Chapter 565: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: One vs One vs One

Immediately after Patrick shouted Ravenor’s name, the entire crowd section around the arena erupted into loud cheers for the Young Lord of Burnwick.

"Come on, Young Lord of Burnwick!!!"

"Redemption!!"

"I believe in you, my love!!"

"Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!!"

"Glory to Burnwick!!"

The voices of the spectators echoed throughout the arena, and the cheers only grew louder as Ravenor stepped out from the entrance.

He walked with his usual calmness.

There was no unnecessary movement in his steps, nor did he bother to acknowledge every voice calling his name. His attention remained on the platform ahead of him as he continued walking, although his expression looked more serious than it usually did.

That small change was enough.

The young ladies of Britannia noticed it almost immediately.

"My Sir Ravenor is more sharp today, oh my Scholarssss!!"

"Kyaaa!!!"

"He’s definitely going to win!!"

Several spectators waved banners and flags carrying Ravenor’s name, while others leaned over the railings to get a better look at the Young Lord of Burnwick as he approached the platform.

The noise continued to rise.

Ravenor finally stepped onto the platform.

The moment his boots touched the surface, Lyra looked toward him with an excited expression.

Her hands had been placed behind her back, but she quickly brought her right hand forward and gave Ravenor a small wave.

Ravenor didn’t even glance at her.

He simply folded his arms and closed his eyes, waiting for the final student’s name to be announced.

The contrast between the two was almost strange.

Lyra was visibly excited.

Ravenor looked as though he were waiting for something he had already decided would happen.

Patrick allowed the crowd to continue for a few more seconds before raising his voice.

"And finally!!!"

The announcement immediately caught the attention of the arena.

Patrick stood from his seat.

"Welcoming the last student going against the other two in this Best Loser’s Match!!"

He turned his head slightly, glancing around the stands with an excited expression as he let the anticipation build.

Then he raised his microphone.

"Mr. Maxwell!!!"

He shouted Maxwell’s name.

The reaction from the crowd was quite different.

Maxwell immediately stepped out from the arena entrance.

He had barely taken his first few steps before the voices began reaching him.

"He’s going to lose again, right?"

"Hehehe... The idiot really thought he was all that."

"We might actually see him use his Alchemy Path, though."

"Who knows if his Path is trash."

"That’s not possible. This isn’t any other academy. This is the Royal Academy."

"Well, let’s see what happens."

The voices followed Maxwell as he walked toward the platform.

Some were questioning him.

Some carried faint mocking smiles.

Others simply watched him with curiosity.

But mostly...

Many eyes were observing him more closely than before.

Maxwell could feel those gazes following his every step.

They seemed to press against his back as he walked.

His shoulders remained straight, but he could feel the attention running down his spine.

"Ahhh."

Maxwell exhaled.

He could feel the nervousness brought by so many gazes being fixed on him.

It was different from fighting monsters in the forest.

A monster didn’t care who he was.

It did not care about his reputation.

It did not care whether he won or lost a previous match.

It simply attacked.

Humans were different.

They watched.

They judged.

And right now, almost hundreds of thousands of them were waiting to see what the disciple of Andraver could do.

That’s what always made him feel nervous whenever he was faced with much attention.

Then...

"Y... Yo... You can do it, Maxwell!!!"

A familiar voice echoed somewhat loudly through the arena.

It was crooked, as though the person had forced the words out despite being embarrassed to shout them.

Maxwell immediately stopped walking.

His foot remained halfway through its next step before he turned toward the First-Year section.

His golden eyes searched through the seats.

He looked toward the particular spot where she should have been seated.

But he did not see her there.

Maxwell stared for another moment.

Then he understood.

"She must be so embarrassed now."

A light laugh escaped him.

The nervousness that had been pressing against him a moment ago loosened slightly.

He turned back toward the platform and resumed walking.

The sound of his footsteps became steady again.

When Maxwell finally stepped onto the platform, his golden eyes moved from one person to the other.

Lyra Ashenlocke.

Ravenor Bunrwick.

The two people he would be facing.

He studied them calmly.

His perception reached outward.

