The first event of the Knight Division—and the second event of Phase 1—came to a close as the arena gradually reset for the next stage of the tournament.
Large sections of shattered terrain dissolved into streams of light as the battlefield vanished piece by piece with the end of the simulation. Within moments, the entire field returned to a pristine circular platform while tournament officials prepared the next event.
A deep, resonant chime echoed throughout the stadium.
The announcement followed shortly after.
The next event: Magic Tower Siege—a 1v1 strategic magic destruction match.
Unlike the knight events that emphasized physical combat and direct confrontation, this event tested an entirely different dimension of battle. Strategy, control, and spell efficiency would determine victory here rather than raw strength alone.
The battlefield shifted once more.
The arena floor divided cleanly down the middle as glowing boundary lines carved the field into two identical zones. Massive arcane formations rose along the perimeter, stabilizing the environment and ensuring complete symmetry between both sides.
The arena ensured neither side held any terrain advantage.
From the center outward, structures began to materialize.
Within each zone, three towers rose from the ground—two smaller Side Towers positioned slightly forward and a taller Main Tower standing at the rear. The participating mage would stand atop the Main Tower, using it as their casting platform for the entire match.
The Side Towers served as secondary defensive structures.
The Main Tower, however, was far more important. It functioned as the mage's command point and the core of their defensive system. If the Main Tower fell, the mage would effectively lose control of the remaining defenses.
Unlike the previous events, there were no spell restrictions.
Participants were free to use any spells within their repertoire, allowing for a wide range of offensive and defensive approaches. Barrages, magical constructs, layered barriers, counter-spells—every mage could approach the battlefield in their own distinct way.
However, strict Direct Combat Restrictions governed the match.
Participants were forbidden from targeting their opponent's body directly. They were also not allowed to cross into the opposing zone under any circumstances.
This event was not a traditional duel between mages.
Instead, the towers themselves became the battlefield.
Participants could bombard enemy structures, intercept incoming spells mid-air, construct barriers to protect their towers, or launch calculated counterattacks from their own territory. Every action demanded careful judgment—balancing offense and defense while ensuring their own towers remained protected.
Victory conditions were straightforward.
The objective was to destroy as many enemy towers as possible within the allotted time limit. If one participant succeeded in destroying all three of their opponent's towers, the match would end immediately.
Otherwise, when the timer expired, the winner would be determined using two factors: the number of towers destroyed and the remaining structural integrity of the surviving towers.
In short, the event emphasized strategic resource management over overwhelming magical power.
For mages, it was one of the most intellectually demanding events in the entire tournament.
As the explanation concluded, murmurs of anticipation rippled through the audience. Many spectators leaned forward in their seats.
Compared to the explosive chaos of the knight battles, Magic Tower Siege offered a different kind of spectacle—one where every spell carried deliberate purpose, and a single defensive mistake could slowly unravel an entire strategy.
And for some participants, this event would finally allow them to demonstrate the true depth of their magical ability.
Because the event followed a one-on-one format, the organizers first needed to determine how ninety participants could fit into a proper elimination bracket.
Each of the nine academies had sent ten representatives, creating a total of ninety competitors. However, tournament brackets functioned most efficiently when the number of participants was a power of two. To construct a clean knockout structure, the officials needed to reduce the field to sixty-four.
The solution was straightforward.
Fifty-two students would be selected to fight preliminary matches.
The announcement described the selection as "random", but the more experienced spectators understood the truth immediately. This was not about luck—it was about balancing the bracket. Seven academies had six students chosen, while the remaining two academies had five each, producing the exact fifty-two competitors required.
Those fifty-two students would fight in twenty-six preliminary matches.
The winners of those matches would then join the thirty-eight participants who had not been selected, forming a perfectly balanced sixty-four-person main bracket.
Ironically, in this situation, not being selected was considered fortunate. It meant advancing directly to the next stage without risking elimination in the opening round.
When the list of names appeared above the arena, murmurs rippled through the stadium.
One of the students who avoided the preliminary round was Alex.
