Chapter 26: A New Wager

“Rowan, since you still refuse to admit defeat, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” Tevira had already consumed much of his mental and magical energy while casting the combined spell earlier. He had hoped Rowan would concede, allowing him an easy victory, but Rowan showed no such intention. Left with no choice, Tevira gathered what little strength remained within him and conjured another Water Arrow, its tip aimed directly at Rowan.

First-level Water Magic—Water Arrow—shot rapidly towards Rowan!

The water element vortex trapping Rowan was incredibly resilient. He had tried several spells, but none showed any hope of breaking through. If he used his combined spell—the collision of Fireball and Fire Net—he might be able to shatter the vortex. But Rowan knew such a spell spared neither friend nor foe; the blast would destroy the vortex, but he himself would likely be severely injured, losing his fighting strength without his opponent needing to land another blow.

Suddenly, Rowan smiled. Instead of attempting to break free from the water vortex, he quickly recited a spell. Outside the swirling water, a fireball appeared and shot forward.

What puzzled Tevira was that the fireball did not aim for his Water Arrow, but instead came straight for him. He froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. “Hahaha… Rowan, you’re too naive! I’m not trapped in place, and I have the protection of my Earth Shield. How could your Fireball possibly harm me?”

Yet before he finished speaking, he noticed the fireball’s speed abruptly surge. It rushed toward him faster than he could imagine. By the time he tried to dodge, it was too late. With a loud bang, the fireball slammed into him. The Earth Shield on his body shattered like broken crystal, and a searing pain shot through his chest and abdomen. The force of the impact sent him sprawling to the ground.

“Is… is this really a first-level spell?” Tevira, utterly defeated, stared at Rowan in shock.

With Tevira’s control lost, the vortex binding Rowan and the Water Arrow dissolved, freeing him. Rowan walked up to Tevira with ease, smiling. “Fireball is indeed a first-level spell, but the one casting it is now a second-level mage!”

“What! Second-level mage!” Tevira gaped at the black-haired, slightly slender youth before him. He had expected to reach second-level after another year or so of training, believing his speed to be unmatched among his peers. But the boy in front of him had already achieved that rank.

Achieving second-level mage in less than a year! Such an accomplishment was astonishing—Tevira was not alone in his amazement; the teachers and students below the arena were equally dumbfounded.

Miss Monroe, the fire element teacher, stood with her rosy lips slightly parted, gazing at the student who had skipped classes for more than half the year. She remembered his first day in her fire class: he claimed to have exceptional affinity for fire elements, and she had him spar with the former class leader, Tracy. His performance could only be described as dazzling; he learned fire magic faster than anyone, and his grasp was the most solid.

So when Tracy moved up to the second year, Monroe didn’t choose any of her diligent students as class leader, but picked this boy instead, giving him the only seeded spot in the class. She never expected that, in this year’s grade tournament, he would fight his way into the top eight, then the semifinals, and now, with his second-level magic, defeat Tevira from the water class and advance to the finals!

She had thought she’d already rated Rowan’s ability highly enough, but now it was clear she’d underestimated him. His talent was no less than Tracy’s! Even if he lost to Simon in the finals, he had every reason to be proud.

Mr. Harvey, the teacher of the dark element, could only smile wryly. The student he’d valued from the start had reached second-level mage in less than a year—clearly, even without his guidance, Rowan’s progress was swift. Now, he had the strength to face Simon as an equal.

In the fire class group—

“Warren, our Fourth has made it to the finals. Bring over those thousand gold coins from our bet!” Marlow shook his head gleefully. He hadn’t even fought, and now he’d earned a thousand gold coins—of course, he was delighted.

Warren was frustrated. He had thought Rowan was hopelessly trapped and sure to lose, but didn’t expect the guy to reach second-level mage and defeat his opponent. Not only had he lost the thousand gold coins he thought he’d win, he now had to pay Marlow a thousand coins. His heart bled; he didn’t even have the coins and would have to borrow from classmates to pay up. He really didn’t want to, but with so many witnesses, he couldn’t bring himself to renege.

Suddenly, Warren’s eyes lit up. “Marlow, could I hold off on paying you those thousand gold coins for a bit?”

