Chapter 516: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: New Arrivals

Professor Liliana Galehart looked warmly at the crowd of Britannians who were still waiting outside the Arena.

The morning had already become busy.

More and more people had arrived at the Royal Academy since the previous day, and the number of guests had grown far beyond what the Arena had originally been prepared to accommodate. Nobles stood alongside their families, Non-Nobles gathered in large groups, and students from different Academy years could be seen moving around with the Academy Professors guiding them while security staff continued organizing everyone into proper lines.

Liliana held the microphone close to her mouth before turning slightly toward the Arena behind her.

"So, as you can see..."

She pointed behind her.

A large Holographic Image appeared in front of the Arena outside the main entrance.

It displayed Drax Drakes standing in the center of the Arena, on the fight platform.

Around him, several Academy staff members were moving through the stands and the fight area. Some had come out from the inner sections of the Arena, while others were carrying materials from the storage areas.

Large wooden crates were being moved across the ground.

Earth materials were packed inside them in large chunks, and several staff members had to carry or push the heavier crates together.

Outside the Arena, even more crates had been placed around the enormous structure.

The sight alone made it obvious that something large was about to happen.

"Because we have been getting more guest arrivals, especially important ones, we will be increasing the size of the Arena so it can accommodate all the guests who have come to watch the Combat Festival."

Professor Liliana explained calmly.

She then turned toward the Holographic Image behind her.

"So, we would like to entertain you all, with the Alchemy performance of Royal Academy’s top-ranking Third-year..."

She paused for a moment before smiling.

"Young Lord Drax Drakes, who is also one of the young rising Craftsmen in the fields of building, road, and bridge construction."

Liliana began clapping.

The crowd slowly joined her.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

The sound quickly grew louder as more people recognized the name.

Everyone knew who Drax Drakes was.

At least, most of the Non-Nobles and Low-ranking Nobles knew his name.

Especially the Non-Alchemists and low-ranking Alchemists who weren’t aligned with the Duke House Drakes.

To them, Drax was the newest genius to grace the Drakes family.

The Duke House already had many geniuses who had achieved great things at young ages.

But...

Drax was simply on another level compared to most of them.

However, the High-ranking Nobles and influential Non-Nobles who were aligned with the Drakes House or the Royal line knew Drax for another reason.

He was considered one of the young Alchemists belonging to the New Golden Age of Alchemy.

His talent wasn’t just something that could be underestimated.

Some even believed his talent could rival Young Lord Deveni Bergwyn, the greatest genius of his generation and the current Young Alchemist who had reached the Grand Arcanist Alchemist rank only a year after graduating from the Royal Academy.

Drax hadn’t reached that level yet.

But he was already number one among the Third-years.

Standing strongly at the Arcanist Alchemist rank.

Some people predicted that he would eventually reach the Grand Arcanist Alchemist rank as well.

And even though he hadn’t reached it yet, the fact that he and some of the strongest Third-years were already Arcanist Alchemists was impressive enough.

The crowd watched the Holographic Image with anticipation.

The First-years who were still participating in the Combat Festival were watching as well.

Vera Ashenlocke was among them.

She sat at a stall designated for the Ashenlocke Duchesses, Elders, and High-board members.

The stall had been arranged so that members of the Ashenlocke family could watch the preparations without being surrounded by the many people who had come to admire them.

Vera sat patiently while watching the entire event on a smaller Holographic Screen inside the stall.

The other First-year Mainlines of the Duke Houses and Main bodies of the Houses were also watching in their designated stalls.

A few powerful Count Houses had gathered around their own sections as well.

On the Holographic Screen, Drax calmly looked around the Arena while the Academy staff finished their work.

The final crates were placed into position.

The workers moved away from the center.

A senior staff member raised his thumb toward Drax.

"Everything is set, Young Lord of Drakes."

Drax nodded calmly.

Then he lowered his gaze toward the ground beneath his feet.

Step!

He stomped his shoe against the ground.

Snow crunched beneath the sole before the bottom of his shoe struck the stone platform with a heavier sound.

The surrounding air shifted.

Whoosh!

A large surge of Cognis immediately flowed from Drax’s veins.

It traveled down through his leg, passed through his shoe, and entered the ground beneath him.

Wind blew violently away from his position.

Snow was pushed across the platform and scattered toward the edges.

The academy staff standing closest to the platform instinctively raised their hands to protect their faces.

Then something appeared beneath Drax’s shoe.

A small Earth Alchemy Circle rapidly formed.

Then it expanded almost immediately.

The circle grew beyond the fight area.

Then beyond the stands.

Then farther still.

The brown glow continued spreading until it covered the entire Arena.

An enormous Earth Alchemy Circle now existed beneath the whole structure.

The Arena brightened with a brown light.

Drax’s Mass Alchemy had ignited.

The ground immediately began shaking.

The vibration moved outward from Drax’s position and traveled toward the outer parts of the Arena.

The waiting crowd outside could easily feel it.

Some looked down at their feet in surprise.

Others steadied themselves against nearby railings.

Inside the Arena, the effect became even more obvious.

All the large and small crates containing the Earth materials that had been prepared for the construction suddenly rose into the air.

The wooden crates shook.

Then they broke apart.

The Earth materials flew out of them and moved toward the enormous Earth Alchemy Circle.

The chunks cracked into smaller particles.

The particles became even finer.

Then they were compressed into different portions before being molded together.

Drax moved his left hand toward the left side.

The molded earth moved with him.

