[Only 10 students remain.]

***

The centre of the forest varied slightly from the surrounding area.

Instead of the interconnected wide paths the students had grown used to, it featured a vast vacant space, approximately 1 kilometre in diameter.

The space was covered entirely in grass and a few large shrubs; being surrounded by hundreds of towering trees, dwarfing the rest of the fores in comparison.

In the centre of this expansive field were two Rising Stars, Amber Shine and Jerald Cecil.

Opting not to waste energy on speaking, the Light Prodigy dashed at her opponent; letting her actions speak instead.

'I know I'm not the physical type, but the gap feels like it's way too large.' Amber swung her magic staff.

"..." Unaware of the PTC's thoughts, Jerald swiped with his gladius.

CLANG

***

On the southwest edge of the forest's centre were two commoners engaged in an intense clash of wills.

"So you're the Top dog huh? I don't see the hype." Shaking his head disappointedly, Toni Modster swung his bludgeon/mace at the number one Rising Star's head.

"And you are?" Tarzy scoffed and punched the mace out of his trajectory.

"The one who'll bash in ya ugly ass face." Toni chuckled.

"Funny, I've heard several others call themselves the same thing... Do you know where they are now?" Tarzy retracted his arm and used the opposite one to launch an uppercut at his chin.

"Where?" Using the outer part of his shoulder, Toni nudged Tarzy's arm out of trajectory.

"Eliminated." Tarzy said bluntly and hurled a hook at Toni's neck.

"Shiver me timbers, I'm so scared." Toni mocked and ducked the attack.

"Clearly not, no worries... I'll help you." Tarzy shrugged.

"Be my guest." Still crouched, Toni pivoted his hips and horizontally swung the iron mace at Tarzy's sturdy legs.

***

On the Northwest side of the forest's centre stood two young ladies engaged in a graceful battle.

"Evergreen." As she confidently swung her gladius at the blonde girl, Marie sharpened her gaze.

"Call me Flora, we've known each other for so long now princess." Slightly offended by the Imperial princess's formality, Flora stepped out of the attack's path.

"I'll stick to Evergreen. It's not like we're friends." Adding another hand to the sword's grip, Marie swung the blade diagonally at her classmate's thigh.

"Ouch, I thought we would've grown close by now." To escape the vicious attack, Flora lifted her leading leg, using it to counter with a swift axe kick aimed at the princess's crown.

"No, I could never be friends with someone like you."

***

"Ahh?!" Maxwell who had only been in the forest's centre for a few minutes found himself caught in the battle between the second and fourth Rising Star.

"C'mon don't be a party pooper, Maxwell, join us. The more the merrier!" High off the exhilaration of battle, Luna cleaved her gladius at Maxwell.

"Don't get in my way." Rejecting Luna's idea of inviting the eighth Rising Star, Lutz thrust his rapier at Maxwell's head.

"Hey, this isn't fair!" Aided by his massive hammer, Maxwell defended against both the attacks.

***

700m south from the forest's centre.

[You are among the top 10 students, congratulations. Please make your way toward the forest's centre immediately.]

"Immediately huh? So basically you're saying I'm being slow." Adonis chuckled.

'I'm assuming the rest of the top ten are on their way there if they're not already.'

'Which means most of the Rising Stars will all be in the same place... It's time for that.'

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Adonis snatched the three unopened vials that hung on his waist.

'I'm pretty sure everyone else had the same idea as me for this last stretch, I doubt they've already drank their potions... Which means I'll be fighting against people who'll be in peak condition. I probably won't have a chance to drink these at the centre so I should do it now.'

(Healing potion, stamina potion and a mana potion.)

GULP

GULP

GULP

'Other than my sword, I'm operating at 100%' He smiled.

'If I'm going to do it, I'm going to have to manage my mana properly; unlike what I've been doing today.' Adonis sighed.

[Please make your way to the forest's centre.]

"At least let me warm up first, this is going to be the toughest battle I've had."

"Hm." Adonis stretched his limbs and got into a running starting position, gradually gathering the strength in his toned muscles.

After a few seconds, the boy released all the tension in his body and began his flight.

BOOM

In under eight seconds, he had reached the centre of the forest, joining his classmates in the last phase of the battle royale.

"Watch closely."

***

In a large tent on the forest's outskirts.

While all the professors and instructors observed the battle royale of the first-year students through a large projected image created by a magic item, a single young man stood out with his burgundy hair and overwhelming presence.

