"These flames?" Gabriel frowned, seeing the Dark Flames. He looked behind where he left the Infernal King. The Infernal King wasn't in his place anymore.
The reason the Infernal King didn't want to help Gabriel was because he hated the thought of being someone else's slave, but seeing Gabriel fight all alone instead of forcing him... The Infernal King felt slightly different about Gabriel.
Instead of misusing his authority, Gabriel went to fight alone even if it was dangerous for him. Through his actions, Gabriel had managed to get at least some semblance of respect from the Infernal King.
He was called here to help Gabriel, and he decided to help him. The boy who was brave enough to fight all alone needed to be helped!
The Infernal King raised his right hand as he walked through the field that had started burning up.
The Headless Mage finally shifted his attention to the Infernal King from Gabriel. He started attacking the Infernal King with an energy sphere.
The Infernal King also fired a sphere of his dark flames, which clashed with the energy sphere of the Headless Mage.
Boom~
The clash of two attacks resulted in an explosion which sent a heavy pressured yet warm gust of wind everywhere. Despite the winds, neither the Infernal King nor the Headless Mage were pushed back.
The Headless Mage could continuously attack, never running out of magic. However, the Infernal King didn't have a low amount of spiritual strength either.
The Infernal King managed to match all the attacks of the Headless Mage as he kept getting closer with each passing second.
Explosions kept resounding throughout the field as the attacks kept clashing.
For some reason, the Infernal King could also avoid the Explosive Formations as all the formations exploded on their own before he even reached closer to them. It was like his flames were clearing his path of all obstructions in advance.
Within a few minutes, the Infernal King was only a few metres away from the Headless Mage who still didn't stop attacking.
The Infernal King's attacks only intensified now that he was closer to the Headless Mage.
Clap~
He joined both his hands together, deciding to end it now that he was close enough.
****
"Look! Gabriel also climbed up!"
Outside the Tower, the students were still going crazy at the sight of Gabriel moving one level up as well.
[90 Garrick Raini Light 94]
[91 Gabriel Light 94]
Gabriel had climbed up the ranks, once again reaching close to Garrick.
"They are both on the same floors now! It's crazy! The Two Mages are crazy! How can they reach that far? Just how strong are they? I can still understand Senior Garrick, but who is this Gabriel? I didn't even hear his name before! Why was such a talented mage hiding?!"
"Who knows man. I've asked everyone, but no one knows who this Gabriel is. People say that it's a Fourth Year Mage who is using a fake name to make sure no one recognizes him."
"Why? Why would someone use a fake name and reject all the glory that comes with this achievement?"
"Who knows? Maybe he doesn't want to be at the centre of attraction? That could also be the reason he didn't participate in the annual battle competitions."
"How do you know he didn't participate in it if you don't know his real identity?"
"I mean, isn't that common sense? If someone like that had participated, he would've given Senior Garrick a tough competition! But there was no one like that there. Whoever this person is, he stayed under the radar for over three years at the Academy. And even now, he uses a fake name."
"Man, I'm jealous. If I was in his place, I would've been bragging about my achievements, but this guy hides it. What an idiot!"
There were many students at the academy, and all had a different opinion about this Gabriel and none of them knew who it was which made others even more interested to see who it was.
Throughout the days, no one moved from before the Tower. Even the teachers stayed here, as they wanted to see this Gabriel when he came out.
For some reason, the students were also told to keep their distance from the tower. All the students kept at least a hundred metre distance from the tower. Fortunately, the top names were still easier to see even from a distance as they were much larger.
It was like the entire academy had halted.
"Impossible!" After one more hour, another wave of shock went through the crowd.
"How is this possible?"
"This can't be real!"
Garrick had reached the 94th floor before Gabriel, but surprisingly, Gabriel was the first person to reach the 95th floor!
Garrick was still on the 94th floor while Gabriel was already on the 95th floor. What was even more shocking was that it only took Gabriel one hour to clear the 95th floor.
[81 Gabriel Light 95]
"The Fck?" Even Yann cursed out loud. "Who the hell is this guy?"
His face was filled with jealousy and he wasn't the only one.
He looked at the back of his hand at the mark of flames. "Useless Element! The Element of Light is so strong. Both the Toppers have that element. I just had to get this useless Fire! If not, I could've been there as well!"
Even though he was jealous, he still wanted his brother to be higher than Gabriel. He didn't want his brother to lose the title of the strongest student of the Academy! This was about the reputation of his Raini Family now!
"Come on, brother! What are you doing?! Hurry up! Stop embarrassing the family!" He clenched his fist so tight that his veins were visible.
"Who is this guy...?" Cain was also in the crowd now, watching the ranking. Whoever this guy was, he probably wasn't part of any Great Family since those people would never use a fake name and lose a chance of showing off.
While Yann was supporting his brother, Cain wanted Gabriel to win since he hated the Raini Family! Even though Garrick was different, he was still part of the Raini Family. Cain didn't know who this Gabriel was, but he wanted the top student title to be snatched from the Raini Family!
Alexai also stood in the back, having his arms folded. He was also very curious about this person. Moreover, for some reason, he was also the first person who had noticed Gabriel's absence here.
He didn't know that the Gabriel who introduced himself as Karyk was the Gabriel whose identity everyone was curious about.
Alexai found it quite amusing that he hadn't seen Gabriel ever since he last helped him. The last he saw Gabriel, he was coming in the direction of this Tower as well, which made this absence really intriguing as well.
The race between Gabriel and Garrick was only intensifying and everyone had selected a side by now that they wanted to be on top
They were also very curious to see if one of the two could actually do the unthinkable and reach the 100th floor somehow. The chances of that were almost non-existent in everyone's mind.
****
No student was allowed to enter the Tower or even get close to it. Moreover, at that point, one two students were inside the Tower— Gabriel and Garrick.
Only the Head Council Members were standing within ten metres range of the tower, looking at the ranking as well. They all wanted Gabriel to come out as soon as possible.
While all the students wanted one of them to reach the 100th floor, for some reason, Eliana didn't want the person who reached there to be Gabriel. The higher Gabriel reached, the worst she felt since she was suspicious of him now.
Unfortunately, she couldn't stop him either. It all depended on Gabriel now.
Only the old man was still inside the tower, and that too only to inform the Head Council if anyone came out. He stood right at the entrance, having a clear view of outside and inside the tower.
"He is out!" The old man exclaimed!
