Chapter 532: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: New Interest

"Wooooaahhhh!!"

The noise of the crowd cheering echoed loudly throughout the Arena.

"Lady Vera Ashenlocke!!!"

"The Jewel of Ash!!!"

"Amazing, my Black Queen is really amazing!!"

"She literally moved inside that level of wind pressure, crazy!!"

The voices of Vera’s supporters continued to rise, filling the massive Arena even after the fight had already ended.

The cheering was so loud that it could still be heard from the infirmary.

"Mmm... Mmmm... Mmm."

Selena mumbled softly as her eyes slowly opened.

Her vision was blurry at first.

A bright white light was directly above her, shining from the ceiling and making her eyes sting the moment she tried to look at it.

"She’s waking up."

A man’s voice came from her right.

Selena moved her face away from the light, narrowing her emerald eyes as she tried to adjust to the room around her.

"Ah."

A small sound of pain escaped her.

"Lady Selena Galehart."

Another voice called from the same direction.

"She’s stable."

This time, another voice came from her left.

Sh...

I lost consciousness again.

Selena realized, and she wasn’t particularly impressed by the situation.

It wasn’t the first time she had woken up inside the Academy’s tent infirmary during the Combat Festival, and judging from the noise still coming from the Arena, it seemed she had missed enough of what was happening back in the Arena.

Selena slowly raised her upper body.

One of the Medic staff immediately stepped closer and placed a hand behind her back, helping her sit up before gently guiding her back toward the pillow.

"Please, Lady Selena. Don’t move too quickly."

Selena allowed herself to be placed back against the pillow.

Her eyes moved around the infirmary room.

The white canvas surrounded the spacious medical area, held up by sturdy supports, while medical equipment was arranged neatly along the sides. A few Zphone Tablets rested on a nearby table, and the faint smell of medicine lingered in the air, mixing with the distant cheers of the Arena that continued to seep through the canvas walls.

"I’m back here again."

Selena said with an elegant smile.

She looked toward the Medic staff standing around her.

This time, however, she had no serious injuries that required her to remain there for long.

She turned her head slightly toward the Arena.

Even from inside the infirmary, she could hear the crowd cheering voices.

The voices were muffled by the distance and canvas, but the excitement was still obvious.

Selena smiled faintly.

She wasn’t there anymore.

Yet Britannia was still cheering.

"But this time I lost."

Selena lowered her eyes toward her hands resting in her lap.

Her fingers moved slightly as she looked at them.

Her expression remained elegant, but there was a faint, complicated feeling sitting in her chest.

She had lost.

There was no way around that fact.

She had prepared carefully.

She had used her Wind Alchemy.

She had used Mass Alchemy.

She had even managed to restrict Vera’s movements and prepare another attack.

But none of it had been enough.

Vera had simply moved.

That was all.

She had moved through Selena’s attack with such speed that even the slowed replays that were now being displayed in the arena’s big four holographic screens could barely show what had happened.

"It’s good to see you awake, Lady Selena Galehart. You really pushed yourself in your match."

The Senior Medic spoke while checking the information displayed on the Zphone Tablet in his hand.

His eyes moved across the medical data before he nodded.

"Yes, it’s good to see you awake, Lady of Gale."

The Junior Medic standing nearby also greeted her politely.

"Thank you for treating me."

Selena gave them an elegant smile and bowed her head slightly.

She genuinely appreciated the work they had done.

"You can leave now, since you didn’t sustain any serious injury. Although, you did lose some blood because of Cognis exhaustion, and the swelling you had from the knock Vera gave you has already been healed, so you are fine now."

The Senior Medic said calmly.

He checked the tablet one final time before lowering it to his side.

"You should still take it easy for a while."

Selena nodded.

"Of course."

The Senior Medic gave her a small wave before leaving the room.

The other Medic followed him, leaving Selena alone in the infirmary.

Selena turned her attention toward the small holographic screen positioned inside the room.

The display showed the Craft-Based Royal Academy staff working on the Arena platform.

The damage caused by Vera’s final attack was still clearly visible.

A big straight vertical line had been carved across the platform, leading toward a large circular area where the ground had been broken apart.

Pieces of stone had been removed from the damaged section, while the Craft-Based Academy staff worked around it.

Some used Earth Alchemy to move the broken stone.

Others repaired the platform itself.

Selena watched quietly.

Then the holographic display changed.

The footage switched to a slowed replay of the moment everything had happened.

Selena’s eyes focused.

The replay showed the exact moment she had finally sent her Wind Slash toward Vera.

The Wind Blade moved forward.

Vera’s body was there.

Then...

It wasn’t.

Her figure faded into an afterimage, causing the Wind Slash to pass straight through where she had been standing as though the attack had struck a ghost.

Selena’s eyes narrowed.

Even slowed down, the movement was difficult to follow.

Then, in that same moment, Vera’s real body was already moving from her previous position.

She had dashed straight toward Selena.

The slowed replay could only capture a blurry figure.

There was no clear image of Vera’s body moving.

There was only the vague outline of black hair and clothing shifting across the platform.

And instantly...

Vera was in front of Selena.

Selena’s eyes widened slightly.

The replay continued.

Selena was still looking toward the position where Vera should have been.

She hadn’t even realized that Vera had already crossed the distance.

In that short moment, Selena knew Vera could have easily shot her if she wanted to.