He could see the levels of Cognis flowing invisibly from their bodies like a gaseous substance, spreading around them and moving with every breath and subtle shift of their bodies.

The Cognis around Ravenor was different from what he had seen in ordinary Alchemists.

There was a sense of heat within it.

Not actual fire yet, but the feeling of something waiting to be ignited.

Lyra’s Cognis also moved around her body, ready to reinforce her movements and support whatever attack she chose to make.

Maxwell’s eyes remained on them.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Let’s get this started."

He adjusted the glove on his left hand.

The motion was simple.

He pulled the material tighter around his fingers, making sure it sat properly before lowering his hand again.

His golden eyes brightened.

The excitement inside him began building.

This was what he had truly wanted.

Not simply to prove that he could defeat them.

Not merely to test whether his strength was greater.

He wanted to stand against them.

He wanted to show them what the Sun Alchemy Path could do.

And now he finally had the chance to do it properly.

"Let’s commence the countdown!!"

Patrick shouted.

The four Holographic Screens around the arena immediately changed, displaying the countdown for the match.

"THREE!!!"

The crowd joined in.

Hundreds of thousands of voices shouted the same number.

Some voices came slightly earlier than others, while some followed a fraction of a second later, but together they became one enormous sound that rolled through the arena.

"THREE!!!"

The anticipation between the three Young Alchemists began to rise.

Lyra shifted her feet slightly.

Ravenor remained still.

Maxwell’s posture relaxed, but his muscles were already prepared beneath his clothes.

"TWO!!!"

The countdown continued.

Lyra’s eyes moved between Maxwell and Ravenor.

Her excitement continued growing.

She could feel the atmosphere around them changing.

The three of them were standing on the same platform.

Three different Alchemy Paths.

Three different fighting styles.

Only one winner.

Facing two Monsters.

Lyra’s eyes moved toward Maxwell.

Then toward Ravenor.

Wooow, this is more exciting than anything I have faced.

Her fingers moved slightly behind her back.

She could feel goosebumps appearing across her skin.

Well, the Kalian was one, but...

She paused in her thoughts.

Ahhhhhhhh.

I’m getting goosebumps.

Her eyes continued darting between the two.

Maxwell.

The boy who had defeated people without using his own Alchemy Path.

And Ravenor.

The Flame Alchemist, known for his ability to ignite Flame Alchemy with frightening speed and copy what he saw.

Lyra swallowed lightly.

She could not wait.

Ravenor’s attention finally shifted toward Maxwell.

His eyes opened.

He looked at the young Meister Alchemist standing opposite him.

He stupidly lost his match against Diane because he underestimated her.

Ravenor’s expression remained calm.

I hope you have learned from that mistake.

His hand tightened slightly.

His fingers curled.

Because today...

The air around him seemed to become heavier.

I won’t hold anything back against you.

Ravenor’s eyes remained fixed on Maxwell.

He knew exactly how dangerous the Sun Alchemy Path was.

He had heard his father speak about it.

He had grown up knowing the name of Andraver.

And now his disciple was standing directly in front of him.

I must know just how strong the Sun Alchemy my father spoke about really is.

"ONE!!!!"

The crowd shouted the last number of the countdown.

The four Holographic Screens immediately changed.

The final countdown number disappeared.

The word announcing the start of the match appeared across them.

The entire arena seemed to hold its breath.

Then...

Bam!

Maxwell’s right fist struck into his left palm.

The sharp sound carried across the platform.

He stared at the two people standing before him.

Flame Alchemy.

Gun Alchemy.

The two Paths stood before him.

Maxwell’s faint smirk became wider.

Let’s see how you all will fare against the power of the Sun.

"BEGIN!!!"

Hundreds of thousands of voices echoed brightly throughout the arena.

The Best Loser’s Match had commenced.

BOOM!

Lyra’s eyes widened.

A violent gust of wind rushed past her, causing her training clothes to whip backward.

The force of it came so suddenly that she did not even notice the movement until after it had already happened.

She had not fully ignited all of her physical enhancement, and she had still been thinking about which of the two she should attack first.

