Someone could spend twenty minutes searching for a crystal, only to have it taken by another competitor moments later.Liam found himself smiling.“So that's why everyone keeps fighting.”“Exactly,” Elena said.“You can find one yourself, or you can take someone else's.”The projection shifted again.A famous third-year witch appeared.The crowd immediately became louder.The projection continued moving rapidly through the hunting grounds, flashing between familiar faces and famous students.Liam tried to follow it.Then suddenly—“There.”His eyes stopped.The projection had finally shown someone he recognized.Lily.She was standing in the middle of a rocky clearing.A crystal ball was held tightly in one hand.Liam smiled.“She found one.”But his expression changed almost immediately.Lily wasn't alone.Several werewolves surrounded her.They were all second-year students, and Liam could sense their cultivation even from the projection.They were at the Silver level.There were at

Angelina stood quietly on the opposite side of the arena.She had long white hair that reached all the way to her waist, flowing gently behind her. Her green eyes were sharp and bright, standing out against her pale features.She was strikingly beautiful.But her appearance wasn't what had made her famous.Angelina was one of the strongest first-year angels at Blackthorn Academy.Her group had dominated most of its previous battles, and she had been one of the main reasons behind that success.She wasn't as famous as Lucas.But among the angels, her name carried plenty of weight.The two stood several meters apart.Neither spoke.Then the signal sounded.BOOM!Angelina moved first.Her wings exploded open as she shot into the air.Seeing her fly, Liam shook his head.Angels were the only race that gained the ability to fly at the Silver level. The others had to wait until the Gold level.Several golden circles appeared around Angelina.The crowd barely had time to react before dozens

The instructor raised his hand.The enormous field immediately began to change.Tall transparent barriers rose from the ground one after another, spreading across the field until every competitor stood inside their own isolated section.Five hundred separate chambers.Each one was large enough for a student and their equipment, but the magical barriers were completely opaque from the inside.Liam looked around.A moment ago, he could see Elena, Alex, Henry, and hundreds of other competitors.Now they were gone.There was only him.His own small section of the field, a worktable and a single object sitting in the center of it.Liam walked closer.At first glance, it looked like a small metal box.It was roughly the size of a human head, with a circular core embedded in its center and several thin metal rings wrapped around its body.Strange symbols covered its surface.A narrow glass tube ran through the middle of the device, connecting the central core to three smaller chambers on its

The audience went completely silent for half a second.Then the entire viewing area erupted in shock as people laughed and shouted.Even the commentators were caught off guard.“Did he just say hello to the academy?”The other commentator laughed.“I think he knows he's being watched.”Liam simply returned to work.He removed the measurement rune and placed it carefully on the table.“Let's finish this.”Time passed as Liam continued modifying the engine.The central distribution node was rebuilt. The damaged regulator became an emergency pressure-release system. The mana pathways were reorganized. The rotating rings were synchronized with the new flow, and finally, the conversion core was connected to the redesigned system.Liam stared at the machine.Most of the original design was gone.Only the central crystal and a few structural components remained unchanged.He wiped his forehead.“That should do it.”The timer was still counting down.01:04:27More than an hour remained.Liam

The silence after Liam's name was announced did not last long.Whispers immediately spread through the crowd."Liam Carter?""Who really is that?""Isn't he a first-year?""Wait, he's from Room 1313?"Several older students looked at each other in confusion.Some of the third-years had never even heard of Room 1313."What is Room 1313?""I thought those rooms were just randomly assigned.""No. I heard something about that room during the intelligence assessment.""But why is everyone suddenly talking about it?"The questions continued spreading.For most students, the name Liam Carter had appeared out of nowhere.One moment, he had been just another first-year among thousands.The next, he had taken first place in a competition where students from all three years had participated.Principal Alaric finally raised his hand.The crowd slowly quieted."This is the first time in the history of the Six Great Races Festival that a fresher has dominated a competition designed for students of