Suspended in the air, Skyler spotted the blades made of space coming his way.
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t budge an inch.
Everyone braced themselves, thinking he was about to take the attack head-on—a reckless move that could leave him badly injured. But instead, he simply muttered.
"Cosmic collapse."
Before him, a gravitational field formed—instantly devouring everything in its path, every single blade. Yuris was stunned.
Skyler hadn’t used this spell in any of his previous battles during the Annual Gala, which was why it caught him off guard.
The field then collapsed, destroying all the Evol it had absorbed and leaving behind a dark, pulsing void. Yuris barely managed to avoid being dragged in. His jaw tightened.
"Not an easy prey!"
He licked the blood from his lips, dodging the ice creatures that lunged at him. Silver lightning still crackled wildly around him.
Without hesitation, he unleashed another space-type skill, conjuring a spatial rift on the arena golden surface to siphon away at least some of the chaotic silver lightning.
An Evol restoration potion appeared in his hand. He popped the lid open and gulped it down in one go. Skyler landed on the stage, eyebrows raised in genuine surprise.
"You are already running low on Evol?"
Yuris’s brow twitched.
"Cut me some slack, will you? I’m just an ordinary 12-star Space Elementist—not a freaking five-element wielder like you!"
Skyler smirked, rubbing his nose.
"I’m a 10-star, and you are still the one getting tossed around—"
He didn’t get to finish. His body, honed by months of brutal training within the ancient tomb, moved on instinct—fist snapping up just in time to meet the punch hurling toward his face. The loud impact rippled through the air, sending a fierce gust in all directions.
Yuris froze for a split second, eyes wide in disbelief—this bastard knew hand-to-hand combat too?! A sharp hiss escaped his lips as the pain from the clash surged. It didn’t feel like he’d met a person’s fist—more like his hand had slammed into solid stone!
What the hell is this jerk made of?!
He staggered back, shaking his throbbing fist as the dull ache spread like fire through his arm. A chill ran down his spine when he saw the thrilled gleam in Skyler’s eyes—far too full of excitement for anyone sane.
Skyler hadn’t even flinched at the impact, hadn’t so much as shaken his hand. Was his body even human anymore??
Yuris instinctively backed away as Skyler closed in, his cheerful tone far too eager, sending a surge of unease through him.
"You wanted a fistfight? You should have just said so—we could have done that!"
Yuris’s face went pale. The throbbing pain in his knuckles was all the warning he needed—he still valued his bones. No, thank you!
"No, I don’t want a fistfight!"
He shouted as he turned and bolted.
Skyler blinked, then dashed after him.
"Wait! I’ll go easy on you! I swear, I’ll only beat you a fraction as badly as my master used to during close combat!"
Naturally, he wisely held back from adding that his cruel master used to beat him half to death—so even just ’a fraction’ of it was very dangerous for a normal person’s well-being.
And so began a chaotic chase across the arena—one fleeing to avoid close combat, the other trailing behind with sugar-coated reassurances that it wouldn’t be that bad.
With both wielding space-type skills, they moved at such blinding speeds that neither could truly catch nor escape the other, only amplifying the absurdity of the situation.
Those in the crowd who could follow what was happening laughed at the sight. Even Principal Wen was left rather speechless.
"Did they forget they are in a battle?"
Obviously, they hadn’t forgotten—because the instant those words left his lips, Skyler and Yuris collided. Fists flew in a blur, but it was painfully clear to Wen who was on the losing end. Despite reinforcing his punches with Evol, Yuris was being overwhelmed.
He winced with every impact. Meanwhile, Skyler—who hadn’t even used Evol despite having a physical augmentation skill—just looked excited. It was clear his body was far stronger than that of a 10-star Light.
Suddenly, a glint of mischief flashed in Skyler’s eyes—and he vanished.
Yuris barely had any time to react—his fist struck nothing but air before a hand seized his collar. In the next moment, he vanished too. His eyes widened in disbelief as he felt himself being yanked through a spatial rift.
In the very next heartbeat, Yuris Yu was unceremoniously kicked out of the arena.