It flowed like mud beneath an invisible force before joining the earth that made up the Arena.

Drax then moved his right hand.

Another large portion of earth shifted according to his movement.

He didn’t need to touch any of it.

His hands were simply directing the Mass Alchemy.

The Arena began changing.

The stands extended outward.

Then they grew higher.

Sections that had previously been empty were filled with newly formed seating.

Drax moved his hands carefully, shaping individual seats and making sure they matched the seats that had already existed.

He didn’t simply create rough stone benches.

He adjusted the shape of each seat.

The surface was smoothed.

The hardness was controlled.

The structure beneath each seat was formed according to the same formula used for the existing Arena seats so that the new sections would remain comfortable.

He also paid attention to the color theme of each section.

The newly created earth was altered until it matched the existing parts of the Arena.

The work continued without slowing.

Drax moved one hand.

A section of earth rose.

He moved the other.

The earth separated and formed another structure.

He created holes in the newly constructed sections so that the Craftsmen responsible for the lighting could easily install lights later.

More important guest seating sections were also created.

These were larger and more elegant, with enough space for influential guests and their families.

Sculptures were formed around some of the sections, adding decoration to the newly expanded parts of the Arena.

The crowd watched silently for a while.

Then admiration began spreading through the spectators.

Watching Craft being performed through Alchemy was different from watching a normal fight.

There were no explosions.

No opponents attacking one another.

Yet the sight was still fascinating.

An entire Arena was being reshaped by one person’s control.

Some Royal Academy students couldn’t stop admiring the amount of Cognis Drax possessed.

More importantly, they admired his Cognis Control.

Maintaining a Mass Alchemy over such a massive area while controlling countless pieces of earth at the same time wasn’t something an ordinary Alchemist could simply copy.

The Alchemist had to be an Arcanist Alchemist as well as a Full Alchemist at that, to even be able to perform this level of Alchemy ignition like Drax.

Every movement of Drax’s hands affected the construction.

A slight mistake could create an uneven seat.

A wrong formula could weaken the earth.

A poor distribution of Cognis could cause an entire section to collapse.

Yet Drax continued working without showing any sign of losing control.

All the earth bent to his will beneath the enormous Alchemy Circle.

The construction continued.

Minutes became tens of minutes.

Then an entire hour passed.

Finally, Drax stopped moving his hands.

The last section of the Arena had been completed.

He looked around at the expanded structure.

Everything was connected.

The stands were wider.

They were higher.

The additional guest sections had been created.

The new seats matched the old ones.

The spaces for lights and furniture had already been prepared.

Drax had finished constructing the new sections of the Arena.

Clap!

Clap!

Clap!

Clap!

The crowd erupted into applause.

Young Adult Nobles and Non-Nobles shouted Drax’s name with admiration and respect, even adults and elderly Nobles and Non-Nobles also joined in the cheering.

"Sir Drax Drakes!"

"Young Lord of Drakes!"

"That’s incredible!"

Drax heard their cheers easily.

He reached into his clothes and pulled out a brown, elegant handkerchief, with the crest of the Drakes House imprinted on the center.

He wiped the sweat from his face before folding it neatly again.

Then he waved toward the crowd.

He gave them a calm bow like a gentleman before leaving the place.

Once Drax left, the Craftsmen responsible for the remaining work moved in quickly.

Some began working on the lights.

Others brought in additional furniture.

Several teams began adding luxurious furniture to the newly created sections so the expanded Arena wouldn’t look unfinished.

Alchemy Circles ignited throughout the new areas.

Craft tools echoed across the Arena as the workers continued their tasks.

Another set of hours passed.

During that time, Professor Liliana kept the crowd occupied.

She joked with them, made comedic remarks, and even started debates about who would eventually win the entire Combat Festival.

The crowd responded enthusiastically.

Some shouted the names of their favorite Young Alchemists.

Others argued with friends about which fighter had the best chance of reaching the final.

Eventually, the Arena was ready.

The crowd began entering.

Security staff worked through the entrances, checking people and organizing the large number of guests.

It took a few hours for the process to settle down, but eventually the newly expanded Arena began filling with people.

Inside, Patrick West stepped onto the fight platform.

This time, he wasn’t alone.

Another Professor of the Royal Academy stood beside him.

Patrick raised his microphone.

"And this time, we have another Co-Host!"

He turned toward the woman beside him.

"Professor Natasha Clause!"

The crowd responded with applause as Natasha gave them a small wave.

The two began welcoming the important guests who had arrived.

Patrick smiled proudly before raising his microphone again.

"Welcoming my five executives and the owner of the wonderful, the best, and the coolest Broadcasting Group in the whole Kingdom."

He paused.

Then a playful smirk appeared on his face.

"Pardon me if I’m praising too much, but..."

He stretched the pause just long enough for the crowd to react.

"Of BNC Broadcasting Group!"

Applause exploded throughout the Arena.

Hundreds of thousands of people, passing over two hundred and fifty thousand, had now filled the expanded structure, and the sound became even louder with the arrival of the new guests.

The four Holographic Screens displayed the elderly men and women who were the executives of BNC, along with their families.

The owner also waved toward the crowd with a pleased smile.

Park Weber and his family appeared on the screens as well.

Celestina Whitmore sat beside her parents, whose father is the youngest executive of the Group.

They waved with pleased smiles as the Arena welcomed them.

The Seventh Round had already brought plenty of excitement.

But with the Arena expanded and new important guests arriving, it was clear that the next part of the Combat Festival was going to be even bigger.