Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 201: Match-ups

Chapter 201: Match-ups

Elion was completely confident that he could thump anyone placed in front of him.

Right now, Aria was sitting comfortably in his lap, her face flushed a light blush, because Elion’s fingers were absentmindedly clutching her thighs and feeling them through her skirt.

Her arms were loosely wrapped around his neck while she tried to pretend she wasn’t enjoying the attention.

Several nearby guys were glaring daggers at Elion.

Of course, he ignored them completely.

Mira sat right beside him on the bench, one leg crossed over the other, her head on his shoulder, watching the reactions around them with an amused smile.

The three of them were creating quite the scene.

Their blatant display of affection had already attracted the attention of half the waiting room.

More than seventy first-year students had signed up for the tournament, and they were all gathered here waiting for their matches to be announced.

Honestly, it was more participants than Elion expected.

But when he thought about it, it made sense.

Most of these people had been training for weeks in preparation for this tournament. Naturally, many believed they had a chance to prove themselves despite the odds stacked against them.

The truly hopeless cases—or the more realistic ones—had not even bothered signing up. Those students were now seated comfortably in the stands with the rest of the spectators.

Slowly, the screens inside the waiting room began to flicker to life as well.

The matchups were starting to appear.

At the exact same time—

Small glowing symbols suddenly appeared on the chests of every participant in the room. Curious murmurs broke out everywhere.

“Hey… what’s that?”

“Is that my number?”

“What the hell?”

Elion looked down at the right side of his chest, where a faint magical number had appeared on his clothing.

Mira and Aria both had numbers glowing on them as well.

Elion blinked once.

Then his lips curved slightly.

1

That was the number displayed on his chest.

He raised an eyebrow.

’Interesting.’

5 and 6. Those were the numbers Mira and Aria had gotten, respectively. If these numbers had been given based on what he thought, then the whole number system made no sense.

After a few fights, anyone would be able to guess these numbers were the students’ actual rankings, based on their levels.

He couldn’t see Tessa anywhere, but Isolde was close, and she had the number 3. William was nowhere to be found.

In fact, Elion had seen almost all his classmates since they came in here, but not William, which was curious.

But he could see Lyra and Jared in the crowd.

Back in the arena, the beautiful hostess lifted the crystal amplifier again as the excitement of the introductions settled.

Her voice rang clearly across the coliseum.

“As you can see, we have many battles to get through over the course of this week!”

She gestured toward the enormous arena floor below her.

“To ensure the tournament progresses smoothly, multiple fights will occur at the same time!”

The crowd roared in approval.

Twelve glowing markers appeared on the large magical screens hovering above the battlefield.

“Twelve matches will take place simultaneously!” she announced. “Allowing us to witness dozens of incredible battles at the same time everyday every day!”

Inside the first-year waiting room, the participants continued watching the broadcast on several large crystal screens mounted on the walls.

At the same time, a stern academy staff member stood before them, arms folded behind his back.

“When the number on your chest begins blinking,” he explained calmly, “that means it is your turn to fight.”

The students listened attentively.

“You will proceed through the tunnel,” he continued, pointing toward the exit passage, “where you will see the designated platform number displayed on the screens.”

He paused briefly.

“Simply head to the platform indicated.”

The man glanced around the room.

“Understood?”

Murmurs of agreement spread through the crowd of competitors.

Elion tilted his head slightly.

’Platforms?’

It seemed everyone in the room had the same thought at the same time.

Through the large screens in the waiting room, they could clearly see the host floating above the arena and hear the roaring crowd.

From this angle, the battlefield floor of the coliseum looked completely ordinary. Just a massive paved stone surface stretching across the entire arena.

Nothing special at all.

But right on cue—

Something curious happened.

From the faculty balcony, Professor Halbrecht slowly floated forward into the open air.

Flight was something that only grand mages and above were capable of. Even the hostess had to use a platform to stay in the air.

The middle-aged mage hovered calmly about a hundred meters away from the hostess. Then he simply raised one hand.

For a second… Nothing happened.

Then—

The floor began to rumble.

A deep vibration shook the entire coliseum.

Spectators gasped as the tremor spread through the massive structure. Some people even began to panic.

“What’s happening?!”

“Is the arena collapsing?!”

