Good Seedling

The ranking tournament was held in a knockout fashion, where the number of participants dwindled by half with each passing round.

This also meant that luck played a huge role in deciding the final rankings of each participant. Even someone who was top tier in terms of strength might end up being eliminated early if he were to meet the eventual champion in the very first round.

But this was inevitable.

With freshmen from both academies joining the tournament, the sheer number of participants made it such that a large number of matches had to be played.

If they were to let every participant have a chance to fight everyone else, the Sand Academy participants might have to spend the entire month there!

Traditionally, the annual ranking tournament had always been held at the main courtyard of Gryphon Academy, and this year was no different. It was a large clearing where 10 separate fighting platforms had been set up, allowing for 10 different battles to occur at the same time.

Surrounding the courtyard on all four sides were seats for the audiences, with one side especially well furnished, even including a shelter to shield from the sun.

Most of the professors from Gryphon Academy were present along with the visiting professor from Sand Academy, waiting at this better furnished side which was apparently reserved for the VIPs.

The freshmen didn't dare to be tardy today, instead opting to report early and continue some light meditation while waiting instead.

Seeing that all the participants for the ranking tournament had arrived, the professors eventually decided to start the event ahead of schedule as well.

Even though it was supposed to be an educational exchange between Gryphon Academy and Sand academy, no special arrangements were made for the freshmen from different schools to face off against each other.

Instead, every participant was assigned a number at random, which ultimately decided their opponents and progression path through the tournament.

Number 1 would battle Number 2 in the first match, and the winner would proceed to battle the winner of the match between Number 3 and Number 4. This continued until there was only one final participant left undefeated, who would be crowned the champion of the ranking tournament.

Adrian casually glanced at the Number 13 carved onto the wooden tag given to him upon reporting to the tournament.

Number 13 eh? What bad luck.

Adrian wasn't one who was overly superstitious so he didn't dwell on it for long, instead turning his attention to his friends who were receiving their tags as well.

"Our numbers are all pretty far apart! Thankfully the numbers are not given in the order that we report!" Sam heaved a sigh of relief.

He would hate to face off against his friends early in the tournament. Even if he did win, it would leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth knowing that he eliminated one of his friends early.

That was a true lose-lose situation.

But fortunately, Sam received the number 201, Elise was 144, and Daemon was 68.

There were around 250 participants in total, meaning that anyone with the numbers from 1 to 125 would only meet those from 126 to 250 in the finals.

So if the four of them were to face each other in the ranking tournament, it would already be in the semi-finals. That wasn't too bad at all!

Even Adrian let out a sigh of relief.

While he wasn't afraid of facing his friends, he didn't want to risk having his friends bear a grudge against him either. That might complicate things in the future if he needed their help.

"May I have your attention, please," a loud voice suddenly boomed across the courtyard.

Everyone's eyes simultaneously turned to the figure standing at the centre of the courtyard.

It was Professor Xen, the Head of the School of Enchantments in Gryphon Academy. Seeing that it was also he who handled the freshmen's enrolment ceremony, it seemed that he was usually the one who presided over official ceremonies.

"Even though it isn't the official time yet, it heartens me to see that all of you have already arrived. If there are no violent objections from anyone, shall we get this started early?" even though it was already decided, Professor Xen still posed the question to the participants out of courtesy.

There were a few moments of silence, signalling that nobody had objections. Or at least those with objections didn't want to voice them out.

"Very good!" Professor Xen's voice boomed out loud once again. "Now then, will the numbers that I call out please proceed down to the fighting platforms assigned? Number 1 and 2 at Platform A, Number 3 and 4 at Platform B, Number 5 and 6…"

He patiently called out all twenty numbers representing those who would be battling in the ten separate fighting platforms, then returned to his seat nonchalantly.

"Good luck!" Sam gave Adrian a good pat on the back as Adrian got up from his seat.

"Go win it!" Elise added with an excited smile.

Adrian didn't respond, instead taking a deep breath before walking down to the courtyard.

A senior apprentice was waiting beside his assigned fighting platform, supposed to act as the referee for their fight. The first few rounds would all be overseen by a senior apprentice, with the professors directly taking over that task when it came to the last few rounds where the top few rankers would be decided.

"Number 13, Adrian."

"Number 14, Owen."

His opponent was a magic apprentice from Gryphon Academy, which meant they knew of each other's traits.

No words were exchanged as they stepped onto the fighting platform, and with a signal from the referee, the fight began.

"Shock Imbue!" Adrian had always started his fights with this one spell, so his opponent wasn't surprised, calmly watching as Adrian slowly approached with an electrically charged right hand.

"Iron Skin!"

Owen shouted out as his entire body started to give out a metallic sheen, charging straight at Adrian.

Iron Skin was a magic spell of the Metal class, usually used for its defensive aspect. It strengthened the target's physical defense by applying a layer of flexible iron over the skin, similar to covering the target in armour.

