Chapter 262: A DUEL BETWEEN FRIENDS

While Logan was still busy thinking, solemon was already rushing toward him clenching his fist. Ice enveloped his fist.

“Take this.” Saying this solemon thrust a punch.

Logan snapped out from his thoughts and looked sharply at solemon. But he didn’t move yet.

But just when solemon’s fist was about to land on Logan, Logan casually raised his left hand and grabbed solemon’s fist stopping the punch abruptly. And then with his right hand, he threw a punch.

Bam! Solemon’s chest caved in and his body flew backward instantly. Logan blurred from his position and threw another punch while solemon was still in the air.

Boom!

Solemon’s body crashed in the ground like a meteor. Blood gushed out from his mouth. “It feels like… It feels like all my ribs are broken. Even with the tier enhancing pill, I was no match for him. Is he… Is he really a human?!” Solemon wondered.

He then tried to move, forcing his palms in the ground, he tried to pull his body up.

But…

Thud…

It fell again kicking up dust only.

Thalan slowly walked ahead. He looked at solemon and then raised his head again toward the audiences.

“Winner….. Logan Smith.” Thalan’s voice tore through the silence like a blade cutting through fog.

For a moment, the entire arena seemed frozen in time. Thousands of eyes stared at the motionless figure of Solemon, sprawled in a crater of shattered stone, blood pooling beneath him.

Meanwhile on the balcony, Alice clasped her hands in excitement, her face glowing with relief. “I know he’s strong. But still, in moments like this, I can’t help but worry.”

Rudeous exhaled slowly. He hadn’t witnessed Logan’s recent fights. So after watching Logan fight today, he couldn’t help but feel proud. “He has grown so much in just three years.”

Ali chuckled softly, though his expression betrayed his astonishment. “And here I thought I’d seen everything.”

Meanwhile, across the other balconies, the atmosphere was drastically different.

Silence. Heavy, suffocating silence.

The nobles from Velkar sat frozen, their faces drained of color. King Malrik’s jaw was clenched so tight it looked like his teeth might shatter. His fists trembled against the armrests of his throne.

“Impossible…” one of his advisors whispered. “Even with the tier-enhancing pill… Solemon still lost?! H.. how?”

From Drahzul’s royal balcony, King Arsalan leaned back in his seat, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “That boy just defeated someone who temporarily surpassed S-class level… without breaking a sweat.” He glanced at the person beside him. “How old did you say he was?”

“Fifteen, Your Highness.” Arsalan’s eyes widened slightly. “Fifteen…” He repeated the word as if tasting something bitter. “And you had been saying he wasn’t even using magic. What kind of monster is Arcadia raising?”

In the Caelondor section, whispers rippled through the crowd like wildfire. “Did you notice something? He didn’t use magic even for once!”

“Pure physical strength against a mage… and a tier five mage at that, not some newbie who had just learned how to use magic!”

“You are mistaken. Not tier five. After he swallowed that pill, his tier had increased.”

That last sentence just made their widened eyes even wider.

Down in the arena, Logan stood still for a moment longer, staring at Solemon’s broken form. His expression was unreadable.

Then, without a word, he turned and began walking back toward Arcadia’s balcony.

Every step he took echoed in the silence.

Every gaze followed him.

Some filled with awe. Others with fear. And a few… with envy and hatred.

When Logan finally reached the balcony and stepped through the archway, he was immediately greeted by a wave of congratulations.

“Logan! That was incredible!” Ali clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. They have started to notice it that you are not using any magic. After this tournament, you’ll surely have a easy time convincing them.”

While Ali was still speaking, Alice rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Logan tightly. “You did amazing back there, Logan,” she said excitedly.

Logan smiled softly and gently patted her back. “Thanks, Mom.”

Afterwards, he quietly moved to his seat and sat down, but even as he did, he could feel the weight of countless stares pressing down on him from every direction.

Across the arena, the shock still hadn’t faded. In fact, it was growing.

In the fighting arena, Thalan stepped forward once more, his deep voice cutting through the murmurs. “The next match will now begin.”

The crowd stirred slightly, attention shifting back to the arena floor.

