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

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

On 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, Mark Beth, one of the Oración Seis.

What's surprising is that Mark Beth stepped into the ring sitting on a magically levitated flying carpet.

He placed his hands on his abdomen, closed his eyes, and began to doze off.

"What a joke! 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 faded, the veins on the teenager's forehead bulged, and he angrily activated his magic circle.

"Stop looking down on me!"

Tornado!

Whew!

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

However, things changed the moment the tornado touched Mark Beth.

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 started spinning faster, circled halfway around Mark Beth, and then spun back in the opposite direction!

"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 a tornado and 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 Mark Beth 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 battle zone, also started taking pictures.

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

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

However, the one who stays in the end is the winner. 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 clone, otherwise I could instantly recover most of it.

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

"Ice-shaped Icicles!"

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

"Sculpture stand, Kayelum~"

In the fifth match, Sora picked up the Celestial Spirit Key, unlocked it in mid-air, and summoned Cayelum, 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, Rasrottis disguised herself as a young mage who used 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 between people of similar strength, but they did not expect there to be so many powerful opponents.

These opponents all instantly defeated each other in the first round of the knockout stage, and all ended the match without sustaining any damage.

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

Meanwhile, the judges on the platform were gathered together, discussing the information of the contestants who had advanced to the second round.

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

Speaker Crawford Him stroked his beard, praising the high-scoring advanceees.

"For example, that boy named Mark Beth, according to the information, uses space reflection magic."

This magic not only provides defense but also reflects damage back, making it a promising talent.

The councilor 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 the magic of ice-shaped magic."

Councilor 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 use the Sculptor's Stand so skillfully, catching her opponent off guard while changing forms and ending the match instantly."

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

However, he was able to summon two colossal 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 timing his spells perfectly, leaving his opponents with no openings."

This disciplined and composed young man is well-suited to stay in the council; let's arrange a position for him in the future.

They nodded, then flipped to 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.

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

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

"yes."

Another judge echoed this sentiment:

"Compared to Mark Beth and his team, he might be able to launch a surprise attack, but if the opponent is prepared, his control methods will not be as effective."

Although his performance in the first game was good, we didn't expect the younger players to be even more impressive in the later games, so their performances seemed lacking.

Speaker Crawford nodded, acknowledging their assessment.

"That's right. Ron's magic is novel, but as a candidate for councilor, he still has 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 said.

They had high expectations for Ron and could only hope that he would perform even better in the next few rounds.

As for the serious councilor, he was thinking to himself, "Ron should probably go back soon."

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