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

She remembered Ron's main magic, the white magic clay, and the two magical weapons she had seen; all of them were possession-type magic.

But that blue beam of magic just now was definitely not some kind of holding magic.

What's most terrifying is that this magic doesn't require constructing a magic circle or inscribing a spell; it's simply an ancient magic that condenses and compresses its own magical power before unleashing it.

This ancient magic that relies solely on the compression of magical power does exist, but it has been eliminated because it consumes too much magical power and lacks sufficient destructive power. However, he is exceptionally skilled in it and handles it with ease.

Recalling the deal the two had made, and looking at Ron's current composed demeanor, Ultear bit her lip, feeling inexplicably annoyed.

Despite his seemingly frivolous demeanor, he always manages to pull out some strange and unusual things that surprise people.

Although we've reached a consensus, if we encounter him in the third or fourth round, just dealing with his hidden cards would probably be a huge hassle.

She then chuckled, thinking to herself that if they really ran into each other, she still wouldn't hold back.

On the other side, Azuma opened her eyes, glanced at Ron who had entered, and curled her lips into a slight smile.

That last shot still reignited a bit of fighting spirit in Azuma.

However, based on his current performance, Ron has still revealed some shortcomings.

Whether it's the clay bomb or the last spell, both are long-range spells that require maintaining distance.

He still had the advantage against these ranged spells, so he wasn't too afraid of Ron.

Once he closes the distance, Ron's magic won't be of much use.

Ron felt their gazes and couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

Stop looking, you can't see through me.

He then turned his head and looked in Urutia's direction, revealing a meaningful smile.

This made Urudia roll her eyes, then she turned her gaze to the ring to watch the upcoming fourth match.

Lahar and Markbeth have already reached the center of the ring.

Lahar still had a serious and tense expression, while Markbeth still hadn't opened his eyes and was sitting on his flying carpet.

Just then, the referee raised the magic megaphone and announced loudly:

"Now, the final match of the second round officially begins!"

Lahar then cast a magic circle, preparing to counter Markbeth's chain magic.

Then several chains appeared on the magic circle, and before Markbeth could react, he lit up another magic circle under the flying carpet.

The sudden appearance of chains below entangled Markbeth, causing him to open his eyes in surprise.

"If your movements are locked from multiple directions, you won't be able to move or react!"

Boom!

Lahar released a second, different magic circle, and then a beam of light struck Markbeth directly, knocking him to the ground instantly.

Seeing his tactics succeed, Lahar finally broke into an excited smile.

"Success! My tactic has finally..."

"You've had enough of your fantasies, it's time to get up."

Suddenly, a lazy voice rang in Lahar's ears, interrupting his reverie.

Click!

In that instant, the world before him, with the fallen Markbeth, shattered like a mirror.

He was under a hallucination; his illusion shattered.

When Rahar emerged from the illusion, he was horrified to discover that he was not standing in the center of the ring.

His legs had somehow reached the edge of the ring, with half of his foot dangling in the air!

Back in reality, Lahar lost his balance and fell off the edge of the ring.

Just as he collapsed, the last thing he saw on the stage was that Dark Night's eyes hadn't even fully opened.

"I was careless... Ouch, that hurts!"

He fell onto the open ground outside the ring and twisted his ankle.

He clutched his ankle in pain and spun around a few times before lying down on the ground, staring at the blurry sky. Only then did he realize that his glasses were no longer on his nose; he had no idea where they had fallen.

Realizing he was really out, Rahar showed a frustrated expression.

"Mockbase wins the fourth knockout match!"

The second round of competition has concluded!

As the referee announced the results, the list of the four semifinalists advancing to the next round was displayed on the magic screen.

The judges looked at the screen and began to give an overall evaluation of the advanced participants.

"This young man named Markbeth is terrifying! Not only can he deflect magic, but he can even counter illusions!"

"Yeah, the bespectacled kid who was playing against him didn't even realize he was under a hallucination right from the start. He only realized it when he was about to fall. He was so careless."

"Urudia's magic remains a delight to behold, and its performance is very consistent."

"And then there's Azuma, who, with Ron's guidance, actually mastered these explosive techniques. His potential is limitless."

"Lastiros also realized that he was a good candidate, but unfortunately he was eliminated in the end."

Several judges discussed the matter, then Yajima stroked his chin and casually remarked:

“However, Ron, I feel he performed better than them. He also advanced based on his own strength and even made a perfect counterattack when he was being targeted, which showed his potential very well.”

Commentator Toki Anderba nodded in agreement:

"That's right. Although his magic fluctuations aren't as strong as those of other advanced cultivators, the fact that he defeated two opponents who were clearly stronger than him in succession speaks volumes about his skill."

The judges standing nearby nodded in agreement with what the two of them said, feeling that what they said made a lot of sense.

Of these, only Speaker Crawford scoffed dismissively.

