The entire Great Colosseum buzzed with noise.

Thousands of spectators occupied the stone seats that stretched high into the sky while colourful banners representing Classes A through F fluttered gently under the morning breeze.

Nobles, commoners, teachers, royal guards, and academy personnel all focused their attention on the arena.

At the center stood Chloe, compared to the enormous battlefield, she looked tiny.

The Class B noble standing opposite her, however, looked incredibly confident, his expensive blue-and-gold uniform fluttered behind him as he stared down at her with obvious disdain.

He didn’t even bother reaching for his beast summoning seal.

Instead, he folded his arms and laughed. "Do they truly expect me to summon my contracted beast against a Class D support commoner?"

The crowd erupted with chuckles, and some nobles shook their heads.

Others openly smirked.

"It would embarrass my family if I needed a beast to deal with someone like you."

He raised his hand, and several white-hot flame circles immediately appeared around him, hovering gracefully in the air.

The temperature in the arena rose, and heat waves warped the space between them.

The noble smiled, his voice filled with arrogance. "A support mouse shouldn’t even be standing on the same sand as a true Spell-Weaver."

Then he flicked his fingers, and the first fireball shot toward Chloe. Inside Lina’s carry-bag, Qhuin remained perfectly still.

His ruby eyes watched, and his voice echoed inside Chloe’s mind.

"Do not challenge him and try to overpower him, just survive."

Chloe took a deep breath, then she lowered her center of gravity exactly as he had taught her over the past weeks.

The fireball reached her, and she sidestepped.

BOOM.

The explosion sent dust into the air. Adrain immediately launched another; he continued launching fireballs after another.

The arena quickly became a chaotic storm of fire. Yet Chloe never ran wildly, she remained within a small three-meter radius.

Every movement was small and deliberate, but to the audience, she looked overwhelmed, like a terrified rat desperately trying not to lose.

Inside her head, however, Qhuin calmly guided her.

"Half step left."

She obeyed.

"Rotate your shoulder."

She twisted.

"Slow your breathing."

She exhaled.

"Good."

Another explosion erupted near her feet, and she hopped backward.

Adrain frowned, then his attacks became faster, and more flames erupted.

The spectators cheered.

He wanted to end the match quickly and humiliate her.

The more he attacked, the more dramatic he became, he wasn’t fighting for victory, he was fighting for attention.

Every spell he cast became stronger than necessary, he wanted the Emperor’s attention.

Meanwhile, Chloe simply refused to fall. As time passed, the audience slowly became confused, and the nobles frowned.

"Why is this taking so long?"

"She’s still standing?"

"She’s surprisingly stubborn."

Lina watched from the staging area, and she couldn’t understand how her friend became so strong.

Inside the carry-bag, Qhuin spoke again.

"Watch his shoulders."

Chloe glanced at them, and they were tense.

"Observe his breathing." and she could see it was uneven and his shoulders were trembling.

Then she understood, he was getting tired, and a small smile almost appeared on her face.

She quickly suppressed it, the noble launched another spell, but this time, she moved closer instead of retreating.

She slipped inside his range.

Tap.

And her fingertips lightly struck his ribs, the audience barely noticed and even Adrian himself barely noticed.

Then he swung his arm, and she ducked.

Tap.

Her foot brushed against his ankle and his balance shifted.

Another spell came.

She turned around.

Tap.

Her fingers grazed his wrist, and the flame array flickered.

Again and again, she attacked, but none of her attacks looked powerful, but every tiny strike created a problem.

His breathing worsened and his balance deteriorated and his concentration worsened.

Meanwhile, something inside Chloe began to settle.

For the first time in her life, she didn’t feel powerless and was no longer surviving.

She was controlling the battle.

The Dhampir instincts inside her pulsed softly

Inside her head, Qhuin spoke.

"Good."

"Now let his pride defeat him."

In the arena, Adrian’s face twisted and frustration finally surfaced.

He could no longer understand what was happening.

A commoner, someone who should have collapsed within seconds, yet she was still standing.

And every second she remained standing felt like a personal insult, and his pride began to crack.

And Qhuin knew...

The battle was already over.

The noble’s face began to twitch, and his composure disappeared little by little as irritation slowly transformed into anger.

Every time he thought he had cornered Chloe, she escaped by the smallest margin possible, and every time he prepared another spell, something felt slightly off.

His breathing was heavier, he felt his arms moved slower and his concentration felt disrupted.

Yet he couldn’t understand why.

All he knew was that he was being humiliated, and the entire stadium was watching.

The Emperor and Principal were watching, and he was still unable to defeat a supposedly weak support student.

