Over the next few days, Theo’s routine remained the same.

With the sheer number of classes taking up half his day, Theo couldn’t think of any way to achieve extra.

By the time he started getting used to the classes and the timings, the three days had already passed.

Theo had an inkling of what was happening to him right now, and while the past three months had truly been hectic, he couldn’t allow the entire next year to continue like this.

And just like that, the tournament day had already arrived.

The tournament matches were always held on the weekends so that the students wouldn’t have to face the problem of skipping their classes.

And while the first few rounds in the tournament usually didn’t attract many spectators, things had changed now. The level of prowess and the spectacle had risen several folds, drawing in not only students but also professors and even the headmaster himself.

When Theo entered the tournament coliseum again, more than two thousand students sitting were already seated around the arena.

As he stepped forward to enter the arena, one quarter of the crowd suddenly erupted.

They screamed, jumped, and waved posters in the air. Theo couldn’t help but think these spectators were more excited about the fight than he himself was.

But just as the crowd began settling down, Theo saw his opponent step forward from the opposite side of the coliseum.

This time, the crowd went nuts with the screams.

Theo even felt like someone from the western stands had torn their Adam’s apple from screaming too hard, the scream turning into a painful rasp midway.

He truly didn’t understand the craze one bit.

But when his eyes landed on the boy who had just entered the arena, Theo could tell he was another of those ’only’ tamers like before.

He had a frail body but carried himself with the posture and elegance of a noble. There was a calmness in his movements that Theo immediately recognized.

The boy didn’t halt his steps at all and continued walking straight toward him until he stood right in front of Theo.

Then, with a calm expression on his face, he extended his hand forward.

"I look forward to today’s fight, Young Master Theo. Perhaps I can force you to use your beast this time," the boy said with a faint smile, as though he knew something.

"We will see about that. Good luck." Theo replied, returning the handshake.

The boy then left Theo’s side and stepped back to his before turning toward him once again.

"You can begin now."

The same man whose eyes had glowed earlier announced with a clap that echoed throughout the entire coliseum.

It seemed the arena had been specially designed so that anything done at the center would echo across the stadium, while sounds from the audience sides also became even louder than normal.

The moment the signal was given, Theo immediately unsheathed his sword, though he didn’t envelop the blade in aura yet. He still needed to test the waters.

At the same time, the boy let out a soft sigh before summoning his beast from the beast space.

The crowd exploded into even louder cheers, as if they already knew what was about to happen.

The silhouette that materialized never descended to the ground. Instead, it rose higher into the air.

Theo’s grip on the hilt of his sword tightened as he began suspecting what type of a beast it was.

But the sheer size of its wings was absurdly large.

When the light finally faded and Theo saw the flying beast clearly, he frowned.

’A dinosaur...?’ he thought.

The creature resembled a pterosaur from the cretaceous period of Theo’s world.

It had a very long beak lined with strange bumps on it and a wingspan that was nearly three times the side of its own body.

Theo’s gaze fell on its legs first, noticing the razor-sharp claws at the end of those talons.

That was the only thing it truly shared with the birds, the claws.

Before Theo was given even a moment to react, it was as if the giant creature had already received a command.

From the side, a strange type of energy shot forward and latched onto the three individuals inside the arena.

Theo only glanced at it once, but he noticed that the referee’s eyes had now turned red.

He didn’t know how the ability worked or whether this was the only thing he could do with it, but he had always been curious about the way the man used it throughout all the matches.

The giant bird glided down the sky toward the exact spot where Theo stood.

Theo brought his other hand to get a hold of the hilt, gripping the sword firmly with both hands as he locked in.

He didn’t move from his position and simply waited for the bird to enter his spatial sense.

All the students, and even some professors, screamed for Theo to run, unaware of what he had up his sleeves.

The moment the giant bird entered his spatial sense, Theo could perceive its movements slowing down, though it was still way faster than the armadillo he had fought before.

He stepped to the right with his right foot in a calculated motion, then shifted his left foot from behind.

Theo curved his upper body at an angle, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp claws that grazed by mere inches from him.

And to everyone watching this in the real-world duration, everyone saw the bird rush toward Theo at terrifying speed, yet he lowered his body at the perfect angle to evade its attack. To everyone present, it seemed either impossibly lucky or too ridiculously precise.

The giant bird glided past without touching Theo at all.

Theo immediately stepped back several times to create distance as the bird stopped gliding.

Now, it slowly flapped its massive wings in slow motion while still somehow remaining suspended in the air at one spot for a long time before suddenly thrusting forward again.

"WATCH OUT FOR ITS FIRE BREATH!"

Among the countless screams echoing through the coliseum, Theo heard an especially loud warning.

He didn’t have time to look back, but he saw it happen.

The bird’s neck bulged slightly, and for a moment, Theo caught sight of the skin beneath its feathers turning orange before turning back to pink again.

At that moment, Theo raised his sword once more.

He had no intention of backing down.