The early night's rest left Zeke feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. As the first light of dawn spilled into his room, he rose and headed to the training room for a light workout, to ensure his muscles were warm and limber for the upcoming tournament.

After a breakfast shared with Maximilian, Zeke stepped outside, ready to bid farewell to his teacher. But to his surprise, he saw Maximilian also readying himself for departure.

"Are you going somewhere as well?" Zeke asked, the confusion plain on his face.

Maximilian looked at Zeke with an expression of mild bemusement. "What? You don't think I would want to be there to see my only student, my heir, perform at a tournament he's been preparing for months?"

Zeke felt a tinge of embarrassment at his oversight. He hadn't considered that his teacher would want to attend the tournament.

Maximilian, sensing the added pressure his presence might bring, added with a smile, "Besides, it's been some time since I've seen Victor. This tournament is the perfect opportunity to catch up with him."

Zeke appreciated his mentor's efforts, even though he saw through them. Together, they made their way to the central stadium of Elementium, which would host the first-year fighting tournament today. Zeke had learned that this competition would only take place once, at the end of the first year. According to Viola and Sophia, second-year students would go on missions outside the academy, and their performance ratings on these missions would determine their practical exam results. Zeke didn't yet know what the third or fourth years had to do for their exams, but Maximilian had told him that the yearly exams were never the same.

Zeke wondered how his friends had performed on their practical exams. He was certain that Sophia would beat Viola in theory, since Viola wasn't very strong in magic theory. However, last time it had been Viola in first place and Sophia in second. Zeke knew that Sophia had been working hard to claim the top spot from Viola. He hadn't seen either of the girls since his lesson with Sophia weeks ago, and he missed them. He was happy that they would be there today to support him.

Zeke and Maximilian arrived at the imposing stadium, a monument to the power and might of the Elementium academy. Zeke was transported back to the day he had dueled Martin Feuerkranz, a distant memory from his early days at the academy. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of embarrassment at his naivety, having thought himself to be the strongest student in his grade, only to discover that Martin was among the weakest.

Zeke was grateful for the combat classes, for without them, he would still be deluded, believing himself to be at the top of his class. He had come far since those early days, pushing Leo to the brink of defeat in their final class. Leo was widely considered to be among the top five students in their grade, and Zeke took pride in the progress he had made.

But even with all his hard work, Zeke couldn't be sure how much the rest of his classmates had improved. He hoped that his growth would put him on equal footing with the best of them, but there was always the chance that others had made even more progress. Today's tournament would be the true test of his strength, and Zeke steeled himself for the challenges to come.

Maximilian and Ezekiel parted ways at the entrance of the giant stadium. Maximilian headed to the VIP booth to search for his friend, Victor Windtänzer, while Ezekiel entered through the contestants' entrance.

As he stepped inside the massive building, Ezekiel was greeted by a reception desk manned by a higher-grade student, who looked him up and down and asked for his name and affinities to cross-reference with the list. Disappointed by the lackluster display, Ezekiel was hoping for a more magical and exciting way to check-in. Despite his disappointment, he quickly identified himself and was handed a number for his group stage area.

Just as Ezekiel was about to head to his designated area, he heard a familiar voice calling his name. He turned around to see a tiny figure cannonballing straight into his chest, and a smile spread across his face as he caught Viola and held her in a tight embrace.

The student responsible for directing the combatants to their positions was not pleased. He fixed his gaze on the girl in Ezekiel's arms and spoke with a sharp tone. "Young lady, only participants are allowed back here. I suggest you leave before I report this to the authorities."

Viola regarded the student with a disdainful look, then dismissed him with a flick of her wrist. "Report me, then. What do you think will happen to me, when my grandfather is the headmaster of the school?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The older student blanched, clearly having not recognized Viola previously. He stammered for a moment before finally regaining his composure. "I-I apologize, I did not know."

Ezekiel gave the student an apologetic smile and pulled Viola away. "Viola, please don't misuse your position like that. That poor guy was just doing his job. You scared him half to death."

Viola pouted, then asked, "Don't you want me to come and cheer you on?"

Ezekiel felt guilty for scolding her, especially since she was here to support him. He was about to apologize when he saw the mischievous gleam in her eyes. Instead, he playfully tapped her head and said, "Of course, I want you here, but that doesn't mean you have to terrify the poor guy. Don't think I missed the fact that you did that on purpose."

Viola looked a touch chagrined after being found out, but she brushed it off with a flick of her wrist. "Alright, alright, my bad," she perked up immediately, eager to change the subject. "So, what do you think your chances are this time around? You've got a first place to defend, after all!"

