High above the arena—
Silver and the others silently watched.
Yelena and Alyssa had already won their matches.
Samuel and Selena too.
Even Clara Taylor sat quietly amongst the crowd staring toward the stage.
Honestly—
I felt slightly bad for Lysander.
The signal rang out.
"BEGIN!"
The instant the match started—
Lysander reacted immediately.
Mana surged violently around him as multiple magic circles materialized in the air.
Then—
his body rose upward.
The crowd gasped.
"He can fly?!"
For a first year—
that alone was impressive.
Wind mana spiraled around him beautifully as he ascended high above the battlefield.
The atmosphere around Lysander changed instantly.
Unlike ordinary mages—
he cast with terrifying speed.
Countless emerald magic circles materialized around him one after another as compressed wind currents began screaming throughout the arena.
Wind blades formed beside him rapidly.
Some sharp enough to distort the air itself.
Others compressed into violent spiraling drills.
The pressure surrounding the battlefield intensified continuously as the wind currents grew more chaotic.
Honestly—
for someone his age—
his mastery over wind was absurd.
Then—
Lysander suddenly frowned.
Because my eyes—
weren't even focused on him.
"Tch."
He immediately unleashed every spell at once.
BOOOOOM.
The sky itself lit up beneath the barrage of wind magic descending toward me.
Yet—
I simply kept glancing upward.
Toward the highest tower overlooking the arena.
Toward Aurelia Lioren.
And the moment our eyes met—
I smiled faintly.
Are you watching, Master?
You wanted to know how I defeated that creature?
Then—
I slowly raised my hand.
Lysander's eyes narrowed.
"…What are you—"
I tilted my head slightly.
"You enjoy staying high up there?"
"…W-What?"
My hand moved downward sharply.
"Come down."
The world distorted.
BOOOOOOOOM.
Lysander's body instantly crashed downward from the sky as though space itself had rejected his existence.
The arena exploded beneath the impact.
Stone shattered violently.
The pressure alone caused the battlefield to cave inward.
Lysander's unfinished spells collapsed instantly.
His body remained pinned to the ground beneath an invisible force he couldn't even comprehend.
Silence.
Absolute silence overtook the entire stadium.
Because nobody understood what they had just witnessed.
High above the arena—
Aurelia's eyes were wide open for the first time.
Not calm.
Not composed.
Genuinely shocked.
Beside her—
even Mitch Rozenberg looked stunned seeing her reaction.
"…Headmistress?"
But Aurelia barely heard him.
Her gaze remained locked onto me.
Onto the invisible distortion surrounding the arena.
And for the very first time in years—
the Headmistress of Nexus Academy felt disbelief.
I calmly gazed down at the trembling battlefield.
Yes.
That was right.
Space.
It was finally time—
to reveal the element of surprise.
The Headmistress soon regained her composure.
Though—
the slight widening of her eyes had already been noticed by the stronger figures present.
To think…
He can already bend space to his own authority.
Aurelia slowly exhaled.
"Phew…"
Then—
a faint smile appeared on her face as she gazed toward the boy standing calmly amidst the shattered arena.
Keep growing, Rio.
There was genuine warmth within her eyes.
Pride too.
And then—
almost in a whisper—
soft enough for only herself to hear—
"…Soon enough…"
"…you might even be able to help me."
BOOOOM.
Before the stadium could fully process what had happened—
another overwhelming mana signature descended upon the arena.
The skies themselves trembled slightly.
A man with brown hair suddenly appeared high above the battlefield seemingly out of nowhere.
The pressure he radiated alone caused countless students to stiffen instinctively.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
Quill Thorne.
To think—
even the Guild Master of Abyss had come personally to watch the tournament.
The entire stadium immediately shifted its attention toward him.
Even the instructors grew tense.
Quill merely smiled calmly while gazing down toward the battlefield.
Then—
his voice echoed throughout the entire arena effortlessly.
"If you are all wondering what Cadet Noctis just did…"
"…then allow me to give a brief explanation."
Silence overtook the stadium instantly.
Quill's sharp green eyes slowly fell toward me.
"He bent space itself."
For a second—
nobody reacted.
Because nobody fully understood what those words meant.
Then—
Quill continued.
"Yes, Noctis."
"You wield not only three elements…"
"…but a fourth one as well."
"And among them…"
"…the absolute element of Space."
BOOOOOOM.
The stadium exploded into complete chaos.
"SPACE?!"
"THAT ELEMENT ACTUALLY EXISTS?!"
"No—impossible!"
"Only the Headmistress—!"
Shock spread throughout the arena like wildfire.
Because everyone knew exactly what that meant.
Space.
The rarest affinity within existence itself.
An element so absurdly difficult to awaken that only a single known person within the Empire possessed it.
Aurelia Lioren.
And now—
another had appeared.
Students stared at me in disbelief.
Nobles looked shaken.
Even the guild observers had completely lost their composure.
Meanwhile—
Silver silently stared toward the battlefield.
"…Four affinities."
Samuel let out a disbelieving laugh.
"…What the hell are you even made of?"
Yelena's lightning flickered unconsciously.
