The Mysterious Black Magician

The match between Brai and Kiko came to an end.

Brai's speed dominated Kiko, but Kiko's power and element control brought him to victory.

Unfortunately, Brai's [Advanced Resonance] came to an end before the match ended.

It was one of the causes of his defeat.

"Well, that was unfortunate for Brai," Yman muttered with a wry smile.

"Hm, looks like he has yet to master the technique," unexpectedly, it was the blonde, Maena, who followed up with his comment.

"Uh, can you do it as well?" He was curious if all the students in the elite class knew how to use the [Advance Resonance] ability.

Maena side-glanced at him for two to three seconds before replying.. 

"Of course, what do you think?" The way she answered sounds like she was mad at him. But he understood that it was her usual.

They were at least a little closer to each other now. They even call their names without honorifics, like a true friend. But maybe it was only Yman himself who thought they were closer.

After the talk with Keremi, Yman had something to ask her in private, but he decided to delay it. Maybe when his relationship with Maena was a bit better than the current.

"No, nothing. Good for you all. Hm, I wish I could as well."

Yman muttered in a slight despondent tone.

"T-then, if you want to learn I can hel—"

"Yman, you have yet to learn the [Advanced Resonance]?"

Yman noticed Maena had something to say, but Almina interjected. Also, she was saying it in an inaudible voice that was barely able to pass as a whisper.

"Mhm!" He nodded to Almina's question.

"Eh?! Is that true?"

"Well, it can't be helped as I was away," Yman replied.

But even if he didn't leave the Academy that time, he doubted he would ever learn it.

Almina showed an expression that she understood him. Then the next second, her expression changed to that of someone who had realized something.

"Ah, i-if you want, I can help you with the training," Almina suggested with her face beet red. 

Yman looked at her for a couple of seconds. He wondered how strong Almina was when he used the [Advance Resonance]. He was so looking forward to see it.

The other girls around them had their mouths formed like 'o' upon hearing Almina's suggestion.

"Will I not be a bother to you? Besides, there is also a chance that we come across in this competition. What if I use it to defeat… y—"

"....."

Yman suddenly became silent when he noticed the expression on the other girl's faces, as though they were saying, "can he even defeat Miss Almina?" But maybe it was only his bad interpretation. 

Regardless, it was his fault for jumping to conclusions. It wasn't even certain that he could learn it. While Yman stopped and mulled for a second, "I don't mind, you know," Almina said to him. "Also, even if you learned a thing or two, it won't be enough to perform the skill so easily. At most, I can help you with the basics. It actually took us a month to learn the [Advance Resonance]."

He noticed the other girls were nodding their heads. So it must be the reason for their weird expressions a while ago. Only Kesha had an unfriendly expression on her face.

'Right, Almina had a point.' Yman realized.

"But, will I be able to learn even though I am below the False Path stage?"

"Sure you are." One of the girls around raised her hands while saying it with an amiable smile. Yman remembered her. It was Jami. The girl who defeated Chloe. "You say, I can use it, even though I'm level 8 only," Jami said while pointing to herself.

"I see," Yman muttered. Then she returned his gaze to Almina, who was waiting for his reply. 

In the end, Yman agreed as it was beneficial to him anyway.

"T-Then, I'm sorry if I'm going to bother you," he said while slightly bowing his head.

Yman had no idea how happy Almina was at this moment.

"You are not! Definitely not a bother!" She exclaimed that surprised them.

Maena secretly left without anyone noticing. Well, Yman noticed her. But he just thought that maybe she had something she needed to do.

Not far from them, Kiko was staring at the group with cold eyes.

He just came back after winning the match. He expected a lively welcome for him after winning against Brai.

However, aside from no one was there to welcome him and sing praises for his win, he also had to witness Amulet talking bashfully with that person.

"Tsk! Just you wait. I will kick your ass later on," Kiko muttered in annoyance.

Just then.

"Congrats on the win. That was a wonderful match," a girl came to congratulate him. It was Kesha.

Kiko smiled and said his thanks. "It's no big deal." He wasn't even using his full power in that match.

Regardless, he would be more than happy if it was Almina who came to congratulate him.

There were only a few participants left: 2 people from section D, 5 from section A, and 6 for the elite class. There were supposed to be 10 students in the elite class, but two of them were already defeated, one dropped the competition. Whereas there was one who didn't participate.

Everyone was talking about the championship. Most of them were guessing who would become the champion.

Each of the finalists did wonderful in this competition. They showcased their abilities and showed that they were worth investing in. So, each one of them was worth betting on.

Tomorrow there will be no elimination round. It was their one-day rest. They needed to be fully recovered for the final that will be held the next day.

The elites easily became the cake of everyone's conversations, especially after Brai and Kiko's performance. Truly, the elites were just higher in all aspects. No wonder they were called the elites. 

Aside from their high attributes, they have better control in their mana which easily gave them the advantage against the lower section.

Speaking of the lower section, two students garnered everyone's attention. They were not only from the lower section, they actually come from the bottom section.

Two students from section D were able to enter the final?!

It was astonishing news. Those who hadn't watched the competition but heard the news were starting to feel curious about these two.

They would surely come to watch the final.

Even the adviser, Miss Pai, herself was stunned when she heard it. She was too busy with paperwork and could not find spare time to have a glance at the competition.

And now, more work was coming as everyone in the faculty was interrogating her.

They were asking her what kind of secret knowledge she taught to her students.

"Of course, I don't have any of that sooooorrrrt!" She shouted in fury. But in her imagination only. Currently, she was being overwhelmed by their questions and could not utter a single word.

"Okay, everyone, that's enough. don't bully my cousin too much."

"Lona…" Miss Pai called out in a somewhat exhausted voice.

"Fufu, that kid sure has grown up, huh."