"You use Sound Magic, right?"

"So what?"

"In that case, I'll give you a handicap and use the same magic to defeat you," replied Edward.

"Damn you, peasant.

"Sonic Attack Magic: Sonic Scream."

Matty opened his mouth to create a powerful sonic wave attack that shook the entire colosseum. However, Edward calmly shook his head as he said: "How barbaric."

He snapped his finger to create an even more powerful sonic attack and overwhelm his opponent. Luckily, Matty flew in the sky to evade most of the attack, albeit not all of it.

Parts of his clothes were destroyed, and he had minor wounds all over his body.

"Using sound vibration to fly, I can do this too," said Edward before using the same spell to fly to the same height as his opponent.

Meanwhile, Matty had a severe look on his face as he realized that this peasant was not so easy to deal with.

"This venue is not suitable for our level of battle," he said.

"You're right," replied Edward, who waved his hand before two gates appeared: one in front of him and the other in the colosseum.

Matty squinted his eyes as he realized he might be in trouble. His opponent displayed four different attributes.

And he might even have more.

A small part of him wanted to forfeit this battle or use another excuse to cancel. However, he knew that the contract he signed would never allow this. So, he gritted his teeth and stepped inside the portal.

At the same time, the other eight captains also step into the gate along with all the other participants.

Soon afterward, everybody found themselves in a forest outside the Common Realm. When Matty exited the gate, he accelerated forward by riding on sound waves, going for a sneak attack.

His speed almost reached hyper-sonic as he rushed towards Edward, wanting to use close combat to end this battle. Unfortunately for him, he was sent flying with one punch before crashing to the ground.

"Are you really a captain? My mana is countless more than you, so how much strength do you think I will have when I reinforce my body with it?"

Matty crawled from the ground with dirt all over his body and clothes. He opened his mouth to scream once again:

Sonic Attack Magic: Ballistic Scream.

A mighty sonic wave came out of his mouth, and a large chunk of the forest shattered or exploded. The trees, rocks, plants, and animals in the range of that attack exploded.

As for Edward, he calmly snapped his finger in the air to create the same attack and cancel Matty's one. However, the latter seemed to expect this outcome as he flew away before a white disk appeared in his hand.

Sonic Disk.

Matty threw it toward his opponent, and the speed of that attack was even faster than he could physically travel.

'Does he want to focus on concentrated attacks instead of ones with a wide area of effect? Well, it does not matter.'

The pages in his Grimoire flipped, and he snapped his finger again. Then, the disk disappeared as if it never existed in the first place. Matty opened his mouth to attack again, but no sound came out.

Additionally, he heard this thumping noise like the sound of a beating heart. Before he could ascertain what it was, blood came out of his mouth, ears, and nose.

"What did you do?"

"Sound Nullification. It's a standard counter spell for sound magic users. As for my attack, I used the sound of my beating heart to influence the blood pumping process of your body," replied Edward with a smile.

"You should thank me. I'm giving you a free lesson on how to use your magic."

Matty was not angered this time. He knew that if that peasant did not restrain himself, his bones would have been broken in the previous physical confrontation.

He raised his head to look at Edward and said: "You're wrong about me being the weakest. The amount of mana is not everything, and I will show you.

"Mana Zone: World of Sound."

Sonic Attacks came in all directions, cornering Edward into a box. The attack was so powerful that it instantly overwhelmed his Sound Nullification Spell, forcing him to create a Sonic Barrier around him.

And he could tell that the barrier would not have lasted long if it were not for his sizeable magic power.

'What kind of spell is this?' he thought as he felt the sonic attacks coming in all directions.

'No, this is not a spell but a technique. Using the mana in the surrounding, he can exponentially boost the strength of his typical attacks and also make up for his lack of personal mana. Additionally, he can now make his spells come from all directions, making them unpredictable and unavoidable.'

The captains communicated with each other while Edward was analyzing this technique.

"I did not expect Matty to master the Mana Zone," commented Captain Deleon.

"It is indeed surprising. At this rate, the commoner won't last no matter how much mana he has," replied the Captain of the Grey Deer, who looked at the Captain of the Red Dog squad–which was the one Edward said was the second weakest.

He was secretly clenching his hand as he watched Matty's attack.

The other captains agreed. One of them noticed that Acier did not say anything, so he asked: "Captain Silva, do you have a different opinion."

She opened her mouth to say something before closing it. Then, she gritted her teeth slightly before answering: "I do not think this participant is a simple one."

The other captains did not say anything else. Although they respect her since she is a member of the royal family and has a lot of potential, they still believe that she has a long way to go. So, they did not value her opinion that much.

Unfortunately, these captains were soon forced to swallow back their words.

Edward laughed out loud before saying: "You are finally useful. Thank you for teaching me such a wonderful technique."

'No way,' thought Matty, but things went as he expected. With a wave of Edward's hand, his spell was canceled.

"M-Mana Zone. You learn how to use it in just a few minutes."

"Is it supposed to be something difficult?" asked Edward. His words made all the captains almost kill him. Of the nine of them, only two people can use Mana Zone. Three now that Matty can.

The others have not succeeded nor reached the level they can even try to learn. And Yet, he only took a few minutes.

Ignoring these people, Edward raised his hand above his head before snapping. A powerful sonic attack was directed at the sky; it instantly removed all the clouds within a few hundred miles.

"Fascinating technique. My attacks are not ten times more powerful using the same amount of mana. Not to mention, I can continue to fight if I ever run out of magic power."

Then, Edward looked at the immobile opponent. The latter was not moving because of shock but because Edward controlled the mana around him to imprison him.

"Do you admit defeat?"

Matty looked at him with red eyes but did not utter a word. His pride would never allow him to admit defeat to a commoner.

Realizing his opponent's mindset, Edward decided to end this battle once and for all.

Erudite Magic: Sound of the Mind.

Matty then heard a terrible scream deep inside his head before falling to the ground and passing out. His squad member rushed to check on him and was relieved when they realized he had only passed out.

Then, they looked at Edward with hatred.

"Don't forget to keep your end of the deal." After saying that, he flew away. Edward knew things would not be simple. So, he went back to his inn to wait.

News of a commoner defeating a noble Magic Captain at the Entrance Exam soon spread throughout the Common Realm before reaching the Noble Realm, and eventually the Forsaken Realm.

Commoners and nobles alike discussed this, with the former excited about the prospect of a commoner finally becoming a Magic Knight. In contrast, the latter was appalled by the notion.

Three days later, Edward received a summon from the Wizard King, so he headed to the Noble Realm.