Arc 2 Chapter 27 : Frosty Monarch

[Leon PoV]

My whole body felt so weak...

Opening my eyes, I saw the blue sky filled with white clouds. I also faintly heard several people discussing something nearby.

"His hand has a second-degree burn, please heal that area."

"Understood, Senior. I'll do what I can."

What happened...?

Calming myself first, I tried to piece together what had happened before.

I'd tried to use Anti-magic to hold back the relentless wave of Brian's magic. But since my mana had run dangerously low, the Anti-magic I'd used ended up imperfect, letting Brian's wave of magic break through.

Which meant I'd lost, huh?

Thinking about it left my heart feeling incredibly heavy...

Alisha and I had made a promise to meet in the finals...

I'd been so confident I could beat Brian. But he had an absolutely insane amount of mana.

Honestly, I didn't want to face Alisha right now. I felt so ashamed, wanting to hide myself away for failing to live up to the expectations she'd placed on me.

Ughhh... I think I need to talk to my Guide in the Soul Room later, to discuss this power of mine.

[Brian PoV]

Right now, I was in the infirmary with a priestess healing my wounds.

The final match would resume soon, once my treatment was complete. If I won and became champion of this tournament, I'd become the strongest at the academy and one step closer to achieving my dream.

"Priest, how much longer will the healing take?" I asked the woman treating my body.

"Just an hour ago, you finished a match looking that beaten up," the priestess answered. "Why the rush?"

Hearing the priest's words, I realized just how nervous I'd been about this final match.

"I guess it's because I want to become champion of this tournament as quickly as possible," I answered her.

The priest smiled at me. "The beauty of youth, full of hope and passion."

The priestess then continued healing the internal wounds I'd sustained. After nearly half an hour, she told me the treatment was complete.

"Try standing up and walking around a bit," the priestess said. "Let me know if you feel dizzy or lose sensation anywhere on your body."

I stood up and began walking, moving every part of my body according to her instructions.

"I think everything's fine," I told her. "I'm ready to fight!"

"Alright, I'll let the announcer know," the priestess said, smiling at me. "Good luck in this tournament, young man."

Once informed the match was about to start, I left the infirmary and headed down the corridor leading to the field.

Arriving there, I ran into a beautiful gray-haired woman. Her expression right now looked as cold as winter snow.

"Princess Alisha," I called out to her.

She turned toward me, but her expression didn't change at all.

"What is it?" she asked, her tone cold.

Why was she acting like this? Didn't we chat casually just yesterday? Had I done something to upset her?

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"It's nothing, Alisha," I said, offering her a handshake. "May the best fighter win."

But she just stared at my hand without shaking it.

She then continued walking into the corridor. All I could do was watch her back grow smaller in the distance.

What was that about? Why was she ignoring me!?

Ughhh... never mind that. She'll surely pay attention to me once I give her a hard time in the upcoming match.

I'll show her that I'm a man worth taking seriously!

[Raul PoV]

After two hours, the final match of this tournament, deciding the champion, was about to begin. Princess Alisha was the first to enter the field, followed by Brian close behind.

Once both stood at the center of the field, the announcer began addressing the spectators.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The moment has finally arrived!" the announcer declared loudly. "The winner of this match is certain to rise to greatness in the future!"

Hearing the announcer's words, the spectators grew increasingly excited, ready to witness the birth of a new star.

"Every Grand Espada, every Master and Archwizard at the Tower of Magic, all of them were once champions of the Grunbelt Academy tournament! Which means one of these two competitors is certain to become the strongest of their generation!"

It was true — every legendary figure, from the Grand Espada to the Archwizards and Masters, had all won the Grunbelt Academy tournament at some point in their youth.

Still, not every champion managed to reach the top — plenty had fallen along the way, whether through death in battle or other misfortunes.

"Without further delay, let's begin the match!" the announcer said, sounding thrilled. "Are both competitors ready!"

Princess Alisha nodded, while Brian drew his sword.

"The final match of the Grunbelt Academy tournament, begin!"

Brian immediately activated Accel magic the instant the match began. He charged toward Princess Alisha at tremendous speed.

Seeing this, the gray-haired woman extended her hand toward Brian, and suddenly, the hero's legs began freezing over, stopping him in his tracks.

"Aggghhh!"

Brian screamed, his body beginning to glow with golden light, the ice trapping his legs melting away. He then resumed his charge toward Princess Alisha.

Three magic circles formed around Princess Alisha's body, each releasing ice spears that shot toward the charging Brian.

Brian shattered the ice spears with his sword, continuing his charge, closing in on the princess.

The magic circles around Princess Alisha multiplied, this time releasing even more ice projectiles, forcing Brian to dodge.

The distance between them grew as thunderous crashes echoed through the arena from Princess Alisha's ice projectiles slamming into the walls.

Brian struggled, constantly pursued by the endless barrage of ice projectiles the princess kept firing.

Before long, one of the projectiles struck Brian directly, sending him flying.

He tried to get back up, blood trickling from his mouth from the impact of Princess Alisha's attack. Meanwhile, the gray-haired woman appeared to be murmuring something.

"Blizzard..."

Suddenly, a magic circle formed above Brian. Massive chunks of ice began emerging from the circle, crashing down onto Brian below.

—Grrruuhhh!

The arena trembled slightly from the impact of Princess Alisha's spell.

Brian continued to be pummeled by the falling ice chunks emerging from the magic circle. After a while, the circle above him finally vanished.

Silence fell over the arena, the spectators seemingly wondering whether this was the end for their hero, Brian.

—Boom!

But they were startled by a sudden explosion erupting from the pile of ice debris.

A blond man rose up, having survived being buried alive under Princess Alisha's magic. His body was covered in wounds — it seemed sheer willpower alone had brought him back to his feet.

"Not yet! I won't give up until victory is mine!" Brian shouted, gripping his sword with both hands and raising it above his head.

His body and sword began glowing with golden light. Brian focused all his mana into his blade.

Was he going to use Incursio against Alisha?

I suspected this match wouldn't last much longer.

The wind picked up fiercely, reacting to the massive concentration of mana gathering in Brian's sword.

"I will achieve my dream! Which is why I refuse to lose this tournament!" Brian shouted with burning passion. "Roar, Incursioo!"

Brian swung his sword, and a massive wave of magic surged toward Princess Alisha. But the gray-haired woman showed no sign of panic or concern at all.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her lips began murmuring something.

"Frosty Throne... Absolute Zero!"

Silence fell the moment Princess Alisha shouted out her spell.

The temperature within the arena plummeted instantly, the entire field freezing over completely, the spectators left speechless watching this phenomenon.

Meanwhile, Brian's incoming wave of magic, streaking toward Princess Alisha, froze solid, stopped cold by the woman's spell.

Brian's own body froze as well, turning into a statue-like figure. There was no sign of him breaking free to continue the fight.

"The winner of the Grunbelt Academy Tournament is..."

The announcer's voice broke the silence hanging over the arena.

"Princess Alisha Romanova!"

The tournament's champion had been declared, and this time, it was a student from outside the Empire who claimed the title. On top of that, Princess Alisha had set an astonishing record throughout this tournament.

Not a single opponent had managed to force Princess Alisha to so much as lift her foot from the ground, throughout the entire tournament.

In the game, I'd always said Valeria would become humanity's strongest mage. But that was only because, in the game's original storyline, Princess Alisha had died by the end of Chapter Three.

If she hadn't died back then, the title of humanity's strongest mage would surely have belonged to this woman, known by the title "Frosty Monarch."