A Bug In Fate

"White Room."

The moment Alden whispered those words, an invisible chill spread throughout the arena.

The temperature within a four-hundred-meter radius suddenly dropped, and for a moment, it felt as if winter had suddenly arrived.

But nothing else happened.

For a few seconds, nothing seemed to change as everyone watched Alden with confusion.

Then, before their eyes, ice began to form in the air.

One.

Two.

Three.

Seven ice spikes appeared in total.

They weren’t enormous, nor were they covered in unnecessary details. Each one was just large enough to pierce its target, with an incredibly sharp tip and a smooth surface that reflected the light around the arena.

There was no wasted mana.

Every part of the spikes had been shaped with frightening precision.

Even the high-ranked cultivators watching from above couldn’t help but narrow their eyes.

This wasn’t simply an Ice affinity.

This was an absurd level of mana control.

"What the hell..."

"It’s awesome!"

"I told you guys that this guy would show us something good!"

The audience began reacting with excitement as their eyes remained fixed on the seven ice spikes.

Even the children were staring at them without blinking, completely fascinated by the sight.

High in the sky, Alice wasn’t shocked anymore, but she was still impressed as she carefully observed the seven ice spikes.

"Beautiful..."

The word left her mouth before she could stop herself.

The seven ice spikes remained suspended in the air for a few seconds, completely motionless.

Then they suddenly moved according to Alden’s will.

Whoosh!

Their speed rapidly increased as they charged toward the Fire Wall Marcus had created as his defense.

Marcus couldn’t see the incoming attack because his own spell was blocking his vision, but his instincts warned him that something was approaching.

His expression changed.

Something was coming.

And it was coming fast.

It didn’t take long, as within seconds the attack reached the Fire Wall, which was Marcus’s last defence.

Shh...

Shhhhh...

Shh...

The sound of ice meeting fire echoed from the impact, but instead of melting, the ice spikes charged ahead as if nothing was blocking them.

The flames raged wildly as they tried to stop the incoming attack, but the ice continued pushing forward, slowly breaking through the defensive spell that Marcus had created with the little mana he had left.

Marcus, who was standing behind the wall with his battle sense activated, quickly looked in every direction. Suddenly, he saw something that made him narrow his eyes.

But his expression changed when the number of ice spikes increased. He tried to block them with his weapon, but his eyes widened in horror.

Because the moment his weapon touched the tip of an ice spike, he could feel the pressure and intent behind the attack.

His arms trembled slightly from the impact, and his instincts immediately told him that he couldn’t block them all.

But knowing about the danger and overcoming it were entirely different matters.

He had already used almost all of his mana on Star Ball, and even his strongest attack had been stopped without causing any damage.

Now, with only a small amount of mana remaining, what could he possibly do?

Marcus gritted his teeth and tried to move.

But it was already too late.

Before he could even blink, his bracelet glowed.

His figure disappeared from the battlefield and he was teleported to the other side of the arena, where the eliminated participants were already standing.

They looked at him with acceptance, as if they already knew what had happened and didn’t even need to ask why he was there.

Marcus stood there silently.

His gaze remained fixed on the battlefield.

For the first time since entering the tournament, he had nothing left to say.

Everyone had just watched Marcus’s strongest attack get frozen, followed by his defensive spell being completely overwhelmed.

Then—

"AMON!"

The silence exploded.

"AMON!"

"AMON! AMON! AMON!"

The crowd began shouting his name as their voices echoed throughout the entire arena.

Some people jumped from their seats while others raised their hands in excitement.

"Did you see that?!"

"If I knew him before, I could have definitely bet my entire life savings!"

"That other person who bet on him must be high in the air right now!"

"That guy is a monster!"

"He’s definitely winning this tournament!"

Some people cheered while others were depressed about the money they had lost. But amidst all the excitement, people couldn’t help but wonder who the other person was who had bet 50 lakh gold coins on the blue-haired guy.

Perhaps someone from his family?

What was his background?

After all, people had already seen Amon himself betting two lakh gold coins on himself, which wasn’t a small amount by any means.

Now, with another fifty lakh gold coins being placed on him, the total amount bet on Amon had reached 52 lakh gold coins.

That alone was enough to make people wonder just how wealthy his backer—or perhaps his family—really was.

The children, however, were simply shouting his name, completely caught up in the excitement.

They didn’t question who he was.

They didn’t wonder about his family or his background.

Maybe it was true that children were symbols of innocence.

Meanwhile, the remaining participants looked at each other with complicated expressions.

None of them said anything.

They didn’t need to.

They had all just watched what happened to Marcus.

And now they had to face the same opponent.

Meanwhile, Alden stood at the centre of the battlefield, looking at the aftermath of his technique. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

*..There is still some room for improvement. I’ll train it after all this ends, he thought.*

The reason he was satisfied, even though he could clearly see there was still room to improve the technique, was simple.

He didn’t have this technique when he came here.

In fact, he had created it on the spot while Marcus was busy preparing his Star Ball spell.

Alden had multiple ways to eliminate Marcus, but he had decided to experiment instead. His mind was already filled with countless ideas, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to test one of them.

Following one of those ideas, he decided to copy the concept behind his Mana Sense and create a technique based on it.

That was why the range of White Room was also four hundred meters.

The two abilities shared some similarities.

With Mana Sense, he could perceive mana and detect its presence within a four-hundred-meter radius.

With White Room, he could manifest and control his mana throughout that same range.

In other words, he had turned the concept of sensing mana into the ability to control it.

It was quite an achievement.

Alden shook his head before looking toward Marcus.

Their eyes met.

Marcus looked surprisingly calm. It seemed that he had already accepted his defeat, but there was still a faint light of determination flashing in his eyes.

That wasn’t unexpected.

Considering his personality, Alden had already expected him to react this way.

He nodded at Marcus, who returned the gesture with a similar nod. After that, he began walking toward the remaining participants with a calm stride.

Many eyes followed his movement, but his expression remained as relaxed as ever, like it was just another Sunday.

The fight between him and Marcus had been an eye-opening experience for many, and they couldn’t help but wonder what he would show them in the next battle.

After all, if this was what he had shown them in the second battle, then what would he bring to the next one?

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