The warrior who had just intercepted the aqueous arrow had not yet reacted when he beheld three fiery orbs hurtling toward him, an inevitability no amount of evasion could circumvent!
His velocity had not reached the point where he could obliterate the three fireballs before they struck him.
Fortunately, the referee's promptness helped the warrior out of his immediate predicament.
"This... this... Niya, the student, emerges victorious!!" declared the referee as a wind blade exploded one of Niya's fireballs, delivering the judgment.
Discerning individuals could clearly see that Niya had won this time, with no suspense whatsoever, without any reliance on external forces, as no one witnessed any reaction from Niya indicating the use of magical weaponry.
The warrior was gestured off the stage by the teacher, staring disorientedly at Niya on the field, unable to believe that he had failed within ten seconds of stepping onto the stage!
Niya herself was equally bewildered; she had merely unleashed two spells, timing them precisely as Yann had instructed, and yet she emerged victorious?
Such an effortlessly facile triumph—it seemed far too simplistic. There was no need for the grueling battle she had imagined beforehand.
Yann, watching from below the stage, nodded approvingly, satisfied with Niya's performance. It appeared Niya had indeed mastered what had been imparted to her.
Low-level magicians, lacking their own elemental magic, although capable of broad magical studies, lacked any particular standout abilities. It was only upon reaching the fourth level that one's innate magic manifested, leading to an exceptionally potent magical attribute. Therefore, early-stage magicians were particularly focused on combining techniques, interweaving low-level magics to form a combination attack, akin to a boxing combination—though this was a combination of magic.
Restricted by factors such as the magic power of low-level magicians and other constraints, even if low-level magicians desired to combine a set of spells, they needed to consider not only the power of the magic but also whether their magic power was adequate.
If a combination of magics was formidable yet consumed too much magic power, rendering it beyond one's capacity to bear, then what use was such a set of combination magic?
For instance, Niya's triple fireball—potent it might be, but the magic consumption was simply not affordable by a first-level magician. Even if barely released, it would inevitably lead to a state of exhaustion and unconsciousness due to excessive magic consumption, a matter of life and death in battle!
Yet Niya had no concerns in this regard; with the magic circle drawn by Yann, she could consume magic however she pleased!
No one would know that Niya was now akin to a computer with a 9TB hard drive capacity but only a 32B graphics card and 256B of memory!
Calling it a case of underutilization would not be an exaggeration.
Yet, neither Niya nor Yann had any awareness of this. Niya was too engrossed in her jubilation to notice, while Yann simply did not find it surprising. Wasn't it just the magic power of a fifth-level magician? It could be readily produced!
Niya descended from the stage for the second time, slightly lifting her chin as she gazed at Yann, her eyes seemingly saying, "How about that? Aren't I impressive?"
In fact, Niya did say as much.
Truly, a radiant young lady who flourished under the sunlight. Yann internally commented, a sentiment he would never voice aloud.
On the other side, after the match results were announced, Clark and Aksei, watching from the stage, wore grim expressions.
The outcome of the battle far surpassed the expectations of both. No one had anticipated Niya's victory, as straightforward and swift as the undead warrior's victory over Aksei before!
Two consecutive magics, utterly unavoidable! Dodging such attacks wasn't difficult for those of higher levels, but for first-level magicians or warriors, it was an inescapable assault. Moreover, Niya's second attack was three fireballs simultaneously released—how many individuals in the entire first year, no, the entire second year, could withstand such an onslaught?
Niya's combination might easily terminate a battle, but what was most incredible was—where did this first-level individual acquire the magical power to sustain such formidable magic?
There must be some hidden truth they were unaware of.
"Our intelligence has revealed some errors," Clark solemnly addressed Aksei.
It wasn't merely some errors; the entire intelligence from the outset was erroneous. Niya was no pushover; on the contrary, her combat prowess ranked first in the entire first year. If you factored in the combat power of the undead warrior pet, there was no opponent in the third year!
"It appears to be so. However, brother, I truly had no idea that Niya had been concealing her strength all along. Or perhaps Niya won with the aid of some magical prop! Brother, should we report them?" Aksei shouted loudly.
Clark closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of his intellectually impaired brother. "Do you think we two warriors have a greater investigative aptitude for magic than the referee? I've already inquired with a fifth-level magician referee, and the result is that Niya did not employ any magical props whatsoever, not even a hint of fluctuation. Although I don't know why, it's undeniable that Niya indeed emitted magic from within her own body."
Clark paused for a moment. "Furthermore, do you believe this destitute girl has the means to purchase magical props? Do you think everyone has the Sahem family backing to squander money recklessly, as you do?"
Clark began to subtly reprimand Aksei. Aksei, as a scion of the Sahem family, was notorious in the Sacred Heart City of the eastern province for his unrestrained and dissolute behavior, having a rather poor reputation among the populace—a well-known libertine.
In contrast, although Clark held a far higher status and position within the Sahem family than Aksei, his conduct was exceedingly low-key. Despite engaging in numerous unjust and immoral deeds behind the scenes, Clark always handled them astutely, in stark contrast to Aksei.
"Forget it. I've already prepared magical equipment with 'silence' for those below. As long as Niya cannot unleash magic, it will be futile, and we will have our way with her!"
"But, brother, isn't it against the rules to use magical props in the competition? Wouldn't this be a violation?"
Clark truly had an overwhelming desire to reprimand his younger brother. Despite his abundant wit and libertine tendencies on ordinary days, how had his mind now become as dull as that of a pig?
"Rules are meant to be broken! I've already bribed the referee beforehand, so you needn't worry about that!"