"If you are, then how about we make a bet?
With how confidently you are trying to order us around, I am sure you have at least this much confidence in your own skills, correct?"
Seraphina questioned and hearing those words, Vaan smiled.
'The woman is learning, I am proud.'
He could see his own self in her when she said those words. Vaan was extremely satisfied with her actions. An opportunity to extort money? One should grab it the moment they are presented.
"W-What are you talking about?"
"Huh? Did I not make it clear enough? I am merely asking you to take action and back up your claims.
To show off one's skills in the Elemental Clash you need to cast at least ten spells so the recruiters could judge his skills.
I want you to make a bet that you are capable of doing that and since we are at it, let's go all out, 100 Elemental Stones, these are my life savings and I am willing to put all of it in the bet."
Seraphina then smiled as she looked into Thilandra's eyes and,
"Do you dare to accept and bet 100 Elemental Stones to back your claims?"
And as if this wasn't enough, the woman glanced at other Mages who backed Thilandra before and continued,
"Of course, the Bet is open for all.
Anyone who agrees with Lady Thilandra and thinks that us surrendering to Young Master Vaan is a foolish decision can step forward and accept my bet."
"…"
"…"
Silence.
Absolute Silence fell all over the hall.
Thilandra who had been leading this charge against Vaan didn't dare to speak. 100 Elemental was a big amount, even for her, a Vesta.
She was not a direct descendant. Even her Parents who were both successful Mages would need at least 6 months to come up with such an amount.
Thilandra didn't have the financial power to bet on such a large amount.
Especially when the bet was about fighting… that man…
Thilandra glanced at Vaan who stood there with a small smile on his face.
If it was before, she would have accepted the bet in an instant, after all, who was afraid of a waste who did absolutely nothing in his life? Now, however, Vaan had changed.
And more than a hundred mages kneeling in front of him was proof of that.
"Heh. No one is stepping forward."
Suddenly, Asher chuckled.
He then momentarily glanced at Seraphina and, "Look at their faces, they were all jumping on us for kneeling in front of Young Master Vaan, calling us fools and whatnot, yet there they are, not even daring to bet 100 Elemental Stones to support their claim.
Or maybe they think the opportunity to get recruited by the Vesta Family is worth less than 100 Elemental Stones? Hah! I wonder who is the fool here."
Saying those words, Asher turned towards Vaan and bowed his head again, "Young Master Vaan, today's events have only made my resolve even stronger, from now on, I swear my eternal loyalty to you."
"M-My name is Lyndara Walfus, an independent Mage, Young Master Vaan, please accept my surrender as well."
Suddenly, another mage stepped forward and knelt.
"I am…"
Another chain started and within 5 minutes, 178 Mages were kneeling in front of Vaan. The only Mages left were the Mages who either supported other Prospective heirs, or the Mages who didn't believe the rumors and wanted to fight Vaan, and lastly, the ones who were genuinely looking forward to fighting strong opponents.
Vaan didn't care about them, he had already expected that things wouldn't go as flawlessly as they expected, 178 out of 200 mages kneeling was already a number that was out of their expectations.
Vaan glanced at these mages and,
"Alright, I accept your surrender. Those who have shown their trust in me, I will definitely not forget you all in the future. Now stand up, the First Tier will be ending soon, it is now time for us to go and receive our tokens. I hope those who get to fight do their best in the Tournament."
He then walked out of the Hall, wanting to know how long would they need to wait before they get their tokens.
…
The Mages participating in the First Tier were only 1st Circle Mages, due to their inexperience and limited number of spells they could use, their battles rarely continued for longer than 10 minutes, and with 16 Stages, it only took 3 hours for the results to be out.
Just like everyone expected, the winner was from the Vesta Family. The audience cheered for the new mage who would soon become one of the top mages in the world, the First Tier finally came to an end, and after 30 minutes of pause,
It was now time for the Second Tier.
