"So, you are going to participate in the showcase? I heard only the best campuses participate in the matches." Henry had just explained his intentions to participate in the first-year talent showcase.

"Right. It had been a few years since anyone from our campus participated in those matches. I wish I could come to see you beat them up." Aster was pumped up with energy. Aster and Noah were both from noble families. The prestigious schools they studied in, the higher their standing would be.

"I can ask Miss Silvy to let you two tag along." Henry truly enjoyed the company of these two friends of his.

"Really? Thank you so much!" Aster became excited again while Noah sat back enjoying his breakfast. There was a slight smile on his face.

There were only a few minutes to depart for the arena. Unlike before, this time, the competition was held in the royal city. It was said even the royal family too looked forward to the matches.

With Silvy's permission, both Noah and Aster we're able to join the team. It was almost one as Alice joined the four waiting to teleport. Alice was a grade 3 spatial mage which meant she was capable of opening teleport gates much easier than other mages. Silvy could do the same, but it would cost her considerable soul strength.

The five arrived right outside the royal capital. Henry stared at the gigantic city gates as well as the sky-reaching walls that separated the lower city from the royal palace. Beyond the walls stood one of the most illustrious households in the kingdom of Fire Canyon. The Royal Family. Seeing Henry and the two's stunned looks, the city guards beamed with pleasure. Behind all the berating and trashing they reside from the royals, this was the only pleasure they could enjoy. Silvy and Alice had an indifferent look as they showed their identities.

"Well, if it isn't Silvy. What? Even the loser schools are now participating?" A berating voice reached their ears as soon as they entered the royal territory.

"Eleanor? Didn't they already kick you out of the academy?" Alice looked at the woman who approached their group.

Eleanor was one of the early staff at Flowing water covenant. She later jumped ships after receiving an opportunity to work at the royal academy. There was a little hatred in Alice's voice as she kept sending hidden daggers at this turncoat. It seemed like there was a lot of hidden hatred towards this woman from the academy's teachers.

"Kick me out? Ha, they can't afford to kick me out. Seriously, did you forget? Only one student can participate. What is this? Wait. Are you perhaps doing the welcome match this year?" Eleanor kept spewing nonsense one after the other. Getting a little tired, Silvy looked at Alice to stop and move forward. Henry could see extreme displeasure in both Silvy's and Alice's eyes.

"Losers." They heard Eleanor boo one last time before they walked out of her sight.

"Don't fight openly with them. Don't forget we are in their territory." Silvy reminded Alice right before they entered the Arena.

Inside the arena stood a notice board that displayed the contestants for the first-year talent showcase.

'Stella, Ice Mage, Royal Academy.'

'Joel, Light Warrior, Melee Champions School.'

'Hester, Dark Assassin, School of Assassins.'

'Mystic, Water Mage, Alchemy Covenant.'

The list wasn't full as people had yet to arrive. Silvy registered Henry for the competition.

"The competition starts tomorrow. We are free today. Why don't you guys go have fun? I'll go reserve the rooms at Clearwater Inn" Silvy walked out to make reservations.

"You grew up pretty fast. Only a few months and you went from a weak grade 2 mage to a peak grade 9 mage. I wonder what secrets you are hiding." Alice was extremely curious to see Henry's growth. Within a short span of six months, he was able to catch up to her years of hard work. She felt like given time, Henry would probably leave her in the dust. Seeing his talent, Alice was always jealous. 'But he had a red talent level that barely made the cut.' She couldn't fathom how such a weak kid could grow this monstrous.

"Aren't you Henry?" A half-elf girl approached him as he was about to leave.

"Yes. I'm called Henry." It wasn't normal for others to approach the students from a lower rank school. It wasn't an unknown truth that most of the kids who went to those schools were just those that couldn't pass the eyes of other schools.

"We tried to look for you but you had already left before we could catch up. I'm Nory from the Elven Institute of Mana Crafts. Can we talk somewhere in private?" It seemed like she was hoping to recruit Henry.

"Sorry, but I don't plan on switching schools."

"This isn't about schools. I promise you it will be worth your time."

"Alright then." He walked with Nory to a deserted corner in the cafeteria.