Marlow was having none of it. His chubby face darkened immediately. “What, Warren, are you trying to back out?”

“No, no, Marlow, I never go back on my word. I would never cheat you. The reason I’m asking to wait is I want to make another bet with you—if you dare accept!”

Marlow eyed Warren suspiciously. “Another wager? Let’s hear it.”

Warren chuckled, glanced at Rowan approaching them, and raised his voice: “Marlow, you’re always boasting about your confidence in Rowan, your dorm’s Fourth. Well, my bet is on the finals—whether Rowan can win the championship. Of course, the stakes need to go up: three thousand gold coins. What do you say?”

“This…” Marlow hesitated. The crowd had seen it clearly: besides Rowan and Tevira’s semifinal, the other match between Simon from the dark class and Tyche from the light class was a one-sided rout. Simon had defeated Tyche in seconds; although Tyche was one of the top four, he had no chance against Simon.

Warren’s bet was obviously to take advantage of Marlow. Three thousand gold coins was a sum Marlow could afford, but he wasn’t keen to hand it over so easily.

Just as Marlow was about to refuse, Warren burst out laughing: “Hahaha, you’re always talking about how great Rowan is, how much faith you have in him. Now it turns out your words are laughable. Champion? Ha! You don’t believe in your friend at all, and you think he’ll lose in the finals! The 2015 dorm is full of cowards! If you don’t dare to bet, fine—I’ll bring you your thousand coins, and you can spend them with your tail between your legs!”

“Wait! Who says I won’t accept your bet? Damn it, I’m betting with you today!” Marlow was furious. He knew Warren was goading him, but this was about the honor of the 2015 dorm. Even if it was a trap, he’d jump in!

“Boss, you…” Rowan had just come up beside Marlow. He’d heard Warren’s words clearly. Having never fought Simon, he wasn’t sure of victory, and wanted to persuade Marlow.

“Fourth, say no more. I’ve made up my mind! Three thousand gold coins is manageable, but if our dorm is looked down on, it’s not just about a few thousand coins!” Marlow declared resolutely.

“Boss, count me in!” Gabazz said immediately.

“Boss, me too! I’ll pitch in for the three thousand coins!” Bill added without hesitation.

“Marlow, I’m in as well!” Karina, usually quiet, was angered by Warren’s words. He’d belittled Rowan, her favorite, and insulted Marlow and the 2015 dorm. Of course she had to stand up for her closest friends.

Seeing this, Warren clapped and laughed. “Good, that’s loyalty! I admire it. Everyone, listen up—Marlow has made a three-thousand-gold bet with me. They’re betting Rowan will win the finals. Bear witness!”

“Alright! We’ll all witness!”

“Yes, and if anyone tries to back out, we won’t allow it!”

Immediately, the surrounding students grew excited. No one dared bet on the final; the disparity between the two sides was clear, and Rowan’s chances were slim. Marlow and Warren’s bet was a spectacle everyone was eager to see.

Warren had raised his voice earlier to provoke the 2015 dorm group. He noticed how close-knit they were; if he could stir their collective pride into accepting the wager, he’d win two thousand coins after deducting his previous loss. The tactic worked perfectly!

“Warren, count me in for the bet—I’ll split the three thousand coins with you!” A fellow from Warren’s dorm sidled up, grinning.

“Warren, me too!”

“Warren, I’ll join!”

Everyone saw the easy money and wanted a share.

“Go away, all of you! When I lost a thousand coins, where were you? Now you smell easy money and crowd in. Do you take me for a fool?” Warren scoffed.

“Warren, we’re in the same dorm! You won’t let me join?”

Warren rolled his eyes and sneered, “Don’t use the dorm as an excuse. If you’re just trying to take advantage, you’re no friend of mine!”

One dorm stood united, ready to lose together; the other was squabbling over their impending winnings. The contrast was striking.

Amid the lively chatter, the teacher hosting the tournament announced, with fervor, the imminent start of the final match.

Rowan glanced once more at Marlow, Gabazz, Bill, and Karina beside him, thinking, “Though I have no gold coins to join the three-thousand-coin bet, for our dorm, for these companions I value most, all I can do is fight with everything I have. That is enough!”

With that, Rowan took a deep breath and strode toward the arena.