On the raised platform, Marcus finally had some time to check his first skill. He hadn't had a moment to breathe since the initial attack, but now that things had settled, his curiosity got the better of him.
Marcus's eyes widened. "Ten percent damage boost? Twenty percent faster casting?" he muttered, excitement bubbling in his chest.
He clenched his fist, feeling the warmth already gathering in his palm.
"Hey, are you daydreaming again?" Jasmine said from across the platform. "We still have competitors to deal with!"
Marcus blinked, snapping back to reality. He spotted three girls approaching their raised high ground.
"Hey, let's attack these three! They have a male toy they are protecting, they should be easy to deal with." One of the girls said, with a smirk on her face.
"They are coming for us." Marucs said, frowning.
"Let them come," Jasmine grinned, her blue aura flaring. "Marcus, you take the one on the right. Liana, handle the one on the left. I'll deal with the one in the middle."
Marcus nodded, stepping to the edge of their platform. With his new skill enhancing his power, he felt more confident.
He extended his hand, mentally preparing a focused blast.
The attacker struck first, launching a razor-sharp air blade toward their position. Marcus countered instinctively.
Fire erupted from his palm in a concentrated stream, vaporising the attack mid-flight.
"What?!" His opponent stumbled backwards, clearly surprised by the intensity.
Without giving her time to recover, Marcus pressed the advantage. His flame control might be crude, but with the Pyromancer skill boosting his output, raw power made up for technical precision.
Fire engulfed his arm, responding to his will with alarming eagerness. He thrust forward, sending a comet-sized fireball roaring toward his target.
The wind user tried to disperse it with a gust, but the enhanced flames burned through her defense. She vanished in the familiar transport bubble, and the scoreboard updated.
[Elimination confirmed: Marcus of House Windcrest - 200 points]
"Show-off," Jasmine muttered, though her tone held approval. She'd already dispatched her opponent with a mind-distortion combo that left the girl attacking thin air before walking off the platform edge.
Liana's fight proved tougher. Lightning and amber clashed repeatedly, neither gaining advantage until Marcus sent a small fireball toward her opponent's feet. The distraction allowed Liana to encase the girl's legs, quickly climbing to trap her completely.
"Thanks for the assist," Liana panted, dissolving her creation after the elimination.
The opponent that Liana faced was the strongest, considering that she was the only one out of the three girls with a B-rank talent.
"Yeah, you're not completely useless," Jasmine added, dusting off her clothes.
Marcus checked the scoreboard. They'd climbed significantly—Jasmine at fifteen, Liana at twenty-two, and himself at thirty-four.
"Announcement! 100 competitors are left!"
"We're close," he observed.
The battlefield had grown more chaotic. Athena had apparently decided anyone within fifty feet was fair game. Her silver aura stretched across half the arena, fists pulverising anyone caught inside her range.
"What a powerful woman," Jasmine remarked.
A battered water mage stumbled toward their position, clearly fleeing Athena's rampage. All three exchanged glances, nodded, and attacked simultaneously.
[Elimination confirmed: Marcus of House Windcrest - 250 points]
"Easy points," Liana chuckled.
They repeated the strategy several times, catching exhausted competitors seeking shelter. Their position rose steadily—Jasmine cracked the top ten, Liana entered the top twenty, and Marcus climbed to position thirty.
A male in the top thirty. The crowd's murmurs had grown louder.
From the stands, Elara stared in absolute shock.
"He's actually ranked thirtieth. If he stays in the competition, he'll be able to enter The Empress Academy." Elara muttered.
Kayla nodded begrudgingly. "He has indeed exceeded my expectations. Maybe he isn't so useless..."
Spectators nearby turned to them. "This boy is related to you?"
Elara nodded instinctively.
Kayla's eyebrows shot up at the declaration, but she said nothing.
Back in the arena, the barrier contracted again. Only eighty competitors remained.
"Time to split?" Liana asked, eyeing the shrinking safe zone.
Jasmine nodded. "We've gained enough. Better to spread out now."
Marcus hesitated. "Are you sure? We work well together."
"This phase is different," Jasmine explained quickly. "Points matter less than survival. If we cluster, we become a target for area attacks."
As if to prove her point, a massive explosion erupted nearby where three allied mages had bunched up. All vanished in transport bubbles.
"Go!" Jasmine pushed Marcus toward the east. "Find cover and hold your position!"
They scattered. Marcus scrambled over debris, narrowly avoiding a hail of arrows from an unknown attacker. The battlefield had devolved into chaos, no more strategies, just raw survival.
He ducked behind a partially destroyed pillar, catching his breath.
"Thirty people left." He muttered.
'Wait.'
Marcus's mind paused as he realised what that meant.
'Wouldn't that mean I will be sent to The Empress Academy. Which means...I will be the only boy there...'
He gulped at the thought.
Before he could think more, the system activated once more.
[Harem Choice System has been activated!]
[Choice 1: Become part of the fifty chosen to enter The Empress Academy]
Reward: F-Rank Talent & Grade 1 Magical Weapon
[Choice 2: Eliminated before becoming a chosen one]
Reward: Nothing
[Choice 3: Reach the 25th rank.]
Reward: E-Rank Talent & Grade 1 Magical Weapon
Looking at the choices presented to him, Marcus frowned. Before he could pick, a shadow fell across his hiding spot.
"Found you," a girl with purple hair loomed over him. Purple energy crackled around her fists. "Nothing personal, but eliminating the male upstart might earn me bonus points."
Marcus didn't wait for her to attack. He channeled his flame, feeling it respond faster than before thanks to Pyromancer. A wall of fire erupted between them.
The girl laughed. "Basic fire? Please."
She punched through his flames, purple energy dispersing them instantly. Marcus barely rolled away as her fist cracked the ground where he'd been sitting.
'She's strong,' he realized. 'She is a B-Rank talent!'