Chapter 151: Tournament ends

The arena erupted. Cheers, whistles, and shouts crashed together from every direction as Sabrina’s victory was announced.

But Zac remained frozen near the boundary line. His mind was still trying to catch up with what had happened.

"System, did that really happen?"

[It did. You tripped over your own power.]

Zac’s expression darkened.

[You poured everything into one attack, she redirected it, and you launched yourself out of the arena.]

Zac straightened and glanced toward Sabrina. She stood a few steps away, as calm as ever, without any celebrations or happiness in her face.

He turned toward the stands. "Well, at least I can say it was an accident."

[Absolutely. I’m sure everyone will believe the freak who voluntarily fought an entire tournament wearing a gravity bracelet simply lost because of an unfortunate accident.]

"Exactly."

[That was sarcasm.]

...

Sabrina followed him back toward the others.

The moment Zac reached them, Marty leaned forward. "For a second there, I actually thought you were going to win."

"So did I," Zac replied.

He glanced down at his hands. "But apparently my power is too great for even me to control."

Sabrina sat down behind him. "Whining of a loser."

Zac slowly turned. "Hey. You won by accident. If that last strike had connected properly, you’d have been the one eating the ground."

Sabrina looked at him without the slightest change in expression. "But it didn’t. Which means you’re the one who ate the dust."

Zac stared at her.

"Do you want to go again, you ice bitch?"

"Sure! I want to beat your ass again, bitch boy."

"Okay, okay, enough!" Kelly immediately stepped between them before another argument could begin. "You two literally just finished fighting. Can we go five minutes without starting another one?"

Marty nodded solemnly. "I support Kelly. Mostly because I don’t think the arena can survive round two."

[Neither can your dignity.]

"Whose side are you on?"

[The entertaining one.]

Before Zac could reply, Mimi’s amplified voice swept across the arena. "And there we have it, everyone! The final match is over!"

The crowd gradually settled. Mimi stretched one hand dramatically toward the upper stands. "But don’t start leaving yet! Because now it’s time to find out who truly performed the best throughout this tournament!"

Above them, Simon, Matilda, and Murphy rose from their seats. The three instructors descended from the upper level and soon stepped onto the central stage.

Almost immediately, eyes throughout the arena shifted toward the highest stand.

Matilda noticed. "Vice-Principal Armani has already left the arena. It seems she had other matters requiring her attention."

Mimi visibly relaxed hearing it.

Matilda continued before the crowd could become distracted again. "Now, let’s return to the results."

"As we explained before the tournament began, these matches were never meant to determine who among you is simply the strongest."

"The purpose was to evaluate your mana control and mana coating."

"And while many of you disappointed us..." Several students visibly stiffened. "...there were also some who exceeded our expectations."

"As previously announced, the students ranked within the top fifty will receive one skill of their choice from the academy Skill Archive."

"Those ranked within the top thirty will receive two skills, and the top three will receive two skills, along with an opportunity to enter the Marrow Washing Pool."

Excitement erupted among the first-years. Even several students who had remained composed throughout the tournament couldn’t hide their expressions.

Before the excitement could spread any further, Simon stepped forward. "Don’t look so happy."

The students immediately quieted.

Simon stared at them from beneath the brim of his straw hat. "I originally wanted to reduce the number of students receiving rewards after seeing your performances."

Several faces fell instantly.

Marty whispered, "There it is. I knew happiness wasn’t allowed near this man."

"But," Simon continued, "you’ve only been at the academy for a few months. So I’m giving you some leeway."

"This will be the first and last time. Use these rewards properly. Train harder. Improve your mana control. Fix your weaknesses."

His gaze swept across the arena. "Slackers have no place in New Dawn Academy."

Murphy stepped forward once Simon finished. "Now that Sir Simon has successfully frightened everyone again, let’s announce the rankings."

Murphy unfolded the list in his hand. "We’ll begin with the top fifty."

He started reading the names from fiftieth place upward.

At first, most of the placements caused little reaction. Many had already guessed roughly where the stronger students would rank, but as Murphy continued, confusion began spreading through the crowd.

Some students eliminated during the first round appeared within the top fifty. Meanwhile, several students who had survived into the third, or even fourth, round were missing entirely.

"What?"

"He lost in the first round."

"Then why is he ranked higher above me?"

Shobin watched quietly. "The instructors must have been evaluating every match individually. Winning clearly matters less than how efficiently someone used their mana."

Daniel nodded. "A person can win because they’re stronger physically, have better weapon training, or simply because their opponent made a mistake, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their Mana Coating was better."

Eventually, Murphy finished announcing the top fifty and stepped back, and Matilda took his place.

"Now, the top thirty."

The atmosphere immediately became more tense, and she began reading. Names were called one after another, then.

"Fourteenth place, Marty Williams of Class A."

Marty blinked. "What? I’m not even in the top ten?"

Kelly immediately looked toward him with concern. Marty saw her expression and laughed. "Hey, hey. I’m joking."

He leaned back with a satisfied grin. "Fourteenth is way better than I expected. Besides, what difference does it make? Everyone from fourth to thirtieth gets the same reward anyway."

Shobin glanced at him. "Is this what called coping?"

