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nVale had no idea that his acquaintances from the Order of the Illustrious Liquidator and the Untainted Sentinels would be attending the Competition.

nNevertheless, he probably wouldn’t mind even if he learned about it unless they were from the Order of the Oracle Hivemind.

nFurthermore, he was quite confident that they hadn’t connected him to the Masked Devil, so even if he got recognized, they wouldn’t be hostile to him.

n‘Mhmm? Is it about time?’ Vale thought as he heard Yvaine reminding him of the appointment he had made.

nA week had already passed from the inter-academy Competition, and with Maya, Philip, Crystal, and Luna, he will participate in the Twelve Academies Competition.

nToday,? Vale and Maya would get to know a few of their Seniors in the Branch. This was due to the fact that they will be participating in the large Competition for the first time. They would receive advice, tips, and tricks to win as a Ritualist in the Competition.

nVale felt excited at this since they would meet Anderson Powlett, Thelma Cameron, and Cassie Welsh, who were renowned figures who had previously participated in the Twelve Academies Competition. Vale knew that their guidance and advice would be invaluable as he prepared for the upcoming event. After all, he had seen their battles in the Recording Crystals in the Archive Room!

nVale would certainly like to meet them, especially Anderson Powlett, who was able to create a floating Magic Circle! This man didn’t need to use a tedious process of making a Magic Circle using silver powder to start a ritual!

nHe only needed 3 seconds to summon this mysterious Magic Circle, followed by a Prayer that could last for 5 seconds, and he would be able to summon a Mysterious Entity’s eyes that could petrify almost anyone.

nSoon, Vale and Maya met at the garden’s entrance and exchanged glances. They were both excited to meet their seniors and arrived almost an hour early from the appointed time.

nAs the sun cast a warm glow over the East Pavilion Garden, Vale and Maya’s anticipation grew.

nThud. Thud. Thud.

nSoon, they heard some heavy footsteps. A group of people were approaching the pavilion.

nIt was Anderson Powlett, a tall and imposing figure, approaching them with a confident stride. His piercing gaze met Vale’s, and a knowing smile played on his lips. “Vale Chambers, the prodigious talent of our Branch. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you…” Anderson greeted, extending his hand in a firm handshake.

nVale returned the gesture, feeling a surge of admiration for the senior mage. This man actually has 9 filled Spell Lights already. 𝑟.𝘤𝘰𝑚

n“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Powlett. I’ve heard great things about your performances in the previous competitions.”

nAnderson then shifted his gaze to Maya. “I heard a lot about you from your older sister. Hehe… I’m sure you’ll surpass her achievement by participating this early.”

nThelma Cameron appeared next, her radiant smile lighting up the garden. Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she looked at Vale.

n“Ah… Vale, we’ve finally met. I heard a lot about you from Nadine.” Thelma said with a flirtatious wink, causing Vale to be stunned. Maya, on the other hand, seemed to know Thelma already.

n‘What did Senior Nadine tell her?’ Vale silently thought.

nCassie Welsh, who appears calm and composed, joined the group with an air of serenity. “Vale, Maya, I hope you guys weren’t waiting for long…” Cassie remarked, her voice carrying a soothing tone.

nSoon, the group gathered under the shade brought by the pavilion as they chatted about the Twelve Academies Competition.

n“To be honest, I’m a bit worried since the Ritualists during this Academic Year wouldn’t normally possess decent fighting capability until they reached the 7th-year or 8th-year once you started learning about the Fusions. However, I heard that you guys defeated all the Necromancers in the same year, so I guess your Darkness Manipulation had already reached the late stage of Elementary Realm.” Anderson said, as this was also Cassie and Thelma’s thought.

nThey were indeed surprised that two fourth-year students of their Branch got 2 of the five spots for the big Competition.

n“We were lucky, Seniors. None of our opponents learned their branch-exclusive spells yet.” Vale answered with a smile.

nHowever, his answer just shocked the other three.

n“Wait, are you telling us that you already learned one of our Branch-Exclusive Spells?” Thelma asked in shock.

n“Hey, isn’t that a bit too fast?” Cassie followed as she only learned her first Branch-Exclusive Spell in her sixth year!

n“Ahem, we were just lucky, Seniors.” Vale said.

n“Yes… Master Sherah taught me a few tricks to immediately accommodate another Spell Model in my body. If you want to learn it, I could ask my Master about it.” Maya added that she didn’t mind telling the truth.

nThe Senior Students exchanged glances as they thought that they already knew their skills according to the reports they heard. However, it seems that they still underestimated these two.

n“Impressive! Is it the Soul Swap or Spirit Shatter?” Anderson asked.

n“I learned the Spirit Shatter, Senior.” Maya answered as she turned her head to Vale with a complicated gaze… She wanted to add that it was not effective against Vale, who had such a monstrous Life Strand. If she knows that this Spell wouldn’t work well, against those with higher Life Strand, she would rather learn the Soul Swap instead.

n“I actually learned the Shadow Gate, Senior… Why did you not ask about that Spell?” Vale replied, stunning the three.

n“V-Vale… The Shadow Gate is the hardest one to learn. We only learned this Spell in our eighth year. How did you do that?” Thelma asked as her eyes brightened up. She looked at Vale, filled with interest, as she had never expected that a junior in her batch would have such a great talent.

nVale was stunned as he realized that the difficulty of those Spells was actually different from each other. Well, he indeed spent a lot more contributions to obtain the materials he needed to record the Shadow Gate Spell.

n“It’s probably thanks to my Special Physique, Senior. In any case, do you think that learning this Spell would help us win the Competition?” Vale asked.

nThis time, it was Anderson who answered.

n“Of course! There are seven types of contests, some of which are further divided into groups or individual run. Do you know these contests?”

nMaya nodded and answered.

n“Yes, Senior. They are Labyrinth of Secrets, Mirage of Wonders, Clash of Champions, Spectacle of Talents, Tower Ascension, Monster Hunter, and Trial of Skills.”

nNew novel chapters are published on 𝒆𝙖.𝙘𝒎

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