After resting for a day, the tournament resumes with 8 participants left. So there will be 4 duel matches today with a time limit of 2 hours for each match. The rules are still the same as before and the referees are still Ben & Jura.
This round is without a doubt far more interesting than the previous round. All 8 participants are showing spells and abilities that they haven't used before. Even so, they all still try to hide their full power for the next round.
However, those who are about to lose don't have the luxury of hiding their trump cards. If they hold back, they will just get defeated, after all. So they start to reveal their full power in this round and make it more interesting.
Still, not all of them show their full power. 3 people still win their matches even without going all out. They need a long time to win but it's worth it because they can hide their trump cards for the next rounds and title match.
Well, that's a good strategy, but only for those who are confident to win while holding back. For those who can't, they need to go all out to win the match. Revealing their trump cards is better than losing.
Ben is really thankful for them using more power and abilities than in the previous round. It gives him more data on their magic and their fighting styles. The data will help him improve his magic and fighting skills.
It's not only Ben who learns from the battles of this tournament. Almost all Mages present here are trying to learn everything they can from all these battles. It's a rare chance for them to see battles of high-ranking Mages, after all.
At the end of the 3rd round, 4 people pass it and move to the next round. But because of the intense battles today, the arena is a mess. Nothing broke, but traces of magic is everywhere and they need to remove all the traces for the next round.
Of course, it's Ben's & Jura's job to clean everything because normal Mages can't remove the aftereffects of these high-ranked Mages. It will take forever if they leave this job to the normal Mages.
In the arena, there are many burnt plants remains and charred marks on the ground. It's because the last match is between the woman who uses Plant Magic and the man who uses Scorch Magic. This match's winner is the woman who has improved a lot since Ben defeated her.
"She might win this tournament and challenge you," says Jura while they work.
Ben just smirks and says, "She's welcome to try but the result won't change. It's not just her who improves since that time. However, I doubt that she will be the winner of this tournament."
"Do you mean there's someone stronger than her?" asks Jura curiously.
"Based on my observation from the 1st round, she is the 3rd strongest. If she is lucky, she will face the one weaker than her and go to the final. But if she faces one of the 2 that I think of, then she won't pass," says Ben.
"Ho, that makes me curious about those 2 who are stronger than her," says Jura.
"You'll understand when you see them the day after tomorrow. They won't hold back too much like today," says Ben as he walks away after he finishes checking the enchantment barrier.
"Where are you going?" asks Jura.
"Taking my money," says Ben while grinning.
Jura sweatdrops and says, "You were betting, aren't you?"
"I just multiply my money," says Ben while waving his hand without looking back.
Ben has won all the bets he made for today's matches and the previous round. With AI Chip's prediction using all the participants' data, he can easily predict who would win the matches. So his money now has truly multiplied a lot.
2 days later, the semi-final round finally starts. There are 4 participants which are the woman who uses Plant Magic, the man who uses Space Magic, the woman who uses Cut Magic, and the man who uses Light Magic.
The Plant Mage woman gets chosen first and she faces the Cut Mage woman. So the Space Mage guy will face the Light Mage guy. It's a woman vs a woman and a man vs a man, truly a nice coincidence.
"So, who will win the battle between these 2 women?" asks Jura.
"The one who uses Cut Magic," says Ben.
"Ho, so she is one of the 2 strongest that you mention. Are you sure about that?" asks Jura again.
"Obviously. Do you want to make a bet then?" asks Ben.
Jura thinks for a bit before saying, "Sure, what will the stake be? Money?"
"No need, we both have a lot of money already, and I will get more from the open bet. Let's bet a secret. The one who loses will reveal a secret to the winner," says Ben while smirking.
Jura also smirks as he nods, "Sounds fun."
After agreeing to the bet, they start the match and watch it quietly. The match starts with the Plant Mage's domination. She grows giant plants all over the arena and transforms the arena into a forest.
But now the audience can't watch their battle because the plants block their view. But it is soon resolved after the video lacrima finds the 2 fighters and records them. It's not ideal but it's better than being unable to watch anything at all.
The Plant Mage controls the plants to attack her opponent but the Cut Mage keeps cutting them easily using her magic blade. Their battle is quite intense as both of their attacks are powerful. But there's still no sign of anyone winning even after an hour.
"They are still cautious of each other and aren't using their full power," says Jura.
"Yeah, they are stupid. Saving their power won't do them any good, they'll just get tired and risked their weaknesses being exposed. I know they want to judge their opponent's power first but an hour is too long," says Ben disappointedly.
Then finally after 30 minutes more, they start to use their full power. Their battle gets more intense and exciting to watch. The plants are moving wildly but they soon get cut.
This keeps happening for around 20 minutes before the battle ends with the Cut Mage's victory. She used a very strong Cut Magic to cut everything in the arena including her opponent. But the Plant Mage doesn't die, she just gets her body separated into some parts mysteriously without receiving damage.
"Hmm, it's like when Gildarts's Crush Magic is being used on living beings. It affects their physical appearance but doesn't kill them," says Ben.
The Plant Mage returns to normal when her body parts get reconnected. She looks very down now because she thought she has become strong enough. But she realizes that there are still many people stronger than her.
It doesn't concern Ben though because now he is getting interested in Cut Magic. Different from Crush Magic, he might have a use for Cut Magic because he uses a sword. If he can apply it to his spell when he uses a sword, then his attack power will increase.
Contrary to the first match, the 2nd match finishes quickly with the Space Mage as the winner. He distorts the space around his opponent to nullify all attacks. Then with the distortion, he reflects all his opponent's attacks and wins.
Everyone gets excited because the final will finally come and next will be the title match. Ben is also excited because he has the highest chance to be picked as an opponent in the title match. He will show everyone why he could be a Wizard Saint.
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