“Everyone at a ready,” the Master of Ceremonies announced. “Let the second round… begin!”

Without wasting any second, the contestants lunged an all-out attack against each other. Numerous magic circles filled the whole arena, varying spell chants echoed in the surroundings, and different elements filled the air—water, fire, earth, thunder, ice, shadow, and light magic. For those who could summon beasts or spirits, their familiars aided them in battle.

In a matter of a few minutes, the once peaceful arena turned into a war ground. The Master of Ceremonies himself had a hard time commentating on everything that was happening on stage all at once. Despite the number of contestants being down to a little over a hundred, their mastery of the vast array of skills they displayed was something to be commended on. Because of this, everyone watching was hyped even further. Their cheers became almost unbearable to the ears.

On the other hand, while the other groups had already started their war, the Blue Team where Asha belonged, had hit a standstill. Only a few contestants in their team could be seen casting their magic and most of them decided to observe their competitors instead. As they did, they couldn’t help but notice the blindfold in Asha’s eyes.

“Seriously?” one of them scoffed. “Is this woman mocking us? Wearing a blindfold on the second round?” Her eyes rolled in great disgust.

The others who heard her nodded in agreement.

“What a weirdo.”

“Probably thinks she’s too good for us.”

“Hmf! Let’s see where your haughtiness can take you!”

Because of this, more than half of Asha’s team decided to target her.

“Blaze!”

“Gale Blade!”

“Water Dragon!”

“Stone Bullets!”

They attacked her all at once with wide-range and highly concentrated spells to ensure her demise.

“Solum, I summon thee! Create a rock fortress at once!”

WHOOSH!

At her words, Solum quickly appeared out of thin air. In the raise of his tiny arms, large and thick forms of rock sprung forth from the ground, shielding Asha on all sides. 

Between magic users, what mattered more when casting magic was not only the level of spells they conjured—be it common, average, advanced, or highly advanced spells—but the concentration of spiritual energy used to cast that spell. Between magic users and elemental spirits, of course, the elemental spirit’s powers would be more concentrated. Because of this, Solum successfully rendered the other contestants’ magic useless. 

“Tsk! How unfair!” one of them complained. “I really hate Elementalists—always using the powers of their familiars rather than their own. They have no skills and rely on shop-bought familiars!”

“Yeah! If she didn’t have any familiar, I doubt she can even pass the first round!”

“You’re lucky your familiar is strong. Hmf!”

“How dare these humans slander my master!” Solum complained. “That’s not true at all! Master saved me from spirit hunters and tamed me! She didn’t buy me like those other talentless elementalists!”

At that time, Solum and Asha were inside the rock fortress, though they could still hear the shouts of the envious contestants outside.

“It’s alright, Solum,” Asha said. “There’s no point in arguing. Let them think about what they want. We don’t need to explain anything to them. They don’t matter anyway.”

“They definitely don’t, master! Besides, they obviously don’t understand your own prowess since they’re of a much lower caliber than you!”

“Ha-ha-ha. What’s this? Is Aqua’s personality rubbing off on you?”

“W-What?! N-No, I just… I was just angry,” Solum pouted. “How dare they badmouth you? If they only knew it was because of that wretched shadow spirit! Hmf!”

“Come out there, coward!” another contestant taunted Asha.

Truly, if Asha remained inside the rock fortress Solum created, she would have the chance to survive the second round without any difficulties. She highly doubted there was anyone strong enough to break it anyway. But then again, that would make it too easy for her—and she didn’t like that. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice to prove these foolish accusers wrong? She would definitely love to see the look on their faces when that happened.

Thinking that, Asha’s lips curved into a mischievous grin.

“Solum, why don’t you remove this rock fortress?”

“Huh?!” Solum replied in shock. “But master, they will gang up on you again. It’s much safer inside here.”

“You’re right, but no. I command you to remove this rock fortress and from here onwards, you are not allowed to help me in battle. Instead, do me a favor and record everything that’s happening in this—“

Asha then pulled a recording crystal from her spatial storage and gave it to Solum. As the name suggested, it was a spherical magic crystal that could record any events happening in the surroundings within a specific range.

“W-What? Are you sure, master? B-But why? I cannot allow—“

“It’s an order, Solum.”

“Why you… ugh,” Solum wanted to refute more but he knew there was no convincing Asha once she decided. Sighing, he eventually agreed, “Yes, master. As you wish. Seriously, what on Terra are you thinking?”

And so, the rock fortress soon crumbled into dust, revealing Asha behind its now broken walls—still sightless like she was before.

“Ha-ha-ha! So you finally decided to face us, huh?”

“Yes,” Asha confidently nodded. “Unfortunately, I cannot see your faces right now, but it’s alright. My familiar here will record every reaction from you hereon forward.”

“Huh? What the heck are you yappin’ about?”

“You see, I really want to see how you would react once I’m done subduing you all.”

Contrary to her gentle and sweet voice, Asha’s words mocked them to the core. What more of the devious smile her countenance showed them at that time? Such confidence and pride only made them angrier. Alas, everyone in Asha’s group silently agreed to end her conceit once and for all.

With longer chants, more focus, and more spiritual energy than ever, the other contestants started casting their magic at Asha.

“From the depths of the hearth, I call upon the power of… Blazing Inferno!”

“Hearken me, wind of the great east, lend me your power—Gale Storm!”

“Let the seven seas roar its anger and wash you from your folly—Tidal Wave!”

“May your arrogance judge you! I summon you—Thunder Fury!”

On and on their chants went but before they even finished casting, Asha had already cast hers. With nothing but a wave of her hand and a single word, she conjured a highly advanced magic that froze them at their feet and canceled all their magic at once!

“Avalanche.”

At the command of her voice, a huge golden magic circle drew itself above everyone. A chilling snowstorm burst forth from the magic circle towards the other contestants, creating a gigantic wave of snow and ice that fell on them like a raging winter sea, filling up the whole space given to their Blue Team. The snow piled up and covered everyone in its chilling embrace until only their devastated countenance could be seen in the aftermath. Asha chuckled knowing full well how their faces would have looked at that time.

“See? This is why you should never judge a book by its cover.”