"Not the best place to talk business but this will do," Nory said sitting down on a corner chair. She ordered a soft cake and two cool servings of crystal water. It was a great supplement to replenish stamina.

"I was sent over by Mistress Silvy. She said you are highly talented in alchemy." She checked for Henry's expression to see if it leaked anything.

"Miss Silvy sent you over? Why didn't she say anything?"

"She has her reasons." She took a sip of the crystal water.

"So, what exactly is the offer about?"

"Well, according to Silvy, you are a pretty decent alchemist. Our institute plans to create an official school for alchemy. We plan to recruit you as an instructor. If you are willing to, of course."

"An alchemy instructor? Are you sure? Look at me. I'm barely 5. No one would treat me seriously."

"Silvy is the one who vouched for you. So, I'm pretty sure you are quite talented. Besides, I've never seen her as excited when she was speaking of you. If a student excites her, then he must be an unparalleled genius."

"The offer is great. Thank you. But I never planned to become an alchemist. I guess pursuing alchemy was more for personal satisfaction rather than a life goal for me."

"Not everything can be planned ahead in life, Henry. Sometimes, life shows you what is best for you. Do not throw this chance away. There is still time. You can let me know after you increased your soul strength to the prophet tier." Nory got up prepared to leave.

"Sure, I will keep that in mind."

'Become an alchemist and get stuck in a room for the rest of my life?' The smirk on Henry's face became bolder. The only reason he even practised alchemy was to get in the good books of Silvy. Henry was confident he could find even better opportunities in this life. Either way, he still had to reach the prophet tier and the only way to do so was to upgrade his system. He was still 63 beasts short on that end.

Once Nory left, Henry too followed out. His current major concern was getting a stronger storage ring. The old worn-out ring had become too unstable and he was afraid it might lose its stability soon. It had already outlived its lifetime and stretching it any further was paramount to losing all the wealth he had accumulated. If a spatial device exploded, the entire content would be lost forever.

After roaming around and a little searching Henry was able to find the magic pavilion, the largest magic trinket store in the royal capital. The four-storey building stood majestic right next to the royal reserve bank, the noblemen's treasury. Walking into the pavilion, Henry was welcomed into a guest room where he was introduced to one of the sales representatives by a pavilion's servant.

"Two storage spatial devices? That of this size?" Hearing the large order the representative was a little too stunned. A four, almost five-year-old beastling wanted items that were worth over 30 crystals. Had it not been for the policy of not treating the customers with respect, the pavilion would have thrown the brat out without even letting him enter.

"The starting price of 100 square meters rings is 30 crystals. Will that be alright?" Had it been a noble or a rich merchant, the salesperson would have upsold the ring for at least 40 crystals. But looking at the way Henry was dressed, the girl felt it wouldn't be possible to gain too much from the kid. Upselling might even cause her to lose a customer.

"I just need something simple and sturdy. How about I buy two and you give it for 55 crystals." Henry tried pushing his luck a little to no avail. The 30 crystals were already the pavilion's bottom line. The only reason they were willing to trade was to çlear up the inventory since spatial rings weren't that big of a hot commodity. He had to end up paying the 60 crystals to purchase the two rings.

"Is there anything else you need, sir?"

"Is there any armour's that's suitable for a fight against body cultivators?" He was bound to face too many at the arena. Henry wanted to be somewhat prepared for the fight. Although he had a strong body, it was better to have good armour before the fight.

"We have multiple armours. It will depend on how much mobility you need. As a mage, I would recommend you light chainmail set. It is sturdy enough to block a few strong attacks but it can also boost your mobility considerably higher."

"No, get me a tanky armour. I'm not an agile fighter." With his earthen defence spells, it was better to stick to one place rather than move around the stage. Henry was confident enough that he could handle any opponent below the prophet tier. The only issue was, there was a higher chance some of the opponents might have broken through to the prophet stage.

"The heaviest armour we have will need a peak grade 9 body to withstand its weight. The girl left the room and brought a trolley along which had a gigantic metal armour on it. "The will be heavily limited. But it's not easy for something to penetrate this armour. Only me grade prophets as well as peak grade 9 mages could break through this armour."

The armour was exactly what she described. Heavy. Even with how strong Henry was, he found it a little hard to put it on by himself.