"People! I hope you are still as spirited as you were before the break! These 30 minutes didn't take away your energy, did it? Even if it did, do not worry because the future battles would be even better than what you saw before!
Now without waiting any further, let's step up to the Second Teir of the Elemental Clash! Give me a cheer!"
"YYYEAAHHHHHH!!!"
The audience roared excitedly, the announcer waited for the audience to calm down, and then, she started,
"So let's welcome our first participants of the Second Tier, Arion Hope and Va- oh, what a surprise, it's a name that most of you have heard about, the only son of the leader of our City, Young Master Vaan, or Vaan Astra Vesta!"
"OOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!"
The audience couldn't believe that Vaan would be the first one to come and fight, it was a pleasant surprise and the crowd went crazy.
It was the loudest cheer that was comparable to the time Astra had entered.
And the announcer who noticed that decided to go off script and hype the battle even further, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sure most of you already know but for those who don't, let me tell you that Young Master Vaan is not just any Mage, besides being Lady Astra's only son, he is also the creator of what is known as the Advance Magic Circle.
A Circle that is 1.5 times larger than the normal circle and has 6 Inner Circles instead of 4!
Although no mage has managed to learn Young Master Vaan's Advance Circle, today, you are going to get the chance to witness Young Master himself using the Circle!
How would the Advance Circle look,
Aren't you people excited!?"
"OOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!"
"YEAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Amidst of crowd's cheering, two men walked onto the stage.
"Young Master Vaan!!"
"Young Master Vaan!!"
More and more people started joining in and chanting Vaan's name, their excitement was clear on their faces. The older Mages continued to stare at Vaan as if they wanted to engulf him in one go. It was clear what they wanted.
Their expectations, however, were ruined.
"I surrender."
Arion, who had been ignored the moment he walked out and stepped onto the stage spoke up and instantly attracted all the attention.
"What…?"
The referee of the match questioned, clearly taken aback by the situation.
Arion glanced at Vaan and sighed.
"Young Master Vaan, it seems my luck is rather unfortunate, to think that I would be pitied against you in the first round."
Obviously, Arion was disappointed. He didn't wish for things to end this way but there was nothing he could do. He saw the attention Vaan received the moment he stepped forward, Arion could already predict that he would only be ignored even if he fought here.
"Do not lose your heart, Arion. Since you made it here, it means you are extremely talented, I am sure this will not be your last Elemental Clash. I know you will make your Orphanage proud next time."
Vaan smiled and Arion's expression changed.
Young Master Vaan still remembered his name!
"Y-Yes! I will work hard!"
He bowed his head.
Then, he turned toward the referee and spoke, "I wish to surrender." This time, his disappointment had vanished.
"Alright…" The referee had to accept.
The match ended before it even started.
"What!?"
"He surrendered!?"
"Why would you do that!? What's the point of participating in the tournament then!?"
And of course, the audience wasn't happy either. There was not a single person there who didn't wish to watch Vaan fight, their disappointment, however, had only started.
"I surrender."
"I surrender."
…
…
"I surrender"
For the next 5 rounds, the moment Vaan stepped onto the stage, his opponent surrendered without a moment of hesitation.
"W-Why is no one fighting Young Master Vaan…?" Someone from the crowd questioned.
"Because they are scared." A Mage sitting amongst normal people replied.
"What? Scared? Why?" Another person questioned.
"Would you fight a battle you know you will lose? In front of millions of people at that?" the Mage questioned.
"How could they all be…" The man wanted to question, however, he soon realized that he already knew the answer to his question.
"The Advance Circle."
"That is correct. The existence of Advance Circle makes it impossible for any 2nd Circle Mage to face Young Master Vaan. He is on an entirely different level." The mage spoke and the audience turned silent.
"…has this ever happened before?" Another man questioned with an uncertain look on his face.
"There has never been a mage like Young Master Vaan in the history of Elemental Clash.
We are present as history is in the making."
