The Golem Mage

Both mages dashed at each other as time seemed to slow to a crawl, Lucas gripped his glaive tightly with both hands, the blade arcing forward as he swung, behind him streaks of lightning trailed in the weapon’s path, slicing through the air with an electrifying roar.

His expression had shifted, gone was the casual calm.

Now, a wild grin stretched across his face as his muscles tensed, fuelled by his raw Qi energy that surged uncontrollably, thunder claps echoed across his half of the stage, where lightning and Qi collided in chaotic harmony.

On Liam’s side, a different kind of power reigned, a temporal field wrapped around him, distorting time itself, everything outside his body moved sluggishly, slowed by the spell’s influence, everything but him.

“Ahhh!” Both mages let out cries as they clashed and then passed each other in the blink of an eye, switching places on the battle ring, and the crowd held its breath, eyes straining to understand what had just occurred.

Lucas’s body trembled but remained standing, he drove the butt of his glaive into the ground with a thundering slam, sending a shockwave rippling through the arena.

Then, like a puppet with cut strings, Liam’s body collapsed with a loud thud, unmoving.

It was a chilling wake-up call for the Royal Mage Academy, their hopes had risen for a moment after watching their captain fight so valiantly, however in the end, he had still fallen.

“Match concluded. War God Mage Academy wins,” the judge declared.

The dean of the War God Mage Academy erupted in laughter, pride radiating from him as Lucas walked calmly toward Liam’s fallen body.

“You fought well,” Lucas muttered, passing the unconscious form of Liam before re-joining his team, cheers broke out as they celebrated their hard-fought victory, already exchanging words about the match.

—

Meanwhile, in the palace of the Northern Kingdom, just minutes after Lucas had claimed victory, the king paced anxiously in his private chamber, as he turned, he froze his eyes falling on a figure cloaked in black standing silently at the entrance.

“My king, the match has concluded,” the cloaked figure announced, bowing slightly with his right hand pressed over his chest.

“Speak—who won?” the king asked sharply, his impatience leaking through his voice, the figure hesitated, taking a few seconds before finally answering.

“It’s the War God Mage Academy.”

The king slumped into a seat close by, his expression unreadable, whatever thoughts stormed through his mind, the figure before him could only guess, without another word, the king waved him off, with a final respectful bow, the mage vanished from sight, leaving the king alone in the silence of the chamber, deep in thought.

But he wasn’t the only one receiving the news, within the next hour, the seven other institutions that formed the Great Eight Academies each received the battle results via enchanted message birds: that the War God Mage Academy had triumphed over the Royal Mage Academy, while the message lacked specific details about who fought or how the victory was achieved, it was more than enough to stir the academies.

Across the northern kingdom, expectations for the upcoming Origin Tournament skyrocketed.

Each academy and ancient reacted differently to the news, some were shocked, others cautious, but all were intrigued, because the Royal Mage Academy had been in top form since the inter-academy competition as the Royal clan had invested in the team to raise their prowess, which is what made their defeat even more impactful.

Yet one academy among the great eight academies remained calm, and that was the Battle Mage Academy, they had long been betting on the War God Mage Academy to win and were hardly surprised by the outcome.

—

#Back at the War God Mage Academy

A portal shimmered open at the center of the Dean’s Peak as the returning team of students stepped out, fresh from their match in the capital, one by one, the entire squad emerged through the space gate, as the dean watched them with silent pride.

They were barely second-year students, yet they had already carved the name of the War God Mage Academy into the capital’s memory time and time again.

No matter how he looked at it, the dean couldn’t help but feel proud.

“You all did a great job,” the Dean began, his voice firm yet proud.

“But this is just the beginning. I’m sure you all understand that the real battle begins at the Origin Competition, what we just participated in was nothing more than a qualifier.”

He paused before continuing,

“The main competition starts in five days, so don’t hesitate to use the killing arrays—we’ve made them fully accessible and all the cultivation rooms will be open exclusively for your use during this time, this is to ensure that each of you performs at your peak.”

After his short but impactful pep talk, the students began dispersing toward their respective Master’s Peaks. But before they could fully leave, Alec stepped forward, making sure to address the entire team at the bottom of the Dean’s peak.

“I want to see each and every one of you before we leave for the competition,” he said, his tone serious and commanding.

His rare display of leadership made them visibly excited, after all the last time Alec had called them together like this, he’d handed out mid-tier cultivation pills that helped many of them break through bottlenecks and strengthen their mental fortitude back at the capital .

“We’ll be looking forward to whatever you’ve got planned,” Pale said with a grin as he and Katie headed off.

He had completely forgotten his earlier frustration about not fighting, even though he had already received Tier 6 cultivation pills from his clan, he wasn’t about to turn down anything extra Alec might offer, not when Alec’s gifts always came with unexpected benefits.

One by one, Sophia and Endrick exchanged farewells and words of gratitude with Alec before leaving, only Lucas and Beatrice remained behind with Alec gang, their expressions unreadable, noticing their solemn demeanour, Alec turned to his clansmen and gave them a subtle nod, silently signalling them to give him space.

The group understood instantly and walked off, heading toward their own master’s Peak.

Alec turned to face the duo.

“To what do I owe this honour?”

“How do you know?” Lucas said as he stepped forward.

He didn’t elaborate, but Alec caught the meaning immediately, without speaking, he pointed toward his own blindfolded eyes, though Alec didn’t offer Lucas a clear explanation, however the air of mystery he left behind was enough to make Lucas drop his line of questioning. Instead, Alec shifted his attention to Beatrice.

“What’s your current realm? Because I seriously doubt you’re still at Peak Tier 5,” Beatrice asked without hesitation.

“I’m at Low Tier 6 now, but unless I’m pushed into a situation I can’t control, I won’t be using my full strength.” Alec replied calmly.

“Then let’s fight,” Beatrice said, cutting in the moment Alec finished his sentence, her challenge caught both Alec and Lucas off guard.

“Hey, that’s my line! I wanted to fight him first!, besides, ladies shouldn’t be getting involved in things like this.” Lucas interjected quickly, stepping forward.

He was clearly eager, not wanting to miss the chance to finally test himself against Alec; ever since returning to the academy, that desire had been burni

ng inside him, he needed to know just how much stronger he had become.