Fairy Tail: You said you were just acting, are you serious?

"You played well in the first match!"

Speaker Crawford Sim applauded repeatedly after the results were announced.

The other judges then joined in with applause, their faces beaming with excitement.

The remaining qualifiers had different expressions, but they all applauded.

"These two magics, one is an explosion, the other is poisonous fog, they're terrifying."

"That's clay modeling magic, but the clay is a bit peculiar; it explodes."

"It's best that the guy who learned poison mist magic was eliminated. Now we don't have to deal with such a troublesome guy."

"That guy in the suit actually took care of the other guy without getting hurt?"

"It's just that Ron is using a trick. His magic has so many limitations, and now that it's been exposed, the next match will only be more difficult."

The young mages present began to analyze Ron in order to avoid facing him next time.

Between their words, one could sense their relief that Ron had advanced to the quarterfinals, at least avoiding facing Eric, who used poison, and who seemed far more difficult to deal with.

Lahar stood at the edge of the crowd, slightly startled.

"It seems that Lord Ron is quite capable. This clay modeling magic is so powerful that it allows him to defeat his opponent at will."

The Oración Seis members who infiltrated didn't have very pleasant expressions on their faces.

Sora clenched her fists, feeling anxious.

Eric, that idiot, actually let himself be made a fool of because he underestimated his opponent?

Now there are only two of us left. How are we going to compete with the devil's heart for a place?

Dark Night remained silent, simply watching Ron on the arena, lost in thought.

The three individuals with the devil's heart, however, are experiencing different emotions.

Azuma shook her head. Clearly, Kebra's magic fluctuations were stronger than Ron's, yet he lost because he underestimated his opponent?

I still wanted to play against a stronger opponent, it's a pity now.

Lastiros smiled and adjusted his glasses.

Unexpectedly, Ron still had other magic left, and he used it in the very first match.

Sacrificing the Six Demon Generals in exchange for their vital intelligence—this deal is incredibly worthwhile.

Urudia gave Ron a subtle look.

This guy still loves to show off, and his strength seems to have increased even more than before.

But why do I feel that the magical energy fluctuations on his body are weaker than before?

I hadn't had much free time to pay attention to him before, and we only briefly met yesterday before parting ways.

Only when she calmed down and carefully sensed it did she realize that the fluctuations in Ron's body when he cast magic were much weaker than before.

Urudia shook her head, hoping she wouldn't face him, so that the agreement between them could be maintained.

Standing in the front row, commentator Toki Anderba smiled with satisfaction.

"This first match is a good start."

Yajima nodded in agreement, surprised that Ron, whom he had met a few times before, possessed such powerful magic.

As expected, taking down those dark guilds was quite in line with your performance. Keep it up!

Then, the proctors carried the seriously injured Eric on a stretcher and took him to the hospital for treatment.

The referee only began to announce the start of the next match after witnessing Eric leave the open area.

"The next contestants, please get into the ring as soon as possible, thank you!"

Ron, who had been standing in the ring, stepped down, facing the stench of blood.

He didn't care at all about the stares of others and began to wait to see the other matches to come.

Chapter 106 A Profusion of Talented Individuals

The referee's voice echoed through the arena as the two contestants for the second round of the elimination tournament stepped onto the stage.

To the left is a teenage mage whose height and build are significantly larger than the others, and his opponent is none other than Dark Night, Markbeth of the Oración Seis.

What's surprising is that Markbeth entered the ring sitting on a magically levitating flying carpet.

He placed his hands on his abdomen, closed his eyes, and dozed off.

"Are you kidding me?! Sleeping on this ring?!"

The teenage mage felt insulted by the other party's attitude of ignoring him.

"The second match begins now!"

As the referee's voice fell, the veins on the teenager's forehead bulged, and he angrily lit up his magic circle.

"Stop looking down on me!"

Tornado!

Whew!

He thrust his hands forward, unleashing a tornado that shot up from the ground and swept towards Markbeth, who was suspended in mid-air.

However, things changed the moment the tornado touched Markbeth.

The small tornado that was heading straight for Markbeth actually deviated from its original trajectory, bypassed Markbeth, and didn't even touch his flying carpet.

Immediately afterwards, the tornado's speed increased, and after circling Markbeth halfway, it turned back in the opposite direction and bounced back!

"What...?!"

The muscular young man had no time to react before he was struck by his own strongest magic, his entire body was swept into the tornado, and he was sent flying off the stage.

boom!

He fell against the edge of the wall and eventually collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Dark Night, without ever opening his eyes once throughout the entire match, swiftly defeated his opponent and won the game.

After making the judgment, the referee announced the result.

"The winner of the second elimination round is Markbeth from the Academy of Sages!"

Applause erupted from the front row again, this time even louder than the first round.

