Kyla was the only 2nd-year student that will be participating in the competition. She felt a lot more pressure than the others due to this but it also means that she probably worked harder than everyone else.

She doesn't want to have that much skill difference with her seniors.

Hector appreciated Kyla's acknowledgment of his existence.

The six of them together with their managers were all waiting for a signal to enter the stage. In another room, the three Mana Technicians together with their managers were completing some debriefing about their competition later today. A few minutes passed and one of the staff assigned to them approached one of the managers before making an announcement.

"Honored students from Zairus, you can now please ready to enter the stage." The staff politely informed the group.

The first part of the ceremony aside from the opening speech coming from someone in the host country was to meet every other participant within the stage. The four groups will have a face-off like this as it was also needed to excite the T.V. viewers as well as the audiences.

The 6 Combat Magician students from Zairus were seen wearing their white uniform with red color on its edges and a tie. The 3 Mana Technician students wore the same uniforms but had the color reversed.

The substitute student of Wallace was a 3rd-year student from Skywalker Academy. His name was Van and he was the same Mana Technician that was previously assigned to Vanessa and Aria who was considered top contenders at the TMAC.

Their team didn't have a clear view of their opponents due to the ceremony but they all felt the strong aura especially the one that was coming from the students of the Montego. After all, they're the students from the host country and had the support of almost all the audiences watching the competition. They ought to show their abilities.

Soon, the opening speech from the Royal Court Magician started. He was an old magician looking around 80 years old but his aura remained lively and fiery. Although many magicians weren't aware of the old man's appearance, they must've heard at least his name. He was Julian Esmeria, one of Aeolia Schien's assistants during his early years in the field. His achievements in magic engineering weren't noticed by many due to the brilliance that Aeolia left in the industry but his efforts bore fruit and were recognized in his later years due to the many lessons he learned from being Aeolia's assistant. He slowly climbed up his ranks and was noticed by the previous King of Montego as he was recruited to he the Royal Court Magicians who would teach foundational Magic to the Royal Family.

Now, as one of the pillars of this country known by almost all the Magicians, just his presence made the younger generation felt proud of being noticed and evaluated by someone in Aeolia's generation.

"Welcome to the start of the Allied's ninth Young Magicians Competition..." Julian said as he started his speech. The official name of the competition, as it says, was for the younger generation of Magicians as there was a separate competition being held for professional Magicians.

"Thirty-two years ago from today, Prince Magalona IV declared Montego's independence with the power bestowed by the Allied Nations and to this day marks another new hope in this country's colorful and proud history.

"The competition will bring a new perspective to every participating country by showing that the human spirit knows no limits.

"Over the next seven days, you will see the true meaning of Magic and the true definition of ability.

"You will witness how this competition has the ability to inspire an individual, and the outstanding capacity to transform communities and countries."

The first part of the speech caught their attention as the latter part of the competition wasn't disclosed. All the students were quite curious about what kind of challenges will they have to conquer just for the sake of winning the event. But although no one knows what was the last event of the competition, they weren't afraid or nervous since they have some confidence in themselves. After all, they wouldn't be selected here if they don't have the guts to challenge the unknown.

"Today, we put our faith in your hands, but we put actions into our faith. Today, we gather as brothers and sisters, as a community of Allied nations...

"Today, I declare open the Allied Nation's ninth Young Magicians Competition!"

As soon as the old magician said those last words, the open arena they were located at was suddenly covered by darkness, and beautiful fireworks were seen in the sky.

It wasn't normal. The speech started around nine in the morning and it couldn't possibly last until the evening.

The Magicians, aside from appreciating the beauty being shown in the sky, were trying to understand how that large-scale magic works.

But they could only sigh thinking it was beyond their comprehension. They couldn't even detect the source of Mana fluctuation that was controlling the changes.

"As expected of someone who studied under Aeolia."

"Hmph! Aren't you giving too much credit to a dead guy? Sir Julian had achieved his status while Aeolia was already dead."

"I understand that, but he wouldn't grow this much without the foundational skills he learned from Sir Aeolia."

"Whatever... I still believe that those who survive will accomplish more things and do more greatness than the dead."

Similar discussions like this from the audience and students were being heard as it's normal for some people especially those die-hard fans of Aeolia or Julian. They always tried to compare the two.

Away from the crowd, a man was standing alone in a corner and observing the whole event.

"An interesting large-scale Mana Artifact."

He silently voiced out. It was Troy Webb, the disciple of Hayden Fraiser and the leader of Zairus Magician's delegates. He was concerned at the level of security so he was making his rounds to make sure nothing could happen to their precious seedlings. The participants here were an important asset of their country and he's liable for their safety so he had to do his best.

After observing a bit and found nothing wrong with Julian's magic, he walked away and continued his rounds. He needed to do this since he can't keep himself calm as he was still worrying about Yumi and Wallace's safety.

***

Wallace has already escaped from Araceli island and was currently in a hotel in Linshamn City where he previously stayed before going to Araceli where everything started.

He smiled at the familiarity of the place. At last, he had escaped that cursed island. He checked his A.I. on his arm guard and confirmed that he can still detect the main A.I. in the spaceship.

He left the spaceship intact as he was worried about how the Aether Force remaining in the spaceship would affect the country. The energy source wasn't anything normal and he understood that it's something that this world is even trying to eliminate due to the corruption it exudes to anyone near the place. Without the special glass covering the spaceship, just the aura of the Aether weakens the Magicians and mutates the plants and Mana beast in the nearby area.

"Oh... so it's already the start of the competition. I'll probably reach there on time if I hurried."

He was currently watching the T.V. so he was aware of the competition that has started. He saw the faces of his fellow participants wearing the white and red uniform and noticed an unfamiliar figure which was probably the substitute they found in a hurry. Wallace glanced at the unconscious Yumi lying on the bed. He made her like that again since she was about to wake up a while ago. He was planning to leave her here and travel alone but felt that it was a bit wrong.

Although he would have trouble explaining once he returned her in their hotel at the Bluefields City, he couldn't just let Yumi remain here since the Z-Company must be aware of her face since she fought with the four Adepts and had seen her face during the chaos.

"Well, she's an Adept. As long as she wakes up, she'll probably know what to do in her disguise."

As soon as he planned on removing the effects of sleeping scent. His Divine Sense detected feedback that a fast-approaching group of strong Magicians was heading to his location.

Wallace was trying to remember any flaws he made during the escape but hadn't found one. He looked at Yumi and thought of something.

He carefully focused on his Divine Sense and noticed that it was a group being lead by his student council president, Aaron.

"Aaron? What is he doing here leading a group of Lucent Force?"

He blurted out as he was surprised by the man's appearance here.

Only 20 seconds were left so he decided to activate his Void Phasing step to leave the area.