Zeke couldn't help but grimace at Viola's question. He had coasted to an easy first place during the first semester by having three affinities to score points in, but this time around, it was only his comprehensive battle strength that would matter. Still, Zeke was relatively confident in his abilities, so he shot Viola a smirk and declared, "First place is mine, no doubt about it."

Viola gave him a thumb's up, but their conversation was interrupted by a boisterous voice. "Someone's getting a little full of themselves, huh?"

Zeke spun around, looking for the source of the challenge. And there he was: Leo, his grin as feral as ever. The young man had grown a bit since Zeke last saw him, and his wild, dirty-blonde hair was even more unkempt. Leo locked eyes with Zeke, a clear challenge in his own gaze.

Zeke met Leo's stare head-on, eager to measure his strength against the dual-affinity mage's. Leo's grin only grew wider, and he exclaimed, "Great! Can't wait to take you on!" But then, as he caught sight of Zeke's broche, his excitement waned slightly. "Oh, damn. You're number 233, which means you're in group 24."

Zeke looked down at Leo's chest and saw the number "165". Zeke just nodded, still a bit hazy on the tournament system. Leo noticed the confusion on Zeke's face and asked, "Don't you know how the system works?"

"I haven't looked into it," Zeke admitted. At the end of the day, the details of the tournament didn't matter much to him. All that was important was winning and advancing, or losing and being left behind.

Leo began to explain, "The tournament has two stages: the group stage and the elimination stage. In the group stage, you and about ten other mages will each fight one another once. The two contestants with the most wins in your group will advance to the elimination round. As the name suggests, you only need to lose once in this stage to be eliminated from the tournament. The elimination stage starts with 64 contestants, and to reach the final, you must win five matches in a row."

Zeke nodded, understanding now. "Thanks for explaining it to me." However, a nagging question still lingered in his mind. "But how do the teachers prevent the strongest fighters from facing each other in the group phase?" he asked.

Leo furrowed his brows in thought, but before he could respond, the tiny Wind Mage clinging to Zeke's back chimed in. "You were all ranked during the semester by your teachers, and the top thirty were each put into different groups to avoid just that scenario," she said.

Zeke frowned. He hadn't thought that the teachers would rank him among the top thirty, given his inconsistent performance against Wind Mages in their previous fights. But as he considered his countless training sessions against Margaret, a confident grin spread across his face. He was ready to face Wind Mages now.

Leo pointed towards a distant stage. "That's my arena over there. I'll see you later. Make sure you don't lose before you reach me," he said.

Zeke nodded, determination in his eyes. He had no intention of losing to anyone in this tournament, especially not in the group stage.

When Zeke and Viola stepped onto his designated stage, they were met with a surprising sight. Group 24 appeared to be comprised almost exclusively of Wind Mages, and among the faces in the crowd, Zeke spotted two familiar figures: Samuel and Lilly.

As Zeke surveyed the group, confusion etched onto his face, Samuel caught his eye and sneered. "What's wrong, Blood Boy? Did you really think the group assignments were drawn at random?" Samuel taunted. "You should know by now that the great Mage families have a lot of pull when it comes to these events. This tournament is a chance for the younger generation to showcase their skills on an official stage, and the families make sure to stack the odds in their favor."

Zeke snorted at Samuel's comment. "You really think your Luftschloss family is one of those great families? I bet you had to beg the Feuerkranz family to get me placed in this group." Samuel's face turned red with anger. "How dare you! My Luftschloss family is second to none, even the Windtänzers won't stay ahead for long."

Viola chose that moment to peek her head over Zeke's shoulder, giving Samuel a menacing gaze. Samuel went pale, and Zeke almost felt bad for him. But then he remembered how much of a jerk Samuel was and decided to twist the knife. "Did you hear that, Viola? It seems your Windtänzer family isn't highly regarded by the Luftschloss family. I guess there'll be a change in the names of the four great families soon."

Viola's eyes narrowed, and she detached from Zeke's back, hovering in the air. A mischievous smile crossed her face. "Wait here a sec. I need to talk to my dad. He's here today, and I think he'd be interested to hear about the Luftschloss family's ambitions." With that, she flew out of the contestant's area, leaving Samuel even paler. It seemed he had just realized that his words might have serious consequences for his family's future.

Zeke was incredibly satisfied with the damage he had indirectly caused to Samuel, but when he looked at the figure of Lilly who seemed to have deflated as well, he felt a little bad about how far he had taken this.