"What a crazy guy! If I could, I'd beat that guy to a pulp."
Enrico looked at Giulio with an amused smile.
"How brave, Giulio. Why don't you go over to him now?"
"There's no need. He's already been humiliated by Camila, and I'm stronger than her."
Camila decided to ignore Giulio's words and approached Enrico. She had also noticed Valença's threatening gaze and understood what would happen if she dared to show any romantic interest in him after receiving his help. Therefore, she needed to choose her words carefully to avoid irritating her.
"Thank you very much for saving me, Enrico."
"No problem. I'm sure you would have done the same for me."
"Yes, I would! After all... you're a very important friend to me."
Noticing that Valença's expression was becoming more satisfied, Camila sighed in relief and sat beside Giulio. That had been much more frightening than she had imagined. From that moment on, she would certainly be more careful about her own safety.
'I may have won, but he's right. If it had been a fight without that rule, I probably would have lost. I need to prepare better. Lorenzo will certainly be a dangerous opponent if I'm chosen to form a team with one of the top five.'
Recognizing her own limitations, Camila decided that she would ask Enrico for some guidance later. Of course, she would do so without threatening the position of the girls interested in him.
After all, she still wanted to stay alive.
"Master, good morning!"
"You finally woke up, Yumeha. Did you like the food I left covered near the bed?"
"Yes! As always, it was delicious."
Enrico was already used to the affectionate way Yumeha treated him, but the others were still surprised by the fact that he could cook so well.
At that moment, however, what really caught everyone's attention was how close the two were. Yumeha was much closer to Enrico than usual, wearing a sweet, loving smile, as if something special had happened between them.
Valença became completely motionless as she watched the scene.
She knew that kind of smile. Her mother gave her father that smile when the two of them kissed, so she knew perfectly well what it meant. When she noticed Yumeha's expression, she reached a terrible conclusion.
She had arrived too late.
'I thought you had at least a little decency, Yumeha. But now you're forcing me to stoop to your level.'
While Valença tried to control her feelings, the next battle was about to begin.
Seeing the red-haired girl preparing to enter the arena, Valença appeared in front of her in an instant, surprising everyone present with her speed. However, what attracted the most attention wasn't the speed of her movements, but the dark expression on her face.
"Get up here already. I have something to do today with my future husband."
"What are you talking about? Forget it. I don't care."
The girl stepped into the arena without showing any interest in introducing herself. Her attitude suggested that she considered such formalities unnecessary when dealing with someone she regarded as inferior.
Valença wasn't shaken in the slightest. After all, Giulio had already revealed his sister's name while everyone was in the stands.
"My name is Valença, and your brother has already told us yours."
"That idiot!"
The girl's name was Giulia Rossetti. Her first name was practically identical to Giulio's because their father had chosen both names, while their respective mothers had different surnames.
"Anyway, that doesn't matter. Let's begin."
The knight responsible for the fight positioned himself between the two, carefully observing their expressions.
"The rules will be the same as in the previous battles. I expect both of you to accept the result when the fight is over."
"Of course, sir. At least on my part, I'll accept the result regardless of what happens."
Valença answered calmly, although her expression remained dark.
Noticing that the magical auras of the two were beginning to intensify, the knight merely shook his head before announcing the start of the confrontation.
"Large Fireball!"
Both launched their magic simultaneously. Two enormous fireballs crossed the arena and collided in the center, causing an explosion that made the air tremble.
However, the difference in power became evident from the very first clash. Valença's fireball pushed Giulia's backward, forcing the red-haired girl to react quickly.
"Tsk! Wall of Fire!"
Giulia raised a blazing barrier in front of herself. Valença's fireball struck the wall, spreading flames across its entire surface, but the defense withstood the impact and prevented the attack from reaching her.
Without wasting any time, Giulia raised one hand. Several fireballs began appearing above her head, gathering into a formation that was soon launched toward Valença.
Her opponent spun her staff, creating a vortex of fire around her body. The flames rotated rapidly, intercepting the projectiles and making them explode before they could hit her.
As soon as she realized she was safe, Valença drew her staff backward and concentrated fire magic in her feet. The energy was released all at once, propelling her forward at an astonishing speed.
"Incandis!"
A reddish light enveloped Valença's body. This time, however, the color was much more intense than the one Enrico had witnessed the last time she used the ability.
The energy spread through her limbs, increasing her speed. Valença changed direction at the last moment and appeared to Giulia's left, closing in before she could follow her trajectory.
"Incandescent Ray!"
