Enrico dodged the first attack and charged at the rock dragon, concentrating his strength into a punch aimed at the back of its head. The impact made the creature lose its balance, but two more were already approaching from the sides. Raising his arms, Enrico blocked their attacks before the dragons could hit him.
"Double Fireball!"
Two flaming spheres appeared in front of him and rushed toward the creatures, destroying them in an explosion of flames and stone fragments.
Enrico took advantage of the brief interval to observe his surroundings. There were far more rock dragons than he had imagined, and the creatures were already positioning themselves around him. Nicholas, on the other hand, had disappeared from his field of vision, hiding somewhere while controlling the attacks.
"Concentrated Mana!"
Nicholas's voice echoed from every direction. Enrico realized that it wasn't coming from a single point but seemed to be transmitted through the dragons themselves.
The creatures opened their jaws, revealing an intense concentration of brown energy. The next instant, they unleashed their mana attacks simultaneously, engulfing Enrico in a rain of projectiles.
Without hesitation, he activated Fire Steps and moved at high speed toward the rocks behind him. The attacks passed through the spot where he had been and struck the rocky formation, causing a series of explosions that destroyed a large portion of the structure.
Enrico landed safely and observed the destruction caused by the attacks.
'Let's see if he can withstand this.'
He assumed his characteristic combat stance, concentrating his strength in his arm as he prepared a punch. However, this time, he didn't intend to use only a technique he already knew. He wanted to test a new spell he had learned during his training with Virelle.
Some time earlier, during a training session, Virelle had explained the principles of that technique.
"This magic was created by me and can be used with any type of magic."
Enrico paid attention to every word, trying to understand how he could take advantage of that ability in combat.
"You don't need to focus on using it in just a single attack. You can start training with a small amount of fire, gradually perfecting the technique until you understand the level of power you can achieve."
"So I can combine it with any of my spells?"
"That's right."
In the original story, Virelle would have chosen Victoria as her disciple. However, after realizing that the girl wasn't willing to dedicate herself to training, the teacher had been disappointed and had given up on finding someone capable of meeting her expectations.
Kai could have taken on that role if he had been given the opportunity, but Virelle wanted to find someone with intelligence comparable to Victoria's when she genuinely took things seriously.
"This magic allows you to improve an attack through the connection between your circles. The greater the number of circles you can connect, the greater the potential for enhancement. The connection is created by a line that brings the two circles closer together, causing their energies to fuse and collide."
Virelle explained that when the circles collided, the released magical energy considerably increased the power of the magic being used at that moment.
However, the technique also presented risks. Forcing the circles to collide could cause serious damage to the user or even lead to their death. Therefore, Virelle had developed an automatic safety mechanism that quickly separated the circles after activation, reducing the risk of an uncontrolled reaction.
It was a relatively simple spell in principle, but it required precision and control to be used safely.
Enrico understood that he could start with a small amount of fire along the line created between the two circles, allowing the technique to activate without putting his body at unnecessary risk.
"The name of this magic is... Arcane Collision."
Back in the arena, Enrico felt mana circulating through his body as he prepared to put what he had learned into practice.
His eyes began to glow red as he activated Crimson Eyes, allowing him to see through obstructions and locate Nicholas.
His opponent was hiding in another part of the arena, protected by a formation of rocks. He had used the dragons not only to attack but also to prevent Enrico from easily identifying his position.
'Found you.'
Enrico concentrated his mana and activated Arcane Collision. The energy traveled through the connection between his circles, and the small amount of fire used as an activation point triggered an intense reaction.
His entire arm burst into flames, enveloped in fire that became much denser than that of his usual attacks.
The rock dragons charged forward to intercept him, trying to prevent him from reaching Nicholas. Some positioned themselves in front of their opponent, while others approached from the sides, forming a protective barrier.
Enrico clenched his fist even tighter as he released a hot sigh from his mouth.
"Charged Flame Impact!"
He threw a punch toward the dragons, releasing all the energy accumulated in his arm.
The explosion of fire swept across the arena, engulfing the creatures in its path. The dragons were reduced to dust almost instantly, unable to withstand the power of the attack. Even those that seemed more resistant, positioned to protect Nicholas, were destroyed by the flames.
