A Bug In Fate

Alice, who was floating in the air, watched the scene, and her expression darkened slightly.

*..Does these fool really not understand what they’re doing? If it wasn’t for me having to maintain my image, I swear I would...*

It was an example of how some people in special positions were bound by those very positions. They had to maintain their standing and couldn’t always speak their minds openly without facing consequences.

But Alice wasn’t someone who would stay silent for long.

She faced the crowd, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Ladies and gentlemen... I have some good news for all of you who are complaining about your money."

"What?"

"Good news?"

The crowd became confused as they leaned forward.

Alice smiled mysteriously before continuing.

"The academy has decided that anyone up to the Rupture Realm can challenge that blue-haired guy."

"What?"

"Really? Are you serious?"

The audience wasn’t the only ones surprised. The other four overseers also looked at Alice in confusion, clearly wondering what their classmate was thinking.

"There she goes again," one of them muttered.

"Shouldn’t we stop her, though?"

"It’s too late, and she’s going to get angry if we interrupt her in the middle," the other person said, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Alice saw the crowd’s expressions brighten and smiled slightly as her voice rang through the arena again.

"But unfortunately for you guys, we don’t have any more protection bracelets. So there’s a chance someone might actually die."

She smiled.

"And even your amazing host can’t help you, because I’m just as poor as you."

She finished with a sad expression, as if she were genuinely heartbroken that she couldn’t protect her beloved audience.

The crowd suddenly fell silent.

Meanwhile, Alice smiled inwardly as she floated in the air, completely pleased with herself.

She had managed to stop the crowd from pressuring the remaining participants while also creating trouble for one particular blue-haired guy.

*...Haha... I’m a genius.*

The crowd remained silent, as no one was stupid enough to challenge the blue-haired guy after witnessing what had happened earlier.

Most of the crowd was at the Awakening or Spark Realm, while only a few people were at the Rupture Realm.

As for anyone above the Rupture Realm, they were rare to the point that there were only twenty-one Metamorphosis Realm cultivators among the entire crowd, including the five students from Nebulon Academy.

There were also five Ascendant Realm cultivators.

One of them was Branch Manager Hilton, who was watching the battlefield from a VIP room alongside another old man.

Seeing that the people had calmed down and lowered their heads, Alice smiled as her gaze swept over the audience.

"Now then, let’s start the second round," she said with a smile.

The dejected audience seemed to brighten up as their eyes lit up with excitement. The atmosphere, which had become quiet moments ago, slowly returned to its earlier lively state.

The participants on the ground also straightened themselves as they prepared for the next round. Some adjusted their weapons, while others took a deep breath and looked around at the remaining participants.

Everyone looked at Alice with curiosity as their minds raced to guess what the second round was going to be about.

Some expected another chaotic battle like the first round, while others wondered if the academy had prepared something completely different for them.

Alice seemed pleased with everyone’s attention as she smiled and glanced at the screen that had displayed the wager ledger earlier.

"Hehe... the second round will be simple," she said, glancing at the crowd.

The spectators became even more attentive, waiting for her to explain the rules.

"This screen will randomly display the names of two participants, and they will have to fight each other. There will be a total of five duels in this round."

A few participants exchanged glances after hearing this.

Unlike the first round, where everyone had been fighting at the same time, this round would force them to face a single opponent directly.

She said this while looking at the participants on the ground.

The remaining participants became more serious as they waited for the screen to begin selecting their names.

The screen above the arena glowed as it changed from the wager ledger to the names of the ten remaining participants.

The participants on the ground watched as two dots began moving around in front of all the names before finally stopping at two of them.

The screen changed again as the two selected names appeared in clear letters.

"Kael Draven vs Liam"

The arena went silent for a moment before the crowd began shouting their names.

"Kael!"

"Liam!"

"He’s from our city!"

"Ravenhold will win!"

Kael and Liam stood on the battlefield with calm expressions. Soon, they moved toward the centre of the arena and took their battle stances.

"Hello, my name is Kael. Let’s have a good fight," Kael said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Liam nodded at him.

"Liam, from Ravenhold."

They both waited for Alice to give them the signal to start, but their senses were already on high alert.

Meanwhile, Alice let the tension build for a moment before finally smiling.

"Start."

The moment she said it, both of them disappeared from their positions as they charged toward each other.

Liam held his spear tightly in his hand. The weapon seemed to have been polished recently, as the sunlight reflected brightly off its surface.

Meanwhile, Kael charged forward with a double-edged sword in his hand.

In the next moment, they met in the middle of the battlefield.

CLANG!

Sparks flew from the point of their clash as the two weapons collided.

Their weapons were coated with mana as they used their full strength to push their opponent back. However, it seemed like they were evenly matched.

But in the next moment, Liam suddenly backed away before kicking toward Kael’s side.

Apparently, even though they seemed equal in strength, Liam was slightly faster and had greater mastery over his weapon.

Kael, who had been pushed back slightly, didn’t waste any time. The moment he stabilized himself, his hands moved as he immediately cast a spell.

Kael’s mana surged as several thick vines erupted from the ground behind him. Dozens of sharp thorns formed along them before shooting toward Liam like a barrage of arrows.

On the other hand, Liam calmly looked at the incoming attack as he channeled mana into his palm. A magic circle appeared in front of it.

"Wind Blade."

Several crescent-shaped blades of wind surged toward the incoming vines. The two spells collided, and the wind blades easily cut through the vines before disappearing into thin air.

Both spells were neutralized, but neither caster seemed bothered by it.

They simply charged at each other again.

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