As she turned away, Theo let out a sigh and shook his head.

Finally, his eyes narrowed as he glanced at the entrance.

’It’s time,’ he thought, cracking his neck.

Under several angered gazes, he started walking forward.

Once he reached the corridor leading into the arena, a familiar staff member stood there waiting for him.

’’Hey,’’ he said cheerfully. ’’You’re going to end this with a blast, right?’’

Theo smiled faintly.

’’I won’t be holding back, no,’’ he responded. ’’So bet however much you want on me.’’

A grin appeared on the man’s face.

’’That’s what I wanted to hear.’’

He lowered his arm, inviting Theo inside.

As the two continued through the corridor, the man turned to him again.

’’Right,’’ he started. ’’I was supposed to explain how it’s going to work.’’

Theo turned to him, tilting his head slightly.

’’I know the basics already.’’

’’That’s good,’’ the clerk responded with a smile. ’’But... there have been a few special changes this year.’’

’’Oh?’’

The clerk nodded slowly, clearly feeling a sense of pride.

’’First off, thanks to the sponsorship of the Whitmore Family, the competition will be broadcast around the world.’’

Theo’s head snapped toward him.

Before the clerk could continue, Theo spoke up.

’’The Whitmores?’’ he said, his voice low and cold.

The clerk looked up, startled by the sudden change.

’’Mhm,’’ he quickly nodded. ’’They were very generous with their sponsorship.’’

Theo fell silent for a moment.

’Tsk,’ he thought, clenching his fists. ’So that’s why.’

It seemed like the Whitmore family knew exactly what they were doing.

’’Can I continue?’’ the clerk asked, tilting his head.

Nodding once, Theo glanced back at him.

’’Sorry,’’ he said, forcing a smile. ’’Please do.’’

The clerk cleared his throat, then continued.

’’The second change is that they’ve now split the event up into two parts.’’

He raised his finger.

’’The first part will just be the challenges from the top 10 pre-admission students. Each win gives you more rewards, though.’’ 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Theo nodded once.

He’d long made a strategy for that part.

’’Now the second part,’’ the man said, smiling wildly. ’’It’ll be a true show this year.’’

’’It’s basically gambling backed by the university and many sponsors.’’

Theo raised an eyebrow.

’’Gambling?’’

’’Yup. You know how every normal student gets a certain budget each year, right?’’ the clerk said, guiding him into another room.

Theo nodded as the door shut behind him.

’’They’ll be wagering half of that budget if they step into the arena now.’’

Theo’s brows furrowed slightly.

’’Huh? Then what’s the benefit for them?’’ he asked. ’’Why would anyone risk half their yearly budget just to challenge me?’’

The clerk’s grin only widened.

’’Because the risk goes both ways,’’ he replied. ’’If you lose even once, every reward you earned will be handed over to the winning challengers.’’

Theo’s expression remained calm, but his eyes narrowed slightly.

’’All of it?’’

’’Every last bit,’’ the clerk confirmed. ’’The university wanted to make sure there were real stakes involved. Otherwise, most students wouldn’t dare challenge the reigning finalist.’’

He paused for a moment before raising three fingers.

’’And there’s one more rule.’’

Theo looked at the raised hand.

’’Regular students don’t have to fight alone,’’ the clerk explained. ’’They’re allowed to challenge you in teams of up to three people at a time.’’

For the first time since entering the corridor, Theo let out a quiet laugh.

The clerk looked at him with raised eyebrows.

Instead of looking worried, Theo’s smile slowly grew wider.

’’Now that’s a good rule.’’

For a brief moment, he’d been worried about his mana or stamina running out.

But if the tournament worked like that, it’d become a lot easier for him.

’’Well, good for you,’’ the clerk said, coming to a halt. ’’I wish you success in there.’’

Only now did Theo realize they’d already reached the weapons room.

He quickly turned to the clerk and thanked him.

With that, the door shut behind him.

As silence settled inside the room, a broad screen lit up.

On it sat a simple timer, ticking down each second.

’Five minutes until the start.’

Theo let out a deep breath and glanced around the room.

Even with all the weapons present, he immediately identified which ones he was going to take.

Without another thought, he picked up both the umbrella and trident.

’This’ll do,’ he thought, his fingers running along the metal.

DING!

The timer on the screen ticked down as another minute passed.

With nothing left to do, Theo simply sat down, his gaze locked on the entrance.

’’I wonder,’’ he muttered. ’’What kind of battles and schemes will I run into today.’’

A thin smile slowly grew on his face.

’’Whatever it is... I will win and take as many rewards as I possibly can.’’

As the minutes ticked down, he could hear the murmurs through the walls growing louder and louder.

He could feel it well.

There were many and many more people present this time.

’A competition like this doesn’t happen often, I guess.’

The only other times he could imagine were for the worldwide college tournament.

But that was still an entire year away.

Theo quickly shook his head, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind.

The timer had ticked down to the final minute now.

Suddenly, a deep horn echoed through the room.

’I’ll take that as my signal,’ he thought, pushing himself up.

Only a few seconds later, the door in front of him slowly shifted open.

Bright white light poured in through the gap, accompanied by loud murmurs, cheers, and many other noises.

’’Ladies and gentlemen,’’ a booming voice echoed out. ’’Welcome to the final day of this tournament.’’

Theo narrowed his eyes slightly.

He tightened his grip around the umbrella while letting out a deep breath.

Even with everything that was happening, his heartbeat felt unusually steady.

’’Now,’’ the announcer continued loudly. ’’We welcome the number one ranked student after a month of intense battles—’’

’Time to go,’ he thought.

Without even a hint of hesitation, Theo stepped forward.

As he stepped through the light at the end of the corridor, the many noises washed over him from every direction.

Countless eyes instantly locked onto his figure, while the announcer’s voice echoed out.

’’Theo Lane!’’