She could have fired one of those mysterious handguns directly at her.

Or she could have done something worse.

But Vera didn’t.

Instead, the handgun in Vera’s right hand came forward.

The replay showed the weapon moving toward Selena’s forehead.

Then...

BAM!

The handgun struck Selena hard across the forehead.

That was the attack that knocked her unconscious.

The replay continued for another moment.

The ground beneath Vera’s feet had also been destroyed by the force of her dash and the strike.

The platform had cracked under her movement, with pieces of stone thrown away from the point where she accelerated.

Selena stared at the screen.

She remained quiet for several seconds.

"Ahhh."

She finally sighed.

Selena slowly moved out of the bed.

Her hand rested briefly against the side of her head as she remembered the impact.

"My love rival is a strong one."

She said to herself.

"Absurdly strong, but..."

Her hand tightened into a small fist.

She looked at it.

"Who said love has to be about power?"

She smiled.

The defeat still bothered her.

Of course, it did.

But it wasn’t enough to make her give up.

"I might have lost, but I’m going to go again."

Selena said firmly.

She turned toward the changing room inside the infirmary.

She needed to change into cleaner clothes before returning to the Arena.

As she walked toward it, her mood gradually became brighter.

"Sir Ezra’s match is next too."

She remembered.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"I have to hurry so I won’t miss it."

Selena entered the changing room.

For someone who had just been knocked unconscious during a Combat Festival, she certainly wasn’t going to let that stop her from watching Ezra’s next fight.

Back inside the Arena...

A few minutes passed, and the platform was finally ready for the next fight.

The damaged ground had been repaired, the broken stones had been cleared away, and the Craft-Based Royal Academy staff had restored the fighting area to its previous condition.

The audience had also settled down.

But the excitement hadn’t disappeared.

If anything, it had grown.

The next match involved two students who were widely admired by the people of Britannia.

One of them had already been in the spotlight of the Kingdom for a long time.

The other had only recently stepped into that same light.

Yet after everything he had done during the Combat Festival, almost everyone in the Kingdom now knew his name.

Patrick raised the microphone.

"Welcoming the fighters!!"

His voice echoed loudly through the entire Arena.

"Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke!!"

The moment Ezra’s name was announced, the response from the crowd came almost instantly.

"Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke!!"

"I love you, Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke!!"

"You can win!!!"

"I believe in you!!"

"You got this!!"

The cheers came from different sections of the Arena.

Some waved banners.

Others raised merchandise carrying Ezra’s name.

A few supporters even held up handmade signs while shouting his name.

Ezra walked out from the left entrance.

He remained calm as he moved toward the platform, raising one hand and waving toward the crowd.

The cheering only became louder.

"Vs..."

Patrick paused for a moment, allowing the crowd to settle before raising his voice again.

"Lady Willow Derlis!!"

The response from Willow’s supporters came immediately.

"Come on, My Crimson Lady!!"

"Beat this Ashenlocke!!"

"Revenge for the Derlis!!"

"Make him pay for messing with our Sir Desmond Derlis!!"

"My Crimson Queen will win!!!"

"Glory to Derlis!!"

The voices of Willow’s supporters echoed strongly through the Arena, almost overpowering the cheers coming from Ezra’s side.

Willow walked onto the platform from the opposite entrance.

She raised one hand and waved toward her supporters before lowering it.

Her crimson eyes immediately locked onto Ezra.

The boy standing across from her was the same person who had defeated her brother.

He was also the same person who had defeated Fatima Drakes in the first round of the Combat Festival, despite Fatima being considered one of the strong candidates for winning the entire Festival.

Willow didn’t waste any time.

The moment her eyes settled on Ezra, she began analyzing him.

His posture.

His breathing.

His gaze.

The way he stood.

The way his hands rested.

Even the small movements he made while standing still.

She wanted to know what she could pick up before the fight began.

But this wasn’t the first time she had studied Ezra.

She had already done her research on him.

More importantly, she also remembered several moments when she had interacted with him during the study group sessions for the Alchemy Circle Conversion test.

During that period, Willow had paid Ezra to tutor her.

Out of all the students taking the course with her, Ezra seemed to be the best person to learn from.

Of course, Vera was also one of the top students in the course.

But asking Vera for help was the last thing Willow wanted to do.

She would rather pay someone else.

So, she had paid Page Laverdale to tutor her as well.

She had also paid Davie Wakener.

Willow had even considered paying Ravenor Burnwick.

Ravenor, however, refused.

He didn’t understand why he should be paid to teach someone.

Instead, Ravenor had tutored Willow for free.

Those study sessions had been when Ezra truly realized just how much of a perfectionist Willow Derlis was.

She wasn’t satisfied with learning from one person.

She wanted to learn from all the best students available.

She would compare their study notes, compare their explanations, and combine the information together so she could gain a better understanding of the course.

And she was willing to pay for that information.

Ezra had seen that side of her before.

That was why he already knew one thing.

This fight against Willow wasn’t going to be easy in the slightest.

Willow’s crimson eyes remained fixed on him.

She didn’t underestimate Ezra.

She had seen enough of him already to understand that doing so would be a mistake.

Across from her, Ezra simply stood there.

The cheers of both sides continued to fill the Arena.

Patrick raised the microphone again.

"Let the countdown begin!!"

The entire Arena immediately grew more focused.

The next fight was about to begin.