Giulia sensed the danger and tried to jump away from the attack. However, before she could leave the ground, a hand of lava emerged from the arena's surface and grabbed her feet.
The heat burned her skin, trapping her for a fraction of a second. That was enough for Valença's incandescent ray to hit her squarely in the chest.
"Aaaah!"
The explosion engulfed Giulia, sending a wave of heat across the arena. When the flames finally began to subside, she emerged with several parts of her body burned. Her chest was covered in a dark layer of soot, and blood was running from her wounds. Her feet had also suffered severe burns.
'Damn it! I used too much magic. I thought she would be able to withstand it since she's also a fire magic user, just like Enrico and me.'
Valença observed the results of her attack, but she didn't have much time to reflect.
"Soul Flame Magic: Healing!"
A gentle flame enveloped Giulia's body. Her skin began to regenerate as her wounds closed and the remaining blood evaporated under the magical heat.
The upper part of her clothes had been destroyed by the attack, so she created a small mantle of fire to cover her chest while she finished recovering.
'What was that powerful attack?'
A slight trace of fear appeared on Giulia's face. The blow had been so powerful and frightening that, during the impact, she had genuinely thought she might die.
'Why didn't the knight intervene? He must have realized I wouldn't die from that attack. Even so, it was horrible!'
The fear began to turn into resentment. Giulia started glaring at Valença and the knight with hostility, feeling that the battle might drag on until she suffered even more serious injuries.
'I came here to meet someone, not to leave injured. Even if Matteo gets angry, I don't care. After all, he can't do anything.'
Giulia couldn't lose that battle. She had promised that boy she wouldn't fall behind anyone until the day they met again.
She wouldn't allow anything to stop her from keeping that promise.
"Crimson Fire Magic: Total Explosion!"
An enormous amount of energy burst from Giulia's body. The flames spread across the ground, burning the arena's surface until the ground began to melt under the extreme temperature.
Giulia was a special mage. Although she had an affinity only for fire magic, she possessed three different types of flames, each with its own characteristics and capable of being developed through a distinct magic circle. The most impressive thing was that all three could evolve together, making her far more dangerous than her single affinity might suggest.
Valença tightened her grip on her staff as she saw the amount of magic pouring out of her opponent.
"It seems you intend to unleash your strongest attack. Then I'll do the same."
In the stands, Enrico's finger trembled slightly as he noticed the amount of energy Giulia was releasing.
Back in the arena, Valença felt a drop of sweat trickle down her forehead. Even after demonstrating her superiority at the beginning of the fight, she now needed to take her opponent seriously. Faced with that amount of power, she raised her staff and began concentrating her own magic, preparing to unleash the Cataclysm Flame.
"Do you two want to kill each other? Stop right now! This fight will end in a draw!"
The knight's voice echoed throughout the arena, interrupting the concentration of the two girls.
Valença and Giulia looked at him. The former showed discomfort at having the fight interrupted, but understood that the knight wouldn't make such a decision without a reason. He was certain that if the attacks were released, both could suffer fatal consequences.
"Does either of you have any objections to my decision?"
"No, sir."
The two looked at each other once more, making it clear that, for them, the confrontation wasn't over yet. Then each returned to her own side of the arena.
Matteo watched Giulia with a furious expression, as if he wanted to kill her for failing to win.
"Giulia..."
"Shut up, Matteo. Your voice is annoying."
"Tsk!"
Matteo went straight to the arena, while Giulia sat down with an irritated expression. That was exactly the result she had intended to achieve by using a technique that wasn't yet complete.
Enrico watched the situation with a neutral expression.
'I didn't think Giulia had evolved so much. I really did cause a change in the original story.'
[Well, that happens when there are reincarnated people in a world.]
'You're right. Wait... People? In the plural? Isn't Pedro dead?'
While Enrico tried to understand that unexpected information, still maintaining his neutral expression, Giulia, who was sitting in the stands, opened her system screen and began carefully observing the students watching the protagonist. After analyzing their stats, she noticed monstrous differences between them and their versions in the original story.
'Even Enrico, who wasn't anything special in the original work, has become much stronger... I need to find out which of them is one of the five reincarnated people who came to this world. And I still need to discover whether any of them is that boy.'
[Miss, you're quite obsessed.]
Giulia ignored the comment and continued examining the students. She was looking for any detail that might reveal the true identities of the reincarnated individuals.
After all, in the original story, she had never demonstrated those abilities so early. At least, not before turning eighteen.
'None of them is reacting to Giulia's power level...'