"Don't be so stuffy, Feiru," Sylvester said. "His Highness told us to drop our prejudices and get out more."

  Feiru snorted coldly. Though still dissatisfied, he didn't argue back.

  The deep horn suddenly blared, its majestic sound drifting over the arena.

  Both teams tensed like arrows ready to fly, poised to strike at any moment.

  The audience erupted in frustrated shouts.

  "Oh my god! What is she doing?!"

  "This is the finals—why is she pulling out a turtle shell?!"

  Most of the complaints came from intermediate and advanced students.

  The beginner students all knew the turtle shell was Luo Wei's astrology tool. Seeing her pull it out, their first thought was that she definitely had some brilliant plan again. They weren't as shocked as the older students.

  They explained to their upperclassmen that the turtle shell was Luo Wei's divination tool, and her astrological prediction abilities were incredibly powerful.

  But even after hearing this, the older students still couldn't understand. "Is she planning to defeat the Divine College with astrology? That's ridiculous!"

  "I can't watch this. Forget it, I'm going back to watch our intermediate division match."

  "I'll keep watching a bit longer. She can't just keep holding that thing, right?"

  "Who knows? If they're going to lose, at least don't make it look so pathetic!"

  In the middle section of the stands, teams from other academies were much harsher in their criticism of the Siria squad.

  "Hahaha, she's holding a turtle shell! I'm dying! Is she trying to be a turtle hiding in its shell?"

  "Siria must be giving up on the match, right?"

  "I think so. If their captain is acting like this, what's the point of fighting? They might as well just surrender!"

  "Siria's combat power sucks, but they sure have a lot of flashy tricks. I heard they beat other academies every year using dirty tactics. Are they going to pull the same crap against the Divine College?"

  "I suggest the referees check that turtle shell—maybe she's hiding deadly poison inside!"

  "What poison? She's definitely hiding shit in there! Hahaha!"

  "Wait, didn't your professors tell you? That's a new type of astrological magic material developed by Lady Tobias. Using it can improve divination accuracy by a lot!" a knowledgeable student shouted.

  "Astrology? With a turtle shell?" The people nearby burst out laughing. "You lie so convincingly!"

  These students had been competing earlier and missed the magic mirror broadcasts, so many didn't know Luo Wei could divine with the turtle shell. They thought the student was joking.

  The misunderstood student didn't bother explaining further. He watched the black-haired girl in the arena, eager to see how she'd use the turtle shell to dominate.

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  In the arena, the Siria team continued their previous strategy—letting Gladys and Hol take the front while the other three prepared magic in the back.

  And Luo Wei, just as the audience was discussing, didn't raise her magic wand or draw her dagger after the horn sounded. Instead, she pulled a green turtle shell from her sleeve and gently turned it over and over in her fingers.

  Not only did the audience not understand—even the professors in the stands looked confused.

  In the arena, Gladys and Hol charged forward. The two trusted each other completely, already engaging Feiru and Sylvester in combat.

  Gladys handled the frontal assault while Hol provided flanking attacks and interference.

  Hol also followed Luo Wei's instructions, gathering earth elements while defending and slapping out clouds of dirt, creating a smoky mess around the Divine College team.

  "Despicable—cough cough cough!" Feiru got a mouthful of dust and sand in his eyes.

  Hol and Gladys were fine since they wore sunglasses—the flying sand couldn't blind them, only slightly blocking their vision.

  Seeing trouble, Sylvester immediately drew his sword and retreated, waving his wand to release a massive water dragon. The cascading water washed away the dust, dissolving and settling the floating dirt to the ground.

  He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but casting magic today felt slower than usual, and his mana consumption was much faster too.

  "Damn it!" As the dust cleared, Feiru's chest burned with rage. "I'm going to kill you!"

  Gladys pressed both opponents with a single sword, cold light flashing in her eyes. "Kill us? You can't."

  Sylvester countered with his blade. "You're being far too arrogant!"

  Feiru seized the chance to pull back his sword and thrust at Gladys. "Die, you scoundrel!"

  "CLANG—" Hol smashed his pot against the sword, sending mud splattering everywhere. The contents poured over both opponents' heads, and Feiru and Sylvester reflexively closed their eyes, instantly becoming mud statues.

  Quick as lightning, Gladys seized the opportunity, spinning and slashing at Sylvester. Her sword tore through the Divine College's expensive magic robe, striking sparks from the gaps in his armor.

  "Hey, your swordsmanship isn't that great either!" Hol kicked at Feiru's stomach, his iron pot smashing into the boy's forehead before crashing to the ground with a splash of mud. He scooped up more muddy water and flung it at the Divine College team.

  Gladys moved through the mud rain with sword energy flowing, beating Feiru and Sylvester into steady retreat. The other three Divine College members were trading blows with Axina and Jack.

  The Divine College was having a terrible day. Not only had their swordsmanship somehow deteriorated badly, but even waving their wands and chanting spells had become incredibly difficult.

  Herbert, Gustav, and Lanris were actually being dominated by Axina and Jack!

  They'd watched all four of Siria's previous matches and unanimously agreed that the commoner named Jack was just dead weight. Before the match, team captain Feiru had said he wouldn't bother fighting such a person—only Gladys and Luo Wei were worthy opponents.

  Who could have predicted they'd now be beaten so badly by this supposed dead weight that they could barely fight back?

  And that Axina—she'd performed mediocrely in previous matches, but today she was like she'd taken performance drugs. Her combat power was ten times stronger than before, and the wind blades she threw cut their skin painfully.

  If they hadn't specifically kept one person casting Light Healing, they'd all be bloody messes by now!

  Ironically, their most feared opponent—enemy captain Luo Wei—had just stood behind Axina and Jack since the match started, motionlessly holding a turtle shell and contributing nothing to the battle.

  The arena's situation was shocking, and the audience in the circular stands buzzed with discussion.

  "What's wrong with the Divine College? How did they suddenly get so weak?"

  "This is backwards! The Divine College should be dominating Siria!"

  "The Divine College's condition is terrible today. Are their wands too hot to hold? They keep raising them and then letting go before finishing their chants!"

  "Ugh, I'm so anxious watching this! Don't they know intermediate spells like Lightning Whip? Use them! And light magic—can't they just cast Light Purification and knock Siria flat?"

  "Exactly! Why aren't they using Light Purification? Are they trying to save face for Siria so they don't lose too badly?"

  "That makes sense. Didn't they hold back against Sneak yesterday too? Don't worry—once time's up, they'll definitely crush Siria!"

  The watching students grew restless, but the professors in the stands looked grave.

  "Something's wrong. That's..."

  Several magic rune professors with sharp eyes widened their gazes, leaning forward and staring intently at the forgotten Luo Wei in the arena. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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