A few moments later, the first match of the third round began. It was a battle between a male wizard and a female elf. The wizard was caught at a disadvantage since elves were naturally more gifted when it comes to nature’s spiritual energy given they were inhabitants of its vast forests. The female elf easily defeated him with a water sphere they both cast toward each other. Her magic had proven itself more concentrated and managed to penetrate the wizard’s spell, subduing him in the process.

After that was a match between a female summoner and a male mage. The summoner called forth powerful beasts that aided her in battle—an earth centaur, a wind griffin, and a flame chimera. It was truly amazing of her to be able to summon such high-ranking beasts but the problem, as Asha observed through her senses, was that she lacked the spiritual capability needed for those beasts to unleash their full potential. Summoners and elementalists were the same in that regard. Their only difference was what or whom they summon—elementalists contract with elemental spirits, while summoners summon magical beasts. Since this was the case, the summoner eventually lost from the wide-range and concentrated spell that the mage cast, defeating all her beasts at once.

Hours passed and different matches went on. Each match lasted for about half an hour or so, and before anyone realized it, it was already noon and the time for everyone to take a break. There was one match in particular that went extremely fast though—the fifth match between the shadow man and the unfortunate female witch who happened to be his opponent. She didn’t even last a minute. The shadow man easily erased his presence and locked her up in a dark box where she couldn’t cast any of her spells.

“W-What the… How in the world did that—” the Master of Ceremonies was astonished when he witnessed it.

He was excitedly commentating and was still introducing them to the crowd when suddenly, the match ended! Even the crowd was astonished and didn’t even get to understand what happened. Perhaps, it was only Asha, and a few others, who understood it.

“He did that undetectable stealth skill again,” Asha thought. “And what’s with that dark box everyone is saying? When I try to feel it—this energy… it’s like a black hole sucking up everything in its surrounding. No wonder the witch can’t cast any more of her spells. Whoa! This shadow spirit is really amazing!”

Just like that, the last match in the first half came to an end. It was noon and everyone was given an hour’s break before proceeding to the second half where the sixth to the tenth matches were to happen. The spectators chatted and argued with each other about who they thought would win the last round. Bets continued to be placed amongst those who wished to participate and play with luck. They were mostly landslide decisions though, having Asha and the shadow man as where the highest bets were placed.

An hour later, lunchtime ended and everyone gathered back into the coliseum for the second half of the third round. The Master of Ceremonies welcomed everyone once again and the emperor gave a few words before starting. 

The hero, Alexander, and the high priestess, Kerensa were also there still observing. The shadow man had finally caught their attention as well. They didn’t notice him that much from the first and second rounds since he was barely visible most of the time due to his stealth skills, but now that he had just finished his own match, it was quite a spectacle for them.

“What do you think will happen if Asha fights the last round with him?” Kerensa asked Alexander. “Do you think she will still win?”

“Hm… It’s hard to tell,” Alexander said, seriously pondering over the matter. “If only she’s not blindfolded, maybe she’ll have a chance. The problem is that she is, and with that on, how will she fight that guy? Have you noticed his stealth abilities? Without her eyes, how will she recognize where he is? It won’t be like the previous matches, too since he’s pretty strong himself. What if he puts Asha inside that dark box he created? She won’t be able to cast anything like what happened to that witch, and the match will be over in a snap.”

“That’s true. Though I think Asha still hasn’t let out all of her skills. She’s pretty witty herself, don’t you think? I think she still has many other tricks hidden up her sleeves.”

“Well, hopefully, she does. But having that guy in our party doesn’t sound so bad, either. Another formidable ally will definitely help us a lot.”

“Agreed. We can recruit them both, right?” Kerensa grinned mischievously and teased. “You better work hard in recruiting them, H-E-R-O.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am. I shall do my very best!”

Dun-dun-dun-dun!

The drum rolls caught everyone’s attention once again, signifying the start of the second half. The sixth match soon commenced and it was a fight between two males—one a brawny sorcerer and the other, an elementalist apart from Asha. The sorcerer proved more powerful and eventually won the match.

After that, the crowd’s noise doubled knowing full well whose match was next—the seventh match between the genius elementalist, Asha Beatrix, and the female Elder Druid, Wynna Moonchild. The Master of Ceremonies couldn’t help but get fired up as he commentated on their upcoming battle. Too bad, the barrier kept their noise from reaching Asha as soon as she stepped inside the arena.

“It is as the stars foretold,” Wynna said as she looked down at Asha who was then standing a few paces away from her. “You and I will be fighting each other for the third round.” Her voice was filled with confidence. “And do you know what else the stars have told me?”

As she tried to taunt Asha, the emperor and empress chatted casually with each other while watching the seventh match in their specially prepared seats.

“Now that she mentioned it, that’s right! Druids have the ability to divine future events,” Emperor Vasilias explained as he remembered the fact. “They live with the elves and dwarves in the western forests and divination is a natural talent for them.”

“I see,” Empress Charis pondered. “If that is the case, can she also predict her opponent’s movements while in battle? If she can, it would be quite a predicament for this lovely young woman, Asha Beatrix.”

“It will be indeed. Unless she’s nearly as skilled and smart as Calcifer, I doubt she would be able to win this battle.”

“Oh? How do you say so? Has King Calcifer fought with an opponent who could predict his movements before?”

“Yes, he did,” Emperor Vasilias nodded proudly. “It was also with a druid but an Ancient one—ten times more powerful than this Elder Druid.”

Empress Charis gasped in surprise. “Oh, my!”

“What’s quite funny though—I can still clearly remember it—Do you know what he told the Ancient Druid before their fight even started?”

“What did he say?”

“He was rambling a lot and you know Calcifer—he hates ramblings. So he shut him up and said—“

But before the emperor could continue, Asha shut Wynna’s arrogant boastings about her demise as foretold by the stars.

“Honestly… I don’t care what your stars told you,” Asha shrugged. “What matters is that you will lose and I will win. That’s it—end of story.”

Hearing that, Emperor Vasilias turned to Asha, saying, “Wait… that’s exactly what Calcifer said to the Ancient Druid!”

Asha smirked confidently despite her blindfold.

“And that cheeky smirk, too!” Emperor Vasilias exclaimed. “Ha-ha! I didn’t know I’ll meet someone here with the same temperament as my old friend! How fascinating!”

Truly, it was such a delight for him after missing his long-lost friend. Empress Charis herself chuckled seeing her husband’s childish but adorable enthusiasm. However, as for Asha, Elder Druid Wynna was very much infuriated by her rude reply. What did she expect though? For Asha to thank her after her lengthy insults?

“W-What did you just say, you puny human?” Wynna fumed in anger. “Y-O-U are the one losing today, not me!”

And with that, Wynna transformed herself into a huge and mighty red dragon. She was so big that she reached the same height as the unroofed coliseum! The arena itself was filled in half just by her sheer size.

“Of all the beasts you can transform into, you chose a dragon?” Asha asked her, sighing.

“Hah! What? Are you scared now, human?!” the dragon-form Wynna roared at her.

“Not at all. It’s just that…” Asha replied as she shook her head. Then, her lips curved into a devious grin. “You see… I eat dragons for breakfast.”