Chapter 26: The Crown Prince of the Empire Appears on the Arena
On the night of the Harvest Festival, as the clock struck midnight, a system notification simultaneously appeared in Ancia's ear.
Congratulations to the player for completing the main quest [Harvest Festival].
The player receives 15,000 gold coins, 25,000 experience points, and reaches level 21.
In fact, this was the key to Ancia's advancement to a two-star priest before the start of the competition. The main quest provided a substantial amount of experience, while Princess Eve's side quest was an unexpected bonus.
"The competition starts this weekend. All the freshmen have signed up because the staff made by the Dean himself is so attractive," Heligaluo said to Ancia after class on basic magic theory.
"How many teams have two freshmen?" Ancia asked.
“One.” Heligalo’s face remained as gentle as ever.
“There are only thirty-three freshmen this year.” Ancia wrote the number “32” on the fiber paper. “Thirty-two teams, how long will it take us?”
“Five rounds.” Princess Eve finished packing her belongings, stood up, and looked down at Ancia. “See you in the finals.”
Ancia sensed a hint of expectation in those stiff words and smiled casually, "Okay."
Princess Eve was still not used to the change in their relationship. She nodded stiffly and left in a hurry, with two noble girls still chasing after her, asking her to wait.
"Have you made any new friends?" Heligalo asked casually. The Holy See's intelligence network had gathered information on what happened in the chapel that night, but their surveillance did not cover the villas by Moon Lake, so they had no way of knowing what happened in Villa No. 13.
Ancia blinked, not answering the question directly, "No matter how many new friends I make, Heli is the first friend I made here, and the one I trust the most."
The answer, delivered with a smile, was firm and sincere, easily soothing the possessiveness in Heligaluo's heart that his master had not yet noticed, making his mask-like smile seem real.
“You really are…” Heligalo shook his head, suppressing his rare joy, “And belated congratulations on becoming a two-star priest.”
Ancia's priest robes had subtly changed, and the star on her chest had changed from one to two. "I took some time to go to the Eternal City and passed the two-star assessment. I finally managed to reach two stars before the competition."
Heligalo said, "The star difference between low-star classes isn't that big. Even if you're still a one-star priest, I believe you can lead us to the finals."
Ancia couldn't help but smile. No wonder Herigalo was so easily calmed down by just one sentence. The trust and affirmation from his companion was even gentler than the dawn.
"Okay, let's go to the finals and beat Eve's team."
*
"What's so interesting about the first two rounds? Our match isn't until this afternoon, so we can sleep for a long time in the morning." Skalke said sleepily, leaning back in his seat, half asleep.
"Experience tells us that we should despise the enemy strategically, but take them seriously tactically." Ancia dragged Skalk, who was yawning, to the viewing platform early in the morning.
“Villien has taken the stage,” Heligalo said softly.
Skalk's gaze swept across the playing area, his dazed eyes instantly clearing. He leaned forward, his eyes sharp and clear, staring intently at the situation on the field. "They're more than three stars, aren't they?"
“That wood-type mage, Siven, was a three-star mage when he registered, and he’s already a four-star mage. Verion isn’t far from being a four-star mage either.” Heligalo’s tone was calm, and he showed no fear of his formidable opponents.
The last male protagonist is Crown Prince Verion, Eve's brother.
Ancia's gaze fell on Verion, carefully examining the male protagonist whom she hadn't seen since entering the game.
He wasn't wearing a mage's robe, but rather a dark black crown prince's everyday robe, with imperial crests embroidered in gold thread on the hem and shoulders. His dark gray hair, just like Eve's, was tied back meticulously.
Perhaps noticing Ancia's audacious gaze, Verion cast a distant glance toward the stands. His light gray eyes were like the cold mist before dawn on a winter night, devoid of any emotion. He then looked away indifferently, as if the stands were lifeless decorations.
Against the backdrop of opulent, deep black, Velion's cold gray hair and gray eyes appeared even more icy, as if his entire being was composed of gloom and ashes.
“Pretending to be a deadbeat.” Ancia uttered three words with a smile.
"Huh? What were you saying just now?" Skark asked curiously.
“I said, beat them. I can’t stand anyone being more pretentious than Heligalo.” Ancia’s teasing in front of him successfully earned Heligalo’s helpless look.
Due to the restrictions on the star rating and number of senior students in the team registration rules, Eve's team was almost the strongest team overall, securing their ticket to the finals in advance. Many people believed that they were the undisputed favorites to win the championship.
This is a gap in strength that even Tian Ji's horse racing strategy couldn't bridge: a four-star wood mage, a near four-star wind mage, and a two-star wind mage, while Anciya's team consists of a three-star warrior, a two-star light mage, and a two-star priest.
Each round of the competition will randomly generate a continental environment using magic crystals, which will provide additional bonuses to specific elemental systems and, in some cases, can even be the key to turning defeat into victory.
