Showdown: The Round of Sixteen

Aizen didn't use any techniques and only performed ordinary attacks. When the match signal started, he advanced without any stance and took down the student from Class 1 with ease.

After the student lost, passed out. He spun around, flicking his stick up to the back of his shoulder, signaling the fight was over.

However, the match referee and event spectators did not follow the situation in real-time. They were still processing the surprise Aizen showed for several seconds.

Only after a moment, the referee shouted the winner of the match after checking whether the Class 1 Knight Division student could continue the match or not.

"The first match has concluded! The winner is Aizen Barthomelo. The student of Class 3 of the Knight Division!"

Nonetheless, there was no applause at all. The audience was still sorting out what was happening in the arena.

On the other hand, there were many parties who were no longer stunned by what Aizen was doing. They started talking about what happened and who Aizen from Class 3 was.

"You saw what he did, right? It was really fast." Landon asked Aria.

"Of course, I saw it. That kid carried out four thrusts with the wooden stick that looked vulnerable. And yet, the weapon was not broken and was even able to knock your student over, Sir Greystone."

"That's not the problem! How could Sir Ainkrad's protege beat an opponent who was even bigger and looked even more formidable than him? Moreover, that student was one of the top students I chose. His physique almost matched that of some of the top students in my class!"

Landon tried to vent his grievances to Ainkrad. He did not accept the defeat of his student. Meanwhile, Aria was still focused on looking at Aizen while thinking about the swift attack.

'This child has a good understanding of weapons used. To be able to take down an opponent like that, a strong and hard hit had to be launched. However, that was based on an appropriate weapon.

'A wooden stick is only suitable for sparring without being able to make the opponent suffer significant injuries, let alone faint. Even so, that boy was able to attack quickly and precisely while also keeping the wooden weapon intact.'

"Is that truly the student the principal referred to?" Aria asked Ainkrad directly, regardless of Landon's protests beside her.

Landon also fell silent when he finished hearing Aria's words. The student was who they initially thought was being referred to in the long opening speech.

But, to show a perfect performance in the first match was truly marvelous and confusing at the same time, especially with the physical comparison that was too obvious.

"I don't know! Whatever." Ainkrad replied curtly, like a child sulking at his friends.

Aria and Landon couldn't help but frown on their brows. They didn't understand why Ainkrad was irritated and even displeased that his student won so impressively.

In truth, it was within Ainkrad's estimation. He had already sparred with Aizen before. So, he knew very well how far the boy's abilities were compared to his peers.

But his frustration came from Aizen's decision in fighting. He had persuaded Aizen to use the real spear, but he got refused. Instead, he was threatened back by Aizen by saying he would not take part in the competition festival if he wasn't allowed to use the wooden stick.

That made Ainkrad utterly helpless. He couldn't do anything about it. Without Aizen, Class 3 had no hope of getting into the quarterfinals of the event.

In spite of that, he was not discouraged and tried to strike a deal with Aizen. In order for the wooden stick to be allowed to be used, Aizen must remove his 20 kg weight.

But then again, Aizen casually said he wanted to take a break from battle if he wasn't allowed to fight as he wished.

That gave Ainkrad a headache and ruffled his hair in annoyance. He finally gave up and let Aizen do as he pleased.

'Tsk! That kid is really arrogant! If he uses a wooden stick and doesn't remove the weights, then the round of sixteen is his limit. Going forward will be difficult.'

That was what Ainkrad had in mind. He had already gone to great lengths to persuade Kallias to have the competition festival event held. But if none of his students made it into the quarter-finals, it would be pathetic for him, and he would have to bear embarrassment against Kallias for bragging so shamelessly.

Meanwhile, some of the spectators, where the Second Year and Third Year student sections were, broke out in an uproar and commotion about the betting.

"F*ck your ancestor! How could this happen?"

"I just... lost one silver coin this time! Why!?"

"Curse that kid! I lost 10 silver coins! That's my seasonal fare! Give it back to me!"

Amidst the noisy protesting students, who lost their stakes, there was a handful who had a windfall from it.

"Hehehe, I won against the majority! The odds are 17.5 in my favor. I became rich with only 1 silver coin!"

"Shit! I was too indecisive before and only bet 50 copper coins for fear of losing. But it doesn't matter. At least I still got 8.75 silver coins for my fear! Muahahaha!"

Such was the excitement in the Second Year and Third Year student sections. For them, such an event was a place to earn money. Not a talent search.

On the contrary, the section for invited guests, such as prestigious families, and the section for students from school organizations had different reactions.

"Fast and precise. The boy seems more trained and experienced."

"That's right. The boy relies on and utilizes his speed to be a power boost in his attacks. Makes use of his movement, even though his body is small."

The prestigious people from the lineage of knight families clearly weren't too impressed with what Aizen showed. They were just surprised at how clean the victory was because they didn't expect the little one to win against the big one.

At the same time, students from the school's mage organization were talking about Aizen.

"What do you think?"

"So-so."

"Anyway, why should we pay any attention to the knight students? They're just a bunch of losers who don't know how powerful magic is!"

In Raven Academy's schools, all the existing organizations were made up of students from the Mage Division. They come from wealthy families and have connections to influential and famous people.

The Knight Division could not hope to have such an organization, even if it had several students from prestigious knight families.

For quite some time, the talk about Aizen's match continued until the second, third, and so on.

That was because the match after the first one presented no surprises. Everything was according to estimates and their respective class levels.

The students, who qualified for the round of sixteen, were dominated by students from Class 1, with eight students. And Class 2, with five students. While from Class 3, the only ones left were Aizen and Ayduin.

Ayduin was quite lucky because his opponent was his own friend, a Class 3 student. So, he won rather easily, and it wasn't that exciting, even though he did train harder than any other student except compared to Aizen.

Overall, the four students of Class 3 that were defeated did not lose in a single blow. But, whether that was considered a grievous defeat or not, only Ainkrad would decide.

The round of sixteen would resume immediately after all the matches in the first round had finished. The rest would continue on the second and third days since the school needed to start the Mage Division competition festival as well. It was necessary to carry out and present the main events on all three days so as not to bore the audience.

As the first seed, Aizen's match in the round of sixteen was once again the first in the second round.

This time, the opponent was from Class 2. The student was a girl wielding a light and sharp slender sword, a rapier.

In the teacher's section, Aria, Class 2's instructor, was boasting about her student while crossing her arms.

"Heh! I'm sorry, Sir Ainkrad. It Looks like there won't be any surprises this time. And you should apologize for bragging about that student in front of Principal Elric." She chuckled while expressing her confidence in the match that was about to start.

Ainkrad and Landon knew what Aria meant. And they knew the student who was Aizen's opponent in the arena.

Abigail Lenheart!

She was the great-grandson of the Aslan Empire's renowned knight, Iroh Lenheart!

The most powerful knight in the empire because he was the only one at the rank of Genesis Knight. The one who perfected the imperial warrior's sword style and turned it into his own.

A unique swordsmanship style, which was called The Lenheart Path.

That style utilized the rapier to its fullest potential, combining quick and precise attacks with strong defensive maneuvers. And Abigail herself, as the great-granddaughter of Iroh, was known as an expert in her field and famous for her fast and deadly attacks.

Ainkrad and Landon could only gulp their tongues, imagining what would happen to Aizen.