That thought never finished.

Because in front of her...

The platform ground cracked heavily.

Ravenor and Maxwell had already clashed.

Their hands were locked against each other.

The impact happened so quickly that Lyra’s eyes widened before her body had even fully reacted to the movement.

Crack!

Another fracture spread beneath their feet.

Crack!

Then another.

The platform groaned under the force being pushed into it.

Both boys remained locked in place, each gripping the other’s hand while their arms trembled slightly from the pressure.

Neither immediately gave ground.

"Nnngh!"

Ravenor strengthened his grip.

The muscles in his arm tightened.

Cognis began pouring into his physical enhancement.

The flow moved through his body, reinforcing his muscles, strengthening his bones and supporting the tissues around them so that his body could withstand the force he was producing.

"Nnngh!"

Maxwell also pressed harder.

His golden eyes remained focused.

Cognis flowed through his body.

His muscles also tightened.

His bones strengthened, and his tissues were reinforced.

The two forces pushed against each other.

The platform beneath their boots could not handle the pressure.

BOOM!

Another large crack tore through the ground beneath them.

The stone beneath their boots sank slightly.

Dust rose around their feet.

Small pieces of the platform broke loose and rolled away from the point where their strength met.

The two boys continued pushing.

Ravenor’s boots dug deeper into the platform.

Maxwell’s body leaned forward slightly.

Their arms trembled.

Neither wanted to give the other an opening.

Then Ravenor’s expression changed.

"Tsk!"

His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth.

He was slowly being overpowered.

Maxwell’s strength continued pushing against him.

His arm lowered.

His shoulder followed.

The pressure was forcing him downward.

Ravenor’s eyes sharpened.

Maxwell’s strength was greater than he had expected.

Then the eyes of both boys changed at almost the same time.

They noticed something.

BOOM!

Both immediately jumped away from their locked position.

The reason came down between them.

Lyra’s Scythe crashed toward the exact place where their hands had been.

The weapon tore through the air with enough force to send another burst of wind across the platform.

The blade struck the ground.

The force of the impact sent fragments of stone outward.

"Tsk, that would have been killing four arms with one strike."

Lyra clicked her tongue.

Her eyes followed the two boys as they separated.

One on her right, the other on her left.

She had aimed for both of them at once.

If they had remained where they were, the Scythe would have reached both.

Instead, they had reacted in time.

Lyra tightened her grip around the weapon.

She was not disappointed for long.

Her eyes moved left toward Ravenor.

Then right toward Maxwell.

The match had only just begun.

Snap!

The sound echoed across the platform.

Lyra’s eyes widened.

She felt it immediately.

The ground beneath her boots began to glow.

Scarlet light spread beneath her feet.

Alchemy Symbols appeared across the surface as the underlying formula took shape, forming a Flame Alchemy Circle directly beneath her.

The ignition was almost instant.

Lyra barely had time to shift her weight.

BOOM!

The explosion erupted beneath her.

Flames burst upward.

Smoke rose with them, swallowing Lyra’s body for a moment.

The force of the blast pushed outward across the platform.

Dust and loose fragments of stone were thrown away from the explosion.

The crowd continued cheering.

The first few exchanges had happened so quickly that not everyone had even perceived them properly.

For many spectators, it had looked as though Ravenor and Maxwell had suddenly appeared in front of each other, clashed, separated, and then Lyra had created an explosion beneath herself.

The faster movements disappeared from ordinary sight.

But, as always, the Holographic Screens came to the rescue.

Their displays shifted.

The previous movements were replayed at a slower speed, allowing the spectators to finally see what had happened.

The first clash.

The pressure between Ravenor and Maxwell.

The spreading cracks beneath their feet.

Lyra’s Scythe descending between them.

And finally, the Flame Alchemy Circle appearing beneath Lyra.

The arena reacted again as spectators realized how quickly the opening exchange had actually happened.

At the same moment the explosion occurred at Lyra’s position...

BOOM!

Maxwell faded.

His body shot forward.

He dashed toward Ravenor just as the Young Lord of Burnwick was about to attack him with his Instant Flame Burst.