"Show me, Adonis." Elder Mars smirked.

***

The forest's centre

"You!" Removing his attention from Toni, Tarzy glared at the approaching figure.

"Took you long enough, Grape!" Recognizing the Aura immediately, Luna smiled.

"Where's he been?" Amber muttered.

"How dramatic." Lutz also disengaged from the three-way battle and acknowledged the magic knight.

"Show off." Jerald set his eyes on the new target.

"He's finally here!" Marie looked to the side.

"Donny!" Maxwell chuckled.

"Thank Gods, I was getting bored." Unoffended by Tarzy's sudden disregard for his presence, Toni shifted his gaze to the sky.

"I've been waiting." Flora licked her lips.

The centre of everyone's focus was a teenage boy who exuded an almost divine aura.

His porcelain skin radiated softly in the sunlight, and his unruly Russian violet hair framed his otherworldly appearance.

His eyes, a chilling shade of silver, contained a hellish darkness...

'This is it.' Realizing he had finally reached his destination, Adonis shifted his luminous eyes to the other contestants from above.

'This is where I engrain it into all of your minds, changing it from mere speculation to an indisputable fact.' Adonis sharpened his gaze and released a sharp burst of aura, putting every single contestant on edge.

DUMMM

"I'll show you all... That I'm the strongest."

WHOOSH

"I was starting to think you got yourself eliminated!" Joining Adonis midair, Luna swung her gladius at the 7th Rising Star's throat.

"I've barely been here a second yet you're already attacking?" Adonis sighed and blocked the attack using his blade.

"You have no right to complain after you kept me waiting for so long." Luna grinned.

"At least let me land first, geez!"

"Sky fighting is much more fun, don't you think?!" Shocked by Adonis's lack of enthusiasm, Luna vertically slashed her blade at the teenager's shoulder.

"Not really, the looming threat of falling to my death doesn't excite me." Adonis used the flat side of his gladius to push the girl's blade out of the way.

"Don't be such a bore!" Reversing the grip on her sword, Luna drove the tip of the blade toward Adonis's liver.

SHING

"It's not fair that you're the only one who gets to fight him!" Using a large magic circle on the grass, Toni created a large eruption of magma to disintegrate both Adonis and Luna.

Lava magic: Explosive eruption

"Tsk, you all need to stop acting like my head is some kind of trophy." Maintaining composure, Adonis evaded the blade and delivered a kick to Luna's chest, propelling both of them out of the path of the oncoming lava.

"Hehe, it kinda is Donny." Preying on Adonis's midair vulnerability, Maxwell leapt up and brought his hammer down, aiming to crush Adonis's entire body into a paste.

WHOOSH

"Not you too Max." Adonis twisted his body and kicked the handle of Maxwell's hammer, disarming his friend and leaving him wide open.

"In case you haven't noticed you've caused quite the stir with just your presence." Flora smiled.

Accompanying Flora's sweet voice was the serrated steel arrow she shot at Adonis's head piercing through the air.

WHOOSH

"Flora?" Adonis narrowed his brows and plucked the arrow right out of the air.

"I don't need these distractions, I can do this myself." Tarzy joined Adonis in the air and fired a cross at his body.

"Good to see you too, Royal mutt." Adonis smiled and head-butted Tarzy in the nose, disrupting the attack.

SPLURT

"Argh!"

"Alexian armour." Gliding through the air using Gale's magic, Lutz thrust his Earthly Aura-coated rapier at Adonis's chest.

"You're really out for blood aren't you?" Suppressing his complicated expressions upon seeing Lutz, Adonis used Tarzy as a platform, propelling himself higher into the air.

"We are." From the comfort of the ground, Amber prepared to fire a singular ray of light from her magic staff.

"Inferno magic: Hell shroud." Demonstrating his superior casting speed, Adonis enveloped his entire body in a thick cloak of ivory flames, eradicating every single atom within range.

(Adonis used the matter variation of Inferno magic.)

Light magic: minor beam

A mere fraction of a second after Adonis cast his spell, Amber shot a beam of light at Adonis.

Instead of instantly eliminating him as she might've hoped, Amber's beam of light was destroyed as soon as it made contact with his Inferno magic.

"What the hell?" She whispered.

Gravity magic: Plummet

Using a large magic circle, Marie intensified the surrounding gravity; successfully snatching the silver-eyed youth out of the air.