the same time as his body.
"This academy is way too soft on their students," he muttered. "There's no risk of them dying as long as we're inside this space, and the badges reduce the damage taken and felt by the students. I wonder what that old man is thinking by doing this. The weak should just die if they can't handle the suffering."
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With a hand on the ground and a student in his field of vision, Frank waited for the right moment when his opponent wouldn't be able to react to the trap he had set. As the student took another step forward, "Now!"
Under the student's feet, the ground sank, and he got impaled by spikes that were formed under it.
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"Yes!" Frank shouted out, happy that his plan worked. "With that, my total body count is 15. Hahaha! Just you wait, you bitch. I'll show you that there's more to winning to just raw brawn."
Mira came to mind as he clenched his fists, his rage evident in his expression.
"Anyway, who should I go after next?" he said as a voice came out of nowhere.
"I hope you weren't talking about me," Stephany showed herself, folding and holding her fan with a most unconvincing sullen expression.
"Huh?" Frank's eyes widened as his face became pale. "What's she doing here? I was pretty sure I erased my tracks, so how?"
"No need to be so surprised. It actually took me quite a while to find you. I had to also shave off the other participants I encountered on the way after all. And anyway, as I was saying…"
Lightning sparks started appearing around her as a mischievous smile appeared on her face.
"I really hope you weren't talking about me," her eyes shimmered with a menacing golden glint. "Because if you were…"
The sparks intensified as a golden aura emanated from her.
"This princess will need to discipline you, mister peeping tom~"
A powerful, yellow lightning strike came crashing down at Frank, the trees around burning up into a crisp in the process.
As the lightning settled down and the smoke cleared, Stephany opened her fan, grinning slightly.
"Well, well, seems like it'll take quite a little more effort to take you out," she said excitedly as Frank, who was curled up inside a stone ball, came out with a relief that didn't last long.
"Well then mister peeping tom, let's go onto the first dance, shall we?"