The Greatest Sinner

At the "Tournament of Precious Stones", there were two special people who performed certain functions. The first was a man in a white mantle, an experienced "Summoner" of the Erden Family. He healed all the participants, and with the help of Earth Golem brought the arena into proper form.

The second such person was a girl dressed in black from the Cross Family. Her job was to announce the winner, as well as to intervene in dangerous situations.

Katlyn's last attack would have killed Vinor. She didn't realize it herself, but to a stronger magician it was obvious. Vinor would have burned to the ground in seconds. Sure, he probably would have been saved, but why bring it to such a sad outcome when everything could be solved in a much simpler way?

At the very last moment, when everything was already decided, a girl in black clothes appeared and easily blocked Katlyn's attack. It was impossible for a novice magician not to break through the sturdy shield she was defending herself with. Not only did it block the attack, but it completely absorbed it.

Of course, this shield would not withstand a single blow from Koen or Fane, but as for the contestants they could not even scratch it, it was an unattainable level for them.

Without these two people, the tournament would not have gone as smoothly and quickly. Naturally, they had a huge responsibility, but there was nothing to worry about, they had never yet given a reason to doubt themselves.

"The winner of the second round is Katlyn van Erden!" The girl said loudly and immediately disappeared.

Katlyn headed for the exit and at the same moment, a man in a white mantle appeared next to Vinor. Unlike the young man, Katlyn didn't need any help. She hadn't received a single wound during the entire fight.

The man in the white mantle began to heal Vinor and at the same time called Earth Golem's to repair the arena.

While there was a short break between the second and third rounds, Evan reflected on what he had seen.

<What a bore... when is it my turn?>

Evan didn't like this fight. As he had expected Katlyn won, but her opponent was too weak to make her give it her best, which made the whole fight uninteresting.

When one of the contestants wins the fight by shutout, then all the intrigue disappears.

Evan wasn't happy with the duel between Vinor and Katlyn, but he watched their every move closely.

Even from this short and predictable fight, there was much to be learned.

He had seen Magic Artifacts in action, and learned even more Spells. He wasn't really impressed with Katlyn's performance, but he couldn't underestimate her either.

Evan thought her opponent was simply too weak. Since Katlyn wasn't a stupid, she hadn't shown everything she could.

While Evan was thinking about the past fight, it was time for the third round.

Evan looked at Fane with hope in his eyes. He hoped that now his name would be called and he would finally fight someone, but his wish was not destined to come true, at least not now.

"Two rounds has been already over and the great thing is that we still have a lot to look forward to! Glad to introduce you - Roland Jellis and Jurian Hoekman!" Fane said cheerfully.

After his words, there were whispers among the audience. It was the name of one of the participants, Roland Jellis that made such a stir.

He was the son of Gilbert Jellis, the head of the Tower of Magic. Roland was known as the most distinguished young man in all of Mossy Vulture. Gilbert had seen an incredible talent in Roland and put all his efforts into making sure that Roland could become the best of the best.

It's no exaggeration to say that in addition to the Erden Family and the Cross Family, Roland was the top favorite in this tournament. Many even considered him the undisputed winner.

Jurian had already entered the arena and was ready to fight, while Roland was walking slowly towards his opponent. He was in no hurry, as if he was not at the tournament, but out for a walk.

The dark-haired Jurian held a short mahogany staff with a blue crystal at its tip. Obviously, he wasn't going to fight in close combat, since the staff was certainly no match for the Amplifier.

Roland was a tall blond man with short hair and azure eyes. He wore a long blue coat with a white collar. He had no weapons in his hands, only a small palm-sized shield hanging from his wrist.

He calmly walked over, stood in front of Jurian, examined him, and said: "I'm sorry if I act tough. I just don't want to drag out this obvious fight."

From the outside it might have seemed like Roland was a very arrogant man, but that wasn't quite the case. He knew that a lot of people thought he was being overconfident, but he just didn't understand them.

In his opinion, he was not trying to show that he was superior to anyone, or worse, trying to belittle anyone. Roland believed he had simply told the truth and warned his opponent to be ready for anything.

Roland often openly told the other person that he was much stronger than him and things like that. Most people thought such remarks were arrogant, but in Roland's opinion, he was just telling it like it was.

He saw nothing shameful or disgraceful in anyone being weaker or stronger, so it was always surprising to him to hear from other people how arrogant he was.

Of course, this is far from the most common way of thinking, but it has its own logic. Unfortunately, a society mired in competition can never understand people like Roland.

According to Roland, if you were in fact better than others, this did not mean arrogance, but simply a statement of fact.

Jurian didn't appreciate Roland's words and only frowned. He did not like him at first sight.

Whoosh.

Fane cast his spell and the green blob was already falling down. Jurian was quick to prepare for the fight, but Roland was as relaxed as before.

Drip.

The drop crashed to the ground and their fight began instantly. Jurian quickly cast one of his spells.

He wanted to be the first to attack and gain the advantage in their duel, but he just didn't know yet that it was already over before it could begin.

Suddenly Roland's gaze turned icy, and his "Warp" furiously spun.

Whoosh.

The next moment, four gray magical circles and an equal number of iron bars appeared from beneath Jurian's feet. They quickly enveloped Jurian's legs and arms, immobilizing him completely.

A moment later Ronald cast another spell.

Whoosh.

A man-sized sphere of water appeared in the air, quickly engulfing Jurian completely. He was immobilized and denied access to the air. Eventually he should have suffocated and died, but that was not Ronald's intention.

Crack.

Water and iron have one similarity - they conduct electricity perfectly.

Immediately after the water sphere engulfed Jurian, Ronald cast his third spell - "Strike Lightning".

The mana gathered in his hand and gradually turned into electrical discharges, and then into actual lightning.

Whoosh.

Ronald swung around and threw a powerful white lightning bolt at his opponent with all his might.