Despite the call from the instructor, neither Aron nor his opponent moved. "Do you have anything to say, kid? Say it.. you won't get a chance otherwise." Mark grinned, confident of crushing the first-year brat, like any other time.

Anyone who gets selected into the Academy walks in with an inflated ego. Mark had taken it upon himself to teach these guys a lesson. "No hard feelings, mate. If I don't pummel that shitty face of you, someone else will." 

Mark swept his hair back, trying to present his most handsome side to the onlookers. Because of Aron's fiasco where he had forced multiple students back just with his presence, their duel had attracted a lot more eyeballs than it was supposed to. 

"With me at least you can be sure that I won't break your bones hehe.." "Hey.. mind it, kid!!" It was not Aron but the instructor who was annoyed by his trash talk. "This is your last warning. If you threaten him once again, you are off. You understand?" 

Seeing the boy nod like a chicken, Aron chuckled. "Then I guess, I should thank you. You don't look like an evil person anyway. Hm.. are you.. maybe.. trying to impress someone..?" Talking to himself, Aron glanced over to the viewing gallery, finding the earlier group of second-year students watching the show.

Mark was not ready to be called out so blatantly. Obviously, he had a crush on Tina, but that wasn't something people should mention in public. He is not ready for that. "You sure got a big mouth.. jerk." 

Away from them, Chris was narrowing his eyes. "Nobody told me this is going to be a talking contest!!" Christina shook her head. "They can only begin once their guy shuts his trap. He is constantly yammering without stopping. It's embarrassing."

"What did you say, girl?" Tina's group was just like them, climbing to the viewing gallery to get the best view. It was only natural for them to react, considering Christina made no effort to muffle her voice. 

"Leave it." Tina had to step in to calm her group. Right now, her level of agitation was no different than Chris's. 'Come on, what are you two waiting for?' As if they reacted to her call. She saw Mark make his move. 

"Frost Defence!!" "Frost Strengthening!!" Aron stood in his place, patiently watching his opponent cast a series of spells. Ice covered both of Mark's arms along with a series of physical enhancement spells. 

All this looked totally stupid in Aron's eyes. 'Does he think when push comes to shove, he will get this much time to do all these castings at once?' This duel would have ended right now, had he chosen to make his move. Nevertheless, where is the fun in that?

"I forgot to ask you.. what exactly is your rank.. if I may ask?" Mark seems to be done with his preparation. "367. Now get ready to be crushed noob." With a grin that displayed the entire set of teeth in his mouth, he rushed toward Aron. 

"Not high enough.. but whatever." He might as well use this opportunity to try out the new spells he had been taught. "Necromancy magic: Blight!!" 

Fingers pointing to Mark, a small magic circle attached itself to his chest. 

"Cough.. a necromancer.. haha.. that's not enough..!!" Though the spell instantly impacted Mark's mobility, he simply brushed it off. Meanwhile, Aron ran out of time to try another casting. 

Mark's frozen hands swung to connect a punch to his face. Nonetheless, Aron effortlessly dodges the attack. "Necromancy magic: Energy sap!!" Another casting, alas.. he wasn't lucky this time around. 

A small magic circle surfaced on Mark's chest once again but it vanished just as soon as it appeared. Casting spells required an immense amount of concentration, at least since Aron was nothing but a beginner. 

This meant it was incredibly hard for him to do a casting while simultaneously evading the punches thrown his way. While it seemed he was having a breeze escaping Mark, truth was, even the small amount of disturbance was causing his casting to fail.

"Looks like your boyfriend is only good at running away haha.." It was a girl from Tina's group who got the chance to get back at Christina. She got a vicious glare from her, but who would take a first-year's gaze seriously? 

"Yeah.. I was excited for nothing. He is going to exhaust himself to death like this." Another girl shook her head as if the show disappointed her. "Can't you guys see.. he is desperately trying to cast his spell haha.. I have never seen someone fail so miserably at that. What a noob!" Another boy chimed in with his own commentary on the fight.

Even so, Tina remained unmoving. Maybe others can't see, but Aron can't hide his strength from her keen eyes. 'He is playing with him... It's not even a fight.' Her hands balled into fists. There was no doubt in her mind about this anymore. 

When did such a character emerge among the first-year students? The bigger question was how did he manage to keep such a low profile? 

"You think he can win this?" Ben was soaking in his own sweat. On one hand, he was worried Aron might get hurt, while on the other he desired him to kick that second-year's butt.

Chris shook his head. "What a waste of time.. I should have been there..!!" He didn't even bother to reply to Ben. It simply wasn't necessary. According to him, even a fool can see Aron was trying to perfect his spell casting mid-fight.

"Don't worry, he got this." Christina was a little more sympathetic towards Ben, choosing to answer him. "I hope he ends this fast." 

On the stage, Aron had failed for the fifth time in a row. Compared to him, Mark was in a worse state. His breathing had risen. With every minute passing, it felt like the Blight spell on his body was getting even more active. 

"I don't know what you are planning.. but looks like I have to end it now." Though confident in himself, Mark was not going to risk losing to the fresher boy. It will be nothing less than a disaster. 