"It sure is heavy," Henry said to the stunned girl who did not expect him to strip and try on the armour right away.

"We have a fitting room." She said pointing at a door to the side.

"Oh, sorry. I will take it. How much does it cost?"

Henry walked to the inn where they were supposed to stay for the night. The inns in the capital were extremely costly. Their stay was sponsored by the covenant. Silvy was passive about the whole job offer. It seemed like she wasn't interested in talking about it anymore.

The day ended passively as everyone was excited about the battle the next day.

"Twenty-four contestants?" A man in a sky blue gown sitting back relaxing on a raised seat looked excited. "Looks like there are more excellent kids amongst this year's batch."

"To think those losers dared to even participle. Those kids must be at least grade 7 in strength." Another person sitting to the right said. There was disdain on his face.

"Do we have to worry?" A woman sitting to the left said sceptically.

"There won't be a problem. We will team them against the best. That should kick them out before they could even show off." The man on the elevated chair said.

"Thank you. We appreciate the help."

The clock on the mage tower hit six times waking everyone up. There was excitement all around the city as nobles had crowded right outside the capital city waiting to be permitted entry. There were countless soldiers all around the streets trying to keep the peace. Although there were minimal sightings, this made the atmosphere even grimmer as the tension became even stronger. Henry had never seen a place this crowded before. The sun was barely up.

Silvy was waiting for everyone at the front dining area. The inn was too busy serving food and the crowd kept becoming bigger and bigger. Thankfully, the arena too had reserved space for participants and thankfully they served food as well.

Reaching the arena, the fighting order was already set up. Seeing the list Silvy and Alice suddenly became a little too agitated.

"Too shameless." Alice was so pissed at the list, she started vaporising the man around her.

"Looks like they don't want us to even try." Silvy on the other hand smiled looking at the list. "Hester, dark assassin. Looks like you got your work cut out for you Henry. Are you confident you can handle him?"

"Shouldn't be a problem as long as he's below prophet tier." Henry was confident in his strength. He could single-handedly kill multiple peak grade monsters. An assassin shouldn't put up too much of an issue.

"Be careful and try to stay away from the shadows as much as possible. Those guys can merge with shadows." Alice added right before sending Henry to the contestant's area.

The matches were scheduled and soon the curtains rose starting the event. The arena became lively as the first contestants walked over to the stage. One wore a metal armour the other was clad in black linen. Seeing the two melee fighters go head to head, the crowd couldn't contain their excitement either.

"The first battle between Hester, the dark assassin, top from the School of assassins vs Henry, fire mage from the flowing water covenant shall now begin!" An announcement went off and the crowd turned silent?"

"A mage?"

"A fire mage?"

"A fire mage can walk in that armour?"

"Isn't that the tank armour the pavilion just developed?"

"Holy… It's a dual cultivator."

"Wait, isn't that armour too expensive? Which noble family is that kid from?"

"No kidding. I heard it cost around 200 crystals."

"Why a rich bastard indeed."

"That's just dirty."

Even Hester was stunned seeing the fire mage walk out in such heavy armour. The pavilion's tank armour was one of the worst nightmares of all fighters below prophet tier. It was evident that this one move caused all the other schools to rethink their strategy.

"To think the covenant invested so much into this fight. They must be very desperate."

"True, but I thought you had to be a grade 9 body cultivator at least to wear it, no?"

"Guess the kid must be one then. A grade 9 body cultivate and a grade 9 mage at such a young age? Looks like the School of Assassins is going to lose big time."

"Sir, do something. I don't think even Stella can break through that armour."

"Fine, I will talk to the referee after this battle."

The entire podium waited eagerly to see the capability of the rumoured tank armour. Hester, who had already lost all his confidence, attacked Henry with his dual-wielding daggers desperately still unable to penetrate through the armour.

"Isn't this too unfair?" Seeing the pathetic look of the genius Hester, even the judges felt pity.

"Fire terrain." A grade 7 spell and the entire arena was covered in flames.

"Fire barrage." The second spell that Henry shot hit Hester squarely on his chest taking the wind out of him.

By the time the high flames withdrew from the stage, Hester laid on the ground unconscious. From the start to the finish, Henry didn't move an inch.

