The Golem Mage

”Hey, it’s the Battle Mage Academy team!, I can’t believe I’m actually seeing members of the renowned Battle Mage team, one of the top eight academies from last year.”

”Is that Vincent? Vincent Whitefang the teams captain ? I can’t believe I’m meeting one of the eight ranked kings of the inter-academy so soon.”

Bystanders and the female mages in the waiting teams behind them all squealed with excitement, showering praises upon the team that seemed determined to bypass the line while belittling Alec’s team.

”When you return back home, feel free to ask dad about that yourself, just know that if your team is unlucky enough to be drawn against us, there will be no mercy for your little babies who were only sent to fill the competition numbers,” Selena gloated while glaring down at Alec and the rest of his team.

However, Alec remained calm, displaying a peaceful expression on his face.

Though he didn’t know much about Selene’s background, but from the little snippet Alec had heard, he could tell that her father held a prominent position in the Battle Mage Academy.

So It quite puzzled him why she had chosen to enroll in the War God Mage Academy despite her family’s connections to a prestigious institution.

Merely by sensing the energy levels of mages Selena was in charge of, Alec could tell that they were formidable opponents.

If faced with a direct confrontation, even with the assistance of all his golems, he couldn’t confidently say whether he would emerge victorious; that’s how much pressure they were exerting.

”The team from the Battle Mage Academy may enter directly, there is no need to inspect your competition talisman,” another guard stationed at the gate announced, recognizing the growing tension between Selene and Selena.

Acting swiftly to defuse the situation, he allowed the mages from the Battle Mage Academy to pass through the gate, not bothering to acknowledge Alec and his team, as if considering them insignificant.

”I’ll be keeping a close eye on your team’s progress and I’m expecting an impressive show,” Selena declared to Selene before turning her attention to Alec.

”Better not get kicked out too soon kid, although I don’t understand how you became captain of this ragtag team from the War God Academy, but the fact that my elder sister has chosen to accompany this group here means that either you or the entire team means something to her, so, until we meet again, make sure you don’t get kicked out of the competition,” Selena taunted as she passed through the gate and entered the Royal Academy.

Alec’s rage was simmering beneath the surface, but he maintained a nonchalant expression.

He was confident in his ability to defeat any of them in a one versus one, yet he couldn’t shake off the feeling of being looked down upon, both as an individual and as a representative of his academy.

Alec hadn’t noticed it before, but he realized that every time their academy was insulted, whether indirectly or directly, he grew increasingly angry.

”Are we just going to let them go ahead of us like that, without doing anything? It seems even the officials who are supposed to be unbiased are favouring them tremendously,” Beatrice pointed out, frustration evident in her voice.

Agnes pouted and nodded in agreement, showing her support for Beatrice’s statement, Selene let out a sigh, shaking her head slightly.

”I’ll explain everything to all of you as soon as we enter the Royal Academy, the spherical barrier inside prevents anyone from eavesdropping on our conversation,” Selene reassured as the first guard resumed checking their competition talismans.

After the guard finished going through all the names on the talismans and confirmed their enrollment in the list with him , he finally allowed them to enter.

However, Alec couldn’t shake off the feeling that the guard had intentionally delayed them, as if trying to ensure they wouldn’t cross paths with the mages from the Battle Academy.

”The Battle Academy is one of the top eight academies that has consistently secured high rankings in the inter-academy competition for the past ten years, while the War God Academy may have garnered respect in the past, it’s become more of a relic, meanwhile the Battle Academy, on the other hand, is a recent rising star, which is why they are receiving preferential treatment,” Selene explained, shedding light on the situation as they made their way further into the academy.

”After all, they are easily recognized as part of the top eight ranked academies, The inter-academy competition wouldn’t begin without their presence, so, when they skip the lines and enter the venue, no one thinks anything is wrong with it. It’s a mentality that has been ingrained in everyone,”

”And believe me when I say this, you don’t want to be matched up with them anytime soon, they are incredibly strong,” Selene emphasized, her frown deepening as Alec let out a weary sigh, fully aware of the formidable opponents they could likely face.

With a resigned determination, they all continued walking towards the venue where the first round of the competition awaited them.

They easily located the place as a large, circular Colosseum nearby displayed signs of the competition, and they could see other academy teams, dressed in their respective uniforms entering through a separate entrance as long as they showed their competition talismans.

–

After entering through a secret entrance, Alec and his team discovered that the Colosseum was quite spacious.

Selene handed Alec a space ring containing the outfits they would wear for the competition, She then went with the other coordinator to start the draw and find out which team they would be facing in the first round.

Meanwhile, Alec and his team located the spacious changing room designated for their team, conveniently divided into separate sections for males and females.

–

After thirty minutes of the draw being made, two Tier 7 Mages from the Royal Academy, dressed in robes with the academy insignia and acting as the referees for the first stage, floated in the sky above the Colosseum.

The list of participating academies for the first set of matches flew up to them in the form of a scroll with wings, one of the referees with a sword caught the scroll as the wings disappeared, and he nodded to the person who had thrown the paper up to him from below.

The seats of the Colosseum were filled with a diverse crowd of mages, academies, big clans, and organizations, all gathered to witness the opening of the inter-academy competition. As the referee glanced at the scroll, his expression froze upon seeing the name of a familiar academy listed in the first battle.

Though he had forgotten that they still existed, considering their absence from previous competitions, but he put his personal feelings aside as he prepared to deliver his first speech.

”Welcome to this year’s edition of the inter-academy competition,” the referee announced, prompting loud cheers from the crowd.

”I know you’re all eager for the competition to begin, so I’ll give you a sneak peek, the theme for this stage is capture the flag, with each team allowed to send only five members,” he explained as he spread out his right hand forward.

” To be transported to a vast ancient forest, where their mission will be to capture the opposing team’s flag by any means necessary, there are no consequences attached to this battle; your sole objective is to defeat your opponents and seize their flag,” the referee with the scroll and sword at his waist clarified.

”Now, let’s reveal the first two academies prepared to open the stage and go head to head,”

”Bandit Academy versus War God Academy!” the second referee with red hair concluded with enthusiasm.