"Ice magic: Frost Cover!!" Temperature around Mark dropped rapidly. This was an area spell, creating a swirling vortex around Mark. *Crack* *Crack* The floor of the arena was covered in a thin sheet of ice within an instant. 

Consequently, Aron's mobility was restricted greatly. The ice under his foot was constantly freezing his boots to the ground. Every step of his became labored. "Go to sleep.. haha.." 

Mark rushed in, noticing his prey could not utilize his superior movement skill any longer. "Energy sap!!" Meanwhile, Aron was not standing idle. The time Mark took to babble his spell, he managed to cast his own spell on him. 

Mark immediately sustained a drop in his strength. Nonetheless, he had no other choice but to push forward. Stopping now will only give his opponent more time to continue casting these stupid spells. 

Finally, succeeding in his efforts, Aron too was no longer in a mood to let this fight drag on. *Bang* His fist crashed into the frosted punch of Mark, almost throwing the boy off balance. 

*Crackle* *Crackle* The frost layer around Mark's arm was cracked like brittle glass. "No way.." Mark jumped back. "When did you.." When did he get the chance to cast such a strong strengthening spell? That's what Mark wanted to ask. 

Too bad, Aron was more or less done with him. Seeing the fist rapidly advance towards his chest, Mark crossed his arms trying to protect himself. Frost covered his arms just in the nick of the time to save his bones from snapping.

*Bang* *Bang* Aron didn't give him any time to think. One after the other, two back-to-back punches crashed into him, sending the boy flying out. "It was fun..!!" 

Mark felt a gush of blood charge up to his throat but he pushed it back down. The force behind the punch was like a beast had crashed into him. His internal organs trembled. "You..!!" 

He can't take this loss. Mark wanted to push himself back to his feet, only to fail in it. "The match is decided, head back.. both of you." Even though his mind was still buzzing from the hits, Mark had never accepted defeat. 

And that's when he noticed his position. The last punch had thrown him clear off the marked perimeter. "Fuuuck..!!" Was Mark able to use all the tricks under his belt? Certainly not. The defeat truly came too suddenly for that.

"YEESSSS!! Aahahahaha..." While Tina's team was too overwhelmed to react and the twins were too underwhelmed to give any viable response. In the middle of both parties, Ben jumped in thrill. 

His excitement could not continue for long, dying down as soon as Tina directed a stiff gaze toward him. "Ahhaa.. both of them did well. Absolutely, they were amazing hahaha.." 

"Let's go, Mark..!" A girl climbed onto the stage, swooping in to hold the defeated boy up. "Selah.. I could.. have won it.." He struggled to get the words out of his mouth, but the girl looked disinterested in his attempts to redeem himself.

Putting his arm around her neck, she raised him up. "Thank you for not injuring him. You have our gratitude." Selah left those words, not waiting for a reply from Aron. 

"That deals with that." "Good work, kid. You are not bad." The instructor lady came forward to congratulate the boy. It's not every day people see first-year kids defeating second-years. "Thanks." 

"Match is over. You can leave now." She didn't know why Aron stood in his place, refusing to leave the stage. "Haha.. please wait for some time, I got to fight another one." Right then the lady on the stage heard a commotion in the crowd. 

Chris was too slow in his reaction. While he was busy evaluating Aron's match, Christina took the opportunity to jump right across the rails. Dropping straight down from the viewing gallery, she landed among the crowd of students. 

The path Aron had unknowingly made for himself was still clear. Christina's clothes fluttered as dense mana suppressed everyone in the surrounding. 

"What is going on? Where are so many new characters coming from?" Someone asked but no one had any answers. While a minority was actually aware of the fact that Saintess Rhine's disciples had joined their academy, almost no one recognized them. 

"It's divine magic.. isn't it?" Someone remarked, prompting many to nod back. "Indeed it is. Is she a first year?" "Looks like that." "Yeah.. she looks rather young, must be a fresher."

Christina ignored all the voices around her. Her mind was entirely focused on Aron. She was a proud girl, however, she was not foolish. Aron's ability to cast strengthening spells without even a chant was incredible, to say the least. He was a force to reckon with, even for her. 

"Damn girl.. stealing my show like this..!!" Chris protested but there was nothing he can do. Christina did make the first move. "Oi.. baby face.. give me a good show, you hear me!!" He cried out in a sassy voice.

Quite a few lines appeared on Christina's charming face while she approached the stage with heavy steps. Her body was continuously soaking up mana like a sponge. 

At this point, most other duels in the arena had come to a halt. None of the audience had left, rather many more came in as the news of Aron's earlier misadventure had spread through other terminals. 

Those who were too late to witness Aron's fight with Mark had nothing to complain about now. Looking at this girl, this upcoming fight was certainly going to be a feast to the eyes. 

"I challenge him." Christina uttered three words and came to stand opposite Aron. "Hm.. okay. What about you.." "I accept." Just like Christina, Aron was acutely aware that she was not going to be an easy opponent. This time, there was a good chance he might actually lose. 

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