This time however, Owen was using it for its offensive aspect.

He knew full well that a layer of iron armour would do nothing to obstruct the electric charges from Adrian, but his fists now resembled an iron hammer as he punched out in full force.

Owen clearly understood that Adrian's weakness was in his physical aspect, and was aiming to completely strike him down in one attack!

Adrian frowned deeply when he saw that iron fist approach, eventually choosing to start taking evasive measures instead of rushing headlong into a clash with the iron human.

The two started a short game of catch around the fighting platform, one chasing and the other dodging.

Even so, it wasn't a fast paced chase. Even while going on the offensive, Owen was extremely wary of the electrically charged right hand on Adrian.

Before every punch he made, Owen had to first make sure that there was absolutely no opening for Adrian to dodge and counterattack with his right hand. Otherwise, he might be the one to fall instead.

Damn it, this is troublesome!

Adrian cursed in his head as he simply could not find any openings to counterattack. As Owen expected, Adrian was indeed looking for an opportunity to strike back with his right hand, but Owen's cautiousness still proved to be too much for Adrian to break through.

But Adrian wasn't worried.

He finally made up his mind, and decisively slammed his electrically charged palm against the ground, causing a small explosion to occur.

"What?" Owen leapt back in shock as a puff of smoke was sent into the air between the two.

The smoke cleared quickly, and he finally caught sight of Adrian who took the chance to leap back and increase the distance between them once again.

But there was something amiss about the situation. His opponent – he had his eyes closed?

This unusual scene planted a seed of doubt within Owen, hesitating to advance immediately in case he fell into a trap.

At this time, Adrian was focusing all of his mana into a single point at the tip of his index finger. Concentrating his spiritual sense onto that focal point of mana, Adrian pointed it straight ahead, directly towards Owen.

Owen wasn't the only one who was being apprehensive at the moment. More and more eyes were being directed to this fighting platform, attracted by the previous explosion but stayed because of Adrian's seemingly incomprehensible action.

As freshmen, none of them were able to materialise magic as a form of ranged attack yet. All they could do was attack by directing their magic through their limbs.

But looking at Adrian's actions…could it be?

No way, right?

He was still 10 years old!

Owen took a gulp of his saliva in nervousness, subconsciously taking a step back as he stared at the finger pointed at him.

Suddenly, Adrian's eyes shot wide open, staring straight at Owen.

Owen immediately felt his extended spiritual sense being rapidly suppressed, pushed all the way back into his body. But before his spiritual sense could even be forced back into his body, a strong impact struck his chest, sending him tumbling backwards.

Gasps of shock sounded out from the audiences as they witnessed this scene.

Wasn't that a ranged attack just now?

Did Adrian truly manage to do the unprecedented?

Even the professors who were calmly watching over the entire ranking tournament were surprised, not to mention the other magic apprentices.

Owen managed to regain his balance after tumbling back a few steps, but he could only stare at Adrian in shock. He could still vividly feel the pain in his chest, but his mind was already blank.

He was no longer in a state where he was capable of thinking about attacking, simply standing there and staring at Adrian.

But at this moment, another impact struck his chest, sending him tumbling back another few steps. This time, he tripped and fell on his back.

Owen simply lay there motionlessly. His eyes were still wide open, staring up at the clear blue sky in disbelief.

"That is very crudely formed, but it definitely is the elementary state of Spiritual Aura!" the professor from Sand Academy exclaimed out loud. "To think that he was able to form his own Spiritual Aura within a single year. As expected of the prestigious Gryphon Academy, your teaching methods are truly extraordinary!"

His words broke the other professors out of their daze, as they glanced at each other speechlessly.

Extraordinary teaching methods? What extraordinary teaching methods?

Why did none of them know of such things?

"You flatter us too much. This kid truly is a genius in his own class," Professor Xen was the first to respond, but he took care not to address the part about their teaching methods.

Professor Xen might have regained his senses the fastest, but he was still extremely impressed. He obviously knew about Adrian's ridiculously high affinity with the Lightning class of magic, but who would have expected that his progress in the formation of spiritual would be similarly ridiculous?

If he were allowed to continue growing at this rate, he would truly grow to be a scary existence!

At this moment, there was one professor seated amongst them who felt his eyebrows twitch continually in discomfort.

Professor Lenington was the professor who, just a few months ago, had directly told Adrian to give up on forming his own Spiritual Aura when Adrian approached him for guidance.

Now that he personally witnessed Adrian display his Spiritual Aura, his face burned red in embarrassment.

While this method of using Spiritual Aura was in no way the most efficient way, it was still a feat that he never expected from the 10 year old, and now Adrian had used his own actions to prove him wrong!

What a heavy smack on his face!

"What's wrong, Professor Lenington?" Professor Xen was naturally able to spot the change in expression.

"Oh, I was just thinking that he's such a good seedling! He definitely has a good future ahead of him!" Professor Lenington hurriedly answered with a smile.