"It's over?" The whole battle only lasted a few minutes.

"Well, he was bound to lose anyway. If a physical cultivator can't hit the target, what's more there to fight?"

"We would like to make an announcement." One of the judges stood up from his seat. "Due to the unfair nature of the tank armour. The item will be prohibited in any more matches. This is to maintain a healthy competitive atmosphere. Thank you for the understanding."

'But I purchased it just for this competition.' Henry was royally pissed by the sudden change in the law. 'Fine then, you think I don't have any skills?' Henry was angry. He had to pay 230 crystals for the armour and now it was bound to become a relic simply taking his inventory space.

"Congratulations on reaching the top 16." The top eight schools were always given a free seat for the competition for the coming year. For the past 4 years, the top spots hadn't been contested and these eight schools held a monopoly.

"It's not over yet. If I'm not wrong the top schools should have also put forward a motion to disqualify Henry if he loses the next round and reinstate Hester to that position." Silvy had spent enough time with these schools to understand how they worked. Henry had become a dark horse and it was bound to get ugly soon. "Just challenge the top spot directly. I'm pretty sure Stella isn't as strong as the current you."

"Are you worried I will get tired?" Henry knew what was happening. Stella was at the top during the entry exhibition match and everyone present knew how strong she was. Beating her directly should put fear in others' hearts. Only the lower ranks had the right to directly challenge the top schools. So, once he took the number one spot, the top schools would have to challenge from the bottom and by the time they reached Henry they would be too tired to make any changes. When one issues a challenge it was made such that they would lose a rank if they lost as well making sure no one could challenge ahead recklessly. This wasn't just the person's rank that was affected but the entire school's.

'Get tired from the challenge?' Henry hadn't felt the effects of magic drain since his system helped him attract all the elements and kept him saturated in magic. Anyone but Henry would be completely exhausted.

'It's better to just exhaust their chances as well. You guys tried to screw me up. Don't blame me for taking my revenge.' Henry walked out to the stage to pick his opponent from the top right podium. He stopped right in front of the eighth spot.

"Henry from Flowing water covenant has challenged Brinie from Hidden Fog Magic high, a light attribute mage."

Henry walked up the stairs seeing the disbelief in her eyes. 'Did you too think I would go and challenge the number one spot? Don't worry I'll be going there soon.' Once a contestant entered the top right spot, they were not allowed to challenge the lower-ranked positions. Henry wanted to thoroughly sit at the throne and make sure everyone acknowledged his strength. There was a high chance it could backfire.

"Heaven's Will." The girl started off before Henry could stand comfortably and settle on the stage. Being a light mage, she wasn't certain how powerful her spells would be again a fire mage with a strong body. Physical cultivators were the hardest to deal with for light mages second only to fire mages. But her opponent today was a combination of both.

A very powerful light beam emerged and caressed Henry's body. The beam of light further strengthened the elements around him. He stood strong with a genuine smile on his face.

"You can't win against me. You should give up." Seeing how weak her light attack was against Henry's powerful body, the girl gave up. Had it been just a peak fire mage, she was confident in defeating him. But this monster was a peak body cultivator on top of being a peak fire mage. "I can't wait for you to lose." She said with anger before she walked off. Had he known Henry was peak grade earth mage as well, she wouldn't have dared to utter those words to him. The judges who were getting ready to disqualify Henry secretly cursed seeing the outcome. His spot in the top 16 finally became solid. But this time it wasn't the armour but the advantages from his attributes.

"Henry has taken over the eighth spot. If there is anyone that wishes to challenge, please approach." Three others immediately stepped up to challenge. Two of them were water mages and one was an earth mage. All strong enough to overpower a fire mage. The three took lots and picked the order of their challenge.

"Frank from Classic Magic Academy has challenged Henry from Flowing Water Covenant. Please proceed."

The water mage with a bulkier frame walked on stage. Henry waited and let him settle comfortably. "Shall we start?" Henry asked.

After nodding his head, the two waited for the judge to signal.

"Start."

"Water Bullet." A basic spell. But it was also the most convenient water spell to use against fire mage at such a close distance. Seeing the water bullet spell, Henry immediately cast a 'water shower', an AOE spell to block the water approach.

