Silence lingered for a long time.
"...What was that?" Sitar's voice sounded obscure, his eyes blank.
What Char had just revealed to them was not a surprise anymore but a shock.
What did he see?
A 16-year-old student, who punched through a transcendent knight-level mountainous giant?
By the gods of justice and judgment, when did this world become so insane?
"Perhaps... it's the ability of ancient knights that has been lost to time," Rode, who had seen and experienced much, furrowed his brow and replied with uncertainty.
From his mouth came a new term.
However, very, very few people were qualified to know this secret.
It was a method possessed by the most powerful knights of ancient times, but the majority had been lost with the collapse of ancient ruins, buried beneath the ruins underground.
For practitioners of the knight lineage, this ability was far more attractive than ancient artifacts.
In order to awaken a similar ability, besides a series of stringent conditions, the most fundamental requirement was to merge with the aura of ancient creatures.
Has he come into contact with ancient beings?
Dragons?
Elves?
Or... certain ancient gods of the lawful factions?
He glanced at his old friend beside him and saw the look of horror on his face. He couldn't help but sigh and rub his forehead.
That young man couldn't possibly have been taught by Sitar. There must be some hidden powerful figure behind him.
With this thought, Rode couldn't help but develop a deeper level of curiosity towards him. It felt like digging for treasure, discovering new surprises in him time and time again.
"This kid, we have our judgment reserved for him."
.....
When Mevis finally broke through the barrier of space and returned from exile to reality, she subconsciously felt that something was off.
In theory, after such a long time, the outcome of the arena should have been determined, and even if there were no cheers, there should have been lively discussions.
But now, the entire arena was silent.
Looking around, almost all the spectators were standing in front of their seats with clenched fists, silently gazing at the center of the arena with a familiar expression that made Mevis feel somewhat uneasy.
That look, as if they had just witnessed a miracle.
"..."
Wearing a moon-white mage robe, a young and beautiful sorceress subtly furrowed her brow.
She turned around and looked at her proud disciple.
Then, a look of surprise appeared on her face. "Nia? Why are you crying?"
During the period when she was exiled to the stars by Dean Lucius, Nia had been silently standing in place, motionless, like a puppet without autonomous thought, only reacting when given instructions.
That was how it should have been.
But now, on her delicate and indifferent face, two lines of hot tears gently slid down.
"Teacher...?"
Upon hearing that, Nia raised her hand and gently touched the tear at the corner of her eye.
As she looked at the glistening liquid on her fingertip, a rare sense of confusion appeared on her expression.
Mevis looked deeply into her eyes, and a faint green light shimmered within her gaze.
"You are the strongest prodigy destined to become a Grand Sage in the future. How can you cry over trivial matters?" Mevis's voice suddenly became ethereal in Nia's ears. "Wipe away your tears, forget those emotions that trouble you—they are unnecessary burdens."
"..."
Nia's delicate and fragile body trembled slightly, and she didn't answer immediately.
A struggling expression flickered in her eyes.
Observing this, the green light in Mevis's eyes intensified.
This time, Nia didn't resist too much. Her gaze quickly returned to its usual dullness, and her expression regained its indifference.
"Yes, Teacher."
She lowered her head and calmly replied.
After calming the green light in her eyes, Mevis nodded gently and then turned her gaze towards the arena.
"Since all of you have this kind of reaction, I can probably guess the outcome," she murmured to herself.
"But, what makes a backgroundless wild kid... capable of this?"
Mevis pondered aloud.
Then, she looked down from above at the place where countless gazes were focused.
...
On the arena, the already shattered ground revealed another deep pit.
The massive rocky body of the mountainous giant lay sprawled within that pit, perfectly intact except for its missing head.
Upon closer inspection, the part that formed the head and the single eye had shattered into countless fragments, scattered throughout the arena.
Under Char's strongest punch, even the colossal creature with transcendent knight-level power couldn't escape being instantly killed.
Of course, the timely reminder from Sitar occupied the majority of the contributing factors. For Char, the opportunity to use the Explosive Battle Qi was rare, lasting only a short ten seconds.
Cough cough cough...
As Char waved his hand to disperse the surrounding dust, he slowly stood up from the wreckage of the mountainous giant.
Since the effect of the explosive combat Qi had worn off, the crimson patterns on his body quickly faded, and the steam and heat subsided gradually.
He lifted his head and surveyed the surroundings, and wherever his gaze fell, the students in the audience averted their eyes.
They felt guilty.
After all, when the duel had just begun, most of them had come here with a mindset of mockery and trash-talking.
Who would have thought that the ultimate winner would be this young man whom almost no one had believed in?
Seeing their reactions, Char grinned, like a happy child.
After laughing for a while, he finally turned his gaze towards the girl curled up at the other end of the arena.
Her once tidy and clean rose-colored mage robe was now wrinkled and covered in dust, and there were even a few bloody wounds on her exposed fair legs.
This was an outcome Angelica had never imagined.
Char pulled out a worn-out long sword from the pile of rocks, swung it a few times, and then walked slowly towards Angelica.
Seeing her lack of fighting spirit, he couldn't help but sneer, pressing the blade against her delicate neck.
"This expression is much more entertaining than your usual self."
As the sword blade applied gentle pressure inward, a red mark appeared on Angelica's neck, and blood slowly trickled down.
It seemed that with just a little more force from Char, that beautiful head would bid farewell to the body.
"...," Angelica stared blankly at the corpse of the mountainous giant, a strand of platinum hair sticking to her lips. "Just kill me."
"Do you surrender?"
Char lifted his foot and stepped on Angelica's shoulder blades, pinning her against the wall behind her.
"... Just kill me."
Angelica bowed her head deeply and repeated once again.
She seemed to be resisting the terrifying outcome with this posture.
"Slap! Slap!"
Char reached out and gave her two resounding slaps without any hint of mercy.
Angelica's body trembled slightly, still bowing her head, showing no reaction.
Char shook his head, about to lift his head to search for the presence of the arbitrator when, in that distracted moment, Angelica suddenly raised her head. In her once defeated eyes, a flash of green light passed through!
Accompanied by a silent chant, the green light shot straight towards Char!
"!!"
Char, who had snapped out of his daze, saw his pupils dilate slightly. Unable to dodge in time, he watched the green light collide with his own eyes.
Then, the flowing light transformed into a complex and obscure spell, slowly floating within his pupils.
In that moment, his mind seemed to undergo a strong impact, causing his head to involuntarily tilt backward, and his flowing black hair obscured his current expression.
After doing all of this, two lines of bloody tears streamed down the corners of Angelica's eyes.
It seemed that using this eye technique had severe consequences for her.
However, once the target was ensnared by the curse, they would gradually become a puppet, unable to resist her commands in any emotional capacity.
This was Angelica's final trump card in her desperate situation!
"Release me."
At this moment, Angelica, who had just experienced a miraculous comeback, breathed lightly, her expression still somewhat dazed.
She attempted to push away Char's boot that was pressing on her shoulder, exerting force twice, but it didn't budge an inch.
At that moment, Char, who heard the command, slowly lifted his head, meeting Angelica's gaze.
His eyes were dull and lifeless, as if he were a puppet being controlled by someone else.