The defensive formation disappeared within moments, leaving the opponent exposed.
Nicholas tried to react, but he didn't have enough time to escape. The attack struck him directly, engulfing his body in an explosion of fire that sent him flying away.
Realizing that he had struck his opponent with enough force to cause fatal injuries, Enrico immediately stopped the magic, controlling the flames and making them disappear before the attack could cause further damage.
'I thought he could withstand it.'
Everyone watching the fight at that moment was impressed by the power of that technique. Virelle, meanwhile, wore an arrogant smile as she watched the fight in the teachers' room.
Enrico opened and closed his palm, checking whether everything was all right after using that magic.
[Did we win? Does that mean I'm a better System than his, right?]
'What do you mean, we?'
[Exactly, we! After all, you admitted yourself that you wouldn't be as strong without me.]
Enrico remained silent for a moment.
Great. Now he wanted to go back in time and slap himself for saying those words.
Meanwhile, the guard responsible for supervising the fight approached Nicholas to check his condition. After confirming that he was still alive and hadn't suffered any fatal injuries, the guard gave Enrico a thumbs-up and stood up.
"The winner of this fight is Enrico Solcren Ferreira!"
Nicholas remained unconscious and was immediately taken to the healers for treatment.
Enrico watched as his opponent was carried out of the arena. He still had many questions about him and the other reincarnated individuals, but he decided it would be better to observe their personalities before taking any action. He needed to discover which of them could pose a real threat to his plans.
'Let's see... The fight may have taken a while, but I didn't take any damage.'
The results of his second round were announced shortly afterward. Enrico had earned nine points: six for a clear victory, one for taking no damage, and two additional points for defeating an opponent with a higher ranking than his own.
'Now that I think about it, being strong while having a lower ranking than the others is great.'
[You're right. If you were ranked first, you wouldn't receive those two extra points.]
Enrico had a considerable advantage over many of the competitors. At the same time, demonstrating such a high level of power despite holding only fifth place at Astrong would make his next opponents take him much more seriously.
'For now, I can continue demonstrating this level of power because no one from Astrong has lost so far.'
[Even so, the others will be very careful. You only have three opponents left to face, and they're probably watching the broadcasts.]
'You're right, but I'll do the same.'
After leaving the arena, Enrico began heading toward the stands. However, before he could reach the seats reserved for the audience, a guard approached him and escorted him to the section reserved for competitors.
"Yesterday, you went up to the stands without informing anyone. If something had happened, it would have been bad for everyone."
Enrico was genuinely curious about the guards' concern.
"What could have happened?"
"Poisoning. It has happened before. Someone would bet on a competitor and poison their opponent whenever they managed to get close to them."
Enrico immediately understood the seriousness of that possibility.
In the original story, something similar had happened during a Circle Seven tournament in which Kai was competing. On that occasion, he had managed to heal himself thanks to an elven magical technique he had learned from Elaris.
Enrico, for his part, possessed a body far more resilient than that of an ordinary person. Even so, he couldn't completely ignore the risk. A sufficiently powerful poison could affect him, even if his natural resistance reduced the effects of less dangerous substances.
Upon arriving at the designated area, Enrico decided to thank the guard.
"I'll be careful, sir. Thank you for the warning."
"Just be careful."
After saying goodbye to the guard, Enrico finally sat down in the place reserved for competitors.
He noticed that the fight between Lira and Sakura had ended some time ago. As expected, Lira had won. Meanwhile, Liang's fight was already underway.
"He's better, but I think I can still defeat him without taking much damage."
With the nine points earned in that round, Enrico had reached a total of sixteen points, remaining in second place in Group F. Lira continued to lead with nineteen points after earning another ten from her victory against Sakura.
Enrico turned his attention back to the arena, interested in watching the rest of the competition.
Behind a wall, Jun Wang, the fifth-ranked student at Shengtian Academy, watched Enrico with a nervous expression.
His hands trembled slightly as he held a small vial he had received from one of Shengtian's teachers.
'We have to win at any cost.'