The stage was gone, reduced to a crater of broken rock. The audience was standing on their toes, peering through the settling dust to see the final result.

Even John’s friends moved toward the front of their tent, their eyes scanning the debris for the outcome of the match.

They hadn’t seen John use any of his terrifying offensive abilities, nor had he even unsheathed his deadly sword to parry the wind.

"He must have used his defensive ability, right?" Luke asked, turning to the others. They all nodded in unison. To them, it was the only logical explanation. They had seen John weather far worse in the pocket trials.

"The question isn’t about John," Cissel paused, her eyes narrowing as she watched the silhouettes on the stage. "It’s about Ben. What will John do to him now?"

Everyone exchanged silent, knowing glances. They knew John better than anyone; he had undoubtedly been eyeing Ben as a potential recruit.

After seeing the power of the silver tornado, the value of the gem had only increased. Ben was capable of controlling high-velocity wind, summoning a destructive vortex, and forcing it to reach a state of explosive critical mass.

In terms of pure, unrefined strength, he was arguably one of the most powerful students in the entire Military Department. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

And yet, that brought them back to the same question John had been grappling with since the match began: How could someone like this be left out of the academy’s formal team? Was the elite squad truly formed of such absolute monsters that a walking natural disaster like Ben Hazards was considered a backup for the backup?

The answer to that mystery began to reveal itself as the last of the dust settled. John was standing perfectly fine in the centre of the crater. He looked good, not a single speck of dust seemed to cling to his skin, and his breathing was as steady as if he had been sitting in a garden.

However, the sheer pressure of the wind had done its work; his clothes were shredded in several spots, hanging in tatters that revealed his skin. Yet, despite the ruined fabric, there wasn’t a single visible wound, scratch, or even a reddened mark on his body.

In front of him, Ben was a different story. He was lying on the shattered ground, looking like a man who had been put through a meat grinder. His body was a map of lacerations and bruising, and his face was a deathly shade of pale.

He was in a miserable, broken state, standing in stark contrast to the pristine monster he had just attacked.

"Hahaha... That was fun... hahaha!"

Contrary to what anyone in the audience expected, Ben suddenly started to laugh. It was a weak sound, punctuated by a thin trail of blood at the corner of his mouth.

"It has been a long time... Since I used my full strength against someone without the fear of killing them. Thanks for... Standing and fighting me with everything you got..."

"Why did you end up in such a way?" John asked, his voice cutting through the quiet. He couldn’t shake the puzzlement in his mind. "I didn’t attack you at all. I simply stood there and waited for the storm to pass."

"It’s the downside... Of using my ability," Ben coughed, a spray of red hitting the stone beneath him. A team of medics was already rushing over, their faces pale as they prepared to lift him onto a floating stretcher. Even in his sorrowful state, Ben’s eyes remained as sharp and clear as a hawk’s.

"I can only unleash this attack once... Then my body takes the damage. You see... My ability... It doesn’t differentiate between my enemies and me. It’s an indiscriminate force. That’s why I couldn’t join the main team, or even the Backup Team officially... Cough... Cough..."

"Sorry, but we need to take him away urgently," one of the medical teachers said. He didn’t have time to waste; Ben’s situation was critical and getting worse by every passing minute.

John simply nodded to the teacher and then gave a small, respectful tilt of his head toward Ben as the medic team vanished toward the infirmary in a blur of motion.

"John Mirage is the victor!" the commentator shouted, finally finding his voice.

The audience erupted. It was an earth-shattering roar that celebrated the overwhelming dominance of the third-year five heroes. Yet John didn’t bother with the cheers or the applause. His eyes remained fixed on the direction where Ben had vanished.

He felt a presence at his side. Luke had already slipped out of the tent and was standing beside him. "Leave him to me," Luke whispered, his voice barely audible over the crowd. "Once he’s awake and stable, I’ll come back and inform you."

"Good," John said. His smile began to grow as his mind started to think about the reasons behind Ben’s failure.

’If I can help him advance his ability using the cores, and if he can learn to isolate his body from the terrifying might of the ability, he will be a terrifying addition without doubt.’

John could already pinpoint the crux of the problem. It wasn’t that Ben’s ability was inherently hostile to the caster; it was a problem of the vessel. Ben was significantly weaker than the potential and current strength of his own ability. He lost control over his ability, letting it harm him.

He was a man trying to channel a river through a glass pipe. The solution was simple: use the cores to enhance Ben’s attributes, building a reinforced pipe, before ever trying to evolve the ability itself.

As he mapped out the path to fixing Ben, John’s thoughts expanded. ’If his family has this same ability inherited among their members, and they all face this same problem, then this would be a far bigger gain than just one student. I could recruit an entire family of wind users who have been sidelined by the world, hehehe!’

He was in an excellent mood. The potential for a new wing of his organisation was worth more than any academy title. He turned toward the crowd, his voice loud and clear.

"Ricky will represent our team in the team fights!" John shouted, his voice echoing with authority. "He is more than capable of handling any five opponents you decide to send his way!"

The announcement startled and silenced the crowd for a heartbeat. The sheer arrogance of the claim that one boy would take on an entire team was a peak domineering attitude.

Within seconds, the cheers reached a new, feverish height. John ignored the spectacle, looking back to see Ricky smiling.

Even if the opposing team was likely to withdraw, Ricky had reclaimed his prestige through John’s public endorsement. He stood calmly, waiting for the stage to be reconstructed, a grin never leaving his face.

John returned to the tent where Cissel and Elena were waiting. The three of them exchanged a silent, knowing glance. John leaned in and whispered a set of revised instructions to the girls.

"The Headmaster’s little scheme interrupted us, but the goal remains the same," John murmured.

"Ben proved there are hidden gems in this department that the Paragons have overlooked because they aren’t perfect yet. I want you to finish what we started. Scour the audience, look for the outliers, and find the ones the Paragons left behind."

The girls nodded and left the tent at once, melting into the crowd to handle the task John had originally assigned to Ricky. John now realised that he shouldn’t neglect to look for hidden gems among the academy’s students. Sometimes, even in a small pond, you could find a dragon waiting for the right tide to rise.