RUMBLE!!!
The special gates slowly began sliding open.
This time, a large group of twelve people entered right away.
Their faces were completely red, furious at the provocation.
Theo calmly observed the group.
’Let’s see,’ he thought, gripping his trident tightly. ’This should be a bit more difficult.’
The group slowly spread out throughout the arena.
Three groups of four people stood on each of his sides.
Earth users and water users stood at the front, shields already forming in the air.
Behind them, fire, wind, and lightning users quietly gathered mana.
Hell, Theo even spotted a few rare elements like poison and sound amongst them.
His gaze lingered on the sound mage for a moment.
’Interesting,’ he thought. ’This’ll be a bit more difficult indeed.’
With so many different things to worry about, it was easy to make a small mistake.
For people that hadn’t fought large-scale battles before, that is.
’I only need to wipe out another forty people,’ he thought, smiling. ’If I’m a bit more lenient on my mana, that should be easy.’
Just then, a faint crackle echoed out from the speakers.
’’Well,’’ the announcer’s voice echoed out. ’’It looks like everyone is ready.’’
Everyone remained silent for a moment.
Each of the students on the arena floor felt a faint nervousness set in amidst their anger.
Theo slowly lowered himself into a proper stance.
His eyes moved from one opponent to the next, memorizing their positions and elements.
’Preparing spells before the battle... normally that’s pretty smart,’ he thought, smiling. ’But now, I can see some clear targets.’
His gaze settled on the sound user.
’You’re first.’
The announcer’s voice echoed through the arena once more.
’’Three...’’
’’Two...’’
Eight lightning bolts formed on Theo’s side.
’’One...’’
’’BEGIN!’’
Theo’s lightning bolts shot high into the air like streaks of yellow light.
At almost the same moment, every student released their prepared spells.
Lightning bolts, wind cutters, fire pillars... all of them shot towards Theo.
Simultaneously, water shields and chunks of earth burst out of the ground to protect them from Theo’s attacks.
Several voices echoed out from the stands.
’’GET HIM!"
’’CURSE THAT BASTARD!’’
’’KILL HIM!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The center of the arena disappeared beneath a storm of explosions.
Flames surged into the sky as lightning, wind, and poison mana mixed together, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
But before anyone could celebrate, a streak of lightning zapped away.
Theo reappeared far outside the impact, completely untouched.
The few lightning bolts he’d shot up at the start began curving down.
The students’ expressions changed instantly.
’’Above us!’’
’’Watch out!"
They desperately raised more shields, even firing loose spells into the air.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The bolts crashed through their spells one after another.
Some of Theo’s bolts shattered after crashing through the spells.
But all he needed... was just one.
CRAAAACK!
Three bolts had gone through all their spells.
The students’ eyes widened.
’’No—!’’
Before any of them could react, a thin barrier popped up around them, shielding them completely.
The sound mage never even had the chance to attack Theo directly.
For a moment, the entire arena fell silent.
Of the twelve challengers that had entered the arena, only eight remained.
And it had only been a few seconds...
ZAP!
Theo was already gone again.
He appeared beside the second formation in an instant.
A surge of water swirled around his trident.
Before the earth mage could even react, Theo slammed his trident through the fire mage at the back.
The fire mage tumbled back like a ragdoll.
BAM!
He crashed against the arena walls.
’’Shit!’’
Just as large earth walls began to rise from the ground, Theo’s trident knocked into another mage at the back.
’’Ugh!’’
The mage tumbled back.
But Theo didn’t even look at him.
CRACKLE!
Lightning burst forth underneath his feet.
Footsteps melted deep into the earth walls, going higher and higher.
Theo reappeared on top of the wall, already crouched.
BOOM!
The wall cracked beneath the force as he launched himself dozens of feet into the air.
From above, the entire battlefield came into view.
’’Running away, are we?’’ he muttered, glancing at the earth mage and his buddy.
Eight more lightning bolts rapidly gathered around him, crackling with violent energy.
CRACKLE!
Theo swung his trident downward.
Two bolts shot straight down, heading for the runaways.
The other six bolts soared through the air, heading for the remaining group of four.
’’Incoming!’’
’’Block them!’’
Two thick earth and water shields completely encased the group of four.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Bolt after bolt slammed into the shields.
Cracks appeared all over them while large holes were blasted through.
After a moment, the surroundings fell silent.
’’We did it!’’ one of them said. ’’We blocked his attack!"
They slowly lowered their shields... only to find the two runaway members convulsing on the ground.
But that wasn’t all.
Theo was nowhere to be seen!
CRACKLE!
Theo appeared by their side, a round lightning ball floating above his hand.
’’Impossible...’’
A grin appeared on Theo’s face.
’’Shouldn’t have fully encased yourself,’’ he said before releasing the bolt.
ZAP!
The lightning bolt shot towards the earth mage.
CRAAACK!
It pierced straight through his hastily formed shield and slammed into his chest.
ZAP!
Before his body had even begun falling, the bolt split apart.
It leapt to the nearby water mage.
The young woman’s eyes widened immediately.
"No!"
ZAP!
She too fell on the ground, convulsing.
The bolt arced off her body without losing its momentum.
The remaining two students’ expressions changed instantly.
But there was nothing they could do.
ZAP! ZAP!
Their bodies convulsed violently as gray barriers enveloped them almost simultaneously.
Theo took a step back, smiling.
’That cost me quite some mana,’ he thought. ’Maybe I should relax a bit more again.’
He let out a sigh.
’It’s a shame the Chaos Room is so costly... but who knows, if a difficult group shows up, I can use it.’
The entire arena had fallen silent around him.
No one was willing to believe their eyes.
Twelve challengers had met their defeat without even landing a hit on him.
Theo slowly rested his trident on his shoulder.
His gaze swept across the arena before settling on the special gate once more.
It had already shifted open, presenting the next twelve challengers.
’Just two more groups,’ he thought. ’Then I’ll be super rich!’
Meanwhile, in the stands, one particular group looked on with doubt in their eyes.
’’Do we want to go in after this?’’ Jenny asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Leon’s face had grown slightly pale.
’’I... I don’t know,’’ he said. ’’If he’s still in this condition—’’
He didn’t need to finish his sentence.
Everyone in his group understood what he meant.