His jaw clenched tightly. "Stop moving around and lose already!"

He threw another fireball, and Chloe stepped aside.

BOOM.

Dust spread across the arena floor, Adrian’s chest heaved up and down, and sweat formed along his forehead.

Meanwhile, Chloe’s expression remained nervous on the outside, but internally, she was remarkably calm.

She could hear every instruction and could feel every movement and her body followed naturally.

The battle didn’t seem chaotic to her, it felt rhythmic, like she was dancing.

Inside her head, Qhuin spoke again.

"He is frustrated, and frustration breeds mistakes."

"Do not rush, be Patience."

Chloe nodded, and suddenly Adrian roared.

"Enough!", his mana exploded outward, and several flame arrays appeared simultaneously behind him.

The audience gasped, and even some upperclassmen leaned forward.

This was far more power than necessary, but Adrian no longer cared, he simply wanted to crush her.

The heat intensified and the arena floor blackened.

The flames merged into one massive attack, and he laughed arrogantly.

"Let’s see you dodge this!"

He thrust both hands forward and the enormous flame blast surged toward Chloe.

At that exact moment, she moved not backward, but forward.

She entered the narrow gap underneath his attack.

The noble’s eyes widened, and she was suddenly in front of him.

Tap

Her fingers touched his forearm, and she repeated the same attacks, hitting his weak points

Then she retreated.

The spectators blinked, this time they saw it, but to them it looked insignificant and harmless.

But Qhuin knew exactly what she had done.

She wasn’t attacking his body, she was attacking his mana circulation.

Every tiny strike created another crack, creating an imbalance.

And eventually...

Everything would collapse, the noble’s expression twisted.

His breathing became ragged, and his mana output became unstable. Yet his pride wouldn’t allow him to stop.

"No..."

"No!"

"I refuse to lose to a commoner!"

His entire body erupted with mana, and he gathered everything he had left.

The flame arrays multiplied.

The temperature soared once more, and several students in the front rows instinctively covered their faces from the heat.

Even Lina became slightly nervous, inside the carry-bag, however, Qhuin remained perfectly calm.

His ruby eyes observed everything, then he spoke.

"Step to the right."

Chloe obeyed.

The noble released his final attack, but the moment the mana surged through his body, the accumulated damage finally manifested.

The disruptions Chloe had carefully planted throughout the fight activated simultaneously.

His breathing collapsed, and his balance broke.

His mana channels spasmed.

The flame arrays flickered violently, then exploded.

BOOM.

The blast didn’t move toward Chloe, it erupted around him instead.

Adrian screamed, his own attack destabilized and he stumbled backward in panic.

And in that single opening...

Chloe moved.

She slipped inside his guard.

She raised her palm.

Then gently pushed against his chest, just a simple push.

But because his body was already collapsing under its own strain, that tiny amount of force was enough.

His own momentum threw him backward.

THUD.

He crashed onto the arena floor, and the stadium fell silent, his eyes rolled upward.

His body twitched and he lost consciousness entirely.

The beast summoning seal attached to his waist remained untouched.

He had never even managed to summon it.

An eerie silence spread throughout the Great Colosseum.

Thousands of people stared at the unconscious noble.

Then they stared at Chloe, nobody understood what had just happened.

Some of the nobles frowned, and others looked confused.

A few people even laughed.

It looked absurd.

A noble had somehow defeated himself while fighting a commoner.

Even the Emperor’s expression remained unchanged.

Lord Alistair simply observed quietly.

Assistant Professor Elizabeth narrowed her eyes slightly.

But even she couldn’t find anything suspicious, everything looked natural.

A stubborn commoner, against an arrogant noble.

One overestimated himself.

The other got lucky.

That was all the audience saw, then Chloe slowly dropped to her knees.

She breathed heavily, she even added a slight tremble to her arms, her acting was flawless, making her look exhausted.

Like someone who had barely survived.

The referee finally recovered from his shock.

"Winner...

He paused, then announced loudly.

"Chloe of Class D!"

The audience erupted into applause, not because it was impressive.

But because it was entertaining, Chloe slowly looked toward the staging area.

Lina immediately smiled and waved excitedly at her, her eyes were filled with genuine happiness.

Meanwhile, inside the carry-bag, Qhuin quietly closed his eyes for a moment.

A small warmth spread inside his chest.

Then his voice echoed inside Chloe’s mind." Well done"

Chloe’s eyes widened slightly, then a tiny smile appeared on her face.

For the first time in her life, she wasn’t afraid of being weak, so she stood up and returned toward Lina.