A moment later, Skyler reappeared at the center of the golden stage—serene and composed, as if nothing had happened.
The crowd fell silent.
Even Principal Wen’s brow twitched.
Finally, Yuris’s loud shout echoed.
"That’s cheating! We were fistfighting!"
Skyler gave him a look.
"We were. Now, we’re not."
He turned to the Principal.
"Sir, I won, right?"
Principal Wen let out a sigh, but before he could even declare Skyler the winner, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause.
The host had already taken the liberty of announcing that the coveted title, ’Star of the Generation’, now belonged to Skyler. A title he would carry until the next Gala.
Professor Ohm Glacier was practically glowing with pride. If it were up to him, he would have shouted at the top of his lungs.
’That’s my favorite student!’
Principal Wen’s brow twitched again.
Suddenly, he regretted not taking Moore’s warning—that Skyler was Professor Ohm’s favorite—more seriously. Just look at the chaos. He hadn’t even announced Skyler’s victory, yet Ohm had already crowned the young prick the ’Star of the Generation’.
Regardless, he let it go.
It was a moment of celebration.
He had no intention of interfering.
An amused smile tugged at his lips as he watched Skyler waving at the flying drones and the cheering crowd surrounding him.
Professor Ohm landed beside him on the arena and handed him the mic to share a few words—only for Skyler to declare that one day, he would become one of the best Lights and the protector of all Eldoria.
A grand statement, no doubt.
But one that drew countless smiles.
The youth didn’t just want to protect his continent—he wanted to protect the entire planet. It was a big and ambitious dream.
Hopefully, Skyler would persevere, remain true to his goal, and never lose sight of it.
At the same time, the news that the 51st level of the Battle Royal had been cleared broke across every Continent. The news sent waves of excitement through all of Eldoria, igniting even more celebration.
Today was truly a joyous day.
Far from where Skyler stood, Charles and Isaac’s eyes widened at the sheer amount of Stat Coins transferred to their student ID cards and phones the moment Skyler won.
It was enough to make them the richest students in all of Starlight Academy!
Charles gasped, but when he saw how much Isaac had won, he nearly fainted.
It took him a whole minute to regain his composure. When he finally did, he turned to Isaac with unexpected seriousness.
"You’re my brother from now on. Next time something like this happens, I’m following your lead. I’ll bet on whoever you bet on."
Isaac gave him a solemn nod.
"That’s fine. Just don’t tell Skyler—he’ll take ninety percent and leave us with crumbs."
Charles gave him a thumbs-up. Just like that, he’d found the best betting partner—maybe he really was quite lucky after all.
Yet neither of them noticed the pair of familiar crimson eyes watching them. The snake had overheard everything—the bets, the winnings. She tilted her head, puzzled.
’Why are they hiding from Skyler that they bet Star Coins on him and won? Strange.’
She had overheard the conversation when Skyler asked the two if they had bet on him—and they had lied, claiming they hadn’t.
Now, Riruru was contemplating whether to tell Skyler or not. Humans were confusing sometimes—really. But she was on Skyler’s side, so of course she would tell him.
Charles and Isaac were busy celebrating their winnings—completely unaware of the snake watching them from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Skyler handed the mic back to Professor Ohm, a wide smile on his face.
The annual Gala hadn’t gone exactly as he had planned, but in the end, he had won.
He knew people would say Max might’ve won if he hadn’t fallen ill—but in the end, Skyler was the one who stood victorious.
And that was all that mattered.
Yet, his smile faded completely when he looked up—and saw the sky cracking, like glass splintering into countless shards.
"Huh...?"
His face drained of color.
Not just his—every single person around him turned pale as a suffocating pressure suddenly descended over all of Eldoria.
The crowd erupted into chaos.
People screamed. They ran.
Principal Wen and the other powerful figures present in the arena complex hurriedly tried to calm the panicking crowd, even as a deep sense of dread gnawed at their own hearts.
Skyler stood motionless in place, his wide eyes locked on the fracturing sky above. His thoughts raced, a single question pounding through his mind so loudly it nearly drowned out the chaos around him.
"Why is this happening so soon?"