Death Mage with an SS-Rank Talent-Chapter 156

The coordinator acted as the referee for the match. There was no need to bring another in for this. He could easily prevent anything bad from happening to the contestants.

That was the biggest issue when duels took place between students.

The alliance wants to find out the best among the students, and that means they have to fight each other, which could lead to injuries. The injuries can be even fatal at times or cripple one of the students.

In order to win, one has to show their full power or else the other would win, and in those moments, no one would have perfect control of their attacks. Even if they do, if the opponent couldn’t defend themselves properly, then they might end up a cripple or dead.

It would mean the loss of a talent for the alliance, which they wouldn’t like to happen.

So, there are referees who would watch the duels closely and would intervene if an attack is considered dangerous, declare the winner without the other’s surrender in that situation.

---

"Okay, you two, remember, the duel ends when the opponent surrenders or faints. Also, I can end the match if I sense danger to one of your lives. So, get ready to battle", the coordinator spoke.

He has heard what one of the boys said and clearly understood that one is either an idiot or clever. He clearly recognised the unspoken one as the one who aced the alliance exam and snagged the top rank a few months ago.

He wanted to see how much he had grown, and the reason why he didn’t intervene in the dialogue between them. He saw Aaron get angry for a second, but then he calmed down before the match started.

"This would make things interesting", the coordinator thought.

These duels are watched by thousands from the spectator stands and by millions on their TVs. It is a grand event that was celebrated by all in the alliance, as they can see how powerful their future protectors are and can feel safer this way.

This was done mainly to boost the morale of the people, but this is also a way to earn a lot of income. The tournament brings a lot of people from various places across the alliance. Many people would be watching the duels in bars and restaurants, which would boost the economy.

It’s a win-win for everyone, except for gamblers who would lose money when the ones they bet on lost the match.

There are official ways to bet on matches, but to control gambling, which could ruin people’s lives, there is a total limit on how much one can bet during a tournament.

Of course, this restriction doesn’t apply to some personal betting, especially among the higher-ups who would do it for fun or to embarrass their rivals.

These higher-ups were once youngsters, when they made many rivals from their own generation, who would stay even after they grew old. So, betting between them can’t be stopped, especially if students from the academies that they represent are going to fight.

In addition to that, there are illegal gambling dens, where there is no upper limit, which ruins a lot of lives. Though the alliance wants to destroy all those, it wouldn’t be so easy to do so.

First, they need information on where they would pop up, as there was no permanent establishment for such things.

Second, though it was against alliance policy, there were many in the alliance hierarchy who would turn a blind eye to such things, as they were paid under the table by those illegal gambling houses.

When a gamble happens, the house always wins, no matter what. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

So, the ones organising would make a lot of profits, and they would use some of those profits to entice officials, making it almost impossible to crack down on these illegal gambling dens.

Anyway, the coordinator has nothing to do with that. What he had to do was to hype the battle a bit. It was why he didn’t intervene when the dialogues were exchanged, well, only one spoke, but still it stirred up a bit.

It was for good revenue for the alliance, but that doesn’t mean he won’t intervene if this gets too far.

---

"I have been looking for a long time for a match like this and the heavens answered my call by making you my first opponent. The world would soon see that the first rank among the current generation belongs to me, not some upstart Death Mage", the boy spoke loudly without giving Aaron any face at all.

Though those words angered Aaron for a bit, he quickly calmed down.

Instead of shouting angrily at the boy, instead he asked in a calm tone, "Ah, sorry, who are you?"

If Aaron vented his angry directly, that would meant that the opponent has won the starting battle.

Seeing that instead of getting angry, he instead broke down the opponent in a calm manner, the coordinator was impressed.

"Not bad", he thought.

The boy, on the other hand, was stunned by the question and couldn’t think of anything to say. This was so embarrassing for him. It had never been like this since he entered the Luminar Academy. Wherever he went, he was instantly recognised without any introduction, even by his seniors.

Now that Aaron didn’t even recognize him, when he boasted about himself while demeaning Aaron’s class, it was more embarassing for him than it was for Aaron.

While he spoke a lot of words to embarass Aaron, instead of being angered or embarsssed, Aaron turned tables with a few words.

There is no way that he would let this go, no matter what. He would make sure that Aaron ended up in medical hall for the night. He wanted to do more, but he knew that the referee would stop him and that might even cause him a chance to get the winner seat.

"I am Aiden Cross, remember my name when you spend the night in the medical hall", the boy replied after a while, fuming over the fact that he had to introduce himself.

Hearing the name, and the details that his opponent just gave, Aaron was able to pup one and one together. He didn’t check the names that were below him during the alliance exam but he remember the one that was just below him.

He now understood that the boy opposite was angry at him just because he did better and got the first rank.

"Such mentality, I wonder if he would take the evil path", Aaron wondered but he didn’t talk about it loud.

Whether the boy continues on a righteous path or takes an evil path has nothing to do with him. The boy is now his opponent, and the only thing that matters is defeating him in a humiliating way.

Though Aaron likes to be low-key at this moment, it was beacuse he was too weak and almost all the professionals who awakened a few years earlier can squat him like a bug. Moreover, he has to worry about his parents.

Though he was being low-key, it doesn’t mean anyone can walk over him like nothing. If the opponent is like this, then he wouldn’t back down and would teach him a lesson that he would remember till the end.