I Refused To Be Reincarnated

After separating from the college group, he stepped into the arena as fifteen youths wearing different academy uniforms joined him. The seven arcanists overlooked them from the balcony, faces stern and eyes glinting competitiveness.

'Where is Edgar?'

He stifled a laugh as he could picture the proud man's distorted face and how he would refuse to join the others.

'He must be watching with his students.'

He shook his head, focusing on Elisabeth's fluttering white dress and marvelling at the pulsing golden engravings as she stepped forwards.

Without the required mastery, he missed their significance earlier. But now? He understood they were intricate engravings enchanting the durable yet thin fabric.

"I'll host the competition's final instead of Edgar. The rules won't change, though. So, may the better battle monster duelist win!"

Her enchanting voice reverberated, exciting the crowd and the finalists.

He, on the other hand, shrugged, still feeling a prickling sensation in his soul each time his eyes landed on her.

Before he could dwell on it, Elisabeth's blue eyes shone a bright light, and she clapped her hand.

A whiteboard, filled with black lines forming a bracket, emerged from the ground.

Then, a teacher from each academy approached them.

"We'll proceed with the drawings. We are observing you. The slightest mana disturbance will lead to your disqualification."

Their stern faces left no place for doubts, making him realise the deans increased the tournament's security to avoid another mess.

A moment later, a teacher wearing dark blue robes sprinkled with bright starlight guided him to the drawing box while the others watched.

He shoved his hand in it, retrieving a gem marked with the number fourteen before showing it to the man.

Without waiting, the mage stepped to the board, wrote Adam under the fourteenth line, and gestured for him to step back.

The others followed until names filled the board.

Upon noticing his adversary's, his lips split into a vicious grin.

'Finally! Moira's disciple!'

He didn't know if Nova's blessing played a role, but the drawing was too perfect. Edgar's last two students would have to face each other before the final, reducing his risk of losing.

Of course, facing a single adversary possessing two tier-five monsters would increase the challenge difficulty. But he had time to prepare countermeasures.

As he thought, Elisabeth's authoritative voice commanded attention from the balcony.

"We'll proceed in numerical order. The first duelists may step forward."

After returning to her seat, she heard Shepard taunt Moira with his arrogant smirk.

"Your student has no chance."

He rolled his eyes and tilted his head at the proud dwarf, doing everything he could to infuriate her.

"If you believe in him, bet two items!"

"Your disciple did well for an amateur. But he now plays against a true strategist. Dorn will never let him stack his creatures or summon his ace monsters."

Moire's elegant voice resounded, yet he noticed the slight tremor rocking her shoulders and the frown threatening to crease her brows.

Before she could agree to his bet, his smirk enlarged as he revealed his true intention.

"Bah. You would have accepted in a jiffy if you were confident in that Dorn. I guess I have no choice but to step back. One item and a piece of information about dwarven history. How about that?"

"What part of our history can interest an alchemist?" Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire

She sneered in ridicule.

Yet her arrogant expression froze, and an inferno of unadulterated rage ignited in her eyes when he answered.

"There once was a genius enchanter. He single-handedly developed the field, making it shine with blinding radiance at his time. I also learned that his name is taboo in your community and that the royal family had executed him for a mysterious reason a few centuries ago."

Each word he spoke caused her expression to distort and her elegance to shatter in an ocean of fiery grudges.

"I'm curious to know who informed you about that traitor."

Her voice, a low growl, trailed off for a second.

"So I can behead him with my own two hands!"

Azur and fiery mana wafted from her eyes, and her nails dug into her trembling palms.

"Why does it matter? I already know."

He shrugged, unimpressed by her vain display.

After all, the only point every arcanist agreed on when ranking their fighting strength was to put Moira in the last position.

Despite her powerful items, the scarcity of tier-six materials and their monopoly on them as fighters made her a joke in their eyes. He wouldn't even consider her a peer if not for her enchanting knowledge after she treated Adam like an outcast and ignored his letter.

His voice turned icy at the thought as he continued, smoke wafting from his dangerously narrowed eyes.

"Do you agree? Bet four tier-six items or a legendary artifact of the fifth tier if you don't."

"Preposterous! I can still choose to agree on betting or not."

"And I can choose to isolate you. Your items are powerful but expensive, while my potions are affordable and in high demand. I'm much wealthier than you. Enough to clad my academy's walls in gold. What would you do after I make a public offer stating that I would buy any tier four material or above?"

Colors drained from Moira's face as the threat hit her like a low blow.

Besides Zeph, no one among them could rival Shepard's wealth. The fool even traded tier-six potions for old grimoires he couldn't even use.

She remembered the scandal it caused when the lucky old man offered the potion to his grandson, turning him into a mage, then an adept a few years later, and how the Tidecaller herself flew into a rage and scolded them.

With a huff of rage, she answered, making her stance clear.

"I'll bet the artifact. But I want written proof that you won't act against my interests."

Her lips curled, showing her gum as she continued.

"Never ask me about that man again. He is dead. A phantom of the past no noble dwarf wants to remember. His name has already faded, and his legacy will follow."

Without waiting for his answer, she closed her eyes and leaned back, making him frown and understand.

Understand that no matter what happened or how he threatened her, she would never reveal any information about that genius.

The rhythmic drum of his finger against his armrest resounded as he pondered his failure. Still, he would get an item worth a fortune he could reward Adam with instead of the information.

With a silent apology to his disciple, he glared at Moira.

"I'll write your paper and take my advice: learn your place in this world."

He noticed her body twitching as she tried to contain her rage after he turned her words against her, hoping she would learn a bit of humility.

Then, he glanced down, observing Adam's focused frown as he observed the duel unfolding.

The student from the School of Dark Magic and Necromancy easily overpowered his adversary from the Institute of Illusion in a show of strategy and powerful undead creatures.

He even felt an icy shiver spread to his soul when he summoned a strange zombi he had never read about before. But he knew where it came from!

From the ancient and powerful culture that birthed cultivators. It was a Jianshi of the fourth tier, and its effect devastated the field.

A sea of rubbles replaced the three castles in two brief turns, leaving a clear victor and deep frowns on the competitors' faces.

'Can I beat it by throwing rice?'

He chuckled in ridicule, his mind racing to counter the horrible effect.