Thalan raised his hand. “Charles of Caelondor versus Robert, also of Caelondor.”

A collective gasp rippled through the audience.

On Caelondor’s balcony, both Charles and Robert froze mid-conversation. Charles blinked in disbelief. “Wait… what?”

Robert’s face went pale. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

They turned to look at each other, expressions mirroring shock and frustration.

“Of all people…” Charles muttered under his breath.

Robert let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah… of all people.”

They were friends. Good friends. They had trained together, fought side by side in dungeons, shared countless meals and stories.

And now they had to fight each other. Noah sighed heavily from his seat. “This is unfortunate.” As he knew both of them pretty well, he could understand how they felt.

Charles and Robert descended the stairs toward the battlefield, neither spoke at first.

But as they reached the arena floor and faced each other across the dirt and rubble left behind by Logan’s fight, Robert finally broke the silence. “No hard feelings, right?”

Charles smirked faintly. “None at all.” He paused before adding, “But don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

Robert grinned back. “Same to you.”

They both took their positions. Thalan glanced between them once before raising his hand high into the air.

“Begin!”

The moment Thalan’s voice rang out, both Charles and Robert moved simultaneously.

Charles stomped his foot into the ground.

Crack!

The earth beneath his foot split apart as jagged pillars of stone erupted upward, shooting toward Robert like spears.

But Robert was already moving. With a sweeping motion of his arm, flames burst forth from his palms and melted through the stone spears mid-flight, turning them into molten slag that splattered harmlessly across the ground.

“Nice try!” Robert shouted as he launched forward, fire trailing behind him like wings.

Charles didn’t hesitate. He thrust both hands forward, and a powerful gust of wind shot outward, slamming into Robert mid-charge and forcing him back several meters.

But Robert twisted mid-air, landing on his feet with flames spiraling around his body like a living shield.

“You’ll have to do better than that!” Robert yelled before hurling a massive fireball straight at Charles.

Charles gritted his teeth and slammed his palms together. A thick wall of earth rose up just in time to block the fireball…

Boom!

An explosion shook the arena as flames engulfed the barrier, cracks spreading across its surface.

The crowd leaned forward eagerly now, fully invested in the match unfolding before them.

Charles leapt backward as his wall crumbled apart under the intense heat. Without missing a beat, he summoned another gust of wind and used it to propel himself upward into the air.

From above, he raised both hands high…

And dozens of compressed air blades materialized around him before raining down on Robert.

Robert’s eyes widened as he saw them coming. He crossed his arms defensively…

And then erupted into flames entirely, his entire body becoming engulfed in fire as he spun rapidly on the spot.

Whoosh!

A vortex of fire surrounded him like a tornado, deflecting each air blade as they struck against it one by one.

“Impressive!” Charles muttered under his breath before landing back on solid ground again.

Logan’s eyes lit up in excitement. “That was interesting. Why didn’t I ever thought of using fire magic like that?!” He thought to himself.

In the fighting arena, for several minutes, Charles and Robert clashed relentlessly, fire against earth and wind.

Neither willing to give an inch despite their friendship outside this arena.

The battle raged on fiercely until finally…

Robert found an opening when Charles cast multiple spells one after another.

He weaved through the attacks, dodging them barely.

And after closing the gap, he threw a powerful punch, his fist enveloped in fire.

BAM!

Charles was sent flying backward across the arena floor before skidding to a halt near the edge.

He tried standing up again but stumbled slightly instead collapsing onto one knee breathing heavily.

Thalan stepped forward once more raising his hand high above head level announcing loudly. “Winner… Robert!”

Applause erupted throughout the arena.

Robert walked over extending his hand to help his friend.

“Good match,” Charles said between breaths.

Afterwards, they both walked off stage together side by side.

“Next match!” The crowd quieted down.

“Adlar Veyron of Caelondor versus Seraphine Duskblade of Solmyr!”

A tall figure who had been standing with Charles and Robert earlier, rose from Caelondor’s balcony.

From Solmyr’s section stood a woman draped in dark violet robes.

Both fighters descended stairs heading towards battlefield center. And as they took positions facing opposite ends preparing themselves mentally, Thalan raised his hand…

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