Matilda continued through the rankings, and eventually, she reached the upper positions.

"Eighth place, Shobin Shoji of Class A."

"Seventh place, Adrian Von Ainsworth of Class A."

"Sixth place, Kelly Carter of Class A."

"Fifth place, Lydia Maron."

"Fourth place, Daniel Martel of Class A."

Marty looked at Shobin. "Our martial nerd made ninth."

"I’ll accept being eighth."

Kelly’s eyes widened. "I got sixth?" she asked, surprised.

Daniel nodded thoughtfully. "I think that compressed burst of mana you pulled off helped a lot."

Kelly looked down at her hands. "I didn’t think I’d rank that high."

"You earned it," Daniel said simply.

Adrian, meanwhile, looked betrayed by reality. "I cannot believe I’m seventh."

Marty sighed. "Here we go."

"This tournament is clearly flawed. I may file a formal complaint with the academy’s higher authorities."

Daniel looked at him. "The vice-principal was watching. Why don’t you go to her?"

Adrian paused. "...Perhaps seventh is respectable."

Marty snorted before looking toward the list. "Who’s Lydia again?"

Shobin turned toward him. "You already forgot? She’s the one who fought Zac in the top six."

"Oh, the braided-haired girl."

"Yes."

"Right. I remember her. Somewhat."

Daniel looked toward the stage. "Fourth...It seems I still have a lot to work on."

Marty leaned toward him.

"You sound disappointed. But I’m happy I got fourteenth place."

"Different standards."

"Rude."

Simon stepped forward once more. "Now for the top three."

The arena immediately quieted down.

Marty leaned forward in his seat. "Now I’m fully invested."

"Me too," Kelly said.

Shobin nodded. "Make that three."

Adrian crossed his arms. "I suppose I am mildly curious."

"Third place..." He deliberately paused, letting the silence stretch.

Marty whispered, "I hate when someone uses timing for dramatics."

"Zac Delencore of Class A."

For a moment, surprise rippled through the arena.

"What?"

"Third?"

"But he reached the final."

"And almost beat Sabrina."

The students around Zac also looked surprised too.

Zac himself simply sat there, with no visible change in expression.

"Third, I thought so."

[You planned for this, didn’t you?]

"You can say that."

Simon looked toward Zac. Seeing no visible reaction, he continued.

"Second place, Sabrina Snow of Class A."

The arena erupted again, with confusion far louder.

"The Ice Queen is second?"

"She won the final!"

"Then who’s first?"

Even many of the students ranked within the top ten looked genuinely stunned.

Marty slowly turned toward Sabrina. "You won the entire bracket and still got second."

Sabrina remained calm. "The matches weren’t the only criteria."

Marty looked toward Zac. "Why are both of you so calm about this?"

Zac shrugged. "I’m third. Complaining isn’t going to magically move the number."

[So mature...]

"And first place..." The arena quieted just enough to hear him.

"Ravena Voss of Class B."

For half a second, there was silence.

Then the entire arena exploded.

"What?! Ravena? Who is that?"

"It’s the Hexed Rose idiot."

"How is she first?"

"She didn’t even reach the final!"

"Didn’t Zac beat her?"

Disagreements burst out everywhere.

Even people who had understood that the rankings weren’t determined purely by wins and losses struggled with the result.

Simon stood silently for the noise to be settled, but it was only growing worse.

"Silence..."𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

The single word slammed through the arena and struck with enough force that nearly everyone flinched, and the entire crowd went dead quiet.

Marty clutched both ears. "What the hell? Is that some kind of vocal skill? My ears are ringing."

"Mine too," Shobin muttered.

Daniel shook his head. "It’s not a skill. He amplified his voice using mana. I’ve seen elders in my family do something similar."

Simon stared across the stands. "What do you think this is? A goblin den?"

"We explained the rules before this tournament began. This was not a competition to determine who could hit harder, move faster, or win the most matches."

He pointed toward the students. "It was designed to evaluate mana control and mana coating. And we are the instructors who evaluated you."

"Have all of you already forgotten that only one first-year student has reached the second level of Mana Control?"

That question finally made several people freeze, with understanding slowly spread through the crowd.

"A change in mana color is not simply cosmetic. It represents a deeper level of synchronization and control."

"Once someone reaches the second level, their mana begins becoming attuned to their body to the point that it responds almost like an extension of themselves."

The confusion on several faces disappeared. Even those who didn’t particularly like the result could finally understand why Ravena had been placed first.

Simon lowered the microphone slightly. "You’ve all learned where you stand. Remember it, and work harder to be better.

"Tomorrow, those who qualified may visit the Skill Archive and claim their rewards."

"As for the top three, someone will come for you within the next day or two and take you to the Marrow Washing Pool."

Simon started walking off the stage. "Now leave the arena." And with that, he was gone.

Marty stared after him. "He really knows how to end things warmly."

Matilda took the microphone before the crowd could start moving. "Well...congratulations to all the students who earned rewards."

"You’ve all seen exactly how much further you still have to go. Hopefully, you’ll use what happened here as motivation rather than an excuse."

[And with that, Zac Delen... Oh, sorry, Zac Godson’s first tournament is officially over with him coming at third.]