However, Shuna simply smiled as she observed Kiara''s approach. She then channeled her power through her feet, causing the ground beneath her to freeze rapidly. The frost spread outward in all directions, covering the arena in a sheet of ice. By the time Kiara''s colossal wave reached Shuna, the ground was already entirely frozen.


    As the wave collided with the frozen ground, Shuna''s ice powers extended to the water itself, freezing it solid in an instant.


    But Shuna''s power didn''t stop there. The freezing energy continued to spread, creeping up Kiara''s legs until her feet were encased in ice, locking her in ce. Immobilized and unable to move, Kiara found herself at the mercy of Shuna''s relentless cold.


    Kiara sighed when she saw this. She had expected this result but felt disappointed when she lost. "I admit defeat," she finally said.


    Nathan saw the situation and announced, "Shuna wins."


    "Let''s go," Shuna said to Kiara as she melt the ice restricting her, who nodded, and they both returned to their group.


    "It''s the brothers'' turn now," Josh said with a sneer and turned toward Patrick. "Patrick, do you have confidence against your brother Luce?"


    Patrick, with baggy eyes and a thin body, nodded. "I''ll see what I can do." He headed to the battle after saying that. Since only Patrick and his brother Luce remained to fight, there was no need for a matchup.


    "Both brothers have the same personality but are different at the same time," Josh shook his head. He felt that this battle could go either way.


    "This is interesting. I''ve never seen the two brothers fight each other. Considering their talents, it will be a sight to behold," Reilly said, intrigued by the uing battle.


    "Patrick will win," Roman''s voice suddenly sounded from behind them.


    "Are you okay?" Shuna asked, turning around when she saw Roman arrive.


    "I''m fine," Roman replied, adjusting his sses.


    "Of course you''re fine; I barely hit you that time, just the t side of the sword," Reilly said, taking credit for Roman''s recovery, though it was his fault Roman was injured in the first ce.


    "I heard Rudy lost..." Roman said, turning to Orion, who was standing not far away.


    "I barely won, thanks to my wind talent," Orion shrugged.


    "Guys, they''re about to fight," Shuna said excitedly, catching everyone''s attention and directing it toward Patrick and Luca.


    At that moment, the two brothers stood facing each other, their gazes locked.


    "Brother Luca, I plead with you to admit defeat. It''s such a hassle to fight me, isn''t it? If you fight me, what will happen to your thoughts?" Patrick suggested, his baggy eyes half-lidded, his voice so low it seemed he might fall asleep at any moment.


    "A hassle?" Luca, always deep in thought, found himself engrossed in his brother''s words. Pondering them, he felt his brother was right; his precious thoughts would indeed be interrupted.


    "Brother Luca, I suppose you don''t have any interest in Das Academy, right? Then you might as well give me the chance. That way, you''ll get your precious thinking time, and I''ll be promoted to the next round," Patrick continued, seeing Luca beginning to understand.


    Luca pondered even harder, and it wasn''t until five minutester that he finally came to a decision. "Brother Patrick is right." Turning to Nathan, he said, "I admit defeat."


    After that, both Patrick and Luca walked back as if nothing had happened.


    However, the entire hall fell into pin-drop silence, stunned by what they''d just witnessed. They had been expecting a great battle, but instead, they got the worst oue—Patrick convinced Luca to admit defeat, showering the others with nothing but disappointment.


    "Well, that was anticlimactic," Joshughed.


    "A battle between light and shadow, white and ck, two talentspletely opposite from each other would have been fantastic, but it seems we weren''t destined to see such a fight," Reilly said, feeling it was a pity.


    "I still believe Patrick would have won if the fight had happened," Roman said with a sigh.


    "Alright."


    At that moment, an authoritative voice echoed through the hall as Zemiri stepped forward.


    "Now that the first round is over and we have five of you remaining, it''s time for another round. But this time, the selection will be different. Your five names will still be in the bowl, but it will be me who chooses from the bowl."


    She added, "The rules have also changed slightly. The first name I pick from the bowl will automatically pass this round and go directly to the final round."


    The spectators were surprised to hear this from their leader. The chosen person would be incredibly lucky if that happened.


    Josh, Reilly, Shuna, Patrick, and Orion all had different reactions to Zemiri''s words.


    "That''s understandable. If that happens, the number of participants will be even, and they can fight each other to determine who will face the one the leader chooses first. It''s reasonable," Reillymented, finding her tactics quite fair.


    "Whatever, I only want to fight you, and nobody can stop me from achieving that," Josh shrugged.


    An expression of hope appeared on Shuna''s face, while Patrick remained indifferent.


    Amidst this, Orion smiled wryly. Knowing his luck, he doubted he would be the one chosen first. He really wanted to be chosen first so he could easily hide his powers, needing only to fight one battle to advance. But he sighed at his luck.


    ''It''s very difficult to hide strength when you can one-shot an opponent.''


    He sighed again and waited with a hopeful expression.


    "There''s more," Zemiri said, drawing everyone''s attention back to her.


    "The second name I pick can independently choose their opponent from the remaining three."


    The crowd was once again surprised, but it was the participants who were more shocked.


    "This is... good!" Josh said. "But not fair, I think. However, it''s a rule, so it doesn''t matter."


    "It all depends on luck—who gets chosen and who doesn''t," Reilly said.


    Shuna remained silent, but a frown appeared on her face.


    At that moment, Erza approached Zemiri with the bowl.


    "I will choose the first name," Zemiri said as she reached into the bowl and took out a parchment.


    Reading the name silently, she looked at Orion, Shuna, Josh, Reilly, and Patrick each in turn before finally revealing the name with a sense of suspense.


    "Reilly Raymond."


    ---


    Also, I was hoping you could leave somements or reviews to let me know your thoughts!


    *Some gifts would be appreciated as well, but up to you.... *