Connie made easy work of her second-year opponent. She didn't even have to use her sound or healing magics, instead opting to burn away their attacks with a supercharged flame, much like what Michael had used to defeat the member of the Order of the Elk. The poor Water mage never had a chance.
She took out the third and fourth-year opponents in the same way. Now, with only Scott and the fifth-year to go, victory seemed all but certain. The fifth-year walked up. Rather than attack immediately as their teammates had done, they created a barrier of water around their body. Within that, they created a stone barrier in the same manner.
Connie's attacks evaporated against the water shield, not even leaving a scratch on the stone. She tried switching to sound magic to break it, but the mage remade the water barrier as she broke the earth one. Put simply, they were at a stalemate. The person to lose would be whoever ran out of mana first.
They continued like this for a while, until suddenly Connie stopped attacking. She was swaying on her feet but still standing. Confused, the fifth year opened a whole in their barrier to see what was going on. A burst of intense noise like a hurricane burst through their defenses, overwhelming the fifth year. Both mages fell to the ground- one from injury and the other from mana-loss.
Scott was the only mage left for the Water team, whereas Master Robin's team still had their second, third, and fourth years left. No matter how powerful Scott was, there was practically no chance of him defeating all three opponents. And, in true fashion, Scott did eventually lose.
He didn't go down alone, though. It seemed that Scott had created or learned a few spells that incorporated water and earth magic. His barriers weren't all-encompassing, but the mud-like substance swallowed attacks like there was no tomorrow. His attacks were fluid and hit hard. The second-year was quickly overwhelmed and Scott managed to defeat the third-year before his mana ran out.
Sadly, the fourth-year was too strong for him. Scott was stuck on defensive the entire time until his mana gave out. He was carried off stage to rest and receive minor healing.
Finally, the headmaster reappeared on stage. He turned to the audience, shouting "Multi-mages win! Let's all give a warm round of applause to those that competed today. In particular, I'd like to recognize the indomitable Luke O'Nara for his commanding performance and wonderful leadership. The two first-year talents you saw steal the stage are Connie Piticus and Scott Wentworth. Let's here it for our duelists!"
The room burst into cheers. Even those who had been booing earlier were full of excitement. It seemed that all hard feelings were either suppressed or disappeared the moment the tournament ended. It wouldn't prevent rivalries outside of the academy's view, but it did mean that everyone appreciated the skill of the victors.
Michael couldn't help but join in on the fun. He didn't get to compete, but he was glad he was able to watch. Many of the mages had combined multiple elements for unique results, and Connie and Scott showed that first-years could hold their own too. If the three of them worked together, he had a feeling they would run this school.
After the duels ended, the welcoming ceremony quickly followed suite. As far as Michael could tell, the tournament was the entire reason for the ceremony in the first place. It was all anyone talked about and did a great job of showcasing the level of the education they would receive and the skill of each class' best mages. Without Michael, they didn't get a full estimate of the first-years' power, but he had some time to show them what they had missed.
The auditorium emptied by year, so first-years were the last to leave. Some of those passing by took a moment to admire Orthus and some of the other new familiars. Orthus was loving it, preening and turning to show off his best angles. Not being invited on stage had upset him a bit, but all the new attention seemed to be making up for it.
When he was finally permitted to leave, Michael found himself separated from the rest of his year. When he entered the main entrance hall, he found himself once again surrounded by figures in masks.
"You have succeeded in your first task. Present the trophy taken and accept your next challenge. Take heed, this next challenge does not begin until all first-years have either completed the first task or failed."
"For now, know that you must capture a beast in the breeding grounds. The beast must be at least rank 2 and you must do so without aid. Registered familiars will not count, as the beast must be left in our care. You have one day to prepare and seven to succeed."
Well, that didn't seem too hard. It might give some of the others some difficulty, but the hardest part for Michael would be not killing the creature. Since he couldn't ask for help, he had to buy and transport any gear he wanted to take with him. Fortunately, he already had an idea of what he needed.
Michael chose to go visit the shopping district while the rest of his class returned to their dorm, likely preparing to challenge their opponents. He picked out a cage of slightly lower quality than the one he used with Orthus. This would work fine for what he needed. More importantly, it was cheaper. Anything he bought right now would get charged to his account and he had no way to make money! He didn't even pay the fee for a cart, instead using his air magic to lighten his load.
He looked rather silly carrying a cage as big as he was, but there wasn't much that could be done about it. He wasn't allowed any help, Orthus included, so he could only do everything himself. For now, he placed the cage in his room. There was plenty of space for it and it wasn't like he could start yet. Instead, he spent the hours until dinner reading up on enchanting and memorizing his schedule for the next day.
At dinner, several of the first-years bragged about defeating their opponents. Since it wasn't against the rules, Michael told the table he had also defeated his opponent. In total, 11 of them had completed their tasks. Kayn, Michael, Malachi, Scott, Julia, Jackson, Fergus, Lara, Sara, Nathan and Leo had claimed the rings of their opponents.
Those that had succeeded had mostly worked together. Kayn and Malachi, Lara and Sara, and Nathan and Leo had all decided to team up on their tasks. Only Michael, Scott, Julia, Jackson and Fergus had fought their opponents one on one. And even then, several of them had relied on sneak attacks. Nobody knew whether Connie was being recruited or not because she wasn't with them when they were given the task, and she refused to say.
The next morning, no one else had managed to win. Those had lost out were allowed to pass through to breakfast, though the rest of them were held back and given the next task. Of course, Michael already knew what it was, but he couldn't start yet.
He had his first day of classes today!