Clara Taylor simply looked dead inside.
T-This completely breaks the novel…
No…
This shouldn't even be possible…
And amidst the chaos—
Astravax lazily yawned atop the railing.
[boring]
...
I slowly lifted my gaze toward the man standing high above the arena.
Quill Thorne.
The Guild Master of Abyss merely smiled calmly beneath the countless stares directed toward him.
Then—
I spoke.
"Yes."
"I also bear the legendary element of Space."
The instant those words fell—
the atmosphere distorted violently.
FWOOSHHHH.
Space behind me suddenly twisted unnaturally as a massive portal erupted into existence.
The arena trembled.
The pressure within the stadium increased tenfold instantly.
Several weaker students nearly collapsed from the sheer distortion spreading through the battlefield.
The portal itself resembled shattered reality.
Darkness.
Stars.
Fragments of warped space spiraling endlessly within the rift.
The crowd stared speechlessly.
Because unlike ordinary portals—
this one radiated something terrifyingly ancient.
Something that felt fundamentally wrong.
I smiled faintly afterward.
"And…"
"Aurelia Lioren is my master."
BOOOOM.
Before the crowd could even react—
another overwhelming pressure descended upon the arena.
Aurelia herself appeared directly behind me.
black hair flowing beneath the wind—
her cold eyes gazed toward the skies with quiet authority.
The distortion surrounding the arena calmed slightly the moment she arrived.
Then—
the Headmistress spoke.
"The Guild Master of Abyss…"
"You are currently inside Nexus Academy."
Her voice remained calm.
Yet hidden beneath it—
was unmistakable warning.
"I assume you understand what that means."
The entire stadium turned silent once more.
Because everyone understood the implication immediately.
Inside Nexus Academy—
Aurelia Lioren ruled absolutely.
Even Quill Thorne could not act recklessly here.
Yet—
Quill merely smiled.
Completely unbothered.
Not even the slightest tension appeared on his face.
"I apologize for appearing unannounced."
His sharp green eyes slowly shifted toward me afterward.
"I suppose…"
"…Space made me extremely curious."
Then—
the pressure surrounding him slowly faded.
"Until later, bearer of space."
FWOOSH.
His figure vanished from the sky instantly.
Silence lingered across the arena afterward.
Meanwhile—
my eyes remained narrowed slightly.
Because just like Aurelia—
nobody truly knew how strong Quill Thorne actually was.
And somehow—
that uncertainty made him infinitely more dangerous.
And just like that—
the first day of the Nexus Tournament came to an end.
The atmosphere within the academy remained chaotic long after the matches concluded.
Because everyone was still talking about one thing.
Space.
I quietly sighed as I sat back down within the waiting lounge reserved for the higher-ranked students.
Almost immediately—
I noticed the gazes directed toward me.
Samuel.
Selena.
Yelena.
Even Silver.
Honestly—
the silence was becoming awkward.
"You know…"
"…you can ask questions if you want."
Samuel instantly leaned forward.
"what the hell even are you?"
"…Straight to the point huh."
Meanwhile—
Silver remained calm beside me.
Though unlike the others—
his expression held understanding rather than shock.
"That day…"
"…when we fought that monster."
His silver eyes slowly narrowed.
"At the end, I couldn't understand how you managed to injure it."
"…But now it makes sense."
"You used Space."
I nodded lightly.
"Yes."
Silver quietly exhaled afterward.
"…I see."
Honestly—
coming from him—
that reaction alone was surprisingly calm.
Yelena however looked far less composed.
"You're telling me you casually hid the rarest affinity in existence?!"
"…I wouldn't call it casual."
Reinheart smiled lazily from nearby.
"Well this explains why my instincts kept screaming that you were troublesome."
Samuel immediately pointed toward me.
"And when the hell did the Headmistress become your master?!"
"That part shocks me more."
I leaned back slightly afterward.
"…A while ago."
"That explains absolutely nothing," Selena deadpanned immediately.
Meanwhile—
Alyssa quietly stared at me for several seconds.
Then—
"…Space."
"…Cool."
"…Thank you?"
And somehow—
that was the most normal reaction so far.
Soon—
the next two days passed by quickly.
The tournament only grew more intense from there.
Countless students were eliminated.
The remaining participants slowly revealed why they stood above the others.
And naturally—
I defeated everyone within my bracket.
Though after revealing Space—
most of the matches ended far faster than expected.
No one truly had an answer against distorted space itself.
Then—
eventually—
the quarterfinals arrived.
The massive crystal screens above the arena illuminated brightly as the final brackets appeared.
[Quarterfinal Matches]
Yelena Zephyr
VS
Reinheart Verilian
Silver Ryker
VS
Noctis
Samuel Crimson
VS
Darius Whitemere
Alyssa Croft
VS
Selena Thorne
Silence briefly overtook the arena.
Then—
the entire stadium exploded.
"NOCTIS VS SILVER?!"
"THE APEX AGAINST THE RYKER HEIR!"
"THIS IS INSANE!"
Even the guild observers looked visibly excited now.
Because everyone understood something.
The real tournament—
was finally beginning.