Sam looked around in surprise.

The darkness is gone and he is standing in the middle of a large platform in the center of the spectator area. He could hear the claps and cheers of the people from all directions. The rest of the candidates also stood around him just as confused as him.

Thor who activated his special weapon was the one who came out of the shock first.

He deactivated the weapon and threw it back in the storage. He gave Sam a look that showed obvious hostility before leaving. Sam cursed under his breath. He missed out on a great chance. He finally took a look at the rest of the contestants around him.

They are the top sixteen and unfortunately, it includes Thor which is against Sam's plan. He wanted to eliminate Thor in this preliminary round. He wanted to do the exact same thing he did to Pearl.

The reason why he told his friends to just toy around with the other students is precisely to avoid this kind of scenario. Of course, toying around would highlight the abilities of his crew gathering a lot of attention towards them.

There is still another benefit to it.

The more people that are still in the field the less likely it is for Thor to accidentally make it into Top 16. He only wanted to eliminate the rest after dealing with Thor. Since his friends got a bit too cautious when Thor pulled off that special transformation, they dealt with the rest.

Now, Thor is in the Top 16.

Noah walked towards him and said.

"It seems like your plan failed. Your face says it all.

"

"What can I do? Shit happens sometimes. I can only deal with it.

"

"See you in the arena then.

"

She said with a smile and left. Yes, she is also part of the top 16. As Chorus explained before, because of what Sam did to the other teams in the team match, a lot of backup students had to take up places in the Solo combat tournament.

Noah who was only a team battle candidate replaced Likhma who still hadn't even open his eyes since the team battle.

Sam left the platform and went to where his team sat down. Dove nodded at him in greeting. It is surprising to see her so silent. Sam could feel the change in her aura and demeanor. At least with him, she is no longer acting like an annoying guardian trying to teach the ways of the world.

Now that the preliminaries are over, it is time for the final matches.

A basic tournament structure with sixteen people.

One contestant remains on top and takes the title of the Top Freshman of this year. Everyone is excited. Most people already believed that the title belonged to Sam. That is the consensus among the common audience.

Among the instructors and seniors, however, there are more names being spoken. Some believed White had a good chance. Some believed Jack had a shot too.

Sam was mesmerized by Saber Monarch's fighting style. Even though they didn't attribute the winner title to him, they believed he would have no trouble entering the top 5. Five elemental kings caught some attention.

All in all, most of the attention and praise revolved around Sam's teammates. Only White and sometimes Noah managed to sneak in a bit.

As for Thor, there is a lot of ridicule directed at him. Since the start, the spectators had complete access to what went on in the testing area. They have seen Thor trying to command an alliance of candidates to fight against Sam.

The same thing happened in the Team battle.

They did enjoy watching someone gang up on someone else. But they are more excited when the one who is being ganged up on comes out on top. Sam defeated the Teams that were against him. He won the whole team battle by himself.

Sam could be said about this solo battle.

Now Sam one-upped Thor and came up with an alliance of his own. The best part is everyone in his alliance is badass in their eyes. Their fighting style, the way they toyed with their opponents, the way they forced a dogfight on their opponents and finally tore them apart.

It is an incredible sight to see.

Now, they want to see a very colorful ending.

While the Thor Academy is bustling with these activities and the Arena for the final battle is being prepared, Sam takes some rest. Because of his plan, he had to expend a lot of energy. He could use this rest, particularly since he planned to show off in the next few fights.

While recovering he calculated his gains.

The main reason to win this tournament is to create as much mess as possible. The conflict with Likhma helped a lot. Even Dove said there is some guy who is going to come after Sam because of Likhma's status, which works in Sam's favor in the long term.

Even though he wasn't able to destroy Thor in the preliminaries, that is still fine. He could fix him up in the next fights. It has little effect other than the psychological impact left on Thor's mind.

Since Thor himself tried to get on Sam's nerves, he will get his due payback in time.

His friends got the exposure Sam wanted. He needs them to build as much reputation as possible. The only problem is Noah is here.

Since she is here, it wouldn't take long for the rest of them to come back. It is fine even if others did. In fact, he welcomed Kumar and Arkiv. Akhil's presence would be great too. But Dayus shouldn't come here that early.

But there is one big gain that will benefit him more than anything else.

Bronte is in the top 16.

The kid who joined the Hub. Even if he doesn't win a higher position now, Sam can use that guy's current position to milk a lot.

As his thoughts wandered around, Dove called Sam.

Sam looked at her in askance.

"Likhma's backers are nowhere to be seen. They took Likhma back to the Aranya Region. You need to be careful. You have to assume that the whole Aranya academy is after you.

"

"Sure.

"

"Just a warning. Take it seriously. Ask if you need any help.

"

"Alright.

"

"Forget about the Thor Academy now. We got it covered.

"

"Okay.

"

That is all Sam could say. This is the information he didn't ask for. So, that is all he said.

Dove went back to keep a stoic face. Sam rolled his eyes. He couldn't understand this girl. He just waited for the fights to begin. The Elders of Thor's academy are discussing something vehemently. It seems like they are waiting for someone.

Sam took a look and could guess who it was.

Another ten minutes later, that person came. At the entrance of the Academy, a young man wearing a sharp black robe is walking in. He had bronze skin and his muscles are apparent even though he is fully covered with a robe.

He is tall. Almost reaching seven feet. But he is clearly human. On his back hung a battle axe with its blade covered with black cloth. He had a cold expression and spectators could almost smell blood from far away because of his bloodthirsty aura.

His sharp eyes, Long hair, and scruffy beard didn't help the look. He looked handsome, but no one would even dare go close to him. It is almost like the air would have escaped from his presence if it had a choice.

His presence is like the incarnate of destruction itself.

It is Ivar.

The owner of the Paradise Inn, Alumni of the Thor Academy, the previous record holder of the Thor's Academy tower, and most of all, the invigilator or rather the referee of the current Solo Combat exam.

Ivar walked in and looked around in the crowd.

As his gaze swept around, everyone who remotely knew about him avoided the gaze. The seniors and students of the Thor Academy gulped in nervousness. Thor felt so ashamed that he hid behind the Elder who was checking up on him.

The Elders of the Thor Academy gulped in nervousness when Ivar looked at them. He is intimidating even to the Elders here. His gaze finally landed on Sam and that cold face cracked with a smile.

Sam waved his hand slightly.

This scene shocked everyone. At least, everyone who knew about Ivar.

Dove kind of expected this, but even she was a bit surprised. She still couldn't understand how Sam managed to strike a friendship with the guy who managed to go through the whole academy period with no friends.

Ivar took a breath and addressed the students.

"Top Sixteen Candidates, on to the arena please.

"

The top sixteen including Sam went on to the arena.

"I am Ivar. I will be the Referee and the Judge for the last and final event of this Freshman tournament.

First of all, congratulations on reaching the top 16.

"