Arcane Heir: History's Strongest Mage-Chapter 191: Shocking (1)

The second round soon came to a close with Melody securing an easy victory in the last match. She had faced Lilly of all people, the poor red-headed girl never stood a chance against her.

Thankfully after a single exchange she had conceded defeat, allowing both girls to escape ultimately unscathed at the end of the fight.

The trio of Michael, Rudy and Melody watched the preceding matches with interest. Now that the seeded students were participating, the fights got a lot more interesting. This was especially the case when it came time for the fourth-years.

As soon as a certain name was announced, the entire arena suddenly hummed with anticipation. A blond haired teen with a straight back and handsome features ascended onto the center platform, his blue eyes visible from a distance.

This was Magnus Pritchard, the second prince and the youngest son of King Maxwell. The chatter and whispering stopped as all eyes were glued to his figure, yet the teen seemed unaffected by the pressure.

Michael narrowed his eyes as he evaluated the man. He had a complicated relationship with the prince, mainly because of the first impression he’d left on him.

Back then he appeared lazy, yet confident. The way he looked at Michael was as if he could see through all of his secrets at a single glance—forcing him on guard.

Yet as the year progressed, the guy’s demeanor had shifted. Ever since the events at Newhold, Magnus had become more solemn and princely for lack of a better word.

The shift had been quite sudden, if not a little jarring.

"Looks like the main event is starting." Rudy said with interest, leaning forward in his seat. "I’ve always wondered how strong your cousin is Melody."

"He’s already a fifth-circle mage..." she replied, her eyes not moving from the platform.

"Eh? Isn’t Quinn also a fifth-circle mage?" he asked incredulously.

Michael felt a little taken aback, but he wasn’t too surprised. "Magnus has a violet ring, if he’s a fifth-circle mage it means he can cast at least five tier-four spells. Since Quinn is a Verdant mage, it’s a little harder for her."

Since Magnus had a higher purity of mana thanks to his violet rings, he had an advantage when it came to classifications of strength.

However, this didn’t mean that Magnus was stronger than Quinn. While the tier-four spells he could cast would likely have a similar power as Quinn’s tier-five spells—they should be around the same level.

"Still, that’s pretty impressive," Rudy remarked, "though I don’t see anyone beating that insane woman..."

Michael smiled wryly in response. He agreed with the guy, Quinn was just too sadistic and her gravity spell was something that had tortured all of them for the past year.

"Begin!"

While he was deep in thought, Quinn announced the start of the match, bringing with it a wave of applause from those in the crowd. Unlike the other matches, everyone was glued to their seats with anticipation for this one.

Magnus’s opponent was a tall youth with short-cropped black hair and a small patchy goatee. He didn’t seem that imposing, but the guy quickly moved into action, summoning a magic circle without delay.

Tongues of flames sprung to life from the green circle, increasing the heat within the arena a few degrees. The head of a dragon slowly emerged from the floating sigil, it’s body made of corporeal fire.

"W-what the hell kind of spell is that!?" Rudy exclaimed in shock.

But Michael couldn’t answer, too enamored with the sight.

He could feel the mana draining out of the tall teen at a rapid pace as the dragon continued to emerge, revealing more and more of its body. The long winding neck, the sharp claws and the wings that unfurled with a deadly grace.

By the time the tail had manifested, the mage dropped to one knee, clearly suffering from mana exhaustion. However, he had succeeded in his goal of summoning the fire dragon.

Even to the most clueless onlooker, it was clear that the guy had placed all his bets on this spell. As long as Magnus could deal with it, the match would end in his victory.

How will he respond? Michael thought, his eyes moving to Magnus who had been unmoving until now. He had no doubt that the guy could have interrupted the spell earlier but had chosen not to.

This had to mean he was confident in dealing with it. Right?

But the fire dragon didn’t give him time to mount any defenses, surging through the air with ill intent. It opened its large maw, its intentions obvious.

The arena was silent, seemingly holding their breath as they waited for Magnus to make a move, but despite the pressure he appeared calm and composed in the face of the beast.

Just before the two were about to impact, the air around Magnus flickered.

An explosion of flames rocked the center platform, sending chunks stone and debris flying within the shielded area. Smoke clouded the scene, to the point where the spectators were unsure what had happened.

Did he dodge it in time? Michael thought, feeling his heart beat wildly in his chest.

"I-I concede!" a voice called from the darkened platform, stunning everyone present.

As the smoke cleared, the scene presented itself clearly to everyone. The fire dragon began to disintegrate, turning into motes of light as it returned to it rejoined the ambient mana.

On the other side of the platform, the tall teen was on his knees with his hands up, looking scared. A glowing violet magic circle was inches away from the back of his head, a steady hand behind it—ready to activate it. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

It was Magnus wearing the same calm expression as before, not a hint of arrogance in his features.

The whole crowd burst into chatter after witnessing the scene, their cries of shock and speculation traveling far and wide.

"Did he just use spatial magic!?"

"I thought that was monopolized by house Arcadius? Has he accepted an apprenticeship under them?"

"Impossible, royals aren’t able to accept such binding apprenticeships."

As the chatter ramped up, no one took notice of Quinn announcing the winner.