"You can use water spells?" His opponent was stunned. The water spell Henry used was much stronger than what he, an eighth-grade mage, could produce.

"Of course I can. I'm from the flowing water covenant. Remember?" Henry said. He had yet to lose the smile on his face. He immediately launched a wind cutter spell drawing blood.

"A grade nine wind mage as well?" Someone from the crowd screamed seeing the power of the wind spell.

"How could a kid cultivate to such heights in such a short time?" The teachers from different schools were all stunned by the progress. "Looks like there will be some changes in this year's ranking."

"But why did he challenge the rank eight? Isn't it better to challenge the higher ranks and conserve energy?" "Maybe he doesn't want to annoy too many high figures. The other kids are all from prestigious families."

"I wonder which family this kid is from. To produce such a monster."

"I heard he is from amongst the commoners."

"No way…"

Back in the ring, the challenger had lost and left the stage. The other two gave up on the idea to challenge him. Wind mage and water mage and both at grade 9. The two others lost their will to challenge.

Henry walked down from the stage seeing no one was challenging him and walked off towards the elevated podium seat. Instead of sitting down at the eighth seat, he walked ahead and challenged the seventh seat. It was Mystic, a water mage from alchemy covenant. Without bothering to fight she got up and walked towards the eighth seat. 'A smart one.'

Fighting meant losing a lot of energy. She, a single element mage, wasn't confident in winning against a peak water-wind element mage. If she stupidly fought, there was a high chance she would even lose her eighth seat to the others waiting for a chance. She already understood Henry's intentions. If she wasn't wrong, Henry was planning to exhaust everyone's chance to challenge him. If one has the guts to take such a route, one must also have the ability to pull it off. She knew she would get a chance soon as well. All she had to do was wait.

The entire arena stopped talking. The silence present was strong enough to kill. The whole arena was stunned as Henry kept challenging one after the other. His rank kept rising further and further up.

"Henry from Flowing water covenant has challenged Joel from Melee Champions School."

The top three. It was finally time for the battle everyone was waiting for. The cheers and the applause rose as Henry took his first steps towards the fighting arena.

Joel, the light warrior. The games back home had given this class a different name, Paladin. 'He sure does look the part.' Unlike a light mage, a light warrior was a lot different. Their mana abilities weren't tuned towards offensive outbursts but rather to improve their physical body.

The light attributed physical warriors had an extremely agile body and their reflexes were fast. This made it harder for the mages since they always used the bulky frame of the body cultivators to their advantage. Henry could sense that his opponent was stronger than normal.

"Start!"

A sharp short sword graced past his shoulder before Henry could react. 'Too fast.' Compared to a light attribute user, Henry was too slow. The sword blade cut through his skin making a shallow wound. Blood slowly dripped from his wounds.

"Stone skin," Henry whispered. He was forced to amp up his defences for the first time. Without his tanky armour, it wasn't easy dealing with a peak light expert. The earthen spells were the best to deal with light mages.

Joel moved again but this time, his sword didn't manage to penetrate.

'Cling.'

"Ha?" Joel was surprised. That sword swing should have penetrated deeper into Henry but it was deflected off of his body. Joel looked at the sword in his hand in disbelief. The blade was damaged.

"Fireball." Taking the momentary lack of concentration of his opponent, Henry shot out a fireball at Joel. Taking control of the situation.

"Fire barrage."

"Fire terrain."

The two consecutive spells cut off all direct paths between them.

"Wind blade."

"Water bullet."

Joel, a light warrior indeed lived up to his name dodging whatever attacks were thrown at him. 'Do I have to show my earth ability?' Water and earth had a decent chance of competing against light abilities even if it was barely sufficient. 'Fine then.'

"Muddy terrain." The flow of the battle instantly changed.

"Wind blade."

"Water bullet."

Joel got toppled by the sudden mud. His moves became much more sluggish. The terrain spells usually lasted for a few seconds which was more than enough for Henry to knock him off the stage.

"Water Cannon."

The whole stage erupted into applause. Joel was slightly dejected as he walked towards the fourth place seat. It seemed like he planned to make a comeback. Henry kept looking back at Joel. He was much stronger than expected. After observing him for a little he understood what the issue was. The top two positions were held by females. It's the typical knight in white armour troupe.

