The Third Prince Of Darkness

Chapter 133: First round

As soon as I passed through the portal, I found myself in a dark environment. The Academy Tournament typically begins with a one-on-one challenge. So, I was probably going to face something like a monster. In the later stages, I would encounter actual students.

Since only students from their second to fifth year could enter the tournament, I didn't think I would struggle too much against real students in the later rounds.

However, right now, I needed to focus on what was ahead of me. In this dimly lit dark environment, I had to find my enemy and quickly eliminate them to move on to the next round.

I squinted in the darkness, trying to look around. The arena brought by the portal was filled with dim lights and uncertain shadows. I had no idea what kind of creature I would encounter here, but I had to be cautious. Despite my plan to keep my combat skills hidden, I needed to use enough power to quickly overcome this first obstacle.

I began to step quietly forward. I felt the ground tremble slightly; something was approaching. I held my breath, and just then, a massive figure emerged from the dim lights. It was a monster—reinforced by magic, an enormous creature with gleaming horns. The red glow in its eyes was clearly visible in the darkness. Its arms were enormous, and each claw looked sharp as a sword.

The creature let out a growl and lunged at me swiftly. Its speed and power were impressive, but I was faster. I dodged its attacks by circling around it. The idea of using my dark ability lingered in the back of my mind, and if I did, I could probably defeat this monster in seconds, but right now, thousands of people were watching the students' first test live.

It was akin to a live broadcast using a portal system, and of course, only dragons knew this spell.

In any case, I needed to use my other elements to get past this monster. Immediately using the fire element, I sent fireballs up above the creature for illumination. Finally, the entire image of the monster emerged from the darkness, clearly standing in front of me. As I swiftly drew my sword in one motion, I raised the surrounding earth with the earth element.

It wouldn't be wise to use all my Kaizer power or, to put it more clearly, all my mana against this creature. Ultimately, at the end of the first round, every student who passed would receive a mana restoration elixir, but since defeating this monster wasn't guaranteed to end this round, I needed to conserve my mana as much as possible.

With the help of the illumination, I could now see the monster clearly. Although the massive, horned creature appeared powerful, its movements were slow and predictable. Stay tuned with m-v l|-NovelFire

After identifying the weak point beneath the creature's horns in the fireball-lit environment, I took a deep breath. I quickly calculated the course of the battle. I needed to defeat this gigantic monster using all my fire, water, earth, and air elements while minimizing mana expenditure.

As the monster's roar echoed, I acted without waiting for it to strike. I raised the ground beneath me with the earth element and propelled myself into the air. As the creature's massive claw shattered the ground, I looked down at it from above. Meanwhile, I raised my other hand and wove a net of thin, almost invisible water droplets using the water element in the air.

The water spun rapidly around me, creating a chilly breeze, with each droplet targeting the monster.

As the water struck the creature's body, it staggered. In the meantime, it tried to defend under its horns with its arms, but the water flowed towards its weak point, throwing it off balance. Seizing this moment, I quickly descended and used the air element to spin around it. I created a whirlwind, slowing the monster's movements.

Now was the time. I combined the fire and earth elements to deliver the final blow to the monster. Fireballs reappeared, this time aimed at the creature's horns, burning and reducing them to ash. Once again, I raised the ground with the earth element, and a large stone pillar struck the creature's body, stunning it.

As the stone pillar slammed the monster to the ground, I sprang into action. Gripping my sword tightly, I prepared to deliver the final blow. However, the creature quickly recovered and got back up, letting out an enraged roar. Defeating this monster wouldn't be as easy as it seemed. Controlling my breath, I refocused my mind.

The creature hesitated for a moment, then launched another attack. This time, its movements were faster and more ferocious, its claws tearing through the air with each strike. It advanced toward me, shattering the ground. To counter its speed, I called upon the water element again and spread a thin layer of water beneath my feet.

The slippery ground allowed me to retreat swiftly, dodging the monster's strikes while keeping an eye out for its weak points.

As the creature lunged directly at me, I used the water element to raise a water column from the ground, which crashed into the monster's chest, sending it reeling back. In that moment, an opportunity arose; I quickly raised my hands to control the air. Using the wind, I propelled myself toward the creature.

While soaring through the air, I focused on my sword, combining it with the fire element, enveloping my blade in flames.

The flames targeted the creature's horns once more, inflicting even greater damage. As the tips of the horns melted away, the creature staggered again. Seizing this chance, I combined water and air to create a sharp, nearly invisible water blade and launched it at the monster's eyes. The water blade struck the creature's face, momentarily blinding it. This was the moment I had been waiting for.

Once again, using the earth element, I raised the ground, bringing myself to the creature's level. Now I was ready for the final blow. I gripped my sword tightly, and with it engulfed in flames, I struck at the weak point beneath the monster's horns. The sword plunged into the creature's body with a tremendous crash, and the monster's roar abruptly ceased.

For a few seconds, it remained motionless, then its massive body collapsed heavily to the ground.

The battle was over, but the fireballs still hovered in the air for illumination. I took a deep breath, controlling my power as I extinguished the fireballs. I had used the power of each element one by one, but I had managed to keep my mana to a minimum. Now I was ready for the next round.

While waiting, I also pondered my power. Throughout my time at the academy, I had indeed grown stronger. My Kaizer level had increased, and my power over the elements had strengthened. Whenever I was forced to use the dark element, I had to cast spells audibly. I could expertly use the remaining elements without uttering a single word, which proved I was an exceptionally successful magician.

When I checked my mana, I saw that just under half of it, specifically about forty percent, had been depleted.

As I considered that my opponent was a gigantic creature with only a small area as its weak point, this was an extremely successful result. Since I didn't need to fully exert my strength, my battle with the monster took a bit longer. But in the end, I had successfully overcome this beast. Now, I had no choice but to wait for the round to end.

At one point, a purple portal indeed appeared around me, and the next moment, I found myself in another place. I had returned to the academy, but this was inside a building. To be more specific, I was in the academy's health center. When I saw the healer woman around me looking at me in astonishment, I immediately understood that I was the first person to arrive here.

"D-Do you need anything? Would you like some help?" asked the short, petite healer.

"No, I just wish I had a Mana potion before the next round starts. Other than that, I have not a single mark on my body," I replied, and it seemed that my words shocked the healer for a moment.

"T-the potions will be given to you right before the second round starts. I mean... if you'd like, you can rest here. I estimate it will be at least half an hour before the second round begins," she replied.

Now that I thought about it, the area where the first round took place was quite large. They were likely planning for the students to deal with the monster using their surroundings rather than sheer strength, but I had apparently accomplished something quite surprising by defeating it purely with brute force. Being powerful really felt good!

I crawled onto the bed I was on and looked at the petite healer girl before closing my eyes. She was still looking at me with a mix of surprise and admiration.

"Could you wake me up when the first round is over?" I asked.

"Y-Yes, of course!" the girl said excitedly. "But... if you don't mind, can I ask who you are?" she asked.

"I'll explain who I am when I win the tournament. So you should definitely watch the final round if you're really curious about who I am," I said to the healer, then adjusted my pillow a bit and tried to rest.

Now that I thought about it, if I rested enough, I might be able to skip using a potion before moving on to the second round. Because my Mana would probably be fully restored if I rested enough.