"So what? The ancient magic he used at the end consumed a huge amount of magic power."

His attack just now probably depleted his magic power, and this kind of random magic can only catch people off guard.

The next two matches are tomorrow; if he keeps expending his magic power like this, he won't be able to make it to the fourth round.

His most important reason for refuting this is actually because he cannot allow this uncontrollable variable to affect his private transactions.

"What the speaker said makes sense, so let's leave it at that for today."

As Ron waited for the announcement of the third round of roster the following day, he noticed something amiss and turned around. The judges had actually stood up and were preparing to leave.

Right there, the referee picked up the magic megaphone and explained:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the second round of the elimination matches has concluded today."

We will officially announce the matchups for the third round tomorrow. Thank you.

Chapter 114 Unconventional Approach

After the referee finished speaking, he controlled the suspended platform to fall, preparing to return.

Upon hearing the referee's explanation, everyone who was sitting in the spectator area, including Ron and his group, was momentarily stunned.

Both those who were eliminated and those who advanced habitually looked at the list of opponents after each round of competition.

The magical light curtain then dissipated in mid-air, and the rejected contestants withdrew their astonished gazes and prepared to get up and go back.

The three members of the Dark Guild quickly composed themselves and turned to walk towards the rest area.

Ron stood up and looked at his current performance rating, which had risen to 50%, reaching halfway.

He smiled with satisfaction, thinking that if things went smoothly tomorrow, he could increase his investment by 100%.

"It's time to replenish some sugar."

After the inspection was completed, he leisurely left the waiting area and headed towards the canteen.

After some time, Urtia and Azuma were already waiting for Markbes of the Oración Seis in a secluded room.

"Why is that guy so slow?"

Urudia frowned and said somewhat impatiently.

After a while, the door to the room was slowly opened, and Mark Bass came in.

After Markbeth closed the door and activated his soundproofing spell, Urudia asked in a cold voice:

"Why are you only arriving now? Didn't we agree on a time?"

Upon hearing this, Markbeth, who had been half-closing his eyes, finally opened them completely.

"The one who made the appointment with you was Sora, not me."

His gaze passed over Urutia and coldly fixed on Azuma, who was sitting in the back.

"It's also thanks to the person behind you. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have needed to check on Sora's injuries, and I would have been late."

Azuma crossed her arms and smiled at Markbeth's displeased gaze.

“I gave her a chance; it was her own request.”

Markbeth sneered and said to them:

"Actually, I'm the only one left from the Oración Seis. There's no point in continuing this meeting."

I just came to say hello. See you in the ring tomorrow.

After saying that, he glared at Azuma again with displeasure and left the room without looking back.

Azuma nodded, then stood up and said:

“He’s right. There’s only the two of us left, so there’s no need for a meeting.”

He then pushed open the door and left, leaving Urutia still inside.

Urutia lowered his head and sighed deeply.

There isn't a single one of them who makes things easy for anyone.

Time passed quickly, and it was already the morning of the second day.

The speaker and council members who went home early yesterday have returned to their seats and are talking to each other.

Because Rahar only experienced a hallucination and fell during yesterday's final match, the arena's ring remains intact, with 99% new stone slabs paving it.

There were more people observing the event than yesterday, but Kong Nai and Lastiros were absent. These two people have not yet recovered enough to move around freely and are staying in the medical room.

“Listen to me, if I hadn’t been careless, Markbeth wouldn’t have been able to cast illusion magic. My tactics were perfect, firstly…”

Sitting in the audience, he excitedly explained his tactics to Eric, who was sitting next to him.

"Oh? Yes, that's a real pity..."

Eric turned his face away and gave a perfunctory reply.

As Rahar continued to recount these tactics to him, Eric looked on with a helpless expression.

He had only turned around because he heard Lahar's thoughts, and then the guy came over to say hello and chatted casually for a while. He never expected it to turn out like this.

He hadn't expected them to be so enthusiastic. If they became too familiar with each other because of excessive interaction, how would he survive in the Dark Guild?

So Eric listened silently to Rahar's recounting of the events and continued to respond to him in silence.

On the third day, at the referee's request, Ron and his team lined up in a row on the ring early, instead of waiting in the waiting area.

Just then, the referee slowly flew over on a suspended platform, with a figure a size larger than the referee beside him.

The figure was none other than Speaker Crawford. They arrived at the center of the arena and landed in front of Ron and his three companions.

The speaker took the magical megaphone, cleared his throat, and slowly announced:

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. The reason we didn't immediately release the list of opponents for the third round yesterday is because our judges needed some time to summarize the overall performance of the qualifiers in the first two rounds."

Upon hearing this, Ron adjusted his sunglasses and asked in confusion:

What is the relationship between performance points and the match roster?

Speaker Crawford chuckled and then responded:

"Of course it matters, because the player currently ranked first in performance points can choose their opponent first."