A few disappointed sighs spread through the audience almost immediately.
Many spectators had hoped to see him compete again. During the earlier knight event, Alex had displayed remarkable skill, defeating several formidable opponents with strength far beyond what most first-year students possessed. Yet despite that performance, very few people had actually seen him demonstrate the full extent of his magical ability.
This event had been expected to reveal it.
Instead, his name appearing among those granted a pass meant the crowd would have to wait longer.
Not everyone seemed disappointed.
Several students from other academies laughed openly from their sections.
"So the knight prodigy doesn't even have to fight?"
"Lucky rookie."
"Maybe that's for the best. In a magic event like this, he would probably get exposed early."
Their voices carried a mix of mockery and amusement. To them, Alex's earlier victories were impressive—but they belonged to a completely different field.
Swordsmanship and magic were not the same.
And in a tournament filled with elite young mages from nine academies, many believed Alex had simply been fortunate so far.
For the moment, the question of his true magical ability remained unanswered.
But not for long.
Because the Magic Tower Siege preliminaries soon began.
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This event was, above all else, an individual proving ground.
Unlike the earlier team-focused competitions, Magic Tower Siege did not encourage cooperation or restraint. Every participant stepped onto the battlefield alone, representing their academy—but more importantly, representing themselves.
Even when two students from the same academy happened to face each other during the preliminaries, there was no hesitation. No one held back, nor did they show mercy.
For young mages hoping to build a name for themselves, this tournament was more than a school competition. Representatives from powerful families, influential clans, and several high-ranking VIP guests filled the viewing galleries. A single impressive performance here could elevate a student's reputation far beyond the walls of their academy.
And everyone understood that.
Because of that, the preliminary matches were fought with intense focus. Towers collapsed under relentless spellfire while barriers shattered beneath carefully timed counterattacks. Each mage approached the battlefield differently, their strategies shaped by elemental affinities, spell control, and personal style.
Some focused entirely on overwhelming offense, bombarding towers with rapid destructive spells.
Others fought with measured precision—layering barriers, intercepting attacks midair, and slowly dismantling their opponent's defenses piece by piece.
By the time the final preliminary match concluded, the arena floor had already been restored several times by maintenance magic.
With the preliminaries complete, the stadium lights dimmed slightly as the massive projection screens surrounding the arena flickered to life.
A massive bracket appeared in the air above the battlefield.
Sixty-four names filled the structure, arranged neatly into pairs that would determine the next stage of the competition.
Murmurs spread through the stands almost immediately as spectators searched for familiar names.
Participants did the same.
Alex glanced toward the projection, calmly scanning until he located his own name. Across from it was the name of his opponent—a student from Leycross Academy.
His match appeared roughly in the middle of the round, meaning several battles would take place before his turn arrived.
Alex leaned lightly against the railing of the waiting platform.
That suited him perfectly.
It meant he had time to observe the match dynamics, analyze spell choices, and watch how other mages approached the tower siege format. Every match revealed useful details—how quickly towers could fall, how effective certain defensive layers were, and how different affinities interacted.
For someone like Alex, information was never wasted.
Nearby, several students from Star Shine Academy were also studying the bracket.
Earlier, seven of their ten representatives had been selected for the preliminary matches. Those battles had been difficult, and not all of them had managed to advance.
In the end, four of the seven had emerged victorious.
Combined with the three students who had received automatic advancement, Star Shine Academy now had seven competitors remaining in the Magic Tower Siege event.
It was a respectable outcome.
Not the highest among the nine academies—but far from disappointing. Some academies had lost nearly half of their representatives during the preliminary round.
Alex's gaze drifted back toward the battlefield as the officials prepared the arena for the next match.
Multiple runes briefly flared across the ground as the arena reconstructed the mirrored battlefield. Two identical zones formed once again, while three towers rose smoothly from each side of the stone platform as if they had never been destroyed.
The first match of the Round of Sixty-Four was about to begin.
And for now, Alex simply watched.
Soon enough, it would be his turn.