There wasn’t much time to rest, and Charles followed the referee to the next ring. The figure waiting there was very familiar to him—it was the lightning man from the Wilton family!

Charles stepped onto the ring, nodded slightly, and introduced himself:

"Charles West."

The man returned the nod and replied:

"Doug Wilton."

The Wilton and West families had a good relationship, so a polite greeting was customary before the fight.

"I know you, Charles—a prodigy with a 50% blue blood concentration!"

A spark of fighting spirit lit up in Doug’s eyes, and arcs of electricity began crackling around him. He was a second-order lightning mage!

"You might not know me as well, but you’ll know my sister, Isa Wilton."

Doug’s expression darkened slightly. "I'm sorry about my sister breaking off the engagement. Children don’t always understand such things."

Charles’s eyes cooled. He couldn’t tell if Doug’s apology was genuine or if he was mocking him in front of the crowd.

Charles glanced around at the curious faces surrounding the ring. He knew he couldn’t entirely hide the fact of the broken engagement, but he didn’t care about his reputation. He was the face of the West family, and if his reputation suffered, the Duke would handle it.

Originally, Charles planned to let Doug lose gracefully out of respect for their families’ friendship. Now, however, whether it was intentional or not, he wasn’t going to go easy.

"The match begins!"

Charles gathered wind energy in his right fist, planted his feet firmly, and launched himself at Doug.

He used about one-third of his power in the punch—enough to put Doug on the ground for a few months. But just as he closed in, a lightning shield flashed around Doug.

Charles’s fist struck the shield, causing it to explode. Lightning crackled, surging over the ring and shocking the audience below.

Charles was blasted backward, but he managed to land steadily. His shirt bore large scorch marks and holes, and his right sleeve had burned away, revealing an unscathed, pale arm.

A flicker of surprise passed through Charles’s eyes. Doug really had some impressive equipment. That lightning shield was triggered by a ring on Doug’s right hand. The explosion was powerful, almost like an attack from a fourth-order lightning mage.

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Luckily, Charles’s durability kept him unscathed.

Doug, however, looked more surprised than Charles. The ring was a high-cost gift from his mother, and the lightning explosion could even injure a third-order mage. Yet Charles had emerged unharmed.

With a hardened expression, Doug raised the necklace around his neck and began muttering an incantation.

Trying to cast again? Charles thought as he adjusted his grip, holding his Killer Dagger of black iron. A menacing aura filled the arena.

Doug’s face tensed, and he quickened his spellcasting. A ball of lightning began to coalesce in his hands, growing to the size of a fist in seconds.

But Doug’s speed couldn’t match Charles’s. Charles closed the gap with an empty step, sliding to Doug’s side. His dagger shifted from his right hand to his left as though it had a mind of its own. As he swung, another shield appeared around Doug, though it was thinner this time.

"Take this!"

Just as Charles closed in, Doug finished his spell, and the lightning ball shot toward Charles.

The lightning ball was a third-order skill, and Doug had used his forbidden necklace to cast it with second-order magic. He doubted any freshman could survive this kind of power. Charles, he was certain, would fall under the strength of his lightning ball!

But Charles’s face remained calm. He had no formal training with the dagger; he simply knew how to wield it as a weapon of death.

Dagger combat didn’t rely on direct strikes. Instead, it was about precision—aiming for a single vital point to end the fight with one blow.

He’d already closed in on Doug. For someone like Charles, who lacked ranged attack options, close combat was the only way to take Doug on, even if it required certain risks.

The audience held their breath. For many, this was their first time seeing extraordinary combat among peers, and the tension was palpable.

"Boom!"

The lightning ball struck Charles directly, and the ring erupted with lightning once more, filling the area with smoke and dust.

"Phew!" Doug wiped the sweat from his brow, breathing a sigh of relief. He was sure the lightning ball had hit Charles; there was no way he could still be standing.

Doug harbored jealousy toward Charles’s reputation. His own mother was a lady of the Duke of Wilton, and he’d been cherished by his parents from a young age. But after his enlightenment, everything changed. His sister Isa had awakened a blue blood concentration of 45%, while he only reached 30%, and their parents’ attention had shifted to Isa.

His mother’s favoritism was clear; she gave Doug a third-order lightning shield ring, but Isa received an entire fifth-order magic amplification set.

Through Issa, he learned of Charles—a young master who had surged in prominence after his enlightenment ceremony. Doug’s jealousy festered, and he had deliberately brought up the broken engagement to make Charles’s life difficult.

A glint of scorn flickered in Doug’s eyes. What kind of genius is this? Charles might be talented, but without resources, Doug believed he’d never match those with generations of accumulated wealth and magical tools.

"Referee, why haven’t you called the match yet?" Doug asked impatiently.

The referee elf shook his head and replied, "Doug, you lost!"

"What are you talking about? Didn’t you see that Charles has already—"

Doug froze, realizing something was off. Where was Charles? He looked around and noticed that the crowd was staring at him with amused expressions.

Like he was some sort of clown.

"Stop looking around. Didn’t you learn to check behind you after a fight?"

The voice came with a hint of mockery.

A chill ran down Doug’s spine. He swallowed, slowly turning around.

There was Charles, holding the Killer Dagger at Doug’s throat, wearing an amused smile. His shirt was torn and burnt, revealing his midsection, but aside from a few scorch marks, he was uninjured.

"You lose, Master Doug!"