After spending a day resting, the tournament resumed with 8 participants left. So there will be 4 matches today with a time limit of 2 hours for each match. The rules were the same as before and the referees were still Ben and Jura.
This round is without a doubt more interesting than the last one. All 8 participants were using spells and abilities that they haven't used before. Even so, they still try to hide their full power for the next round.
However, those who are about to lose don't have the luxury of hiding their trump cards. If they hold back, they will be defeated. So they start to reveal their full power in this round and make it more interesting.
Still, not all of them show their full power. 3 people win their matches without going all out. It took them a long time to win but it was worth it because they can hide their trump cards for the next round and title match.
Well, it's a good strategy, but only for those who are confident about winning while holding back. For those who can't, they need to go all out to win the match. Revealing their trump cards is better than losing.
Ben is really thankful for them using more power and abilities than in the previous round. It gave him more data on their magic and their fighting styles. The data will help him improve his magic and fighting skills.
It wasn't just Ben who learned from the battles in this tournament. Almost all mages present are trying to learn everything they can from these battles. It's a rare opportunity to see battles between high-ranking mages.
At the end of the 3rd round, 4 people pass it and move onto the next round. But because of the intense battles today, the arena was a mess. Nothing was broken, but there were traces of magic everywhere and they need to remove it before the next round.
Of course, it's Ben and Jura's job to clean everything up because normal mages aren't able to remove the aftereffects of these high-ranked mages. It would take forever if they left it to normal mages.
In the arena, there are many burnt plants and scorch marks on the ground. It's because the last match was between the woman who used Plant Magic and the man who used Scorch Magic. This match's winner was the woman because she had improved a lot after losing to Ben.
"She might win this tournament and challenge you." Jura said while they clean up the arena.
Ben just smirked.
"She's welcome to try but the result won't change. She's not the only one who improved since last time. However, I doubt she will win the tournament." He said.
"Do you mean there's someone stronger than her?" Jura asked curiously.
"Based on my observation from the 1st round, she is the 3rd strongest. If she is lucky, she will face the one weaker than her and go to the finals. But if she faces one of the 2 that I think of, then she won't pass the round." Ben said.
"I'm now curious about the 2 that are stronger than her." Jura raised an eyebrow.
"You'll understand when you see them the day after tomorrow. They won't hold back like today." Ben said as he walked away after he finished checking out the enchantment barrier.
"Where are you going?" Jura asked.
"Taking my money." Ben answered with a grin.
"You were betting, weren't you?" Jura sweat dropped.
"I just multiplied my money." Ben said as he waved at Jura without looking back.
Ben had won all the bets he made for today's matches and the previous round. With A.I Chip's predictions using all the participants' data, he can easily predict who would win the matches. So now his money had multiplied a lot.
2 days later, the semi-final round started. There were 4 participants which consisted of the woman who used Plant Magic, the man who uses Space Magic, the woman who uses Cut Magic and the man who uses Light Magic.
The woman who uses Plant Magic was chosen first and she faced the woman who uses Cut Magic. So the Space Magic user will face the Light Magic user. It's a woman vs a woman and a man vs a man, what a coincidence.
"So, who will win the battle between these 2 women?" Jura asked.
"Easy, the one using Cut Magic." Ben answered.
"So, she is one of the two that you mentioned. Are you sure about that?" Jura asked again.
"Obviously. Do you want to bet on it?" Ben asked back.
Jura thought about it for a moment.
"Sure, what will the stakes be? Money?" He questioned.
"No. We have enough of that right now, and I'll obtain more after the open bet. Let's bet a secret. Loser reveals a secret to the winner." Ben said with a smirk.
"Sounds fun." Jura smirked as he nodded.
After agreeing to the bet, they start the match and watch it quietly. The match started with the Plant Mage dominating it. She grew giant plants all over the arena and transformed it into a forest.
This prevented the audience from watching the battle because their view was obstructed. But it is soon resolved when the video lacrima displayed the 2 competitors and recorded them. It's not ideal but it's better than not being able to watch anything at all.
The Plant Mage controlled the plants to attack her opponent but the Cut Mage kept cutting them easily with her magic blade. Their battle was quite intense as both of their attacks are powerful. But there was no sign of anyone winning even after an hour.
"They are still cautious of each other and not using their full power." Jura noted.
"Yeah, they're stupid. Saving their power won't do them any good, they'll just become tired and risk having their weaknesses become exposed. I know they want to judge their opponent's power first, but an hour is too long." Ben said in disappointment.
Then after a half hour, they start to unleash their full power. The battle became more intense and exciting to watch. The plants are moving wildly but they soon get cut.
This continued for 20 minutes before the battle ended with the Cut Mage's victory. She used a very strong spell to cut everything in the arena including her opponent. But the Plant Mage didn't die, her body was just separated into parts mysteriously without taking damage.
"Hmm, it's like when Gildarts' Crush Magic is used on living beings. It affects their physical appearance but it doesn't kill them." Ben mused.
The Plant Mage returned to normal after her body was reassembled. She looked down because she thought she was strong. But she realized there were still people much stronger than her.
It didn't concern Ben though as he became interested in Cut Magic. It's different from Crush Magic, he might have a use for it because he uses a sword. If he can apply it to his spell when he uses a sword, then his attack power will increase.
Contrary to the first match, the 2nd match ended with the Space Mage as the winner. He distorted the space around his opponent to nullify all attacks. Then with the distortion, he reflected all his opponent's attacks and won.
Everyone was excited because the final round was fast approaching and after that was the title match. Ben was also excited because he had the highest chance to be picked as an opponent in the title match. He will show everyone why he was chosen to be a Wizard Saint.