Kuzon and Anabelle stood opposite each other on stage, both staring at each other—Ana had an intense gaze, while the boy was simply donning his usual expression.
'Knowing Anabelle's personality, will she even consider quitting?!' I reasoned, taking the girl's bubbly nature into account.
She was academically smart, as well as a genius in the field of magic. But, in re
al-life situations and decision-making, she was very dense—an absolute idiot.
Evidence of that was her childish logic in refusing to practice Magic in order to surpass Lewis Griffith on equal grounds.
I just hoped she wasn't planning on going all-out when it wasn't even a match with any stakes for her.
'She could also be trying to gain information on what kind of magic he can use using this match as a basis... that's not a bad rationale.'
Considering it was often important to know the specialty of your target and learn a lot from them in battle, that line of reasoning could prove advantageous if we encountered Kuzon later on in the competition.
But, such tricks wouldn't work on someone of his caliber.
I was certain he wasn't planning on using all his cards in this match. So, no matter how much information Ana tried to wriggle out of him, it was of no use.
Plus... how sure was I that Anabelle was capable of drawing out Kuzon's full power?
'In any case, it's a risky venture... not worth it in the slightest!'
"Relax, Jared. You should believe in Ana more." A voice interrupted my thoughts.
I looked at Edward, who must have been watching me agonize over what Anabelle would do in this situation.
"Huu... you're right..." I whispered and calmed myself.
I was overthinking things, as usual. Whatever decision she made was her choice. She had already passed, so just as I was free to use up my second match as I pleased, she was also allowed to as well. What would it be, though?
"Begin!" Klaus announced, commencing the match.
"I surrender." Ana let out, waving her hand casually in the air.
Kuzon had not even attempted to move or fight, almost as if he had expected this.
Klaus looked in Ana's direction and gave a nod in resignation.
"Winner, Kuzon Midas!" He declared.
My lips curled up in a smile and I nodded in agreement with her decision. I was worrying for nothing!
"Why did you give up?" Kuzon's calm voice played in my ears.
His playful tone contrasted the power and authority he wielded. Even now, the expression he had on was as if everything was a joke to him.
"Well..." Ana began.
"I just didn't want to fight you."
Her flat statement caused my high expectations to mellow down. Anabelle was honest, so I had to assume that what she said was actually how she felt.
That meant she had no real tactical reason for refusing to fight. She just didn't want to face him.
"Haha, is that so?" Kuzon chuckled.
His laugh caused the girl to flush in what I could only call embarrassment and I saw her cheeks turn red.
"W-well, the match is over. I'm off." She stuttered and took her leave.
Kuzon said nothing more and simply walked off, returning to his seat as well.
Their brief exchange, albeit awkward, was a little funny to me. I had never seen Ana act so cute in front of anyone but me.
She came back to her seat in a jiffy, puffing her cheeks, and sat silently. Edward and I knew better than to interrupt Ana while she was sulking, so we simply looked to the stage and ignored her obvious attempt at a fit.
'Now, then, we have six winners... we just need two more.'
***********************
The round after Anabelle vs Kuzon was me against a Middle-Class student. This represented the last round allotted to us Lower Class first years.
Of course, I easily emerged victorious, securing a total of three slots for the Lower Class.
The final match was between the last member of the Middle-Class and an additional person who would be randomly selected among the students. To my surprise, Ivan Smith was chosen.
This allowed the boy who lost at my hands to have a comeback. As I watched his march from my seat, I came to admire his growth even more. He was able to easily win against the Middle-Class student, properly displaying his strength in Magic.
The only reason he lost back then was because his opponent was me. Against someone from the Middle Class, his victory was guaranteed.
With that, the champions of the First Year Magic Division were chosen.
Three slots from the Lower Class; Two for me, one for Anabelle.
Five slots from the Upper Class... all of them passed to the Semi-finals.
It was a bit funny how no one from the Middle-Class survived the Quarters, but this was simply reality. Against the Upper-Class Elites, average students stood no chance. Even though Anabelle and I were Lower-Class denizens, our abilities rivaled the Upper-Class members.
'This is why the Class System is stupid...' I reasoned.
Thanks to the entitlement given to the Middle-Class, their growth wasn't very evident. After all, there was a Class lower than them, causing them to have a false sense of superiority and security.
They must have been lax in their training, thinking they would at least be able to crush the Lower Class contestants with ease.
Unfortunately for them, the end results proved otherwise.
'Hopefully, they learn from the error of their hubris.'
With the victors already determined in the Magic Division, Klaus wasted no time declaring the beginning of the next phase of the Exchange.
"We will now begin the Quarter-Finals for the Martial Arts Division!"
I noticed Edward's stiff face let out a smile. He must have been fighting impatience all this while, and it was finally time for him to prove his worth yet again.
I was certain the Middle-Class Martial Artist wouldn't really pose a problem for him, but I hadn't even seen the skills of the Upper-Class student, so I couldn't determine his strength yet.
Still, I was confident in Edward's strength! Being the one who taught him Martial Arts, I was assured that his level of skill was the Intermediate Level of the old scaling system. That made him of the Advanced stage in the present realm of Martial Arts.
With a smile forming on my face, I waited for Klaus to begin the match.
"You better not lose!"