Inside the arena, Ron, who was waiting in the waiting area, also started taking pictures.

He knew, of course, that Markbeth had performed better than him, not only emerging unscathed but also quickly ending the fight.

It is evident that his performance will be even better than mine, and he will leave a deep impression.

However, the winner is still the one who makes it to the end. He is not in a hurry now and is relying on his own talent to restore his magic power.

It's a pity I can't dispel the clones, otherwise I could instantly recover most of them.

As time went on, the next few matches in the first round progressed as quickly as the first two.

"Ice Design: Icicle!"

In the third match, Ultear's body lit up with an ice-blue magic circle as she cast her Ice Shape spell, easily forcing her opponent out of the arena.

"The Eagle's Lair, Kayelum~"

In the fifth match, Sora picked up the Celestial Key, unlocked it in mid-air, and summoned Cayerum, transforming it into a beam gun that instantly severely injured her opponent and secured the victory.

"Get rid of him, my servants."

In the sixth match, Lasrotis disguised herself as a young mage specializing in summoning magic. She cast two magic circles and summoned two giant beasts, defeating her opponent.

The other qualifiers in the waiting area were stunned. They had thought it was just a test of similar strength, but they did not expect there to be so many powerful opponents.

In this first round of elimination matches, these opponents all defeated each other instantly and finished the competition without suffering any injuries.

In the seventh match, Lahar also won, but it still took a lot of effort to defeat his opponent.

Meanwhile, the judges on the platform were gathered together, looking at the information of the contestants who had advanced to the second round and starting to talk.

"There are so many dark horses in this first competition, it's truly an eye-opener."

Speaker Crawford Heem stroked his beard, praising the high-scoring advancers.

"For example, the boy named Markbeth, according to the information, uses space reflection magic."

This magic not only has defensive capabilities but also reflects damage back, making it a promising talent.

A judge standing nearby nodded in agreement:

"That's really impressive. He defeated his opponent without even expending much magic power."

"Tia, who also comes from the academy, has a very solid foundation in ice-shaped magic."

Judge Toki Anderba stroked his chin, pulled out the next document, and continued his evaluation:

"Speaking of female mages, that Celestial Spirit Mage named Sora also performed exceptionally well. She was able to transform her Digimon into its Q form and catch her opponent off guard, ending the match in an instant."

"That's right, not only that, this young man named Lastiros is not to be underestimated. Ordinary summoning magic, if not practiced, requires a long incantation and time to construct the magic circle."

However, he was able to summon two giant beasts in an instant; such casting speed and mana reserves are truly rare for someone his age.

Yajima nodded with a smile and added:

"That young man named Lahar was quite steady. Although he wasn't as fast as the others and it took him a lot of effort, he made the best of all by casting his spells at the right time, leaving his opponents with no openings."

This well-behaved and composed young man is well-suited to stay in the council; let's assign him a position from now on.

They nodded, then flipped through Ron's file and began to discuss it.

Speaker Crawford began by saying:

"Gentlemen, what do you think of Ron, who's going to fight in the first match?"

The judges exchanged glances before recalling his performance.

The judge standing nearby thought for a moment and then gave his evaluation first.

"They certainly have the strength; that shape-casting magic is indeed very suitable for dealing with the Dark Guild, however..."

His magic seems quite functional, but it has many limitations.

"Yes."

Another commentator echoed this sentiment:

"Compared to Mark Beth and his team, he might be able to launch a surprise attack, but once the opponent is prepared, his control methods become less effective."

Although his performance in the first round was good, we didn't expect the subsequent performances by the younger players to be even more impressive; their performances were therefore somewhat lacking.

Speaker Crawford nodded, acknowledging their assessment.

“That’s right, Ron’s magic is novel, but as a candidate for judge, he seems to have a long way to go.”

Toki Andba and Yajima didn't say anything, after all, judging from their performance, they were indeed overshadowed by the brilliance of the younger generation, just as they had said.

They had certain expectations for Ron, and could only hope that he would shine even brighter.

As for the serious commentator, he was thinking that Ron should hurry back.

Being a mage is a waste of your talent; you're best suited to performing on stage!

Chapter 107 Entering the Top Eight

Meanwhile, the traces left by the previous battle on the arena had been completely repaired by the magic of the two proctors.

With the magic circle's restoration, the area became flat and spacious once again.

The chief examiner and judge remained standing on the suspended platform, loudly announcing:

"Sorry to keep you all waiting! The eighth match is about to begin. Both fighters, please step into the ring immediately!"

As the referee announced the decision, Azuma, the demon in the waiting area, finally opened her eyes, which had been closed the whole time.

He stood up slowly with a blank expression, and walked steadily onto the ring.

Standing opposite Azuma was a young female mage with a touch of heroism in her eyes and brows.