Ascension: Strongest Fateless Mage

"The wait is over, folks! I, Melissa Forz, hereby announce the start of this year's Rookie Skyward Peak Contest!" said a beautiful woman wearing a tight red dress as she floated in the sky at the center of the stadium. Her voice reverberated everywhere loudly so everyone could hear her.

*WOAAAH!*

The tight pack stadium erupted with cheers from the audience while the participants inside the stadium were fired up.

"The first round is simple. We have 250 participants, but that will decrease to 50 participants in the first round! Everyone, please get a badge and stick it on your chest," Melissa said as she clapped once, and several people entered the stadium with plates that contained badges.

Zevien also picked up a badge with the number four carved on it and placed it on his chest.

After everyone wore the badges, Melissa clapped again, and five huge hologram screens appeared in the sky around her in a pentagon shape. Each screen had fifty sections with a number written at a corner of that section and a name beside it.

All participants were also covered in a barrier of their size that appeared for a second before disappearing.

"The badges you wore have a camera so everyone can see your actions! The five screens around me will rotate every thirty seconds so all audience can see everyone's actions!" Melissa smiled before continuing, "now, I will explain the 1st round; Forest Hunt!

"After five minutes, all of you will be teleported to a five-square-kilometer forest with borders around it. You can't exit the forest! Participants will have to eliminate other participants by attacking them inside the forest.

"However, nobody will receive any actual harm because the damage will be absorbed by a barrier that the badge you have worn will produce! But there is a limit to the damage absorption, and when enough damage has occurred, the badge will be destroyed, marking your elimination!

"Eliminated participants will be escorted out by enforcers floating over the forest. All enforcers are class-3 magicians, so you better not break the rules…which I am going to mention now," Melissa said with a keen smile as she looked below at the participants.

"Rule no.1:- You can't hurt a person whose badge is already destroyed! You will be eliminated if you do it intentionally! The person whose badge is destroyed also can't attack others, or there will be a severe penalty!"

"Rule no.2:- Use of magic items is strictly prohibited! The enforcers will have the entire forest under their senses, and we can also see all of your actions through the camera, so if anyone uses a magic item, you can kiss goodbye to this contest!"

"Rule no.3:- You can fly in the forest, but you can not fly over the forest! The enforcers will be flying in the sky, and if they see you crossing a hundred-meter mark, you will be eliminated!"

"Rule no.4:- If you use some means to increase your magic power beyond 1500, the badge will notify the enforcers, and you will be escorted away. Eliminated!"

After saying that, Melissa took a short breath and smiled, "Last but not least, an important note: the magic spells that affect a person's mind will go past the barrier and will take effect, but it will not damage your opponent's mind as the damage will be absorbed by the barrier!"

Hearing that, some participants sighed in relief; one of them was Zevien.

'I thought that Blackout Bubble would not work, but phew…It will take effect,' Zevien sighed a relief.

'Nyehe, the Blackout Bubble will be your most important spell in this entire contest,' Tarto snickered, 'imagine if you couldn't use it.'

'But I can use it, and it will take effect. No need to imagine otherwise,' Zevien rolled his eyes.

Afterward, Melissa told everyone to stand on a round platform that rose at the stadium's center. Some participants were already on it, while those who were not, including Zevien, jumped and stood on it.

A large spell formation lit up on the round platform in the shape of a magic circle.

"Good luck, everyone!" Melissa said with a cheery smile and clapped as all the participants disappeared from the platform.

…

*Splash…*

Zevien teleported on top of a pond and dropped down since he didn't expect it. But he quickly came out and flew up before standing on a tree's branch. "Seriously?" He muttered with a speechless expression.

"No.4 directly fell into the pond, lol! Wait, his name is Alucard…."

"Wow, does he think of himself as a vampire because his parents named him Alucard?"

"Must be. He also cosplayed as a vampire in the contest, hahaha."

Many people were looking at the no.4 screen section since they guessed that the vampire cosplay guy must be no.4 due to his name Alucard.

Naturally, Zevien was unaware of it, but he had already started his hunt.

After internally casting Somatic Anger, he unfurled his wings and flew amidst the forest at full speed. Both of his hands into clawed form while his eyes were fully focused.

Several seconds later, he saw his first target, a girl in her early twenties. She also saw Zevien coming at her. She quickly pointed her palms toward Zevien as two magic circles appeared in front of her palms in a second that released emerald bullets.

Zevien waved his hand and used Hellblazer. The Hellblazer blocked the girl from seeing him as he released it vertically with paper-thin thickness. However, that still stopped and burned all the bullets.

'Geez, a counter to my En-Bullets spell already? And He is fast, but… that's good!' the girl narrowed her eyes and smiled as she snapped her finger.

'Wrath of the Seas!' Her eyes briefly flashed with water blue light as she used her awakening spell!

*shuaa!*

A giant whirlpool conjured in front of her with powerful suction force as she used her awakening spell. The whirlpool's radius was seven meters!

Zevien was startled and quickly backed away while exerting full power of his wings because if he entered its range, he would be sucked inside and eliminated! While backing away, he released purple orbs to damage the whirlpool, but they were forcefully sucked into the vortex and started rotating.

Zevien's eyes gleamed as he saw that and didn't explode the purple orbs immediately.