Cedric scoffed loudly.

’’Do I have to be ready to beat this peasant?’’

’’I reckon he got all the way here purely by relying on his Silver Core.’’

The arena clerk just stood there silently.

Then he nodded politely.

’’Of course, sir,’’ he said. ’’It was just a figure of speech.’’

Cedric didn’t respond.

Instead, he turned around and began walking towards the arena.

’What did I get involved with this time?’ Theo couldn’t help but think.

’Why are there always these strange people out here...’

Just before he could follow after Cedric, a voice rang out behind him.

’’You’ve got this, right?’’ the arena clerk asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Theo turned around with a smile on his face.

’’Of course,’’ he responded calmly.

The arena clerk nodded once, then furiously began typing on his computer.

Theo caught a glimpse of the betting website, but quickly turned back to the arena.

’Let’s beat this guy up,’ he thought. ’Hopefully, that Whitmore woman leaves me alone after that.’

Without another word, he began making his way to the arena too.

As he reached the weapon room, he picked up his trusty umbrella before being guided to the actual arena grounds.

The stands were bustling with countless students.

Each cheering, laughing, or even just holding conversations.

As Theo glanced around the entire arena, two of the four fields had already been occupied and had fights taking place in them.

Then, finally, his gaze landed on his arena.

There, Cedric already stood completely ready.

He held a spear in his hand while looking at him with a dark expression.

’’You didn’t run?’’ he scoffed. ’’How brave.’’

Theo’s brows furrowed.

’What is wrong with this guy?’ he thought, stepping into the arena. ’I’ve never seen someone this strange and delusional...’

He glanced at Cedric as he walked to the opposite side of the arena.

’’Move quicker,’’ Cedric said, staring at him arrogantly. ’’Without your interference, I would have challenged the top spot already.’’

Theo didn’t even bother responding.

He just shook his head as he took his gaze off the guy.

’Surely, he has a Silver Core, right?’

’There’s no way he’d be talking all this without one.’

Whatever it was, Theo wasn’t concerned in the slightest.

As he reached the other side, he cracked his neck once and readied himself.

The judge stepped out in between them.

’’Are you ready?’’ he asked, his voice stern and loud.

Cedric nodded once.

Theo also didn’t hesitate.

’’Then on my signal,’’ the judge said, taking a few steps back.

He raised his arm into the air.

Both Theo and Cedric lowered their bodies, each going into their own combat stance.

A couple of seconds passed by in complete silence.

Then, the judge swung his arm down.

’’Begin!’’

The instant the word left the judge’s mouth, Cedric vanished.

Crack!

The stone beneath his feet shattered.

Theo’s eyes narrowed.

’Fast.’

Water immediately began swirling around his spear.

One moment, Cedric was twenty yards away.

The next, he’d already closed the distance to five yards.

But there, he slid to a halt as a bright light appeared on the tip of his spear.

Theo’s expression changed.

His water swirled forward, forming a large, spiked shield in front of him.

Pang!

A large beam of light shot from Cedric’s spear.

The attack slammed into the water shield in an instant.

Thud!

The light beam vanished inside the water.

But before Theo could react, a reflection entered the corner of his eye.

He immediately jumped back.

CRACK! CRACK!

Large ice spikes shot from the ground, completely freezing his water shield.

’Silver Core,’ he thought, sliding back. ’Ice and Light.’

With the ice element there, Theo knew he needed to change his strategy a bit.

But Cedric wasn’t just going to give him time.

Light shone brightly from his feet again.

Within seconds, his body flickered forward, quickly closing the distance between them.

Theo held his umbrella out in front of him, lightning crackling around it.

’One more flicker,’ he thought, locking onto Cedric.

Cedric vanished from his spot once more.

He reappeared right in front of him, his spear already in motion.

BAM!

Theo’s umbrella collided with his spear.

Cedric immediately disappeared from his place again.

’A movement spell,’ he thought, gritting his teeth.

His instincts screamed at him to move, feeling danger coming from right behind him.

Theo’s eyes widened slightly.

Instead of moving, he swung his umbrella under his armpit and folded it open.

CLANG!

The two collided again.

’’Tsk,’’ Cedric’s voice rang out before he vanished again.

Theo narrowed his eyes.

Lightning appeared under his feet in an instant.

’Come,’ he thought, grinning slightly.

As Cedric reappeared, he immediately spun towards him.

Bam!

The spear collided with his umbrella again.

Only this time, Theo pushed forward.

He immediately grabbed hold of Cedric’s spear—

CRACKLE!

Lightning shot out in a circle around his feet.

Cedric’s eyes widened.

But he didn’t have any time to respond.

Lightning ran through his body, stunning him in place.

Theo didn’t hesitate.

He pulled Cedric’s spear out of his hands, then kicked against his chest with full force.

Thud! Thud!

Cedric bounced back several feet.

Only then did he kick himself up again, finally back in control.

’A shame,’ Theo thought, shutting his umbrella. ’If that’d been an actual spell, it could’ve been over.’

’I’m not going to give him any rest either, though.’

He flicked his fingers and created six large lightning bolts by his side.

Meanwhile, Cedric’s face had turned completely red from anger.

’’You disgusting peasant!’’ he shouted angrily. ’’How dare you!’’

Large amounts of light mana began pouring out of his hands.

’’You pushed your luck too much. Now face the consequences!’’

Three large light spears appeared behind his back.

But they weren’t ordinary.

Instead, they began growing rapidly in size, reaching that of a car in seconds.

’’See,’’ Cedric shouted while laughing. ’’These are spells you could never afford!’’

Theo narrowed his eyes.

’Silver Core spell?’

’Does he think I don’t have one?’

He quickly flicked his fingers.

One after another, the lightning bolts shot forward.

At the same time, water began swirling around his umbrella in a cylinder-like shape.

Cedric’s concentration slipped for a moment.

As the light spears began to flicker, he quickly lowered one hand.

Ice walls shot out of the ground in an instant, while his other hand continued feeding light mana to stabilize the spears.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The lightning bolts slammed into the ice walls one after another.

Cracks immediately spread across the frozen surface.

But—

It held out.

Cedric sat behind it with a large smile.

’’You’re not bad,’’ he shouted, unable to see Theo.

The three giant light spears behind Cedric had finally stopped growing.

They lit up the entire arena, even forcing the other fights taking place to stop.

’’But you should’ve learned a Silver Core spell before coming here!’’