The environment in this match happened to be a volcano, which not only benefited the opposing team's fire mage but also had a negative impact on Eve's team's wood mage.
Fortunately, they spawned at the foot of the volcano, a little far from the hottest part of the crater, while the enemy squad spawned on the volcano itself.
Wood-type mage Xiwen frowned, but still stood at the front of the group, summoning a heat-resistant sun-prominent cactus to block the path leading from the volcano. If anyone got close, the sun-prominent cactus would indiscriminately spray needles.
"Wind Blade." Vilian suddenly looked up and cast a spell into the sky.
bite--
The translucent wind blade collided with a point in the void, revealing black ripples at the point of impact, and a figure appeared.
Instead of approaching from the shadows underground, the assassins leaped from the air, intending to take away Eve, the weakest among them.
The terror of an assassin lies in the fact that he can suddenly emerge from the shadows at any time and place to deliver a fatal blow to the unsuspecting.
Unfortunately, his existence was discovered by Velion, who was in control of the wind flow, forcing him to reveal himself. Although both were three-star, he could not hide in the shadows in front of Velion.
Seeing the assassin surrounded, the remaining two teammates couldn't hold back any longer and rushed over from the volcano.
"Wind Shield. Wind Blade." Eve cautiously cast a protective spell on herself. Most of the enemy fire mage's attacks were neutralized by Siven and Vilian in front of her, and her wind shield blocked the rest.
While both are wind blades, Eve's wind blades are much sparser than Valian's, and they attack the location of the fire mage.
In the commentary booth, Gale shouted passionately, "The wind blade of the three-star wind mage Velion broke the stealth of the enemy's three-star assassin, and the assassin's fire mage and warrior teammates came down from the volcano to attack head-on! The fire net of the three-star fire mage was completely blocked!"
Aerlan's dignified voice rang out as he took over the commentary for Yesika, "It's good that the freshmen in the competition don't cause trouble for the seniors. The freshman wind mage was able to provide a few key attacks from the back, which is already considered an excellent performance."
The one-star warrior in the opposing team was clearly a reckless fool. He charged straight toward Eve's location and was immediately taken down by the solar prominence cactus that Xiwen had set up beforehand, and was almost riddled with bullets.
Upon triggering the elimination mechanism, his figure immediately turned into shattered specks of light and disappeared from the arena. His true form, however, regained consciousness and touched his body with lingering fear, finding himself completely unharmed.
Gale shouted excitedly, "The first freshman is eliminated!"
Despite having the advantage of terrain, the fire mage and the assassin were unable to turn the tide of the battle and were taken away by Sven and Vilian one after another.
Gale couldn't help but applaud. "Congratulations to Simon, Verion, and Eve! A crushing victory! These are the easiest wins I've seen since the start of the tournament. Ellan, do you think they'll be the champions?"
Erlan chuckled. "He is indeed a favorite for the championship, but there may be strong contenders in other teams."
Gail showed a hint of appreciation for the commentator who had temporarily replaced him, believing that he was adding a touch of suspense to the match. "That's right, let's look forward to the match this afternoon!"
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this team will be our final opponent," Heligalo said.
“They’re a bit troublesome.” Skulk’s expression was somewhat grave, then he curled his lips into a smile, his amber eyes burning with fighting spirit. “However, it’s precisely because they are such strong opponents that they are worth fighting.”
"Let's go, the morning's matches are over." Ancia stood up; their battle was about to begin.
When it was time for the afternoon match, Gale said, "The red team that will be playing next is the only team in this tournament with two new recruits. Their team consists of three-star warrior Skark, two-star light magician Herrigallo, and two-star priest Ancia!"
His introduction sparked a discussion:
"Why did the Holy Son of Light's team bring a new priest? Priests at low star levels have too few awakened skills, the effects are not strong enough, and they can easily become the team's weak point. In terms of star level and configuration alone, this is not the best choice, is it?"
“That new student is no ordinary priest; her affinity for the light element is at its maximum.”
"Oh, I see. So the Vatican started recruiting her so early?"
"Yes, otherwise who wouldn't want a staff made by the dean himself?"
...
Discussions erupted in the stands, with everyone believing that Heligalo's choice was a gesture of goodwill from the Holy See towards Ancia.
Ancia didn't care at all, and even before connecting her mental energy to the magic crystal, she had the mind to joke, "Heli, they say you teamed up with me to recruit me, is that true? The future Pope?"
Heligalo smiled and looked back at her. "Of course not, it's for the victory and glory you bring, future High Priest."
He sighed softly, a rare sharpness flashing in his azure eyes. "Ancia, I don't want to lose to Verion."
Ancia pressed the magic crystal and was the first to enter the arena.
"Of course, we will win."
The match has begun.
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