The first round of the First-year ranking tournament was going better than expected. The audience was completely thrilled by the matches they got to see up to now.
The starting match turned out to be the exact opposite of what they were hoping, but the rest of the matches were within expectations. They were close, but almost everything was predictable to the audience.
Kamin won the second match using his advanced class spell called 'Dance of the winter blades.' This spell was the product of mixing two disciplines of magic — wind and ice manipulation.
The third match was entirely dominated by Richi using his vibration magic. If his display in the preliminary round was to be called a shiver, what he showed today was definitely an earthquake.
As for the fourth match, Oruchi Kagayama won the match using his Shadow snakes. This art of his was one of the several arts of shadow magic practiced by the Kage clan.
Currently, the fifth match, Hibiki Kita versus Asa Hira, was ongoing. The audience was staring at the participants and the moves they were making, but it seemed like the match was going nowhere.
Asa was continuously on the offensive using her needle manipulation skills, but none of those attacks were getting through Hibiki's barrier.
Hibiki practiced a unique art of sound magic called the echo magic. Using her echoes, she could attack her enemy from any direction and repel any physical or magical attacks. However, this art itself had several disadvantages—the first and foremost being the fact that it was weak against most of the barriers.
As the match continued, the screen displayed the panel of judges on the top right corner.
"Wow, folks! This is what I call a close match. Neither of the participants is backing down, nor are they making any progress. But that is what's visible to our inexperienced eyes. Let's see what the experts have to say about it. Doctor Abe, what do you think?"
"It's hard to explain... As far as I can tell, Asa should be at a serious disadvantage here as she lacks offensive abilities against that kind of opponent. But from what I see, that doesn't appear to be the case."
"...and what do you say, Mister Hira?"
"I think I agree with Doctor Abe here. Our clan's abilities aren't exactly suitable for battles, and when it comes to duels, we are at a serious disadvantage. But it does seem like Asa is doing really well despite those limitations, and this display is an excellent demonstration of her offensive capabilities."
"...and you, Mister Ongaku?"
The old man was looking at the match with great curiosity. And as he was doing that, there was a big smile on his face.
"Tadashi, remember the day when I said a gem was born in your clan. That I said based on pure instinct, but looks like I was right. She is even giving a sound mage like Hibiki a hard time with her control over magic. You should be proud of her abilities."
"Alright, folks! There are only 5 minutes left, let's see who is going to win."
All the cameras on the stage were now focused on the match as it moved towards its conclusion.
Both Hibiki and Asa were breathing heavily; it was apparent that the match up to now took a lot of toll on their bodies. But more than Hibiki, who had been defensive for most of the part, Asa had taken a lot of damage.
When it looked like Hibiki was in a rough position for any attack magic, Asa backed down and activated self-healing magic.
Even though this wasn't the right time to go defensive, that was her best option. The match was moving towards the end, but she had already reached the limit of her offensive abilities.
As for Hibiki, she had been holding back until now since Asa wasn't giving her an opportunity to attack. But she too had realized that she had used a lot of mana even while just defending.
Unlike Asa, Hibiki couldn't restore her stamina fast, which meant she had to attack before Asa recovered. She disabled all the defensive spells that she was using and focused all her energy into a spell.
"Echo of the morning bell."
A high-intensity ultrasonic sound echoed throughout the stage, and with that, everything started vibrating. The range of that spell included everything inside the glass protecting the audience.
"Holy Ground."
A cylindrical barrier that could prevent most of the outside interference appeared around Asa.
This was one of the advanced class spells used to help with the on-site treatment in harsh conditions. The battlefields were usually filled with smoke and harmful gases, so the treatment of the wounded was almost impossible without this kind of spell. And luckily, it just so happens that it could also block soundwaves to some extent.
At this point, Hibiki was under a lot of pressure. Asa's continuous attack had put her on the defensive for most of the time, and now that she finally had an opportunity, there was very little time left.
"Dammit!"
She had already given up on the defensive, so now, without wasting any time, she charged towards Asa.
There were only three minutes left, and she had to end the match before that. If the match goes to the judges, it was obvious that she would lose.
Hibiki was sure that she could break through that barrier by using a close-range spell along with the Echo of the morning bell. And once she did that, she could use another attack to finish her off.
But right when she disabled the barrier using another high-intensity ultrasonic echo, she realized that Asa had already recovered.
Asa threw three needles on each of her knees and disabled her movement before moving backward and creating another barrier.
Hibiki tried freeing herself, but by the time she was able to, the time she had left was over.
"Stop! The match is over"—the screen around the stage turned red—"Now, the judges will decide the winner."
There was a moment of silence as the judges started discussing with one another. And when it looked like all three came to a conclusion, the old man stood from his seat.
"All three of us have agreed to a conclusion. The winner of this match is Asa Hira."