Chapter 171: Chapter 171 - The Third Calamity?!
’’What?’’ Rex shouted loudly. ’’Within the rules?!’’
’’What kind of bullshit is that!’’
It wasn’t just him who had that thought.
Many in the stands also couldn’t believe what they heard.
’’Isn’t that guy also a commoner?’’
’’There’s no way he broke through already...’’
’’Why is the judge just covering for him then?’’
But the judge didn’t say another word.
Instead, he just took a step back while staring at Rex.
Feeling the pressure on him, Rex snapped out of his daze.
He locked eyes with Theo, even more furious than before.
’’Fucking cheater!’’ he shouted, lowering into a different stance. ’’I’ll be beating you up today!’’
The ground underneath his feet shattered as blazing fire began swirling around his legs.
Theo raised an eyebrow.
’An item?’
Just as Rex wanted to kick off the ground, the judge’s voice rang out.
’’STOP!’’
Both fighters froze, feeling a thick pressure land on them.
’’Rex Donovan, you are hereby disqualified,’’ the judge said coldly. ’’And also from the entire tournament.’’
The entire arena fell completely silent.
Those in the stands couldn’t believe their ears and glanced at each other with wide eyes.
Rex’s face had turned ghostly white too.
’’W-what?’’ he muttered, the flames fading away.
’’I’ll be informing your instructor of this matter,’’ the judge continued, his voice even colder. ’’Using items in the arena is forbidden, and you know that very well.’’
Rex’s eyes widened.
For a moment, he simply stood there frozen.
Then he pointed at Theo so hard his arm nearly shook.
"W-What about him?!"
The entire arena turned toward Theo again.
Rex’s face was red with disbelief.
"He used water and lightning!"
"Clearly, the lightning was from an item!"
"How the hell is that allowed?!"
The judge stared at him for a few seconds.
Then his voice rang out again.
"I already told you,’’ he said. ’’Contestant Theo Lane violated no rules.’’
Rex trembled, his face now deep red from anger.
’’BULLSHIT.’’
The judge clenched his jaw, clearly starting to get irritated.
’’I’m not entitled to spoil anyone’s secrets,’’ he said, his voice louder this time. ’’But if I tell you it’s allowed, you better know it is.’’
Rex stared at the judge blankly.
Then he slowly turned to Theo again.
Theo smiled slightly and shrugged.
Only then did the people in the stands catch on.
’’Wait, if it’s not an item...’’
’’Does that mean he actually has a Silver Core?’’
’’No! He has to be one of them!’’
Slowly, a realization began to set in for all of them.
Either Theo had reached the Silver Core and was just holding back.
Or he had a very special, almost unheard-of situation.
For several long seconds, nobody spoke.
Even Rex looked completely lost.
Finally, Theo just turned to the judge.
’’This counts as my win, right?’’
The judge nodded once.
’’Does that mean I can leave here now and continue with the next match?’’
The judge nodded again and waved his hand toward the exit.
’’Thank you.’’
With that, Theo walked out of the smaller arena.
He let out a deep breath as he cracked his neck.
’Feels so much better like this,’ he thought, smiling. ’Revealing those two was worth it.’
This fight had made him realize quite a number of things.
’Always keeping my affinities hidden might’ve been subconsciously hindering me too.’
He thought back to the fight.
It’d almost become a habit for him to try and solve everything with only one element.
Water for one battle, lightning for another.
Almost like the two had nothing to do with each other.
’My switching between elements has also become super slow because of it.’
Theo shook his head lightly.
’Can’t believe I was stupid enough to let that happen.’
Unbeknownst to him, his two affinities were spreading around campus like wildfire.
Students began calling their friends, and messages flew back and forth through group chats.
Whether they were pre-admission or regular students — it didn’t matter.
Everyone was interested in the person who’d seemingly reached the Silver Core already.
And even more about how this would change the rankings.
Meanwhile, Theo found himself in front of the registration desk again.
’’I’d like to challenge rank 89,’’ he said. ’’Also everyone above that too.’’
The clerk nodded quickly, a massive smile on his face.
’’I’ll arrange it now.’’
As he tapped away on his keyboard, Theo couldn’t help but shake his head.
’’How much did you earn?’’ he asked, leaning forward.
The clerk froze for a moment.
Then turned to Theo with a forced smile.
’’What do you mean?’’
’’You don’t have to worry,’’ Theo said, letting out a chuckle. ’’I won’t tell anyone.’’
The clerk stared at him for a moment longer.
Then let out a sigh.
’’I made fifty grand,’’ he said, letting out another sigh. ’’Wish I’d bet more honestly.’’
Theo raised an eyebrow.
’’That much?’’
After a moment, he smiled.
He patted the clerk lightly on the shoulder.
’’I’ll give you some advice,’’ he said. ’’Keep betting on me, with everything you have even.’’
The clerk’s eyes lit up.
He immediately nodded with a serious expression on his face.
’’Will do.’’
The next few hours passed quickly.
Theo had to wait for long periods of time as quite a number of opponents didn’t show.
Out of six challenges, only three actually showed up, though all of them had waited practically until the last second to accept.
Even so, Theo couldn’t complain.
Every victory, whether by default or not, pushed him higher up on the leaderboard.
The whispers around campus only grew louder.
More and more people gathered around the arena just to see his fights.
Practically everyone thought he’d reached the Silver Core already and that lightning was his second affinity.
Theo didn’t bother correcting any of them though.
By the time he finally left the arena grounds, the sky had already started to darken above Westridge.
But as night came, a shocking piece of information appeared on every news platform across the entire world.
’’The Calamity Covenant’s Third Calamity... has been killed.’’