"Henry has now proceeded to challenge the ice queen, Stella, from the Royal Academy."

"Why did he skip number 2?"

"Maybe he's running low on mana."

Even the number two placeholder May was stunned. She had already prepared to face the inevitable fate.

Stella walked onto the stage right behind Henry.

"Do you want to rest a little?" Stella suddenly asked, confusing Henry. "Aren't you running low on mana?"

"No, I'm alright. We can start now."

She nodded at Henry and removed a loose scarf that kept rising in the wind passing it onto the stage referees hands. "You are quite strong. Did you give up during the exhibition match?" Stella asked while walking back to her corner of the stage.

"I wasn't interested back then." Henry looked at the referee and nodded. After receiving Stella's acknowledgement, he finally officially started the match.

"Fireball." The basic flame spell amplified by his grade nine ability sour through the air towards Stella. Before it could reach her opponent, the flames exhausted themselves.

"That won't work. I'm an ice mage, fire isn't as efficient against me."

"Mana oversaturation?" Henry looked at the girl stunned. To make the air around her oversaturated with ice elements pushing the other elements out, it must be what true genius looks like.

"Icicle Blast." Stella raised her hands slightly sending a barrage of ice crystals towards Henry.

"Fire barrage", Henry tried to counter but the icicles stood strong and broke through. Thankfully his body was able to barely hold strong as his spell had lowered the icicles deadly momentum.

"Looks like you truly deserve the name, ice queen."

"There are stronger ice element users out there. I'm nothing compared to my father."

"Humble as well. You will make a good wife one day."

"Thanks, I guess. You most definitely will make a good punching bag. At least your body is sturdy enough. Shall we kick it up a little? The crowd is getting restless." Stella spoke up in between the countless icicles that kept flying around.

"Thought you would never ask."

'What's going on?' Suddenly, the mana around Stella's body exploded violently, causing the air on the stage to considerably lower in temperature.

'A domain?' Seeing the sudden change in the air, Henry gasped. Domain was one of the most difficult skills as, without a talent for it, it was impossible to master. Gaining a domain wasn't impossible to achieve even for a mortal tier person.

"An ice domain?" He stared at the girl in front of his eyes. A 13-year-old mastering ice domain? "This is impressive, but my heat can melt your ice down as well." Henry had to finish the fight fast. The day was closing towards an end. Looking back at the silent and deadly ice queen, Henry decided to start throwing fire barrages at the girl. Even though the spell was slightly weaker due to the suppression from the domain, it was still able to fight off the layers of ice that started covering up the floor.

The domain was exhausting as it depleted the mana reserve on one's body extremely fast. The strain in the effort had started to show on her face.

"Give up. I can tell you are going to faint if you keep this up." Henry said. It seemed Stella wanted to speak but her body couldn't comply. Before she could stop, Stella collapsed on the stage. Henry immediately rushed ahead to catch the faint girl stopping her head from hitting the floor. 'Why overstress yourself?' A few kids wearing the royal academy robes came upstage and collected her back to the podium. She had woken up after a few seconds thankfully recovering a little mana.

It was already time and the matches were deemed over. At the first position on the podium stood Henry from the Flowing Water Covenant. Tears rolled down from Alice's eyes as she joined the rest of the crowd who gave him a standing applause.

"Good. I didn't think anyone could defeat Stella since she developed the domain ability." The King rose from his majestic chair and stood beside the podium. The first eight rank holders were rewarded by the royal family as per the tradition.

"Had it not been for me delaying the match and draining her mana reserve, I would be the one losing Your Majesty." Henry did a humble bow, the way he was taught by his parents.

"You do not need to now today. That is a privilege given to the champion. Your rewards will be awarded to you at the palace hall. You can rest and recover now."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Henry bowed again just to be on the safe side to which the king smiled. What ruler didn't like a humble subject!

The others were rewarded with wealth and titles. Stella became an honorary Viscount and would inherit the family title after the current family head stepped down. The event ended peacefully. Sadly there would only be four reserved seats for the next year's showcase as only four schools managed to hold on to the top right spots.