The Golem Mage

The Grand Royal Arena had been fully decorated, and the battle ring had been upgraded, both the ring and the energy shielding had been reinforced with materials capable of withstanding the might of Tier 7 mages.

This was the extent of the royal family’s investment in the showdown between the two academies; they wanted to make a strong impression on the elite mages sent to oversee what was officially called an indoor battle.

Despite the significance of the event, the battle was not open to the public.

There was no cheering crowd, the only ones allowed were the top officials of the Royal Mage Academy, the War God Mage Academy, and a few high-ranking mages sent by the King of the Northern Kingdom to represent him.

Amusingly, though the match hadn’t even officially begun, yet the whole Royal Mage Academy team had already arrived in full force, at the front stood Liam, looking more smug than ever.

He was feeling confident—very confident.

Having advanced to mid Tier 6 with support of the academy, Liam believed he had grown far beyond his former self, like Alec, he too had made progress in both his general abilities and mental cultivation, resulting in a noticeable boost in his overall battle power.

In his mind, if he were to face his past self, he wouldn’t need more than three moves to win, that belief alone fed his swelling confidence.

But unlike the War God Mage Academy where General Edward was around to humble the overconfident air that was growing among the war God Mage team —the Royal Mage Academy lacked such a figure.

Their students were raised to believe they were the elite of the elite, and now they were eager to erase the shame of losing to the War God Academy during the last inter-academy competition, as they still believed they should have won that match and Alec would not have gone on to perform all his heroics.

Their only regret now was there was no audience to witness their greatness.

Most of them didn’t crave victory for honour or growth—they simply wanted attention.

“You see, my lord, the mages of the War God Mage Academy are nothing but Barbarians, you should disqualify them for their lack of punctuality,” one of the Royal Mage Academy’s senior instructors complained.

However the leader of the three visiting mages, whose bearing set them apart from everyone else, merely shook his head.

“Do not expect me to rule in your favour simply because we are on your home ground,” he replied.

“I will cancel this preliminary match only if the War God Mage Academy fails to arrive by the appointed hour and by my count they still have five minutes.”

His tone was polite, yet the tightness in his jaw betrayed his irritation.

In the Origin World he hailed from he was no great figure, but whenever he was dispatched to these “primitive” continents to recruit fresh seedlings, the deference shown to him had gone to his head.

He was merely a sub-warrior under the true envoy, yet the authority temporarily vested in him had clouded his sense of proportion, and the War God team’s tardiness felt like a personal slight to him.

Another instructor drew breath just about to speak when a portal opened at the center of the arena.

The dean of the War God Mage Academy stepped through, with the entire war God Mage Academy Team filing out behind him—

Every gaze swung to the newcomers, the moment might have been awkward, yet each member of the War God Mage team looked positively eager, even excited—everyone except Alec and the dean, whose expressions remained unreadable.

“I want to apologize to the envoy for not arriving on time. I was clearly delayed by a scheme orchestrated by individuals who would have preferred to win by default,” the War God Mage Academy dean said, cupping his hands respectfully.

Though his words were initially directed at the substitute envoy standing in the center, midway through his statement he turned his gaze toward the instructors and dean of the Royal Mage Academy, who were seated conveniently close to the three mages assigned to record the battle.

The Royal Mage Academy’s dean, an aged man radiating vitality, chuckled lightly at the accusation.

The substitute envoy’s expression subtly shifted, realizing for the first time that there may have been behind-the-scenes interference he hadn’t been informed of.

In truth, the obstructions weren’t overwhelming but they were deliberate.

The Royal Mage Academy had deployed several underhanded tactics to delay their rivals, and even the king had lent a hand just to disrupt the war God mage team’s momentum, when the War God Mage Academy’s dean attempted a direct teleport to the capital, he was met with a spatial lock forcing him to the city gate instead of a close location to the arena which he had been aiming for with his coordinates, something that should never have been activated during such events.

However it was clearly set up to target them specifically.

After that, the team faced countless delays at checkpoints, with the royal guards singling them out under various pretenses. It was blatant harassment, but they endured it in silence until they reached just outside the stadium, where the dean finally managed to teleport them in.

The atmosphere thickened with tension—until one of the envoys, the one on the left, rose into the air and floated to the center of the arena.

“Since both parties are present, I believe we can proceed straight to the main event. There’s no reason to delay any further,” he declared.

The moment he finished speaking, it felt as though the thick tension in the air had been pricked by an invisible needle, dispersing in an instant.

“Oh? Then what format is the battle supposed to take?” Alec finally asked, his calm voice cutting through the air.

The members of the Royal Mage Academy team turned to stare at him, momentarily stunned as they tried to remember who he was, for a few seconds, confusion flickered across their faces—then realization dawned.

They had been scanning the War God Mage Academy team for Alec since the moment they arrived, but no one had been able to spot him.

Now they understood why.

It wasn’t that Alec hadn’t shown up, it was that he’d been standing in plain sight the entire time, wearing a blindfold.

They had simply dismissed him, never expecting Alec to be the one wearing such a thing, they hadn’t even considered the possibility.