But just as the tension began rising, the battlefield floor started changing.

The enormous stone surface shifted like living earth. Huge sections of the ground began sliding and rising.

Stone grinding against stone echoed throughout the arena. Massive rectangular structures pushed upward from beneath the floor.

One.

Two.

Three.

More and more platforms rose steadily.

Until finally—

Twelve enormous platforms stood raised above the ground.

Each one was perfectly rectangular, measuring roughly fifty meters by thirty meters, standing about one and a half meters above the surrounding floor.

The rumbling slowly faded.

The platforms settled firmly into place.

The entire coliseum stared in stunned awe.

Without saying another word, Halbrecht calmly turned and floated back to the faculty balcony, taking his seat as if nothing extraordinary had just happened.

Inside the waiting room, many students stared wide-eyed at the screens.

Even Elion couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed. ’So that’s the power of a Grand Mage.’

This had clearly been a show of power from the professor. And he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

Could Elion do something like that?

Definitely not.

Not yet.

Despite his large mana pool, he didn’t have the control or the capacity to achieve something like that.

At best, Elion estimated he might manage to raise three platforms of that size before collapsing from mana exhaustion.

And even that might be pushing it. After all, the platforms were enormous. And truthfully… He had barely used his earth magic since he acquired it.

’Actually…’

Elion’s thoughts shifted.

’I should check what this guy’s level is. It should probably work even from this distance.’

Just as he was about to activate Discerning Eye, the system’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

[I wouldn’t do that if I were you.]

Elion blinked slightly.

’Huh?’

’Why?’ he asked silently in his mind.

The system responded immediately.

[Individuals of sufficient power can sense probing abilities such as your skill Discerning Eye.]

Elion’s brows furrowed.

’Sense it?’

[Correct.]

The system’s calm female voice continued.

[Targets whose perception, willpower, or magical awareness exceeds a certain threshold can detect when someone attempts to analyze them.]

Elion’s expression shifted slightly.

’You’re telling me… if I try to scan him… he’ll notice?’

[Yes.]

The answer came without hesitation.

[Someone at the level of Professor Halbrecht possesses extremely refined mana perception.]

Elion glanced back at the screen where Halbrecht had already returned to his seat on the faculty balcony, looking as calm and indifferent as ever.

[If you use Discerning Eye on him directly, there is a high probability he will sense the scan and trace its origin.]

Elion’s eyelid twitched.

’Trace it?’

The system elaborated.

[Your skill functions by extending a subtle thread of mana to the target.]

[A mage of his level can follow that thread back to the source.]

Elion leaned back slightly on the bench as he adjusted Aria’s ass on his lap. He chuckled softly. ’And here I thought the skill was all-powerful.’

Aria looked up at him curiously.

“What’s funny?” she asked quietly.

“Nothing,” Elion said lightly.

Inside his mind, though, he was a bit startled.

He didn’t use Discerning Eye much, even though he had had it for a while now. He hadn’t even considered that someone strong enough could actually notice it.

He glanced again toward the faculty balcony.

’Grand Mage, huh.’

He leaned back slightly and sighed.

’Still… if that’s what a Grand Mage can do…’

His eyes flickered with interest.

’I wonder how strong the principal actually is.’

He didn’t really know how the power hierarchy worked at the highest levels yet.

But if Halbrecht could reshape half the arena with a casual wave of his hand—

Then what could someone like Maximus do?

Destroy a city?

Level a mountain?

The thought made Elion grin slightly.

But those thoughts were quickly interrupted.

Around the waiting room—

The numbers on several participants’ chests suddenly began to blink.

A few students jumped slightly in surprise.

The academy staff member near the door raised his voice.

“Numbers 12, 34, 5, 27, 41, 63, and …”

“You’re up first.”

The students whose numbers were called stiffened before quickly standing.

Nervous excitement filled the room. Some people clenched their fists. Others stretched their shoulders.

The screens inside the waiting room updated again.

A large display showed the first platform assignments.

Platform 3.

Platform 7.

Platform 11.

And several others.

The chosen students quickly began heading toward the tunnel.

Meanwhile—

Elion glanced down at his chest.

The glowing Number 1 remained perfectly still. Not blinking yet.

Mira shifted from her seat with a calm smile.